Illustrator Q&A with Kat Chadwick

Here at Omnibus lately we've had the pleasure of working with designer and illustrator Kat Chadwick on a number of different projects. In 2011 there was Shirl and the Wollomby Show, written by Janeen Brian and illustrated by Kat. Knitting sheep – what's not to love? Then out this year is Dog on Log, written by Tania Ingram. This is a very simple text but there is no shortage of action in Kat's illustrations. And just lately a cover for a book we're really looking forward to seeing on shelves in August this year, Holiday of a Lifetime: Disaster Diary by Megan de Kantzow. Kat's cover illustration and design for this book perfectly captures the main character Anna in all her sweet neurotic glory.

So after all this work we thought it was time to ask Kat a few questions that weren't along the lines of 'We need a cover in a week -- can you do it?'

 O: What is it that you like about drawing animals?

K: Well, I like illustrating most things but what I really enjoy about drawing the story-book animals is the process of humanising. Working out just how far to push them so they are still animals but do things physically that an animal just wouldn’t do. I like the gentle humour and slight absurdity this can create. And the way it can craft individual personalities the viewer can hopefully relate and respond to.

 

O: Do you procrastinate? Are you an early-morning or late-at-night worker?

K: Oh yes, I certainly can procrastinate! Especially on a special project like an illustrated book which I tend to look at as a labour of love. Sometimes the desire to make it the best it can be can be a bit overwhelming and counter-productive. But with most of my regular illustration projects — I work with a wide range of clients: editorial, educational, advertising/design campaigns, product design — I usually work quite efficiently. Time lines for these projects tend to be short and there is no time for self-doubt and procrastination. To be honest, I seem to thrive on a tight deadline. Generally I work fairly regular hours, I usually get to the studio about 9.30-10 and head home at about 6 o’clock. However, if I’m super busy, I’ll work whatever hours are necessary to meet the deadline ... 5 am starts, working late into the evening, the occasional all-nighter. Luckily I don’t have much of a commute as my studio is across the road from my house.

Kat at work

O: Where do you get your inspiration for your illustrations?

K: From a whole range of sources. Fellow artists and illustrators, especially the amazing talent on my agent Jacky Winter’s roster. Old and new picture books. I love the work of Richard Scarry and have a good collection of vintage Little Golden Books. I like following various illustrators’ blogs and Instagram updates. And of course just observing daily life is very inspiring ... a hipster waiter wearing braces and a bow tie at my favourite cafe, a dachshund dressed as a hotdog at a Dog Fancy Dress Show event held at our local store, lovely colour combinations in an interiors magazine, the shadows cast as I walk down the street, interesting typography on a packet, the patterned bark on a neighbourhood tree, a child walking down the street holding a party bag and a balloon, many of these details make it into my work.

O: What does your family think of your drawing?

K: My mum and dad have always been very supportive ... the walls of their house are full of my work dating back almost 30 years (I find the dark gothic period a bit embarrassing). My nieces Coco and Babette enjoy what I do too. When really young, they constantly wanted me to draw for them. Alas there were only so many princesses and mermaids I was willing to do so we made a little rule they had to ask for something new each time. Now they are bigger (6 and 8) they are both confident drawers who enjoy making their own pictures. Coco says she wants to grow up to be an artist who also looks after animals in Africa. Sounds good to me :)

O: Shirl and the Wollomby Show is about knitting and crafting – do you like to do either?

K: I really like sewing and do the odd embroidery project, usually a funny picture for my husband on our wedding anniversary. Sometimes I make personalised sock animals for friends too. I’m not much of a knitter, however a few years ago I did go through a phase where I knitted four very big Fair Isle jumpers. I didn’t use a pattern, I just made them up. I used lots of different coloured wool, knitted rows of abstract patterns and bobbles, plus things like flowers and ducks. I knitted one for my mum, one for my sister, one for a friend and one for myself. Since then all I’ve knitted is a lumpy black and white striped football scarf. Its a bit scratchy so I haven’t really worn it much!

O: What are you reading at the moment?

K: I have an ever growing pile of books beside my bed that I dip in and out of. I enjoy a variety of things, especially thrillers and stories about human relationships. These are currently at the top of the pile: Walter Mosely: Little Scarlet, Anna Funder: All that I am, Peter Carey: True History of the Kelly Gang, and Marjorie Bligh’s Home: hints on managing everything!

O: As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

K: I always wanted to do something creative, something to do with drawing or making. There was also a little phase of wanting to be a Cruise Director like Julie McCoy on the 70s TV show, The Love Boat. I thought she and the Pacific Princess were so glamorous. I still get a tiny bit excited when I hear the show’s theme song :)

O: What do you like to do when you’re not illustrating and designing?

K: Cooking for friends and family. Gardening and working out ways to keep our naughty cat out of the vegie patch. Browsing the occasional hard rubbish collection for treasures. Reading. Going to art galleries. Biking. Friday morning walks with my husband to the Vic Market to do the weekly food shop. Sneaking away from the studio for $7 Monday daytime screenings at the Nova cinema (the joys of being self-employed).

O: Do you have any pets? Tell us about them.

K: We have a cat called Puddin’. She is black and white, very fluffy with a magnificent plume of a tail. When we got Puddin’, she was a one-year-old homeless mother, recovering from cat flu. She was very shy when she came home with us but quickly became a much loved part of our little family. Her favourite things are 1. obsessively watching water disappear down our bathroom sink plug hole, 2. skidding down our steep wooden stairs and 3. trying to go to the toilet in my vegie patch (even though she’s got plenty of other options)!

O: When was the last time you went on a bus?

K: Returning from a little holiday at Barwon Heads last summer. It was about 5.30 in the evening when the bus picked us up from the side of the road and the sun was still hot. We were licking ice creams and I felt sandy and salty after a day on the beach. Good times. 

Thanks, Kat!  

Q&A with Peter Cooper

Out this month is is the exciting second book in Peter Cooper's Tales of the Blue Jade fantasy series. Peter blogs regularly here but today we have him right here on the ol' bus to tell us about his writing process. And if you'd like to test your knowledge on the series so far, head on over here and take a quiz!

How long did it take you to write The Ghost of Ping-Ling?

All up close to eight years, although the story evolved so much I probably wrote closer to four different novels in that time. 

Do you procrastinate?

It depends a little on whether I'm writing or editing. When I'm editing I can occasionally drift off to check email or the news or stare aimlessly into space. I tend to be more focussed when I'm writing because I'm caught up in the creative process.

Are you an early-morning or late-at-night writer?

If I could choose my optimal writing time it would be from around 8 am to early afternoon. That seems to be when my head is clearest and I'm most able to focus. However, because I work full time my writing tends to happen between about 8 pm and 10 pm. I'm not as productive as I would be earlier in the day but I usually manage to get a good amount done.

Where did you get the idea for The Ghost of Ping-Ling?

From many places over a long period of time. The story started life as a satirical take on Lord of the Rings (believe it or not) and then as time went by it became less satirical and less like Lord of the Rings, until eventually it took on a life of its own. The idea of setting it in an Asian-style world came later in the form of an 'aha' moment and was mostly inspired by my love of the television series Monkey, as well as Journey to the West which the TV series was based on.

When did you write your first book and how old were you?

When I was about 12. It was a science-fiction saga called 'Children of the Empire', about a future human empire populated entirely by children. They would listen to loud music in their spaceships and all kinds of cool things like that. It probably won't be in print any time soon.

What does your family think of your writing?

My twin five-year-old sons are my biggest fans. Whenever we go into a bookshop they find my book and yell out that it's 'Daddy's book!' then busily look for their names in the front. They were quite put out when book 2 had Mummy's name in the front instead of theirs.

What are you reading at the moment?

I have a few books on the go, including Emily Rodda's Wizard of Rondo and a book of short stories by Sean Williams. I just started reading Artemis Fowl which is incredible. I'm also reading my sons the Hobbit, which we're all enjoying immensely.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

When I was a teenager all I wanted to do was join the Navy, but they knocked me back on medical grounds. Then I wanted to be an archaeologist and an explorer, and I actually went to uni to study archaeology though I quickly found out it wasn't as exciting as Indiana Jones made it look. Eventually I settled on engineering, although it took me until my late 20s to reach that point.

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

Spending time with my family rates highest. I also like bike riding and recently I've started doing Judo, which I really enjoy although it's a constant reminder that I'm no longer 20 years old.

When was the last time you went on a bus?

A few weeks ago, when I pulled a hamstring muscle at Judo and couldn't ride my bike to work. It was a nice ride but alas not my preferred mode of transport.

Q&A with Edwina Howard

The Ice-cream War was discovered by our intrepid Conductor on one of her expeditions into the Slush Pile (unfortunate industry slang for 'ever-growing mountain of unsolicited manuscripts'), a term that, in this particular case, is hilariously appropriate because this book is all about frozen goodies (slushies, geddit?).

Awkward punning aside, first-time author Edwina Howard is a rare find and so we thought you might like to find out a little bit more about her. We asked her the Omnibus Eleven Questions to get to the bottom of her genius.

How long did it take you to write The Ice-Cream War?

I guess it took about five years from the time the very first idea trickled into my head. But it only took about six months of solid work.

Do you procrastinate?

Well, I don’t think of it as procrastination exactly, but I have noticed that if you delay things for long enough they frequently either cease to need doing or you simply forget they ever needed doing.

Are you an early-morning or late-at-night writer?

I am the Nite Riter! Remember me when you look at the night sky … (Sorry, that’s a rather sad Mad Max reference.)  I’m not so much of a morning person any more, probably because I do most of my writing late at night, hence creating a vicious-circle-type effect.

Where did you get the idea for The Ice-Cream War?

In my first ever writing notebook I wrote 'something about ice-cream' which seemed terribly cliched. I started asking a few what if questions, tried to turn it around a little, and it went from there. Jake simply came to life in my head, and I wanted an animal character who wasn’t remotely cutesy (as none of my animals ever are). It seemed like a fun thing to pull ice-cream around in an ice-cream cart. Plus I listened to the radio and they were talking about getting boys to read. I kind of thought, well, if it’s funny and fast moving it should be entertaining. Reading should be fun.

Have you ever had your own Shetland pony?

Sadly I have never owned a Shetland pony. I was lucky enough to own a very clever 13.2hh bay pony called Tommy who was incredibly cunning and always played plenty of tricks.  He had a particular way of peeking at you beneath from his forelock which is pure Hoppy.

When did you write your first book and how old were you?

I have always been terribly lazy. My stories have always taken place in my head. It took until my mid-thirties to start committing anything at all to paper!

What does your family think of your writing?

Sometimes they probably wish they could eat it. Dinner can be late at our house.

What are you reading at the moment?

I usually have a handful of books on the go. At the moment they are Margaret Atwood’s The Year of the Flood, Phillip K. Dick’s The Turning Wheel, Eyewitness to History (I never knew they saw a UFO on Apollo 11!), T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats (illustrated by Axel Scheffler – which I appropriated from the children), and Roald Dahl’s The Twits (the whole thing about beards and with the glass eye always cracks me up).

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A dressage rider, a spy, a rock star, an actress and funnily enough I really wanted to do something with books.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

Sadly I wish I could just write! But if you insist, I like sleeping too.  And reading. And spending time with my family (and other animals).

When was the last time you went on a bus?

I love buses!  There aren’t too many out here in the country though. I think the last bus I went on was a few months ago, and it was to the beach, which is a rather nice place to take a bus.

Q&A with John Heffernan

As promised, we bring you an interview with John Heffernan, author of Harry's War, out this month, and already being reviewed here. Teachers' notes available here.

What gave you the idea for the story of Harry and his grandpa? 

Harry's War is based around the stories that an old man tells his grandson about his time in the second world war. He makes the stories so exciting and fantastic that the boy dreams about being a soldier himself. I realised how easy it is to impress young minds and fill them with romantic ideas about war which is a horrible experience in reality. I also realised how people often embellish the stories they tell about things they do such as fighting in a war. There can be a fine line between telling a good story and telling lies. Harry's War is partly (but only partly) about that. It's also about the secrets families keep and how they will often tell lies to guard those secrets from being discovered. And it's about how knowing the truth will in the end make you stronger than all the lies in the world.

Harry thinks a lot about exciting things that happen in war. Do you think that going to war is an adventure? 

War could be one of the most exciting adventures ever, I imagine. In fact that is exactly why so many young men rushed off to the first and second world wars - for the adventure and excitement. Of course the reality proved to be something else entirely, far worse than any of them could ever have imagined. But that's another story.

Grandpa tells great stories about what he did in the war. Are they based on true stories? Did you read a lot of war stories before you wrote the book? 

Yes, Grandpa's war stories are based on factual accounts of war experiences by real soldiers. I read quite a few such accounts before I wrote the book.

At the end of the story, Harry does not seem to be very forgiving. Do you see Harry and Grandpa ever being close again after the things that happen in the book? 

I do think that Harry will forgive his grandfather for what he did, but it will take time, possibly years. Harry's other experiences, especially with Will in the boat, but also his talk with Grandpa's mate Jock, will help him mature and in some ways understand why Grandpa did what he did. It will also help him understand that Grandpa is also suffering, even though he may not show it on the surface. And finally, Harry might come to realise that he is quite like Grandpa himself in many ways.

You have written books with boys and girls as main characters. What do you admire in your characters? 

I'm not sure that ‘admire’ is quite the right word for how I feel about my characters. In some cases, yes, I do admire them - such as Rachael in Rachael's Forest for her courage and strength of characters, and Luke in Where There's Smoke for his loyalty and courage. But mostly it is empathy I feel for them, and an urge to go with them on their journeys through life. I feel that in some ways I am Marty in Marty's Shadow, struggling to understand the chaos of his life. Or I am Matt in A Horse Called Elvis, feeling that overwhelming love of a beautiful animal. And in Harry's War, I especially feel for Harry in the trust he places in his grandfather, and the great yearning he has to find out the truth about his father.

In Harry's War and in your last book, Where There's Smoke, you show families in very difficult situations. Do you think that people need to be in a crisis before they can show their best qualities? 

Not necessarily. Some people are able to show their strengths without being put under any strain. But most of my characters are quite ordinary people, often with flaws. They're not automatic heroes, that's for sure, just people. And yet they are capable of great acts of courage when put to the test. And I think that is true of many people in real life; they need to be tested to really show their strengths.

You live on a farm, and your books are often set in the country. Are country people different from city people? 

I actually do believe that country people are different from city people. I mean this particularly in regard to small country towns where people know each other and often care about each other. Cities are such impersonal places where anonymity is the norm and it's much harder to feel for others.

Which of your books is your favourite, and why? 

I don't have any one favourite. Most of my books are very important to me. They're sort of like my children because I've spent a lot of time creating them. Having said that, several books stand out and have a special place in my mind for various reasons. Spud was my first novel and will always be special for that reason. A Horse Called Elvis is about a very, very special animal in my life. My Dog says something I feel strongly about war and human suffering, seen through the eyes of a young boy. Marty's Shadow is possibly the most emotional book I've ever written. Where There's Smoke is an attempt to grasp human bravery. And Harry's War is very special because I've never felt quite so close to all the characters, young Harry in particular.

A very special guest: L.S. Lawrence

A special treat today. The mysterious L.S. Lawrence has granted us an audience. Imagine you're sitting in a book-lined study with a view of a back yard. Sitting opposite you is a professorial type with half-glasses, a hound's-tooth jacket and a bow tie. He is blinking, with mild astonishment, at the rainbow lorikeets in the lemon-scented gum outside. This is what you ask him and this is what he tells you:

Why were you drawn to the King Arthur story?
Because there's nothing like a mystery, and that's a mystery. Nobody knows anything much. Everything was in chaos in Britain, no government, no law. The towns were mostly in ruins, with bandits and invading barbarians everywhere. But there is just one story written at the time that tells of a British war-leader named Ambrosius Aurelianus, who won a great victory against the invaders somewhere in the west of the country. And that's just about all we have. Centuries later, people began to tell stories about a king called Arthur, who beat the barbarians and established a kingdom called Camelot where, for a time, there was law and justice.

Is there any truth to these stories? Nobody knows. Are they possible at all? Some aren't, but what if the others are at least partly true?

And that is the beginning of all story-telling. The beginning is always a question, and the question always starts with the words ‘What if ...?’

What if the stories are sort-of true? Not all true, because for that you need magic, and knights and dragons and giants and the Holy Grail, and all sorts of stuff that was added in later. But what if there was a boy who grew up to be a great leader? What if he had, well, sort-of knights – armoured horsemen, anyway? Where would he get them? Where would he get the horses for them?

And then I tripped over an odd fact. Archeologists dig up all sorts of things, including the teeth and bones of horses. In a ‘dig’ in the west of Britain, near a place called Cadbury Rings, they found some. Now, most horses in ancient Britain were just ponies – very small. But these were big horses. And more; there's a way of testing the teeth that tells scientists where the horse was born. Two or three of these horses came from northern Spain.

Imagine that! Somebody had fetched some of the famous Andalusian horses, and had brought them back to Britain. Who did that? And how did they do it?

And there was the start of the story.

What do you admire about Alexa in Horses for King Arthur and Sara in Escape by Sea?  
Well, first of all, courage. It's not that they're never afraid, it's that they don't allow their fear to beat them. That's what courage is, you know.

Then, decency. The idea that there is an underlying law, no matter what other people think or do. Sara won't allow her father to kill the man who cheated him, because it wouldn't be right. Alexa does her best to care for the warriors wounded after the battle because it's right to do that. They do what is right, just because it's right, not because it's convenient or easy. That's what I mean by decency.

And lastly, independence. They grew up in a place and a time where women had few rights and little freedom, in theory anyway. But in all times and all places, there have been women who made their own way, no matter what. I can only guess at what they had to go through. But I can write about them, and admire them for what they did.

Do you like all kinds of history, or do you have a favourite era/people that you like to write about?
Can I answer, One of each, please?

Yes, I like all kinds of history. As soon as you look under the names and dates and places – which are boring, if you look at them alone – you find stories. Stories everywhere. And stories are fun.

But I especially like history that's a long way away from us, in time or space or ideas. Ideas are the most interesting things of all, and in history you can find some really strange ones. Some of those ideas are horrible, and some of them are brilliant, and all of them make you think about our ideas of the world.

For instance, did you know that an inventor showed a Roman Emperor a machine that could make roads, all in one go, and didn't need a huge crew of slaves to work it. The Emperor ordered the machine to be destroyed and the inventor strangled, of course. Why? Well, look at it from the Emperor's point of view. If all the slaves who built roads were set free, what would they do? Probably start a rebellion, that's what.

That same way of thinking happened when a settler found a large gold nugget among the roots of a tree he was digging up in New South Wales, in the 1830s. He showed it to the Governor, who told him to hide it away and not tell anyone. Why? Look at it from the Governor's point of view. He was in charge of a prison, basically. The last thing he wanted was a gold rush, and all the convicts escaping to dig up gold.

We tend to think that anything new and different is good. But most people in the past thought that things should stay the same.

Weird, isn't it? But weird is fun, too. And history is full of stuff like that. That's why I like it.

What do you admire about people of that era?  
Mostly, it's not so much that I admire them – I'd rather live here and now, thank you very much. Most people in Rome were slaves, you know. Most people in Britain in the year 475 were farm workers, doing stoop labour on land they didn't own twelve hours a day, just to get enough to eat – and sometimes not even getting that. In fact, that's true of practically anywhere at any time up to about a hundred and fifty years ago.

They were tough and enduring, that's true. They had to be. And it's true that this modern world was built on what they did. But I don't want to live like them. Is it admiring them to say that much?

You seem to know a lot about sailing, and war, and horses, and medicine, and even about cooking. Do you do a lot of research?

Um, well, yes and no. See, I've been reading history – mostly, whatever I fancied – for, oh, about fifty years now. Is it research when you know pretty much the shape of how history happened, and you trip over a detail like the horses in Cadbury, and you think, how cool is that?

After that, the stuff you need to know sort of happens as you go along; and it's strange how the details often seem to fall into place. For instance, I needed to know who was ruling in southern France about this time. A bit of reading told me it was a Visigoth chieftain named Euric. And what do you know? It turns out that he also ruled northern Spain. Where the horses came from. And it also turns out that Euric was the first ruler in the old Western Roman Empire to declare himself an independent king, and make it stick. Oh, cool, I said to myself, and when did that happen?

475 CE, the same year as I was setting my story.

See what I mean about things falling into place? It's almost spooky the way it seems to happen.

Sailing, well, I sail small boats, and went as crew once or twice on ocean-going yachts. It's not the same, but it gives you a feel for it. War – well, I play tabletop war games. Horses – if you look at the dedication of Horses for King Arthur you'll see the name of Elizabeth Moon, who really does know about horses, and whose brain I picked. Medicine – my wife comes from a whole family of doctors. Cooking – I have a copy of an actual ancient Roman cookbook. Fact. Fellow named Apicius wrote it two thousand years ago, and somehow it was preserved. Funny what things people will keep. Most of the works of great writers and historians and playwrights and poets from ancient times have been lost, but a cookbook survives. Weird. I said it was weird, didn't I?

That's history. It's weird. I like it because it's weird. Quite likely, most people would, if only they knew.

Out this month, L.S. Lawrence's latest novel.

Q&A with Michael Gerard Bauer

With the re-release of the first two books in Michael Gerard Bauer's wonderful trilogy due out this month and the final book out in July, we're very excited to hear from this award-winning author about the process of writing not one, but three awesome Australian novels.

How long did it take you to write the Ishmael series? 

I didn’t actually realise it was going to be a series when I started writing Don’t Call Me Ishmael! in 2004 but I liked the characters too much to stop writing and I wanted to find out what would happen to them. The third and final book Ishmael and the Hoops of Steel comes out very soon so it has taken a while to complete the trilogy but I’ve also written Dinosaur Knights and Just a Dog in the meantime.

Do you procrastinate? Are you an early-morning or late-at-night writer? 

Me procrastinate? I’m not sure, although two weeks has passed since I wrote the answer to Question 1. Definitely an early morning writer though. I like to go for a walk first because it helps me get my thoughts in order and to come up with new ideas. I write throughout the day but I rarely do much writing at night. I’m probably on Facebook or watching some embarrassing reality TV program.

Where do you get your inspiration for your books? 

I found that inspiration can come from anywhere. Stories seem to find me rather than me going out looking for them. The Running Man started with childhood memories of looking for silkworms; the Ishmael stories all grew from the first line of the novel Moby Dick which is ‘Call me Ishmael ...’; Dinosaur Knights started when I was watching an old movie about knights and dragons and I had the thought that the dragons looked like dinosaurs; and Just a Dog started one day when I was walking (told you I got ideas doing that!) and the name Mister Mosely for a dog came into my head. I still have no idea where that name came from.

When did you write your first book and how old were you? 

A while back and too old! Or more accurately, I started writing it in 2000 and I was 45.

What does your family think of your writing?

Either they like it or they’re too polite to tell me the truth. My wife is always the first person to read my stories. My son Joe particularly likes the Ishmael series. He always reads the manuscripts and gives me lots of helpful suggestions as well as correcting my mistakes. Joes also created the original covers for the first two Ishmael books.

What are you reading at the moment?

That last question. Oh, I see what you mean. Books, right? Well, I’ve just been at the Voices on the Coast writers’ festival so I bought a few books by the authors who were there with me. At the moment I’m reading A Pocket Full of Eyes by Lili Wilkinson. The last book I read was The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins which I loved.

Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?

I hear from readers a bit more now that I have a Facebook page and a blog. Thankfully they mostly say very nice things about my books or ask questions about the stories or about being a writer. Sometimes I get emails and letters from classes who have read one of my novels. Occasionally they ask me if I’ll do their homework for them. (Just in case you’re wondering –- the answer’s no!)

As a child what did you want to be when you grew up?

Taller mainly. But apart from that when I was in primary school I wanted to be either a Samurai warrior or a Ninja because back then there was a really popular TV show on called The Samurai and the main character Shintaro was my hero. He still is. Later on I wanted to be a singer-songwriter or part of a rock band. I eventually became a teacher which was pretty close.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

Annoy other people who are writing. Read. Listen to music. Play the guitar and try to sing and write songs. Go for walks. Watch TV. Go to the movies. Play tennis. Meet with my secret Ninja group. No wait, I’m not supposed to mention that … um, what I meant to say was – sleep.

When was the last time you were on a bus?

A hardly ever catch buses when I’m at home in Brisbane – they’re just too fast for me. But when I’m away doing school visits I often get around by train or taxi or bus. So the last time I bus-ed it probably would have been last year in Melbourne.

Q&A with Ian Irvine

The Calamitous Queen by Ian Irvine, out in June 2011!

How long did it take you to write the Grim and Grimmer series?

I began the plan of the series, and the first book, in August 2008, and finished the final edits of the fourth book in March 2011, but most of that time I was writing other things. The total time to write each book was about a month. The Headless Highwayman and The Grasping Goblin took a bit over a month each, The Desperate Dwarf and The Calamitous Queen a bit less. But a lot of that work is planning. For instance I spent six days planning The Calamitous Queen in great detail, then another six and a half days writing the first draft. Curiously, I find that the faster I write, the less editing I have to do. I still do a lot of drafts, though.

Do you procrastinate? Are you an early-morning or late-at-night writer?

I don’t procrastinate because I really enjoy writing and want to do more of it. I usually start about 7.30 am and write until after lunch, have a break or a brief nap, then write through until dinner time. Sometimes, If I’m working to a very tight deadline, as with The Calamitous Queen, I’ll start at 5 am and go right through to dinner time, and even do a bit of writing late at night.

Where do you get your inspiration for your books?

Everywhere. I’ve travelled a lot, and worked in a dozen countries, so I have plenty of experience to draw on. I also draw inspiration from my scientific background (I’ve been a marine scientist for 30 years) which perhaps is why I write differently to most other writers.

When did you write your first book and how old were you?

In 1987, when I was 37. It was A Shadow on the Glass, and forms the first book of my epic fantasy quartet The View from the Mirror. The quartet is over 800,000 words and it took more than 10 years to get the series published, but it’s never been out of print in Australia since, and has been published in many other countries.

What does your family think of your writing?

Well, they all enjoy reading so I imagine they’re fairly pleased, though to be honest I’ve never asked them.

What are you reading at the moment?

I’m re-reading my 20-book set of the Brother Cadfael medieval whodunits by Ellis Peters (AKA Edith Pargeter). And I’m about to start Jonathan Stroud’s The Ring of Solomon, the fourth in his Bartimaeus series about a sarcastic and cowardly djinni, which I’m very much looking forward to.

What are you writing next?

Now that I’ve done the Grim and Grimmer quartet, I’m working on a new epic fantasy series for older readers called The Tainted Realm. The first book, which I’ve just finished, is Vengeance. I’m also tossing around ideas for a new children’s series though I won’t start it until The Tainted Realm is finished next year.

Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?

I get email from a few hundred different people a year – readers can email me here. Now that I have a Facebook author page, I’m in touch with my readers daily and we have a great conversation going. The most common questions are: When is the next book coming out? Why did you kill off that character I really loved? Are your books available as eBooks? The answers to many FAQs can be found on my gigantic website.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Deep space explorer. Fighter pilot. Adventurer. Pretty much anything that didn’t involve real work.

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

Lie on the lounge reading a book. Wander around the garden. Daydream.

When was the last time you went on a bus?

Umm, years ago, since I live in the country and there’s no public transport at all here. I’ve a vague memory of getting a bus in Sydney some years back.

Q&A with Sean Williams and a Competition!

Next in our occasional author-interviews series is Sean Williams, a super star in our humble opinion. Sean has kindly given us an insight into his wonderful creative world. And to celebrate the release of his latest fantastic series for Omnibus Books, The Fixers, we have a competition! To win a signed set of The Fixers, simply leave us a comment telling us the last time you went on a bus and we'll randomly draw a winner at the end of May. So comment away, and win!

How long did it take you to write The Fixers?

Either three weeks or seven years, depending on how you look at it. In terms of actually writing the words, it didn’t take long at all. I’m a quick writer once I know what story I want to tell, and Ollie’s adventures were so much fun I didn’t want to pause at any point. My obsessive records tell me that I wrote the first sentence of Castle of the Zombies on 30 January 2009 and the last sentence of Invasion of the Freaks on 17 February 2010. There were rewrites in March and September the same year, plus some last-minute changes ahead of each book’s publication. So the question of when a book starts or finishes becomes a very complicated one. It shouldn’t be so difficult!

Do you procrastinate? Are you an early-morning or late-at-night writer?

I’m somewhere in between: a nine-to-five writer, like it’s a real job. Which it is, of course. I tend to write at the start of the day, which leaves the afternoon free for catching up with other stuff, like emails, talking to collaborators, proofing, etc. One thing that surprised me about being a full-time writer is how little of it is actually about writing. But that’s okay. I suppose people my age should be working some of the time, instead of playing all the time.

Where do you get your inspiration for your books?

From everywhere! The opening scenes of Castle of the Zombies happened almost beat-by-beat in my real life. Then there’s the idea of writing a story about castle, which came from one of my step-sons. Pixel the space-cat in Planet of the Cyborgs was inspired by Pixel the ordinary-cat, who belongs to a friend in Sydney. The most beautiful girl in the village of Curse of the Vampire is my wife, Amanda. And so on. All you have to do is keep your eyes and ears open, and ideas will just pour in. The trick is working out which are the good ones and how best to use them.

When did you write your first book and how old were you?

I finished my first novel in 1983. It has the awesomely bad title of Slug in the Sky. I was 15 and in high school and really should have been doing my homework, but instead I was banging out this thing on an old typewriter and it was the most fun I’d ever had in my entire life. I’d written some short pieces before then, but nothing I could get so involved in. The book was terrible, of course. It’s never been published, and I hope it never will be, but it was a step in the right direction. I wrote my second book (The Memö Böok Chronicles) in fountain pen the following year and my third (Circle of Kings) on an electric typewriter after leaving school. My fourth (When the Cow Came Down) came while I was at uni. My first computer was supposed to help me study, but all I really did on it was write. Not one of those novels has been published, but the next one was, and so were the next thirty-four. It’s literally a dream come true.

What does your family think of your writing?

They love it! Of course, they say they do, and I insist on believing them – even though everyone knows your mum is the worst critic ever. She’ll love everything, even if it’s terrible.

What are you reading at the moment?

I’ve been reading a bunch of thrillers by Lee Child, and before that I read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer for about the billionth time. I love that book it: as well as being both funny and frightening, it’s a wonderful glimpse into another world. The superstitions of Tom and his friends are far too bizarre for Mark Twain to have made them up. They could only be real.

(If you want to know more about my reading habits, you can find them on my blog or more recently at Goodreads.)

Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?

I do hear from readers. One popular question is: ‘Can you put me in a Star Wars novel?’ The answer, I’m sorry to say, is, ‘Probably not,’ although I have done it for most of my friends, whether they want to be in there or not.

Another is: ‘I want to do what you do. How do I make it happen?’ The answer is to just sit down and do it. And keep doing it. There’s an old Japanese saying, something along the lines of, ‘Even a thief takes seven years to learn her trade.’ That’s true for writing, too, but if you love doing it, it won’t feel like it took that long.

I’m asked a lot about coming to talk at schools, which is very flattering, and something I love doing, but it’s not something I can fit in very often. For one, I’m usually in the middle of writing something new and I don’t like taking days off, even for birthdays and Christmas. For two, I’m a very shy person and I get nervous in crowds. My natural instinct is to sit in my study and hide, so it takes a lot to get me out into the real world. You have to coax me out with chocolate. That usually works.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

For a while I wanted to be a cowboy, but then I started reading and my fate was sealed: the only thing better than being told a good story is writing one yourself. I’ve occasionally contemplated other careers – archaeology, mathematics, even accountancy – but none of them have stuck. It’s always been writing. Once I realised that resistance was futile, life became a whole lot simpler.

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

I don’t really have any hobbies, since I write and read every day. When I take time off at night, I like to hang out with my wife and family. One day I’m going to get back into writing music, my other true love, but as that would mean writing fewer words, it might not be any time soon.

When was the last time you went on a bus?

Hmm. *scratches head* I live very close to the city centre of Adelaide, so I tend to walk most places. Probably the last time would have been in Los Angeles in 2009, or maybe England in 2007. A long time ago, in other words. But I’ve caught plenty of trains and subways, and I’m a big believer in public transport.

Q&A with Dan McGuiness

Dan McGuiness, the comic genius behind Pilot & Huxley (1, 2 and 3), shares some of the behind-the-scenes secrets of creating a comic book slash graphic novel. 

How long did it take you to write and illustrate Pilot & Huxley?

Each time I wrote and illustrated a Pilot & Huxley book I got more efficient. The first one took around a year to do, while the latest one took around three months from start to finish. I now work on a Wacom Cintiq (an LCD tablet) to do the drawings and colouring. Being able to draw straight onto digital paper cuts out a lot of time-consuming steps.

Do you procrastinate? Are you an early-morning or late-at-night writer?

When I have a deadline I treat it as a nine to five job. I set an amount that I have to do every day. For example, if I am writing a script I say to myself that I have to write fifteen pages a day. This is the best way I have found for me to work. In between books I treat that time as like a holiday or work on other projects. Sometimes it's hard for me to get back into it after a break, but I'm not a procrastinator in general.

Where do you get your inspiration for your books?

I can remember quite vividly the sort of things that I used to love when I was younger. I was a reluctant reader, so now I put stuff into my books that I would have liked to read about when I was a kid. That's probably why children love my books but some adults have a hard time accepting them! I also get a lot of inspiration from the movies I watch, video games I play and comics I read.

When did you write your first book and how old were you?

I started writing and drawing my own independent comics when I was about 26. I would just draw them up on A4 paper, take them down to the newsagent, photocopy them and staple them at home. From there I would sell them at comic conventions around Australia. I'm 33 now, so a lot has happened in the last seven years.

What does your family think of your writing?

My parents love my books. I have to get them like 40 copies of a book when it comes out to send to all my relations and their friends. My parents have always supported me in everything I have done, from running a skateboard company to working in the film industry. I could not have asked for better parents.

What are you reading at the moment?

I'm reading a manga (Japanese graphic novel) series called Bakuman, which is about two kids trying to become professional manga artists in Japan. I'm also reading a western comic called Invincible which is about a boy whose dad is basically Superman. It's about him growing up and dealing with the problems that arise when his powers kick in at puberty.

Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?

I have a website where kids can leave me comments and I have a Dan McGuiness Facebook fan page as well. I pretty much hear from kids every day asking me questions like, When is the next book coming out? Is there going to be a TV show? Is there going to be a movie? Are there going to be toys? I love reading and answering all of them.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A dinosaur. 

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

I like to play video games. I have an Xbox 360 and a PS3. I also help run a retro gaming website called Retrospekt. I love reading comics and manga as well. But my favourite thing is eating. I'm so into going out to dinner with my girlfriend, Clare.

When was the last time you went on a bus?

I live so close to the city that I just ride my bike everywhere. It's way easier than paying for a ticket, so I don't catch the bus at all. Sorry, that was a bit of a boring answer 0_0. Maybe I could make up an answer like, "The last bus I caught was when I got stuck on the back of a giant blue super worm. It was so big that I had to catch a bus to get to its tail. When I got to the tail I shot a flare into the sky and my personal helicopter came to pick me up to take me home."

Pilot & Huxley 3 out now!