What kind of books were you interested in as a teenager?

Fiction Fiction Fiction. I read pretty much everything I could get my hands on as a child. I was never particularly into one genre. I just loved reading.

By the time I was a teenager I was definitely reading adult as well as children's fiction.

When did you become interested in writing?

I think I always wanted to try it. I wrote a lot of stories when I was young but I lost confidence in the idea when I was at university and didn't try for real until much later. Finding Violet Park was my first book.

Do you think moving to Hay on Wye will affect your writing?

Not really! I'm not sure it matters where you are if you've got stuff ticking over in your head.

How did you start the writing process with your first published book?

I just wrote a story over about six months, after work and on weekends, and I didn't stop till it was finished.

Can you tell us what Finding Violet Park is about?

It's about a boy called Lucas who finds an abandoned urn of ashes in a mini cab office. They are the remains of an extraordinary old lady. He finds out about her and learns things about himself and his family along the way.

This book is set in north London, is a sense of place important in your work?

Very. I lived in those streets for over ten years so I felt safe writing about them.

Can you see Mid Wales as a setting for a book about teenagers?

The book I'm writing now is partly set around here so it's definitely having an influence. London is still a big source of ideas for me though.

What did it mean for you to win the Guardian children's fiction prize?

It was amazing. I don't think anyone expects to do something like that with a first book.

Can you describe what it was like to hear that you'd won?

Well I cried and laughed at the same time.

How do you get feedback from your audience?

I go to schools to do readings and talks and I meet people that way.

What advice would you give to budding writers of children's fiction?

Be yourself when you're writing and enjoy it.

What are your plans for the future?

Well my second book "Broken Soup" is out January 7th so I'll be doing a little bit of publicity for that. And I'm writing the third one now. My husband Alex and I also own the deli in hay on Wye so I'll be at work like normal. "Finding iolet Park" comes out in America in April so that's exciting.

Q&A with Jenny Valentine