Getting to Know Sanjida Kay. Bone by Bone.

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Today I’m getting to know a little bit more about Sanjida Kay, author of Bone by Bone – I was lucky enough to meet her in real life this year at Crimefest and Bone by Bone is a terrific novel, available now from Corvus – more details on that to follow.

Where did you grow up and what was family life like?

All over the place! I was born in Pakistan, but lived in Africa, Wales, Ireland and various places in England, ending up next to Ilkley moor. I was so excited about the move from Northern Ireland to West Yorkshire because a teacher had told me it was Brontë country. I was utterly devastated when I discovered the Brontës were writers and not dinosaurs.

As for my family, I have two sisters and a brother in the UK, and two brothers and two sisters in America.

Academic or creative at school?

Both. I did A Level Art, Biology, Chemistry, German and General Studies but sadly ended up dropping Art in my second year. A touch busy!

First job you *really* wanted to do? Do you remember the moment you first wanted to write?

I remember standing at the end of our garden in Nigeria when I was five years old, staring into grass taller than me, whirring with insects, and feeling scared, but telling myself I should explore it because I wanted to be a zoologist and a novelist.

Luckily I managed to do both my dream jobs, and I’m elated to be working full time on my novels now. I’m still unsure about stepping into long grass full of insects though.

Who are your real life heroes?

Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Charles Darwin and David Attenborough.

Funniest or most embarrassing situation you’ve found yourself in?

I work as a wildlife presenter now and again, and once I was presenting a documentary with Chris Packham for BBC1 on British wildlife. I needed a wee and we were miles from any toilets. We were filming in a beautiful beech wood – so think huge trees, no undergrowth, and certainly no convenient bushes. I walked a little way away from the camera crew, hoping they couldn’t see me.

When I was in mid-flow, a huge stag came tearing straight towards me. I had my trousers round my ankles, and it wasn’t as if there was anywhere I could run to anyhow. The massive beast lowered his magnificent set of antlers, and continued charging straight at me. At the last minute, he did a comedy skid, halting a metre or so away. He gave a little snort, shook his head and bounded off. At least Chris Packham wasn’t watching.

DIY expert or phone a friend?

The thought of changing a bike tyre or putting up a shelf makes my brain go fizzy so I’d probably phone NASA.

Sun worshipper or night owl?

I get up at 6 a.m. every morning and exercise before anyone else in the house is awake. In an ideal world, I’d get up at 6 a.m., read books and eat donuts.

A book that had you in tears. A book that made you laugh out loud.

The book that made me both laugh and cry out loud most recently was a quirky thriller called Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey.

One piece of life advice you give everyone

Be kind to yourself and others.

Thanks so much!

Thank you for having me on your blog. It’s been a real pleasure meeting you in person, as well as virtually

About the book

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How far would you go to protect your child? When her daughter is bullied, Laura makes a terrible mistake…

Laura loves her daughter more than anything in the world.

But her nine-year-old daughter Autumn is being bullied. Laura feels helpless.

When Autumn fails to return home from school one day, Laura goes looking for her. She finds a crowd of older children taunting her little girl.

In the heat of the moment, Laura makes a terrible choice. A choice that will have devastating consequences for her and her daughter…

Read my review HERE

Follow Sanjida on TWITTER

To Purchase Bone by Bone clickety click right HERE

Happy Reading!

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