I went to four schools in a year.
I was an RAF child, which meant moving a lot. In one particular year, I moved from Gibraltar, to Whitby (Yorkshire), to Greatworth (Oxfordshire), to Henlow (Bedfordshire).
The Girl on the Platform
Children with military backgrounds tend to go one of two ways: they either find it enormously easy to make friends or learn introversion. I went the introvert route. I was in my twenties before I opened up again. People who know me now would be shocked at how quiet and shy I used to be.
2. I was born with acetabular dysplasia.
This is a birth defect, which meant that I was born with a very shallow hip socket (think teeny flat plate instead of large rice-bowl shape around the hip bone). This led to arthritis in my left hip, which left me crippled by thirty, when it was finally diagnosed by a lovely physiotherapist, the first one to believe me about the extent of the pain. I had a total hip replacement in 2007 and can now walk without crutches (which is nice), although I do have a persistent limp.
3. I have two children.
It may seem like a boring thing to tell readers about me, but my children are my life. I have a girl and a boy.
My daughter was the inspiration for The Girl on the Platform, as I suffered from Post Natal Depression (PND) and I put an awful lot of my time with her into the book.
4. I also write fiction for young adults.
The Girl on the Platform is my adult debut, and I am so proud of it, but I also write novels for young adults and have, in fact been published since 2011. I’ve won (and been shortlisted for) several awards for my YA books. Writing for young adults has given me an instinct for getting right into the action and keeping it going, for writing realistic characters of all ages, and for writing issues fiction (The Girl on the Platform covers PND).
5. I also write short science fiction stories.
Science-fiction is my first great love. I spent my childhood stealing books from my dad’s bookcase, so I was raised on Stainless Steel Rat, Riverworld, the PERN Chronicles, Foundation, Dune, Rama and Ender’s Game, to name but a few. Nowadays, I write twisty science-fiction short stories for anthologies. Short story writing is a completely different discipline to novel writing, but again helps me pen adult thrillers because my instinct to add twist after twist comes from short story writing.
6. I have been vegetarian for over thirty years.
I went vegetarian when I was twelve. Mostly for ethical reasons but partly, I’ll admit, to avoid my mother’s cooking. I’m not saying she was a bad cook, but she held no truck with catering to childhood ‘fussiness’. So, she regularly served kidney, gristly sausages, game and other offal and, as children, we were not permitted to leave the table until our plates were clean. I spent many childhood hours sobbing over kidney and gristle. Vegetarianism saved me from all of that.
7. I love board games.
As a family we decided early on that we didn’t want our children being addicted to screens. We have one family television (in the lounge) and one gaming system (a Nintendo), which we all share (my husband and son love Zelda). What we do most often as a family is play board games (usually with wine and snacks). Our favourite at the moment is Gloomhaven, but other favourites include Talisman, Catan, Scythe, Betrayal at the House on the Hill … actually I could go on for pages, we have four huge cupboards filled with games. We also play cards. The children are learning Bridge at the moment. I’m not sure what we’ll do when they move out … does anyone want to come and play games with us?
8. I play the cello.
I don’t play it particularly brilliantly (I’m grade five), but I only started to learn two years ago, so I’m proud of this achievement. I did it mainly because I was feeling left out – my husband plays the violin and piano, my daughter plays the violin, viola, piano and guitar, my son plays the saxophone. Now we can and do play chamber music regularly. It’s another great family activity.
9. I once climbed a tree in roller skates.
I got a surprisingly long way up before the inevitable. I still bear the scar.
10. At school visits, children often ask what my favourite word is.
I’ve thought about it and can now say that my favourite word is petrichor (the way the earth smells after it rains).
For more information on Bryony and her work, please visit her website www.bryonypearce.co.uk or follow her on Twitter or Instagram @bryonypearce