The Author Hotline
is
being developed by CW4K, or Creative Writing 4 Kids. They are the company behind a website that enables children to create and publish their own stories online. In its first year it has signed up over 2000 members and has been enthusiastically received by children, parents and teachers. In fact the response has been so encouraging that they are planning a huge expansion of its services. Embedding The Author Hotline into the site is part of that expansion...
For more information on CW4K CLICK HERE
Q: What were you like at school?
Very quiet. I waited until I'd left before I started causing real trouble.
Q: What did you want to be when you were a child?
An adult. Never really made it.
Q: Which three words describe you best?
Hard. To. Describe.
Q: What is your favourite word?
Veldt. Or anything rude that sounds funny as well.
Q: What makes you cringe?
Any photograph of myself where I'm trying to look moody. See profile picture.
Q: What are you afraid of?
Flying, crying and dying. In fact, anything that ends in 'ing'. Including anything.
Q: When did you last have a really good laugh?
Whenever my son Charlie falls over. But he's 8, so he doesn't do it so often as he used to. Unless I trip him.
Q: What is your most treasured possession?
My son Charlie. Though he's not really a posession. More like something that's always hanging around.
Q: What do you do as a hobby?
Ehhhh. I write.
Q: What strange habits do you have?
In the interest of public safety, I decline to answer.
Q: What’s your favourite food?
Kraft Macaroni cheese. But I don't put milk or butter in it, like you should. I like it all sticky.
Q: What do you day dream about?
Being very rich. And much taller.
Q: What’s the most outrageous thing you’ve done?
In the interest of keeping myself out of prison, I decline to answer. But I did once jump off a speeding train. And a galloping horse. Neither were thought through properly, so don't try them at home.
Q: What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?
I'd like to be a rock star. If you ever heard me play guitar you'd know why I never seriously attempted it.
Q: Do you feel younger or older than your current age?
Younger. By about 20 years.
Q: If you could meet one person, dead or alive, who would it be?
F Scott Fitzgerald. But he's been dead a long time so I probably wouldn't get much of a conversation out of him.
Q: What quality do you most admire in a person?
Lack of hypocrisy, a sense of humour and the desire to spend money on me.
Q: What is the most interesting place you have ever visited?
Texas. Which doesn't mean I liked it.
Q: What is the best advice anyone has ever given you?
Never put in contact lenses after you've been touching Jalapeno Peppers
Q: What would you most like to change about yourself?
My inability to tell the truth. No, wait! That's a lie.
Q: What has life taught you?
Absolutely nothing at all. I prefer to get my advice from song lyrics and movies.
Q: How long have you been a writer?
I've been writing books for about 10 years. Wrote plays and poetry for a lot longer but nobody gets to read those.
Q: Was there a specific moment in your life when you decide to become a writer?
Not really. I decided to become a professional writer when I realised I was 35 and still earning £5 and hour.
Q: Where do you do your writing?
At a computer desk behind my living room couch. I can see the TV from there.
Q: What are the best and worst things about being an author?
1. Thinking up weird plots that nobody has done before. 2. The effort of thinking up plots that nobody has done before.
Q: Where do you get your greatest ideas from?
I just sit down and think them up. I figure that's where they ought to come from.
Q: Which of your own characters do you most identify with?
Each book I write has one character who is based entirely on me. So, obviously I like them best. But they usually die.
Q: What do you do to combat “writers’ block”?
I keep thinking until it goes away. No matter how long it takes.
Q: What was your favourite book as a child?
I only read adult books because there was a bargain bin in the bookstore in the shop next to my house and that's all it had. So my favourite was 'The Great Gatsby' by F Scott Fitzgerald - which obvioulsy wasn't a best seller in those days.
Q: What book do you wish you had written?
It would have to be The Great Gatsby. Not a single gunfight or mass murder in it and I still loved the book.
Q: What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
Don't be afraid of anything. Or, indeed, anything that ends in 'ing'. And use the internet. It's a great research tool
Colony
ISBN
978-0-19-275539-1
Published By
Oxford University Press
Status
In Print
Crash
ISBN
978-0-19-272079-5
Published By
Oxford University Press
Status
In Print
Bunker 10
ISBN
978-0-19-275486-8
Published By
Oxford University Press
Status
In Print
Hunting Charlie Wilson
Published By
Oxford University Press
Status
In Print
Secret City
Published By
Oxford University Press
Status
In Print
The Ghost That Haunted Itself
ISBN
1-84018-482-5
Published By
Mainstream
Status
In Print
The Emperor's New Kilt
ISBN
1-84018-378-0
Published By
Mainstream
Status
In Print
The Town Below The Ground
ISBN
1-84018-231-8
Published By
Mainstream Publishers
Status
In Print
Swing
ISBN
978-0-19-847615-3
Published By
Oxford University Press
Status
In Print
Storm Chasers
ISBN
978-0-19-847628-3
Published By
Oxford University Press
Status
In Print
Edinburgh: City of the Dead
ISBN
1-84502-035-9
Published By
Black and White
Status
In Print
The Wee Book of Edinburgh
ISBN
1-845020-06-5
Published By
Black and White
Status
In Print
Who Wants to be an Edinburgher?
ISBN
1-84502-016-2
Published By
Black and White
Status
In Print