A Q&A Interview with Catherine O’Flynn

Catherine O’Flynn won the Costa First Novel Award with her book What Was Lost, and her new series for young readers, Lori and Max, is already a favourite with Books for Keeps. She answered our questions on here children’s books.

Can you sum up the Lori and Max stories for our readers?

Lori and Max are best friends and poles apart. Lori lives in a fantasy detective world, while Max prefers animals to people. Together though they are somehow resourceful, street-smart and brave enough to take on any of the everyday mysteries and setbacks that life throws at them. They get into some funny and sometimes dangerous situations but always manage to work their way out.

Were you a would-be detective as a child and why do you think the idea is so fascinating to children?

Yes, I worked the beat for many years. I put in a lot of hours outside the local bank taking down car registration numbers in case there was ever a robbery (there wasn’t). My partner in my detective agency was a toy monkey called Mickey – we never closed a case.

My fascination with crime stems from being a lonely kid and wanting life to be both more exciting and less baffling than it was. I found basic adult interaction quite mysterious and so answers seemed very alluring. I suspect this might be the case for other children too.

Do you draw on other childhood memories in your books?

My childhood is so long ago that most of my memories of school would be either irrelevant or baffling to readers today, but what I do draw upon are memories of my feelings. I remember very well the pervasive feeling of disappointment that real life was never as interesting as it was in books and on tv.

There’s a young girl obsessed with being a detective in your debut novel for adults, What Was Lost. Did you always want to write for children too?

I never saw a big chasm between writing for children and writing for adults. I like writing both types of character and I approach all writing in basically the same way. The particular group of readers I’m aiming at just depends whose story I want to tell and what their chief preoccupations might be.

What do you enjoy most about writing for children?

I have always thought that my mental and personal development more or less stopped around the age of ten – I think that was my peak! So in many ways I find writing for and about children easier than adult fiction. Writing from the point of view of an adult feels more like of an act of impersonation.

Will there be more adventures for Lori and Max?

That’s exactly what I’m wondering right now. I’d like there to be, but only if I can come up with a worthy case – I don’t want to waste their time.

Lori and Max and Lori and Max and the Book Thieves are published by Firefly, £6.99 pbk.