Jenny-Jane
Meet Jenny-Jane Bayliss, coming to a bookshop near you. She’s the seventh character in my Girls FC series and one of my favourites. On the team she’s the one who gets stuck in. Fearless and determined, nothing fazes her; once she has the ball, she’s off down that wing like a hare from a trap and if she loses it, well, she doesn’t rest until she gets it back again. Basically, if Roy Keane had been ever been a ten-year old girl, this is what he’d have been like.
I think Sonia Leong, the illustrator, has captured JJ beautifully. The scowling girl holding that ball tight and very, very unhappy at the new pink away shirt. PINK. Of all the colours in the world…
As a writer, it is my job to show what a character is like through dialogue and action. At the beginning of each Girls FC book there’s an interview with each player similar to interviews found in match day programmes. I love making these up. i have to get inside each of my characters’ heads and think ‘What would their favourite breakfast be?’ etc. Each answer reflects the character. Here are JJs ‘answers’ giving clues to the reader what they can expect once they read her story.
Name: Jenny Jane Bayliss
Age: Nearly 10
Birthday: October – you don’t need to know when in October
School: Been to a few. Which one do you want?
Supports: ENGLAND and Millwall FC – they’re like my family. Nobody likes us and we don’t care.
Best football moment: When we win (dumb question)
What do you do in your spare time? Mind my own business
Favourite band: Aerosmith
Favourite film: Transformers
Favourite book: Foul Play by Tom Palmer
Favourite TV programme: Wayne Rooney’s Street Striker
On reflection I think she’s a bit harder than Roy Keane!
So What if I Am a Ball Hog? is out in May.