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?
Angelic, hardworking, happy and successful. Where did it all go wrong?
Q: What did you want to be when you were a child?
A vet.
Q: Which three words describe you best?
Glass half empty
Q: What is your favourite word?
aardwolf
Q: What has life taught you?
If you want something to happen, you need to make it happen, not leave it to chance. As Gary Player said: 'The more I practise, the luckier I get.'
Q: What would you most like to change about yourself?
I would like a new pair of knees and a personality transplant, which would allow me to carry on playing sport and keep cool when my children misbehave.
Q: What is the best advice anyone has ever given you?
Seize the day. I have a Mark Twain quotation on my office wall:'Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do.'
Q: If you could meet one person, dead or alive, who would it be?
The genie in Aladdin's lamp. That way I could ask to meet three people: Sir David Attenborough, Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama.
Q: What is the most interesting place you have ever visited?
The Borneo rainforest.
Q: Do you feel younger or older than your current age?
Much younger, until I try to touch my toes.
Q: What strange habits do you have?
None. I gave away the nun's outfit years ago.
Q: What do you day dream about?
Sorry, what was the question again?
Q: What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?
I'm having enough problems attempting this one, to be honest.
Q: What’s your favourite food?
Chocolate, pasta, bacon sandwiches and a spicy crab noodle soup from Vietnam (but not all together).
Q: What do you do as a hobby?
When I have time I like to draw some of the animals that I have encountered on my travels around the world.
Q: What’s the most outrageous thing you’ve done?
I once pretended to be in a different house at school and sneaked into their weekly assembly, because I knew that they were going to listen to 'Us and Them' by Pink Floyd. I can't tell you about the rest.
Q: What is your most treasured possession?
1) My children, then a big gap. 2) A death's head hawk moth found dead in a hotel garden in Laos. 3) A drawing of an owl butterfly by Gary Hodges.
Q: When did you last have a really good laugh?
Watching a tv advertisement claiming that McDonalds meals are healthy. Reading 'Down Under' by Bill Bryson.
Q: What are you afraid of?
Dentists, injections, guns, religious fanatics of all persuasions, and leaving behind a broken planet for my children.
Q: What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
Marry someone rich or someone who works in publishing.
Q: What book do you wish you had written?
The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me by Roald Dahl
Q: What was your favourite book as a child?
Gorilla Adventure by Willard Price. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr Seuss.
Q: What do you do to combat “writers’ block”?
Eat plenty of fibre for breakfast.
Q: Where do you get your greatest ideas from?
I steal them from my children. Most of my own great ideas turn out to have been used by someone else already.
Q: Where do you do your writing?
In a cosy room overlooking my garden shed, which is where I would do all my writing if I were a serious author.
Q: What are the best and worst things about being an author?
Best: Being told by someone how much their child enjoyed your book. Worst: Having a great idea for a new book that nobody else thinks is a great idea.
Q: Was there a specific moment in your life when you decide to become a writer?
No. The idea has always lurked in the shadows like a neglected family pet. Every now and then it creeps up behind me and bites me on the ankle to remind me that I haven't paid it any attention for a while.
Q: How long have you been a writer?
I remember writing poems when I was nine, but my first book wasn't published until 30 years later. So I've been a writer for 40 years and a successful one for 10!
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Journey into the Rainforest
ISBN
9780199107315
Published By
Oxford University Press
Status
In Print -
Journey into Africa
ISBN
9780199108138
Published By
Oxford University Press
Status
In Print -
Dramatic Displays
ISBN
0431166579
Published By
Heinemann/Raintree
Status
In Print -
Powerful Predators
ISBN
0431166667
Published By
Heinemann/Raintree
Status
In Print -
Ferocious Fighters
ISBN
0431166560
Published By
Heinemann/Raintree
Status
In Print -
Fantastic Feeders
ISBN
0431166552
Published By
Heinemann/Raintree
Status
In Print -
Magnificent Movers
ISBN
043116665X
Published By
Heinemann/Raintree
Status
In Print -
Super Survivors
ISBN
0431166684
Published By
Heinemann/Raintree
Status
In Print -
Incredible Life Cycles
ISBN
0431166676
Published By
Heinemann/Raintree
Status
In Print -
Marvellous Migrators
ISBN
0431166587
Published By
Heinemann/Raintree
Status
In Print
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