Encounters With Bats - An interview with Sheena Crossley

'Bats at Bay' is your first book for children, but it's certainly not the first thing you've written...

It's actually my first published book - but not the first time that I've written for children. Many years ago I wrote a slim book about gardening for pre-school children. I also wrote a gardening column for the 'South Wales Echo' for over twelve years and I was the Welsh gardening correspondent for 'Garden Answers' magazine.

Have you always wanted to be a writer?

My mother said that I never stopped talking from the time I uttered my first word. Perhaps my family will be grateful that my editor puts a limit on the number of words I can use!

Lots of people are frightened of bats. Is that what gave you the idea of writing about them?

Yes, bats normally get a bad press, so I thought it would be nice to portray them as the goodies for a change. All hard-working gardeners will have had encounters with bats. Bats flit around the garden in the evening and do a very good job of munching up vast quantities of flying insect pests.

'Bats at Bay' is very much a story about families. Did you grow up with lots of brothers and sisters?

No, I didn't but I married into a big family. My husband Robin is the eldest of five children. I was an only child and thought it would be lovely to have lots of brothers and sisters.

You come from Cornwall originally. Are there things about Wales which remind you of home?

Very much so yes, including the language which is very similar. When I worked for the Parks Department in Cardiff, I hung up a Cornish calendar in my room and everybody thought it was Welsh. 'Merth' is the Cornish name for March ('Mawrth') which is when 'Bats at Bay' is published.

You worked for the BBC for many years. Has your experience as a media presenter had any influence on your writing?

I suppose it must have done: I had my own gardening programme for many years and guested on others, solving people's gardening problems at the end of a phone line. I also appeared on television, on BBC2 Wales with naturalist and broadcaster David Bellamy. That was where I experienced my most embarrassing moment - the producer thought it would be a good idea if I danced around on a piece of grass singing Ring-a-Ring-of-Roses! It was a programme about herbs!

Your granddaughter Bryony helped you with the writing of Bats at Bay. What kind of help did she give you - or is that too personal a question?

Like me Bryony has always read and written a great deal. When I started writing the book Bryony was still in junior school. She acted as a critical friend, even offering some ideas for characters. She gave me feedback as the story developed, and even gave me advice on punctuation! Thanks, Bryony. I'd like to think that one day she will publish a book of her own!