For the Texas-born, UK-based novelist C?J Daugherty, it came during one of the long, daily commutes to her London office from her Surrey home.
“I really wanted to know what all the fuss was about,” she says. “I thought they were quite inspiring and thrilling, and a lot of things happened in them. I started wondering why there wasn’t a British equivalent and so I started playing around with the idea, and that was the beginning.”
This was back in 2010, and Daugherty's initial story notes grew to become the popular Night School series.
Debuting in January last year, the opening novel – also titled Night School – follows the adventures of Allie Sheridan. Arriving at the new boarding school Cimmeria Academy, the problem child encounters the Night School, a secret society that conducts its activities behind locked doors.
Young readers shared in the excitement of the idea and Night School became a runaway success. The novel was translated in 20 languages and set the anticipation for the remaining four books planned for the series.
“I get so many letters or posts on Facebook where people say: ‘Yours is the first book I ever read the whole way through.’ My novels are quite thick, but because they are page turners they teach that books can be enjoyable to read and are not intimidating.”
Ÿ The Sharjah Children's Reading Festival begins April 23 at the Expo Centre and continues until May 4. For more details, visit www.sharjahbookfair.com
No kids for me, thanks
CJ Daugherty expresses no interest in having children. She may write for them but that doesn't mean she wants to have them - a trend apparent among many authors of bestselling young-adult fiction.
"Cassandra Claire doesn't have children. Neither does Maureen Johnson, nor do I," she says. "Maybe it's a generational thing - we are Generation X. But I do adore teenagers. If I could give birth to a teenager, I would."
* Saeed Saeed
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