Meet Sophie Lee
 Once upon a time, Sophie Lee presented the afternoon Bugs Bunny Show.
Then she was in the beloved Australian movie The Castle. Now, Sophie is an author. She talked to gr about her new book for younger readers, Edie Amelia and the Monkey Shoe Mystery.
gr You used to be an actress. Why did you decide to write books instead?
SL Although I spent 20 years in the entertainment industry I have always had a big interest in books and writing. My passion for reading started when I was young, because we didn’t have a TV in our house. Instead of watching TV, I read and wrote short stories.
Over the years when I was performing, I went to classes designed for actors who wanted to write, and I always kept journals. I tried writing comedy with some of my actor friends. After spending some time working in theatre and then having my first child, I went to university to study creative writing.
But my favourite memories of my acting career will always be the theatre rehearsals, as we would spend hours studying the words, sometimes with the writer there.
gr Are there similarities between acting out a story and writing one? Can you talk about how acting helped you become a writer?
SL I think acting and writing are similar because they both rely on words. As an actor, especially in the theatre, it is really important to pay attention to the words because they help you understand the way your character speaks and thinks.
Writing and acting are both creative things to do, although I love that as a writer all the creativity belongs to me, and I choose when I want to work. I love to work, and that can be one of the frustrating things about acting, you need another person to tell you what to do and when.
gr Why did you start out writing for adults? What is the difference between writing for adults and writing for children? Which do you like better?
SL I think I prefer writing for young readers. The story of Edie Amelia Sparks just flowed out of me and I felt wonderfully free as I wrote it. I wrote my adult fiction novel first because that was the first book deal I was offered.
gr Do you ‘test out’ your stories on your own children by telling them aloud before you write your stories down? Or while you write them?
SL I don’t test my writing out on my children, I’m too scared they won’t like it. Once it’s released they’ll have no choice but to go along with it!
gr Did parts of Edie’s character come from any of your own children or children you know?
SL Edie’s character is something like me when I was younger. I certainly know that I like to be tidy and I go a bit nutty when I’ve lost something. My daughter is sort of the opposite of Edie Amelia Sparks (although she shares her name) because she is sociable and a little impatient.
gr Do you have any of those ‘messy people’ like Edie’s parents in your family?
SL When I was younger, I met some family friends who were wonderfully colourful and eccentric types. I don’t see so many charming and original people in the world today, which is a shame. Maybe I have the wrong friends!
gr You scatter a number of ‘big words’ throughout the book (‘histrionic’, ‘detritus’, ‘protuberant’, to name a few) and follow them with a playful explanation of the word. What made you do this? Have you always liked big words? Why?
SL I always loved reading from a young age. I read Enid Blyton, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Roald Dahl, Antonia White, E Nesbitt and lots of other stuff. Anyway, the thing I loved about reading ‘up’ was that you’d find all these wonderful new words and often not know exactly what they meant, or you’d mispronounce them in your head, but the great thing was that once you’d found them you could use them with your friends and family.
The little explanations scattered throughout were once again something that flowed with Edie Amelia and the story. I couldn’t really stop them… they just kept popping out.
I think playing with words is fun, and that was one of the things I loved about acting, especially funny characters.
gr What are your most treasured possessions?
SL My most treasured possessions include my secondhand copy of Maurice Sendak’s Higgelty Pigglety Pop, the books on my bookshelves, my journals, my daughter’s monkey (although he’s not really mine) and my family photos.
gr Do you have a special way of dealing with Worries in your tummy?
SL It’s best to deal with the Worries head on. If you challenge them, you can make them smaller – certainly small enough to be sucked up in your vacuum and popped out amongst the empty tuna cans with the rubbish!
gr Will Edie Amelia be getting up to any more adventures in the future?
I am currently writing the sequel to The Monkey Shoe Mystery.
To win a copy of Edie Amelia and the Monkey Shoe Mystery, go to our kids' competitions page!
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