Most 15-year-olds' after-school activities solely include MySpace and watching MTV, and maybe even a keg party at a senior’s house come the weekend. Almost no tweens are worrying about book deals, meeting a deadline and figuring out how to cap off a 300-page novel. That is, unless you're Alexandra Adornetto.

Now 15-years-old, Aussie-born and based Adornetto made her first foray into the publishing world two years ago, with her debut children’s book, The Shadow Thief. Since then she’s landed a three-book deal with mega-publisher Harper Collins. We caught up with the author between school and planning her next book tour, and asked about her aspirations of becoming an actress, and why authors are all a little mad:

Any reason you decided to become a recluse at 13?
When writing The Shadow Thief I had an overwhelming desire to finish the project. It took over from everything else and became my sole focus for a while. I didn’t want to be a recluse but I decided to work this way because I was at this creative peak with a hundred ideas running through my head, and I wanted to get them all down. I had this idea that there was no time to lose and so figured that locking myself in my study was the only way not to break my focus. It worked for me because the first draft of the book was finished in a few weeks!

Do you think isolation helps the writing process?
I don’t think you have to go as far as becoming a recluse but I do believe that writing is a solitary activity. I think in order to develop as a writer you need to set aside reasonable blocks of time for it. Ideas and inspiration can come from anywhere – especially observing family and the people around you. Understanding people is pivotal if you want to be a good writer.

Where did the idea for the shadow thief come from?
The idea of shadows comes from J.M Barrie’s Peter Pan. Peter loses his shadow and attempts to stick it back on with soap until Wendy helpfully sews it back on. This idea got me thinking about what shadows could represent and what the repercussions of their disappearance might be. Shadows are something we don’t take much notice of – we are so used to their presence. I thought I would link them with individuality without which life would be pretty boring.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
That is a hard question to answer at fifteen, but there are several fields which interest me. I hope to pursue studies in either law or film and television when I finish high school. I also have a passion for the performing arts and would love to pursue a stage career. At the same time I don’t want to stop writing for children as it is too much fun to give up!

Any actresses you admire?
I have a great admiration for Cate Blanchett as I think she is very talented. I also enjoy Keira Knightley and I recently thought Ellen Page was impressive in Juno.

If you could act opposite any actor or actress, who would it be?
I would love to be in a Tim Burton film and act alongside Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter!

Any favorite writers?
As a child my favorite authors were Enid Blyton, Lewis Carroll and Roald Dahl. Recently I have really enjoyed Meg Rosoff and Markus Zusak. I also found Twilight by Stephanie Meyer a compelling read and all my girlfriends are reading it at the moment. I try to read broadly but a lot of time now goes into reading the prescribed texts for subjects like Literature and English at school.

What do you do on your time off?
I love to just hang out with friends, go to the movies or see a show. Phantom of the Opera was recently on in Melbourne and I’m still singing the songs around the house.

Do people treat you differently now that you're a published author?
My friends love to make jokes about it and any media attention surrounding it. They think it’s funny listening to me on the radio or seeing me doing a TV interview. But all this is in good humor and my friends are incredibly supportive. Now that they know what is involved in the writing process, they understand what I mean when I say, ‘I have a deadline and can’t go out.’

Do some people not take you seriously as a writer as a result of your age?
Nowadays this isn’t a problem anymore, because I have established a profile of sorts; but when I was trying to get published and contacting different people for advice it was a little frustrating. I have a mature sounding phone-voice so people thought I was eighteen to twenty. When I told them I was thirteen their tone changed very quickly! I got told on so many occasions how brutal the publishing industry is – I think they were trying to protect me from heartbreak! I am very grateful to the team at Harper Collins who did not see my age as a barrier but rather as a positive. They have always treated me like an adult.

What's your second book about?
The second novel, The Lampo Circus, is longer and more involved than Book One. It involves the children being abducted from their hometown and traveling to a place called The Conjuror’s Realm. Here they are trained by an out-of-work gladiator as a children’s army for the villain, Lord Aldor. He is planning a take-over of the realm and the children must go on a quest to warn the fairy queen. On their journey they encounter a number of sinister characters and learn that it does not pay to be too trusting.

Any advice on how to make up outrageous stories?
I think a little madness helps, as does a vivid imagination. You have to be able to lose yourself in a world of your making. I think writers of children’s stories are people who don’t want to grow up, so continue going on adventures through the stories they write.

~Alisa Gould-Simon