I think when I was your age books dealt with all sorts of happy, cosy jolly families and I always thought "How would you feel if you were not part of this sort of family?"
So I thought even then that I wanted to write about kids going through quite sad times or kids who maybe don't have a really lovely happy family.
And I suppose as I've written more books I've just carried on like this and now children ask me why I don't write about a really happy family and maybe it's time I did.
How do you create new characters and personalities?
I think it's because I always used to make up people and play pretend games and I got so used to it that even now I just make up characters in my head so I never have any trouble finding new characters.
It's just like a little switch I click on and there they are in my head. It's slightly more difficult trying to find good things to happen to them but making them up is no problem at all.
Are you happy with the way Tracy Beaker is portrayed on television?
I love the way that they've done Tracy Beaker. I think that Danny is absolutely brilliant as Tracy. I couldn't be a more pleased and proud author.
Is the second series of Tracy Beaker based on the second book The Dare Game?
No they thought that it probably wouldn't quite work because the Dare Game goes away from the children's home and it's Tracy and her foster Mum together.
And the television people thought very sensibly it would be better to keep things in the children's home.
So children have two choices, they can read one version of what happens to Tracy in the Dare Game. And see another version of what's happened to Tracy on television.
Jacqueline in the hotseat
I met Jacqueline Wilson
