Michael Leach

Q: What were you like at school?

Restless. There was a vast interesting world out there and I couldn't wait to see it. The one bugbear was that teachers were always putting children into groups. I discovered then that I worked better by myself. Teams suit some people and don't suit others. Maybe that's one of the characteristics of a writer. It took a few years to understand that the things I'd learned at school were amazingly useful. Even today.

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

An explorer. But I quickly learned that there weren't many unmapped places left. So I then planned to be a re-explorer and that's worked quite well for me so far.

Q: Which three words describe you best?

Adventurous, curious and rural

Q: What makes you cringe?

Pretentiousness and politics

Q: What are you afraid of?

Boredom.

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

Today....and yesterday....and the day before etc

Q: What is your most treasured possession?

Imagination. With that we can have or do absolutely anything

Q: What do you do as a hobby?

I don't see my job as a chore. Most of it is enjoyable, so hobbies aren't hugely important. I read endlessly, am fascinated by history, music is an integral part of my life - so I sing a lot.

Q: What strange habits do you have?

Strange habits? No not me. It's everyone else who's odd.

Q: What’s your favourite food?

Fresh, ripe mango

Q: What do you day dream about?

Tomorrow

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

Hand reared a baby leopard during my gap year. He got to be a good friends and only occasionally drew blood.

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

Too many to list.

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

Like everyone else, I feel younger than I am. That's just simple human optimism and it's wonderfully healthy.

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

Ernest Shackleton the Antarctic explorer. He never gave up, whatever the odds.

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

Humour.

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

Ah well,I've been lucky and have visited all 7 continents. I'm not keen on cities but almost everywhere else is interesting in some way.

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

Be yourself and enjoy life. We're only here once, so have a good trip.

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

I'd really like another 300 years of life in front of me. I haven't found a sure-fire method yet but I'm still working on it.

Q: What has life taught you?

Tolerance. Live and let live. Life is just too short and valuable to waste it arguing.

Q: How long have you been a writer?

All my life. Books fascinated me as a child, they opened doors to places I had never seen. They showed endless people, adventures, worlds and times. How can that limitless magic fail to inspire anyone?

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

When I read my first book, somewhere around the age of 6 I imagine.

Q: Where do you do your writing?

Absolutely anywhere. At home, on planes, in hotels, in forests. Writing is a thought process not a mechanical event. I wrote one entire chapter in my head during a long walk in the rain. Writers do what ever works for them.

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

The best thing is the freedom. I love wild places and wildlife.To gather material for my books I need to visit the animals' habitat. That's taken me to the Amazon,Galapagos, Himalayas, East Africa, Greenland, Caribbean etc. It's exactly what I would do if I were rich. Not being rich, I must just be lucky. To be honest I don't find that there are any major disadvantages to being a writer. The money is a bit variable but that doesn't worry me much.

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

Do something completely different for a while. Go for a walk, cut the hedge, anything that takes your mind somewhere else.

Q: What was your favourite book as a child?

The Borrowers

Q: What book do you wish you had written?

There's not enough space on this website to answer that question honestly. There is not just one book but but a whole library.

Q: What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Write. This is a skill, it requires practice and honing. The more you write, the better you get. It's just like playing the piano. Start today, make mistakes, rewrite, throw stuff away and begin again. In a year you'll be better than you are now. Don't worry about going wrong, nobody will shoot you. And you will go wrong. We all do. Soon you go wrong a little less often and, one day, the writing starts working. And that's amazing.