Dr. Cheryl Diane Parkinson is a Caribbean British writer from East London, living in Lincolnshire. She is an educator of 20 years, teaching English Literature and Language at GCSE and A Level and has completed a PhD at Birmingham University in Creative Writing. Her publishing history includes writing non-fiction for ByLine Times, (2021) The Voice Online, Fem Magazine as well as The National Union of Teachers. She is published by LemonsNGold and Dinosaur Books Ltd. Her latest book, Last Girl In, is long-listed for the Branford Boase Awards 2024 and the Little Rebel Awards 2024.
1. What did you like to write and read as a kid?
I was a fan of John Saul horror books! I tried my hand at writing my own horror stories too. I also liked Tolkien and how he ‘world built’. I would get lost for hours in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, while my friends were reading Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl - I preferred more dense books.
2. What was your favourite subject in school?
I loved English and Art. These two subjects I went on to study at A level and Degree
Level, and although I am not working within the arts, I still like to paint and draw now and
again.
3. Where do you like to write?
I like sitting on my sofa with the laptop. I have in the past got a home office, decorated it
beautifully and found that I cannot write in there. The best place for me to write has
always remained on the sofa with the tv on mute, coffee to hand and one of my cats
snuggled close by.
4. What’s your favourite genre to write?
I still quite like writing spooky stories!
5. What inspires you?
I am a teacher, and I get inspired by the students that I teach. Teenagers have their own
way of speaking and communicating. I love that I don’t understand it completely and how
it continually seems to be evolving and changing. A good day is when I learn something
new from the kids.
6. Who is your favourite author?
That’s difficult! I like so many! I very much enjoy the writing of Jason Reynolds and Alex
Wheatle as well as Angie Thomas. And, not forgetting, the late Benjamin Zephaniah who
was such an inspiration to me.
7. Would you and your main character get along?
Absolutely! I would follow her on all of her adventures. I’d be a brilliant sidekick!
8. If you could spend a day with another popular author, who would you choose?
Jason Reynolds
9. What is your schedule like when you’re writing a book?
I write as much as I can, as often as I can. Otherwise I forget the threads and lose the
excitement. When the ‘writing fever’ leaves me, I get sucked into normal everyday life
and it can be difficult to submerge myself back into my book. So I write as much as I can
while it lasts.
10. Have pets ever gotten in the way of your writing?
No, my cats are very lazy. They just like to sit next to me, purring away while I write. I think they like the heat of my laptop…(!)
11. Do you prefer ebooks, printed books, or audiobooks most of the time?
It depends on what mood I am in and what I am reading. If it is a favourite author or a
book I am excited about, it has to be a printed book. If it is a thriller, I like audiobooks so I
can play through my headphones and continue to listen without breaks, while I wash the
dishes, or hoover the house. If it is a new book and I am just seeing what it is like, or
discovering a new author, I like ebooks because of the price and the easy storage. If I don’t like the book, chances are I haven’t spent a lot of money on it as it is electronic! If I
like it, I feel like I have got a bargain. It’s a win win situation.
12. Does anyone in your family read your books?
We all read books. Mum is a fan of Catherine Cookson. My sister Jacquie, like me, likes
Robin Hobb, my daughter Jessica likes self help and poetry books, my son Jordon likes
Rick Riordan, Amelia likes the books that I write! My youngest Jasmine is only 4 and she
currently adores the Winnie the Witch series.
Thanks for taking the time to speak with our readers, Cheryl! Please follow Dr. Parkinson on all of her social media accounts and check out her newest novel, Last Girl In, in our Bookshop! Keep shining, everybody!
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/CDParkinson55
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