Ceri Clark author of Children of the Elementi, first recommended in December 2010

Tell Me About Your Book Children of the Elementi is a fantasy adventure which flips between this world  and another called Eleria. When the Magi murder the heads of the five ruling families, their heirs are scattered through time and space to safety. Each heir has a power over the elements but the High King has power over all four. When Jake, the hero, discovers an ancient crystal, he not only learns about his fantastical past but also alerts the Magi Emperor that some of the Elementi survived. Jake must find the others to unite their powers to be able to defeat the Magi.

Tell me more about your key characters Mirim is from the 'air' family and has lived in the old Elementi powerbase since she was born. Her family stayed behind to keep the Matrix alive (a planet wide mind composed of crystal). The true power of the Elementi is the symbiosis between them and the Matrix. When she discovers that the High King (Jake) is not dead, she travels across the dimensions to bring him back. Jake has an ordinary life on Earth and while he longs for adventure he is not too sure about the bossy Mirim, but is convinced to try and find the other lost Elementi at her urging. I don't want to give too much away as there are five families, each coming into their powers through the story.

Who are your target readers? My target readers are boys and girls aged around 12 years and up. There is no real reason why an eleven year old would not enjoy the story but some of the language is for advanced readers.

How did you get started as a writer? While working in the School Library I had six weeks off in the summer. Rather than waste them watching television I had a burning itch to write something new. I had started a story earlier in the year, which to be honest was absolutely awful. But something happened that summer. I had an idea, I knew what books the students were asking me for and I had time. I wrote the first paragraph and I was off...

Describe your desk/workspace. Messy!

Best and worst part of being a writer The best thing by far about being a writer is writing, the worst  - marketing! I loved writing the ideas down and watching the characters take shape. The best of this was the children who tried out my work at the school. They were so enthusiastic. I was going to cut out the section set in the school but one of the children said it was the best bit. well what could I do? - The section stayed.