Interview with Dorothy Massey

How did you get the commission to write stories for the Mini Mysteries and Kooky Spookies anthology?

In 2007, the publishers, Pinestein Press held a competition called

Things That go Bump … . The brief was to write a short story for 7-9 year olds which was spooky and humourous. The setting was a school lunch room. I wrote a story called Little Red Riding Hoo …ood, based on the traditional fairytale. As a result Pinestein asked me to write a further three stories for the anthology. The result was The Ghost Twin Tales, three stories featuring the mischievous but lovable Wiggle and Woo.

Had you written children’s stories prior to this?

I’d completed the Institute of Children’s Literature Course in Writing for Children and Teenagers and had written a couple of stories for that. Until then though, I hadn’t had any children’s stories published.

Have you written more children’s stories since?

Yes. Winning the competition and getting published gave me the confidence to write and submit more stories. Since then I’ve won another two children’s story competitions. Last year I won Kangaroo Press’ Scary Halloween Competition with a story called Charlie’s Pumpkin Head. Recently I was one of the winners of the Munch Bunch Storytelling Competition. My entry for that competition, Munch the Storyteller, will be released as a podcast recording on the Munch Bunch website in March. The stories are read by the popular T.V. presenter and celebrity, Gail Porter.

I’ve also received a commission to write for an upcoming children’s magazine, but details of that are still under wraps at the moment.

What are your current writing projects?

I’m writing stories for a British publishing company who have requested submissions for a number of upcoming anthologies. I’ve also started a fantasy novel and am working on a couple of picture book manuscripts.

Why do you like writing for children?

It’s so much fun and the possibilities are endless. It’s challenging, but rewarding too. We all have a part of us that is still a child. Writing for children allows me to take mine out to play.