McNABB, Linda 1963-

PERSONAL: Born August 16, 1963, in Rutland, England; married; children: two daughters. Hobbies and other interests: Reading, walking.

ADDRESSES: Home—Howick, Auckland, New Zealand. Agent—c/o Author Mail, HarperCollins Publishers, New Zealand, P.O. Box 1, Auckland, New Zealand.

CAREER: Author.

AWARDS, HONORS: Junior fiction finalist, New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards, 2003, for The Dragon's Apprentice.

WRITINGS:

And the Winner Is . . . , illustrated by Mike Cressy, Shortland (Auckland, New Zealand), 2001.

The Dragon's Apprentice, HarperCollins (Auckland, New Zealand), 2002.

The Puppet Master, HarperCollins (Auckland, New Zealand), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS: Linda McNabb is the author of two children's fantasy books, The Dragon's Apprentice and The Puppet Master. Born in England, McNabb moved to New Zealand when she was four. Like most writers, she developed her love of writing from reading the books of other writers from an early age. In an interview on the Christchurch City Libraries Web site, McNabb said she was also "a bit of a dreamer. When a subject didn't really hold my attention, I wandered off into my own imaginary world. This didn't help much when it came to tests though!"

In The Dragon's Apprentice, twelve-year-old Toby can talk to dragons. Appointed as a royal page to Prince Blaise, Toby learns of the power struggles among members of the royal family. He makes friends with the prince's sister, who has the ability to practice sorcery. Together, they try to thwart the prince's plan to take the throne. A Magpies reviewer called the book "fast-moving, entertaining fun."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Magpies, July, 2002, review of The Dragon's Apprentice, p. 38.

ONLINE

Christchurch City Libraries,http://library.christchurch.org.nz/ (July 29, 2003), interview with Linda McNabb.*