Here are some of my most frequently asked questions from author events and school visits:
How old are you?
Asked at every school visit. Children are fascinated by age. I like to make them work for the answer. I’m (5 x 8) +9 (Correct as of June 2026).
Do you have any children?
Yes, three. They’re smashing.
Are you famous?
A popular question. The answer is no! (But I was once Jeff Kinney’s support act.)
Have you won any awards?
Yes. I have won the Spark Children’s Book Award. Such an honour.
Who are you published by?
Puffin, part of Penguin Random House.
What books have you written?
A lot!
My published books, that you can buy or borrow are:
- The Accidental Diary of B.U.G.
- The Accidental Diary of B.U.G. Basically Famous
- The Accidental Diary of B.U.G. Sister Act
- The Day My Dog Got Famous
- The Day My School Got Famous
- The Day My Brother Got Famous
You can find out more about them here.
Where can I buy one of your books?
In any bookshop or online – wherever you like to buy books from! Check out this page for some options.
Also – why not borrow one from a library? If your local library isn’t stocking my books, ask them to order it in for you (it’s free!)
Are your books available as audio books?
Yes, four of them are and they’re fabulous. You can see more details and listen to previews on this page of my website.
What inspired you to start writing?
- My mum. She wrote funny poems about my family and I loved her reading them to me.
- A teacher at High School called Mrs Gray who gave me tons of positive feedback and encouragement about the funny stories I wrote.
- My son – he wanted to read a funny book that featured a family like his. I’ve blogged about this here.
Who illustrates your books?
Me – Jen Carney
What genre are your books?
Contemporary comedies.
What age are your books for?
Readers 8+
Note the +, it’s very important.
My books are all known as ‘middle grade’ readers. Basically, that means they’re aimed at readers aged 8-12. They’re a step up from chapter books and a step before children dive into teenage readers, sometimes known as YA books.
Can I book you to come into my school?
Yes. Details of my school visits can be found here. I offer both in-person and virtual workshops. You can contact me to enquire here.
Do you have free educational resources?
Yes! All my FREE resources for KS2 teachers can be found on this page of my website.
What inspires your stories?
Real life. Real family life. Real life events.
Lots of the events in my BUG books are based on real life – mine and my children’s. That’s why they’re so relatable!
The Day My… series was inspired by my one of my sisters. It features a wonderful foster family like hers.
The Day My Dog Got Famous is based on remembering my childhood dog.
The Day My School Got Famous is based on a real event – something i watched on the news about an unexploded WW2 bomb being dicovered under a school playground.
The Day My Brother Got Famous was inspired by a real space mission.
I like to ask myself WHAT IF… a lot.
A desire to make children laugh, fall in love with reading and choose to read for pleasure.
My books are funny for a reason. I’ve blogged about this here.
A wish to hook so-called reluctant readers.
My books contain short chapters and lots of visual elements based on my experience of hearing ‘I don’t like reading’ (as both a mum and a teacher). You can read my blog on this topic here.
A passion for representing different types of families in mainstream comedies.
One of my main inspirations is to ensure that children get to see that there are more similarities that unite people than differences that set us apart, and that family is about much more than biology.
Do you hide secret messages in your books?
That’d be telling.
Also, yes!
I hide little Easter Eggs all the time. Names of my relatives, nods to other books I’ve written etc. There are some in the illustrations too!
Did you go to university?
I did. However, you don’t have to go to Uni to be an author or an illustrator. You just need to be passionate about writing and/or drawing. And practise a lot.
When did you write your first book?
When I was seven. It was completely magpie-d from a book I loved to re-read when I was this age: About Teddy Robinson by Joan Robinson. Mine was called About Teddy Carney.
The teddy lost his leg, played tennis and got a cap with the number 88 on it.
Deep. Practise makes…better…
What’s your favourite biscuit?
A changeable feast to be honest. I love chocolate digestives, custard creams and bourbons. If I’m feeling fancy, I also like a Tunnock’s Tea Cake – brilliantly dismantle-able; delicious to boot. Oddly, it doesn’t feature in TOBLA’s Biscuit Laws, as featured in The Accidental Diary of BUG. Yet.
Have you had any other jobs?
Yes, many! Here’s a few of them: family learning tutor, KS2 teacher, working in a shoe shop, working in a bank, bid-writer, project manager, leaflet deliverer.
Here’s me working as a project manager on a gardening project
Why do your main characters always have two mums?
Because there are two mums in my family. I want children all across the country/world to read books that feature main characters with two mums so they can see that all families are different and that’s perfectly fine.
How long does it take to write a book?
Tricky. For me, writing a first draft might take about four months (predominantly working 9.30-2.30 Monday to Thursday). But the rest of the process takes much longer – working with an editor to make everything shine, the illustration process etc. It can take over a year for a book to get from an idea in my head to being available to buy in a shop or borrow from a library.
Do you have any tips for writing funny books?
Keep a notebook handy. When you see/hear/think of something funny, write it down for reference. Test your material out on your intended audience. Be prepared to make some drastic cuts!
Do you have any tips for aspiring authors?
Yes – read this blog.
What’s your favourite book?
I honestly don’t have one. I love reading all sorts of books. When I’m asked this question by children, I often recommend a book I’ve recently read and enjoyed. I read A LOT, so this answer changes every week.
What’s your favourite book out of the ones you’ve written?
I liken this very popular question to being asked which of my three children I like best.
Impossible to answer. I love them all equally.
Are you on social media?
Yes. If you’re old enough, you can follow me thus:
Follow Jen Carney on Facebook
Follow Jen Carney on Instagram
Follow Jen Carney on TikTok
Can you tell us a joke?
Certainly.
Knock knock!
Who’s there?
Europe…
Europe who?
No, you’re a poo!
