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1. What inspired you to write Escape From Genopolis?

Being bored in maths class (I'm hopeless at maths) when I was twelve! I've wanted to write a science-fantasy book set in the future for almost 20 years but it was a very, very long time in the making!

2. Did you always want to be a writer?

As a kid I wanted to fly aeroplanes and be a female Biggles, and then I wanted to be a spy and work for MI5, and then I wanted to be an archaeologist and discover lost civilisations; but then I realised I wouldn't be able to do all those things so I reckoned I would write about them instead.

3. What were your favourite books as a child?

Big epic books about different worlds … The Lord of the Rings (JRR Tolkien), The Chrysalids (John Wyndham), The Guardians (John Christopher), The Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy (Douglas Adams) and Watership Down (Richard Adams)

4. Why is the idea of people not feeling pain and emotion so scary?

"To feel pain is to realise that it should not be inflicted on others" as Ignatius says to Arlo in Chapter Three. Of course, the idea of a pain-free utopia was originally a good one for Genopolis so its Citizens could withstand the catastrophes and physical hardship of a world after ecological collapse. However, psychopaths and serial-killers typically have a lack of empathy with other people and do not emotionally identify with them so they are able to carry out terrible deeds. In EFG, the ruling race of Citizens have been genetically bred not to feel pain or emotions, so they can torture and exterminate the remaining Natural people (who still feel). Read more about the background of why and how Genopolis was created on the book's website www.genopolis.co.uk (The Chronicles of Genopolis.)

5. How long did it take you to write Escape From Genopolis?

From the first chapter (in September 2004) until final delivery of the manuscript to my publishers in July 2006; and then a lot of revisions and proof-reading afterwards. It wasn't written all at once, I wrote the first half when I got my agent, then Scholastic got interested, and then I wrote the second half later.

6. Who is your favourite character in Escape From Genopolis?

This is going to sound weird but it is probably (at the moment) Brigadier Hacker, one of the arch-baddies, who is a total psychopath infected by revenge. It's always fun to write a villain, and hard to come across any really good female baddies who simply don't give a damn.

7. The book touches on ecological issues. Has the environment always been close to your heart?

Yes, and Genopolis is all about what could happen in the future if we don't take steps now. When I was 14 I won an ecological competition in the Radio Times to go to the States, which was the first time I'd been abroad. It was a competition run by the British explorer Robert Swann (the first man to walk unsupported to both the South and North Poles) and who is dedicated to saving the environment … visit www.takethenextstep.com for more details.

8. Would you like to visit the future?

Yes, but there's so many different ways the future could be! And whatever we do now is going to predict that future.

9. Will there be any more adventures from Genopolis coming soon?

Yes! I'm writing the sequel about the downfall of Genopolis (which won't happen in the way you expect!) at the moment. A lot of it is set in the tribal wilderness of the Natural Regions outside the city and there's a lot of other new characters as well. But you'll have to wait for next year for that