I was born in London in 1975 to an English mother and a Japanese father, the eldest of five children. I went to the French Lycée in South Kensington and was a terrible pupil. I hated school and refused to work and did astonishingly badly in all subjects except for English. I spent a lot of my time writing with my left-hand (I'm right handed) in an attempt to while away the hours. In secondary school I would sit at the back of the class and write stories, which I got away with because my teachers thought I was taking notes. Occasionally, when the boredom got too much, I would throw my friend's shoes out of the window. Being half Japanese, I was sent to Japanese Saturday school. In the term report, the teacher commented that I would make more progress if I didn't always insist on sitting with my feet up on the desk. This still remains my favourite writing position, which is why I now have a reclining chair and a cordless keyboard.

 

After university, I taught English as a Foreign Language, worked in IT, was a freelance translator... I finally got fed-up of drifting and did a PGCE in 2000. Between 2001 and 2003 I worked as a Year 1 teacher at Long Close School in Berkshire. Having been a 'school refuser' there was a bit of irony there. But I found that I loved teaching and I was lucky enough to have the best kids in the world in my class. While I was teaching full-time, I wrote A Note of Madness (and didn't get much sleep). In 2004 I left classroom teaching and began to divide my time between writing and peripatetic teaching: giving private English tuition and also teaching at the lovely Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith. This gave me time to write From Where I Stand (a psychological thriller), followed by Without Looking Back (about a family on the run), followed by A Voice in the Distance (a sequel to A Note of Madness). I have recently started writing for adults.

My teenage brother Tiggy (a.k.a Shin) is a talented pianist and has recently started studying at The Royal College of Music, despite auditioning with a pulled ligament in his thumb (spot the proud big sister here). Although his personality is nothing like Flynn's, he inspired me to write A Note of Madness, as well as letting me borrow quotes from his Revised Musical Dictionary, and checking the story for musical glitches. My sister Thalia is aptly named after the Muse of Comedy - a lot of the witty lines in A Note of Madness are hers. With her acerbic wit, she also keeps my feet firmly on the ground (actually she tries to bury them). My sister Tansy helps me tremendously with the all the plots and ideas, which often call for hours and hours of discussion, and her support is invaluable. My wonderful friend and fellow-writer Akiko gives me honest and constructive criticism on all my books and I value her input immensely. My brother Tadashi has also been supportive. My mother spends days laboriously proof-reading my books with infinite care. Brendan Davis was the first outsider to believe in me, for which I will always be grateful. My agent, Linda Davis, has the patience of a saint, is a wonderfully calming influence, always seems to be there for me and makes it all happen. And last, but by no means least, I am lucky enough to have a fabulous editor and friend in Charlie Sheppard at Random House.

• I got a D in my English Literature GCSE (because I answered one of the questions on the wrong book - duh!)
• I passed my driving test on my 6th attempt.
• I don't speak any Japanese and have never been to Japan.
• I made my stage debut when I was 8 and picked out of the audience and taken back stage to play the part of a baby monster.
• In my teens, I auditioned for Miss Saigon and The King and I and didn't get either parts (although I was told it was 'a close call')
• I started playing the violin at 2 and gave up at 11.
• I taught myself to play the piano.
• I was my brother's first piano teacher.
• I used to play truant from school and hide out in my local library (wild!)
• The poem Raven writes in From Where I Stand is the last verse of a poem I wrote at school when I was 12.
• I'm allergic to caffeine, alcohol and cats.
• My nickname is Tabby.
• I was named after my mother's friend's cat.
• My full name is Tabitha Sayo Victoria Anne Suzuma.
• I hate shopping.
• I am ridiculously tidy.
• As a child, my hair was so long it reached the backs of my knees. (I now hate long hair).
  
• I love the sea and have even swum in it while it was hailing.
• I wrote my first full length book when I was 17. It was called Angels on the Wild Side and was about teenage gangsterism. David Fickling wanted to publish it but his superiors thought it was too risky, so he took me out to lunch instead.
• I hate getting up in the morning.
• I do most of my writing at night.
• I sometimes go to Tesco's in my pyjamas.
• Art galleries and museums bore me.
  
• My Year 1 pupils can draw better than me.
• I can't cook (except pancakes because they're fun).
• I don't have time to read very much anymore (although I used to be a complete book worm).