I visited the rather brilliant St Paul's School in Leamington the other day, and pupils from Years 3 and 4 had written some letters for me containing a LOAD of searching questions. Here are some of them...
From Michael and Daniel: "How many books do you own?"
You know, I've never actually counted them. There's one wall in the living room of my house which is nearly all bookshelves, and I keep my little library there. There must be something like 400-500 books in all? Some of them I've had since I was about 8 or 9! I've got a Kindle ereader and there are about 30 or 40 books on that, too.
From Aaron and Chloe: "Do you find it easy to get started on a book?"
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Remember what I was saying about planning plots the other day? Well, some stories have a clear and obvious starting point, but for some you can work out everything except where it should start. One of the good things about planning your stories carefully is that you can work it out bit by bit - you don't have to begin at the beginning!
From Tom and Finley, and Anais and Khushi: "Do your children/ other people help you write your stories?"
No. In fact, I don't let anyone even glance at my stories before they're finished. Some writers like to let people read chapters as they write them, but not me. I like to have the story finished, completely, before I let anyone read it.
From Jon-luc and Matthew: "What is your favourite school you have been to?"
St Paul's, Leamington, of course!
From two Jessicas: "Have you written any non-fiction books?"
Yes, there's a non-fiction book about crime which is part of my Saxby Smart series of detective stories, and I've written a book for older children and teenagers all about great writers and the history of books. I've got plans for some more non-fiction, but when I'll get around to writing them, I don't know!
From Joseph and Jack: "Do you have a Nintendo?"
No, but I play Xbox games with my son now and again - my all-time favourite game is Lego Star Wars.
From Oliver, Elliott and Jarrad: "Are you the writer in your family?"
I'm definitely the biggest bookworm in my whole family. Oddly enough, both my brothers are excellent artists (and so was my dad, actually), while my artistic skills are non-existent.
From Megan and Emily, and Alicia and Dylan: "How long does it take to write your books?"
On average, around 4 or 5 months. I think the book I wrote quickest was Deadline, which took a few weeks.
From Michael and Daniel: "How many books do you own?"
You know, I've never actually counted them. There's one wall in the living room of my house which is nearly all bookshelves, and I keep my little library there. There must be something like 400-500 books in all? Some of them I've had since I was about 8 or 9! I've got a Kindle ereader and there are about 30 or 40 books on that, too.
From Aaron and Chloe: "Do you find it easy to get started on a book?"
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Remember what I was saying about planning plots the other day? Well, some stories have a clear and obvious starting point, but for some you can work out everything except where it should start. One of the good things about planning your stories carefully is that you can work it out bit by bit - you don't have to begin at the beginning!
From Tom and Finley, and Anais and Khushi: "Do your children/ other people help you write your stories?"
No. In fact, I don't let anyone even glance at my stories before they're finished. Some writers like to let people read chapters as they write them, but not me. I like to have the story finished, completely, before I let anyone read it.
From Jon-luc and Matthew: "What is your favourite school you have been to?"
St Paul's, Leamington, of course!
From two Jessicas: "Have you written any non-fiction books?"
Yes, there's a non-fiction book about crime which is part of my Saxby Smart series of detective stories, and I've written a book for older children and teenagers all about great writers and the history of books. I've got plans for some more non-fiction, but when I'll get around to writing them, I don't know!
From Joseph and Jack: "Do you have a Nintendo?"
No, but I play Xbox games with my son now and again - my all-time favourite game is Lego Star Wars.
From Oliver, Elliott and Jarrad: "Are you the writer in your family?"
I'm definitely the biggest bookworm in my whole family. Oddly enough, both my brothers are excellent artists (and so was my dad, actually), while my artistic skills are non-existent.
From Megan and Emily, and Alicia and Dylan: "How long does it take to write your books?"
On average, around 4 or 5 months. I think the book I wrote quickest was Deadline, which took a few weeks.
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