Author Questionnaire

What book would you take on a desert island and why?
A big atlas... I might be able to work out where I am and I could also use it for beating hostile natives over the head.

Which of you characters would you be best friends with and why?
M.I. Gutzache's dog, Watson... dogs are more reliable than humans!

What was your favourite book as a child?
Tim and the Brave Sea Captain by Edward Ardizzone.

What book do you wish you'd written/illustrated?
I wish I'd written Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn and I wish I'd illustrated all the Where's Wally books 'cos then I'd be rich and able to buy my wife the swimming pool she's always fancied.

Which actor would you like to play you in a movie biopic?
Harry Hill - we have the same hairstyle!

When you were a child what did you want to do when you were grownup?
I didn't really think about it... in fact, I don't remember thinking about anything much when I was young! I only started working hard when I discovered what I enjoy doing best of all - drawing and writing and I was thirty something then!

What do you wish you were good/better at?
Writing and drawing - it's a daily battle to get things right and try and improve. Oh yes, and squash... I play every week but I lose too often!

Where's your favourite place?
Musslewick Bay in Pembrokeshire. I go camping there every spring in my VW camper van and it's beautiful!

What couldn't you live without?
My family! We all get on well and that's what makes life worthwhile. Oh yeah, and my “healthy bread-pudding” - my sister gave me the recipe and I make some every week - stick a slab in the microwave for 20 seconds... Yummy!

Who would you want to be stuck in a lift with?
My mate Mike. He's 6ft 4inches tall, so I could sit on his shoulders and reach the hatch in the ceiling to escape.

What's your favourite TV show?
Any programme with Ray Meares in it, I love watching him camping out in the wilds eating wriggly grubs and other foul-tasting foods.

What's your favourite food? Rhubarb crumble with custard! Where do you write?
In my studio in the loft. That's where I do my illustration too. I live up there with my dogs who snooze by the wood burning stove.

Do you have any lucky writer's charms or writing quirks?
Not really but I love my studio and I have to have everything just right up there before I can get to work.

What other jobs have you done?
I have worked as an art director in an advertising studio, as a graphic designer, a book designer, a college lecturer in graphic design/typography, a writer and an illustrator.

What’s the best thing about being an author?
The luxury of being paid to use your imagination. I work as an illustrator and a writer and as with all creative jobs, it's about having good ideas. It doesn't matter how well you can draw or write, if you don't have good ideas you're in trouble!

What's the worst?
Working on your own means you miss out on the laughs you have when working in a busy studio. You also miss out on having other people around to discuss your ideas with.

Which of your own books is your favourite?
Nasty Nature - I illustrated it a few years ago so the drawings could be better, but I still like the jokes!

Which author/illustrator (living or dead) would you most like to meet?
I had a chat with Quentin Blake once but I'd love to watch him at work in his studio - I wouldn't say much, just peer over his shoulder to see how he works!

If you could travel back in time, where would you go?
Back to stone age times to watch the cave painters in action. These were the very first artists - I'd ask them why they felt such a strong urge to draw.