Chris d'Lacey

Q: What were you like at school?

Diligent. I tried hard. Passed all my exams - but only just.

Q: What did you want to be when you were a child?

Footballer, pop star or astronaut.

Q: Which three words describe you best?

Tall. Charming. Creative.

Q: What is your favourite word?

Crikey!

Q: What makes you cringe?

Poor grammar from adult wannabe writers.

Q: What are you afraid of?

Old age.

Q: When did you last have a really good laugh?

The other day during a school visit when a kid asked me if 'The Fire Within' was a metaphor for heartburn!

Q: What is your most treasured possession?

A bosun's whistle that belonged to my dad.

Q: What do you do as a hobby?

Write (and record) songs.

Q: What’s your favourite food?

Vanilla ice cream.

Q: What do you day dream about?

Dragons.

Q: What’s the most outrageous thing you’ve done?

I once ran onto a stage to shake hands with a country singer called Waylon Jennings. I've led a sheltered life...

Q: What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?

Stand up comic.

Q: Do you feel younger or older than your current age?

I don't pay any attention to age. And I like grey hair - on men AND women - so there!

Q: If you could meet one person, dead or alive, who would it be?

John Lennon.

Q: What quality do you most admire in a person?

Honesty.

Q: What is the most interesting place you have ever visited?

Norway. A member of my family lived on an island in the mouth of a fjord. Fantastic place.

Q: What is the best advice anyone has ever given you?

If you want to do well as a writer, write what your editor wants you to write; if you want to be happy, write what YOU want to write.

Q: What would you most like to change about yourself?

My temperament. Even now, I still get irritated too easily, especially at BAD DRIVERS (sorry).

Q: What has life taught you?

That nothing ever turns out the way you expect it to.

Q: How long have you been a writer?

23 years and counting.

Q: Was there a specific moment in your life when you decide to become a writer?

No. It started as a hobby when I was 32.

Q: Where do you do your writing?

On a tiny table between a TV and a sink. I kid you not.

Q: What are the best and worst things about being an author?

Best: all the compliments I receive from fans right around the world. Knowing that I might have changed someone's life for the better is fantastic. Worst: having to cope with the fact that writing is a business. So many wannabes just do not understand that.

Q: Where do you get your greatest ideas from?

My writing dragon, Gadzooks.

Q: Which of your own characters do you most identify with?

David Rain.

Q: What do you do to combat “writers’ block”?

Back up a little in the story to a chapter where I'm certain everything is right, then try taking off in a different direction.

Q: What was your favourite book as a child?

The Hobbit.

Q: What book do you wish you had written?

Holes by Louis Sachar.

Q: What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Believe in yourself and don't give up.