• Why did you want to be a writer?

I wanted to be a painter but found I couldn’t paint well enough to please myself, so I decdied to be a writer and “paint with words” instead.

• What’s the best thing about being a writer?

I get to work in my own home with my beautiful garden, beach, forest, donkeys, and chooks just outside the window. And, every day, I get to be at home with my wonderful husband of 27 years. I am able to become excited about an idea and then bring that excitement to fruition by producing a piece of writing. Writing gives me an outlet for expressing the things that are most important to me.

• What’s your favourite New Zealand book?

Barbara Anderson’s short stories are a favourite, as are Owen Marshall’s. I also adore Ronald Hugh Morrison’s work.

• What do you love most about New Zealand?

I love the political stability we have in New Zealand. I have visited many countries over the years, because I love to travel and learn about new places, and I feel grateful each time I work in the garden that I don’t have to be concerned about encountering a landmine. I am always mindful that I will still be in the same place to harvest the food I grow because war won’t have been forced to leave my home.

• What do you love most about libraries?

I love the feeling that the whole world is there before me, in words and colour. Because I live in a very rural place, I’m often rushing when I’m visiting the city, with a thousand things to get done, so on the rare occasion that I do have time, it’s a real treat to have hours to just sit and look at books.

Diana Noonan is the author of many books, from educational readers to picture books and nonfiction.  Her books, which include The Best-loved Bear and The Best-dressed Bear, are family favourites.  Quaky Cat, which was illustrated by Gavin Bishop, raised thousands of dollars for Christchurch charities and helped Christchurch children through the recent earthquakes.