Any reason why your latest book, replaces black and white people for Noughts and Crosses?
It was set up as an alternative reality but obviously with strong parallels to our own reality. I didn't want people reading to think this is just a black and white society as such. I wanted to set up my own society where I could invent my own words, starting from scratch as it where. The best compliment I've had about the book is when people tell me they have to keep reminding themselves who's the noughts and who's the crosses.
What inspired Noughts and Crosses?
I was so fed up with people asking why I never write about racism. I thought, right, I'll write about racism but I'll do it my way. So I turned it on its head. A lot of white reviewers picked up on the thing about the plasters. I'm stunned that I've heard so many comments saying they've never really thought about the colour of plasters before. It was only a couple lines in the book, where all plasters are brown
