Alexandra Adornetto

Life is challenging enough without politicians to confuse us.

I've had a few embarrassing moments in restaurants. I tried to order a quesadilla, and I totally mispronounced the word. And another time, I asked for some toast with Marmite, and they had no idea what I was asking for!

At one school I visited, everyone had read 'Halo,' and they were all dressed up as angels - with halos!

I'd love to study in the U.S. I visited Vanderbilt in Nashville, and I've been told to check out Ole Miss. There are so many schools that I don't really know where to start. But I do love the U.S. and have met so many supportive and enthusiastic people here while I've been on tour. I could definitely live here!

When I wrote 'The Shadow Thief,' I had an obsession with Peter Pan. I get focused on things. In fact, I was an absolute horror to live with at that stage. I had a big fight with my mum because I wanted her to change the windows so Peter Pan could visit me.

Childhood is just this amazing place, and in my books, I was trying to express my concern about childhood being eroded. You have kids' TV programs being interrupted by terrorist attacks, and kids are exposed to so much these days.

I have never had other kids in the house... I had a huge collection of marbles, and they all had names, which I think concerned my parents. I used to go and sweep outside and talk to myself, and my mum's friends would be over and say, 'Do you realise she is talking to herself?'

Gen Y is depicted as self-centred and apathetic when it comes to politics, but it doesn't help that we are largely overlooked. There have been policies to woo parents, pensioners and the sick, but the young do not appear to rank high on any political agenda.

The young people I know judge leaders by their deeds and abhor hypocrisy. Inconsistency and point-scoring do not win respect. It's not easy to be engaged in political debate when it is reduced to performers trying to outdo each other. Actions from leaders must mirror the values they claim to espouse.

As young Australians, the value of teamwork has been instilled in us throughout our schooling.

Apart from a small minority, teenage boys fall into three distinct categories: macho, metro, or just plain muddled.

I'd read a lot of books where the girls are in awe of the supernatural male, so I thought it was time to write about an awesome and super-powerful female who is also quite vulnerable and naive about life on earth.

I was the kind of kid who was always making up stories and adventures.

Imagination makes us aware of limitless possibilities. How many of us haven't pondered the concept of infinity or imagined the possibility of time travel? In one of her poems, Emily Bronte likens imagination to a constant companion, but I prefer to think of it as a built-in entertainment system.

Imagination and invention go hand in hand. Remember how lack of resources was never a problem in childhood games? Shift a few pieces of furniture around the living room, and you have yourself a fort.

Writing was something I have always been interested in. I've grown up in a household full of books, with both my parents English teachers and very booky.

When I first told people I was writing a book, some would say that was interesting, but others thought it was some holiday project and I would lose interest. I think my parents thought the same thing, and they were surprised when I kept going. I'm not sure I thought I would keep going, but then it became a big part of my life.

My school is very good and quite understanding and know I have to take time off for interviews or writers' festivals.

I have a word quota I try to fulfill every day, and I try to do that in the morning and into the afternoon and then go out with friends at night. I love singing and have lessons and enjoy drama, and so I am involved in that.

The South is full of memories and ghosts of the past. For me, it is the most inspiring place to write, from William Faulkner's haunted antebellum home to the banks of the Mississippi to the wind that whispers through the cotton fields.

Because characters are your creations, you are the one who ultimately gets to decide their fate.

I hate the idea of any kid missing out on the magic of reading.

I remember once seeing a guy in the grocery store who looked so much like my character the Archangel Gabriel, I wanted to go up to him and say, 'Hey, put that Red Bull down. You've already got wings.' My friend had to sternly remind me that he was a stranger and I did not, in fact, create him.

Here is just the beginning of a list of skills that exam results cannot possibly hope to reflect: interpersonal skills, the ability to entertain, how articulate we are as speakers, our ability to work as part of a team, the ability to deal with challenges and invention.

The subject of angels and demons really grabbed me. There is a huge mass of information, and the Bible is one of the most amazing reference points.