Evil Genius

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Catherine Jinks - Published by Harcourt Children's Books - May 2007;$17.00US; 978-0-15-205988-1
 

Sources by Amanda Bach
 

        Cadel Piggott has a genius IQ and a fascination with systems of all kinds. At seven, he was illegally hacking into computers. Now he’s fourteen and studying for his World Domination degree, taking classes like embezzlement, misinformation, forgery, and infiltration at the institute founded by criminal mastermind Dr. Phineas Darkkon. Although Cadel may be advanced beyond his years, at heart he’s a lonely kid. When he falls for the mysterious and brilliant Kay-Lee, he begins to question the moral implications of his studies for the first time. But is it too late to stop Dr. Darkkon from carrying out his evil plot?

        An engrossing thriller with darkness and humor, freaks and geeks, Evil Genius explores the fine line between good and evil in a strange world of manipulations and subterfuge where nothing is as it seems.

WHEN DID YOU START WRITING?

'I started when I was about eight years old. My first 'book' was a picture book called I Want to be a Jungle Girl. I sent my first 'novel' to a publisher when I was twelve (it was turned down, needless to say).'

WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST INSPIRATION FOR YOU TO BECOME A WRITER?

'Probably my mother. She always had her head in a book, and she was always reading to my brothers and me while we ate dinner. She's a very imaginative, creative person who encouraged us to read - and if you like reading books, you generally end up wanting to write them.'

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK AS A CHILD?

'I didn't have a favourite book as a child. I liked the Narnia books, The Nargun and the Stars by Patricia Wrightson, Josh by Ivan Southall, Snugglepot and Cuddlepie…lots of books.'

WHAT IS YOUR PROUDEST MOMENT?

'I don't know. I suppose I was proud of winning the Victorian Premier's Award, or the CBC award twice in a row, but I have to confess I felt prouder when I cooked my first lamb roast. It's hard to say.

WHAT ARE THE BEST AND WORST THINGS ABOUT BEING A WRITER?

'The best thing is making money out of something that's so much fun. The worst thing is editing. Once I've finished a book, I want it to go away and never come back - but it does, again and again. I hate that.'

WHERE DO YOU DO YOUR WRITING?

'At a nice, antique desk beside a window at the front of my house, from which point I can see all the tradesmen, visitors etc coming and going. It's distracting but I can't afford to miss the arrival of a plumber, when we need one.'

DID YOU ENJOY SCHOOL AND WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE SUBJECT?

'I didn't enjoy primary school much because my family moved around all the time. I enjoyed high school because I made some really, really good friends there. I liked English when it was all about writing stories and putting on plays, but when we started concentrating on essays for exams in the last two years, I lost my fondness for it. Art I always enjoyed, as long as we weren't doing pots or macramé.'

About the Authors:
CATHERINE JINKS is a three-time winner of the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year award and was honored with a Centenary Medal for her contribution to Australian children's literature. She lives in Leura, Australia.

CATHERINE JINKS was born in Brisbane, Australia in 1963. She grew up in Papua New Guinea and later spent four years studying medieval history at the University of Sydney. After working for several years in a bank, she married a Canadian journalist and lived for a short time in Nova Scotia, Canada. She is now a full-time writer, residing in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales with her husband Peter and their daughter Hannah. Catherine is a three-time winner of the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year award, and has also won a Victorian Premier's Literature Award, the Ena Noel Award for Children's Literature, and an Aurealis Award for Science Fiction. In 2001 she was presented with a Centenary Medal for her contribution to Australian Children's Literature.

Her website: www.catherinejinks.com