Beth Webb Children's Author/Illustrator - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books Festive Interview

Here is another Mr Ripley's festive edition Q&A, but this time by Beth Webb. This interview really made me smile and was very enjoyable to read. I think this was probably due to my personal invite to the New Year literary dinner party which you will see in the great answers below. I would like to give a warm festive mince pie welcome to the author and illustrator of so many great books, Beth Webb. See you in the New Year Beth :)

You have written fourteen or more books for children and teenagers. Which one is your personal favourite? 
Sorry, I can’t do ‘one’. 
My favourite is always the most recent one, in this case the Fleabag books for MG children, re-vamped and illustrated versions of old favourites. 
However, at the moment, I have two other favourites (sorry) – both of which are looking for publishers (I have a fab new agent, so fingers crossed). Both are YA books – one is about a girl who sees crimes before they happen but no one believes her, and the other is a Victorian tale of madness and injustice. I love both of these books and I’d be over the moon to see them in print. 

You are an author and illustrator. If you had to choose between them, which one would you choose and why? 
That’s a difficult one. I don’t think I could choose. My writing helps me relax from my illustration work and my art de-stresses me when I’m writing. 
I do all sorts of artwork, I’ve illustrated about 25 books for teens and adults with learning disabilities, (https://booksbeyondwords.co.uk/) which is a very stylised approach with a very exacting brief – to express difficult life issues without words. That can be very exhausting, and when I’ve finished a book, writing comes as a relief. The ‘Fleabag’ books are easier and fun – light relief from the rigours of writing. I also do storyboarding – my last job was for a music promo video. That is quite a simple style, but has to be done very fast for a tight deadline – usually yesterday! Again, it’s a hoot which cheers me up. 
Deep down I think writing is my first love, but if it isn’t going as I’d like, I’m awfully pleased to take a break and just draw for a few weeks. It gives me a chance to step back and see my stories afresh when I return to them. 

Why do you think animals make great characters in books? 
I love using animals as characters. I’ve used a mouse, a fox, several cats in the Fleabag series, and a horse and a dog that were very important in the Star Dancer books. They aren’t all as rude and loquacious as Fleabag, but they play vital roles. 

Primarily, animals love us unconditionally, and we can love them back without complications. If we can’t have our own pets, we can love them in books. 
Beyond that, in real life we can relate to animals when we feel that another human can’t or won’t understand (or when we’re alone). This is vitally important – especially for children and young people struggling with life. Children need pets or cuddly toys to talk to, just as homeless people need their dogs; that faithful friend who never lets them down and keeps them going. Children’s literature is an excellent place to explore this relationship. 
Most important of all, (especially with books such as Fleabag), the story animal says and does things human characters can’t. Often these reflect what the reader wishes they could say or do – so it’s a sort of vicarious exercise and a release of tension. (cf A Monster Calls – Dowd and Ness use a tree in this case, but it works in the same way!) 

What are you working on at the moment? 
I’m editing Hebsibah Brown, the Victorian story I mentioned earlier. I’m also working on a book about sight loss for people with learning disabilities. 

Which book illustrators/authors would you have at a literary New Year dinner party and why? 
That bloke Vincent Ripley – obviously. Not only because he’s been kind enough to talk to me, but bloggers and reviewers bring a vital perspective to any dinner conversation. The illustrator Edward Ardizzone because he inspired me with his visual storytelling as a child, my dad, Stan Webb, because although he was never published, he taught me that stories come out of heads, and Ursula le Guin because she’s so brilliant and wise. 

What book would you recommend to readers to get them into the winter/festive spirit? 
The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper. The menace built up by the silent, perpetually falling snow is just breath-taking. (Don’t watch the film, it’s a travesty of the book) 
The Children of Green Knowe by Lucy Boston. When the statue comes alive I hold my breath and long to be there…. 
And if I may blow my own trumpet: Fleabag and the Ring’s End (book 3 of my trilogy, but it also stands alone www.bethwebb.co.uk/fleabag-and-the-rings-end

Everyone loves books as gifts which book would you give or receive this Christmas? 
I’d like to give and receive Philip Pullman’s Dust please, Santa. Oh, and there’s about a million other books, so another full-wall bookcase. And another wall to put it on…

What's the meaning of Christmas for you and your characters? 
Ah. Hum. D’ye know, I’m not going to answer that. I want people to come to their own conclusions and find (and keep) what they need from both the traditional Christmas story and my own Christmas and midwinter tales. Once a tale is told, it is essential that the reader is allowed to use it as they see fit 

What do you most like about Christmas? 
Midnight Christmas Eve. It’s cold outside, warm and sparkly inside, and everyone’s settled down for the night and waiting in the silence…. 
(Except in my house; my three grown-up sons will all be glued to Die Hard, drinking beer and eating home made bread. But that’s still fun.)

What superpower would you give to someone for Christmas and why? 
I’d want creatives in every medium to have the gift of healing for our poor, grief and anger-torn world. 

I visited an art studio in Turkey once, and one of the artists explained that in his view, ‘Artists are the doctors of society.’ I’ve never forgotten that. 
I don’t think it’s too much to ask. 

Merry Christmas folks, and thanks for having me, Vincent Ripley! 

(Photo by Vik Martin)

Beth Webb is a British children's author. Her books include the popular Fleabag Trilogy and her novel for young adults Star Dancer, published by Macmillan Publishers. Webb's interests include British folklore, and she visits ancient sites of the UK as part of her research for her books. Though a full-time writer, she also runs creative writing courses for young people, particularly at the Kilve Court Residential Educational Centre (Star Dancer is dedicated to the "Kilvites", a group of young writers who attended there).

www.bethwebb.co.uk 

Represented by Hannah Sheppard of DHH agency.

Emily Critchley - Notes on My Family - Mr Ripley's Interview (Q&A)

Today on Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books we have Emily Critchley. The debut author of Notes on My Family which was published by Everything with Words back in October 2017. It's a moving account with an inside look on life featuring a dysfunctional family told through the perspective of a 13-year-old girl with lots of irony and humour. 

Welcome Emily and thank you for taking part in this interview for Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books. I hope you enjoyed answering the below questions. 

Tell us about your first book for Young Adults - Notes on My Family? 
Notes on My Family is a first-person present-tense account of contemporary life told through the observations of my protagonist, Louise Coulson (Lou). Lou’s parents announce they are separating. Her dad is a teacher at her secondary school and is having an affair with a sixth form student. Lou is an outsider who isn’t fitting in. She is also having problems at school and her dad’s affair isn’t helping her quest for invisibility. Lou is asked to be a ‘buddy’ to the new girl in her class, Faith, and the two girls form an unlikely friendship amidst the chaos of their ordinary lives. 


Does your book have a lesson or a moral behind it? 
No. I think books should present issues but ever instruct. I do think, though, when writing young adult fiction, it’s important to leave the reader with a sense of hope. I think we often read to feel less isolated and I would like teens who have read Notes on My Family to come away feeling that they are not alone, that other teenagers also experience problems at home or at school and have difficulty fitting into a world that doesn’t understand them. I would like to think that teenagers, or indeed anyone, reading the book will feel that it’s okay to be different and that life, despite all its absurdities, can be enjoyed. 

If you had to do something differently as a child or teenager to become a better writer as an adult, what would you do? 
Write more, read more, and finish what I’d started. It’s really important to practise your craft and, of course, to read widely. I wrote some very bad poetry 
as a teenager and I started several pieces of fiction but rarely finished anything. It’s vitally important to finish. My advice to any young writer would be to keep reading, keep writing and try to finish things. 


What period of your life do you find you write about most often? 
My characters tend to be wholly fictional. Lou, in, Notes on My Family isn’t me, although she is having a problematic time at school as I did. Writing Notes on My Family was difficult for me because it was the first time I’d re-visited being a teenager and it wasn’t a happy time for me. I also write short stories. I tend, in my short stories, to focus more on the mess that was my twenties, alt-hough I also enjoy writing from the perspective of older characters looking back on certain periods in their lives. I am interested in the unreliability of memory and why certain experiences in our lives surface at certain times. 

Do you use your own experiences? 
Occasionally, although I try to disguise them as fiction! 
My family were worried when they saw the title Notes on My Family and very relieved when they read the book and discovered Lou’s family bear no resemblance to my own.

While you were writing, did you ever feel as if you were one of the characters? 
No. I felt very close to Lou when writing her. I was inside her head but she was definitely a separate person to me. 


What’s your favorite under-appreciated novel? 
Oh, gosh. I might go for Patrick Hamilton’s Hangover Square, or Barbara Comyns Our Spoons came from Woolworths. If I am allowed two! 
In children’s literature, Peter Dickinson’s Eva is greatly under-appreciated. 

What's your favorite part of Christmas in a literary sense? 
Having the time to read. I am always hopeful for that. This year I will be spending a week at my parent’s house in North Lincolnshire. I hope they are aware that I plan to do nothing except sit by the fire and read. Perhaps a little antisocial but they should be used to me by now! 


You’re hosting a Christmas literary dinner party, which particular authors/illustrators would you invite and why?
I’d really like to invite some literary authors from the past round to dinner. We’d eat at my flat then go walking in London. I’d love, for example, to see what Charles Dickens or Virginia Woolf, or Graham Greene would think of London now.

Last question, what five things would you take on a desert Island on Christmas Day and why? 
If I was just there for the day I’d take: 
A book (obviously) 
A beach towel to lie on 
An umbrella so I didn’t get sunburn 
Christmas pudding so I’d feel I wasn’t missing out on Christmas. 
My laptop, so I that I could write! 

Sophie Plowden - The Children's Author of the Jack Dash Series - Mr Ripley's Festive Edition Q&A (Catnip)

This is the third festive interview Q&A. I would like to welcome Sophie Plowden, who is the author of the fantastic Jack Dash series. Two brilliant books to date have been fantastically illustrated by Judy Brown, who helps to bring Jack Dash's drawings to life. This series was published by the small and mighty Catnip Publishing Group. If you are looking for funny, action-packed stories for young readers then these are great gifts for this festive time. Fill the Christmas stockings with great books like these this year.  

Welcome Sophie and thank you for taking time to answer some questions. 

What would Jack Dash say about his books this Christmas?

I think he’d probably say that they make the most fantastic presents and you’d have to be leaking brain juice not to buy them.

Jack's magic feather makes whatever he draws come to life. What would he draw to bring Christmas to life?

I’m pretty sure he already did! In ‘Jack Dash and the Summer Blizzard’ he conjures up a snowstorm in the school playground, along with a hundred and eighteen penguins. Penguins make ideal stocking-fillers as they’re the perfect shape.

What makes you laugh?

Misunderstandings and minor injuries.

What can we expect next from Sophie next year?

Jack Dash 3 is coming out in September. I’m still wrestling with the title, but it features a cowboy, a castle and a Cake Off Competition.

Who would you have at a literary New Year dinner party and why? 

Dr Seuss, Lewis Carroll, Louis Sachar and Jane Austen would get along swimmingly. I’d also invite Peter Frankopan because of his Twitter feed and his magnificent name.

What book would you recommend to readers to get them into the winter/festive spirit?

Maurice Sendak’s ‘In the Night Kitchen’ is the lesser-known and distinctly weirder precursor to ‘Where the Wild Things Are.’ It lingers in the head for years because it’s magical, strange and dark.

Everyone loves books as gifts which book would you like to receive or give this Christmas?

I’d love to have the catalogue of Basquiat’s paintings, which are currently on exhibition at the Barbican Centre in London. It’s for this reason, I’m giving it to my husband.

What's the meaning of Christmas for you and your characters?

No school and family arguments – my characters and I are indistinguishable.

Are you any good at building a snowman/woman?

I live in London and there’s rarely enough snow to build anything much. I once managed a small conical structure – a sort of snow parsnip.

www.sophieplowden.co.uk

Daniel Whelan - Children's Author of The Box of Demons - Mr Ripley's Festive Edition Q&A

This is the second festive interview with many more fantastic ones to come. This one comes care of Daniel Whelan, who some of you might know from Harry Potter or maybe not :). He is the author of one of my personal favourite books The Box of Demons. It's a fantastic fantasy-fuelled story full of great humour that all young kids will really enjoy. The book cover above displays Chris Riddell's talent and who also features in the below Q&A. 

Thank you, Daniel, for taking part in the festive interview and welcome to Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books. 

The Box of Demons is fantastic book, what comes next?

Thank you! I’m not sure what’ll be out next. I’ve got two books on the go, one a bit more YA than The Box of Demons and one very firmly in Middle Grade. The YA-ish one is nearest to completion, but I keep cheating on it with the MG which has been a bit more fun to write. I’d hope to have one out in 2019, but that isn’t really down to me.

If your next book was illustrated, and you could choose any illustrator, who would it be and why?

If it were down to me, I’d pick Chris Riddell every time because he made the characters in The Box of Demons look better than I imagined them, and now it's quite hard when thinking of new ones not to wonder what Chris would make of them. Unfortunately for me Chris is very busy, so I can’t imagine I’d be lucky enough to work with him again.

I tend to favour quite cartoony or comicky illustrations. I love Sarah McIntyre’s stuff. There’s an author called Tatum Flynn who is also an artist, I’d love to work with her one day. And Marc Simonetti, who does the French covers for Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, he’s great.

I’ve been a part of the Save Hari campaign to save Haringey’s Children’s Librarians - I live in Wales now, but as I’m Patron of Reading at North Harringay Primary School it’s part of my job to protect access to books for those kids - and all our artwork for that was done by Emer Stamp, who I think is marvellous. 

Which book monsters/authors would you have at a literary New Year dinner party and why? (or actor maybe?)

This Christmas belongs to one monster and one monster alone: Mr. Underbed. Hopefully he’d bring his creator Chris Riddell along with him, because Chris is such fantastic company. 

Actor-wise, Morven Christie would have to be first on the guest list. She’s one of my best friends, and one of the few people I trust with early drafts of things. We don’t see each other nearly enough: she’s in Scotland, I’m in Wales, so we have an entire country between us! I’d also have Charlie Hotson, Stephen Wight and his wife Chloe, and Sophie Angelson and her husband, the director James Kemp.

Finally - and I hope this isn’t stretching the question too much - I’d like to have Charles Dickens’s Mr. Fezziwig along. That guy knows how to party. If he could come in his Mr. Fozzywig aspect from The Muppets Christmas Carol, that’d be super.

What book would you recommend to readers to get them into the winter/festive spirit?

Terry Pratchett is a big influence on me, so I’d say check out Wintersmith, the third book in his Tiffany Aching sequence. He wrote a Christmas-ish Discworld too, The Hogfather, but I’m less keen on that one.

Everyone loves books as gifts which book would you like to receive this Christmas?

I’ve asked Father Christmas for Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman, a couple of Thames and Hudson’s books on myth, and The Ultimate Visual History of Labyrinth, one of my all-time favourite films. We shall see if I have been nice enough this year!

What's the meaning of Christmas for you and your characters?

For me, it’s about warmth against the cold. Christmas falls just after the shortest and therefore darkest day of the year, and I think the collective brightness and joy of it lets us pull each other out of the gloom. Humans have always needed a Winter festival. Before Christianity, we celebrated the Winter Solstice; the Ancient Romans had Saturnalia. It’s rooted deep within us.

For my characters, I think Kartofel would be grumpy and cynical about Christmas while secretly loving it; the excessive food consumption would be right up Djinn’s street: and Orff would complain about the cold and what the darkness does to the Seasonal Affected Disorder he doesn’t really have. 

What's your favourite thing about Christmas?

Mince Pies. They are so firmly attached to my Christmas experience I think I would throw up if I had to eat one between January and November. I moved back to Wales at the beginning of this year, so 2017 will be my first Christmas in over a decade without my favourite mince pies of all time: the Mince Pie Selection Box from Dunn’s of Crouch End, London.

Do you think the book cover has an important role in potential readers buying your book?

I can only speak from experience, and my experience is there are quite a lot of people who wouldn’t have looked twice at The Box of Demons if it didn’t have a Chris Riddell cover. I can only hope they have enjoyed the inside as much as the outside. A good cover is vital.

What is the strangest question you have been asked as an author?

I am often asked if I know Ron Weasley. When I was an actor, I once got a call from the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire production office about playing one of the older Weasley brothers. They asked a few questions, and I never heard from them again. (It became clear why when the film came out: the character in question was cut). I put this story on my website to illustrate how spectacularly unsuccessful my acting career was, and somehow it keeps being filtered into me having some sort of association with Rupert Grint. (I don’t).

I once did an in-store signing where the poster they put up to advertise my appearance said ‘he could have been Ron Weasley!’, which I thought was an interesting, if inaccurate, selling point.

What has inspired you the most to write?

That’s a tough one. I really don’t know. It just sort of happens. I liked a lot of fantasy-type things when I was younger, which I suppose helps. I went to a Catholic school, and Catholicism is essentially all stories so there was that too. And I’ve always liked to write, and read. 

Whenever I’m asked the classic author question "where do you get your ideas from?", I always say the swimming pool. There’s something about doing those repetitive laps that allows me to think of new stuff, make new connections to things I’m working on. So let’s say ‘swimming’.

Matt Brown - Children's Author of Compton Valance Series - Mr Ripley's Festive Edition Q&A

What a great way to celebrate the festive time and to give your kids a funny book to read. This series of books by Matt Brown (illustrated by Lizzie Finlay) are smashing stocking fillers for kids and big kids with a crazy sense of humour. There are four books, so far, in the series to get your teeth stuck into. Why not check out the author's website to find out more? mattbrownwriter.com 

Welcome and thank you very much, Matt Brown, for taking the time out to answer some festive-style questions for Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books. 

What makes The Compton Valance series of books tick?

Whenever I write a Compton Valance book the question I’m essentially trying to make myself laugh as hard as possible.  I figure that if it makes me laugh, it’ll make other people laugh.  I think that is what makes the books tick.

If your next book was illustrated, and you could choose any illustrator, who would it be and why?

My grandad was a brilliant watercolour artist and, while he never did any illustrations, I would have loved to had the chance to work with him.  I think he would have got a huge kick out of the process.

Which book characters/authors would you have at a literary New Year dinner party and why? (N.B. You can travel back in Compton Valance's time machine if you want!)

That’s easy, I would have all the authors that I have had on my Word Monkeys podcast because they’re the authors I love reading.  Character-wise I would have Bernard from Not Now Bernard, Mina Murray from the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (and Dracula), the Artilleryman from War of the Worlds, Nymphadora Tonks, Mr Wednesday from American Gods, Commander James Bond, Miss Marple, and Dr John Watson.

What book would you recommend to readers to get them into the winter/festive spirit?

The Box of Delights and A Christmas Carol.  We’ve got a version of A Christmas Carol that we read aloud, as a family, on Christmas Eve.

Everyone loves books as gifts which book would you like to receive this Christmas?

I’ve asked for loads but in particular the Chrysalids by John Wyndham and Mysteries of the Quantum Universe by Thibault Damour and Mattieu Burniat

What's the meaning of Christmas for you and your characters?

Being with family and friends and trying to eat my bodyweight in turkey sandwiches (I make very good ones).

What's your favourite Christmas film?

It’s a Wonderful Life and Die Hard 2.

Did you read as a child, if so what captured your reading attention? 

I did read, although I was not a voracious reader (I am now).  I read comics and at various points in my childhood had the Beano, the Dandy, Whizzer and Chips and Roy of the Rovers delivered weekly (not at the same time). But the books I remember me and my friends getting and swapping with each other were called Fighting Fantasy books and I can remember loving the Warlock of Firetop Mountain and the Sword of the Samurai the most.

Lindsay Currie - The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street (Halloween Q&A) Interview with Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

With Halloween fast approaching, this is a fantastic book to get the goose-bumps flowing. The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street by Lindsay Currie was published in a gorgeous hardback in the US on the 10th October 2017. This is a great opportunity to find out more about the book and the author. 

I hope you enjoy the questions and that the answers make you want to pick up a copy of the book and read it, maybe in time for Halloween. Welcome, Lindsay Currie, to Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books and thank you for taking the time to answer the questions. 

Who would love reading THE PECULIAR INCIDENT ON SHADY STREET, and why?

Well, PECULIAR INCIDENT is a ghost story with some seriously creepy moments, so anyone who likes to be "spooked" will definitely enjoy it! That said, it's also a fun mystery and a story about friendship, family, bravery, and acceptance, so I hope everyone is able to take something away from Tessa's story! 

When the rain starts. When the lights go out. That's when the trouble begins... 

What trouble can we expect in this book?

Oooh, good question! PECULIAR INCIDENT is based on a real ghost legend who is buried here in Chicago. The legend is so fascinating (and creepy) that folks travel from all over the country to visit the gravesite! When I wrote the book, I attempted to incorporate the feeling you get when you look at the grave in as many scenes as possible. This means that PECULIAR INCIDENT has a pretty unsettling tone. There's storms, flickering lights, a spooky, antique ventriloquist doll, and all kinds of ghostly events! 

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I have so many! I love to write with candles going, so that's definitely something a little unusual about me. I also write with things surrounding me that make me feel inspired, so my writing desk is a bit . . . eclectic. There's an old-fashioned hourglass, several Harry Potter Funko figurines, and a sculpture made from found-items that looks suspiciously like a cross between a Thanksgiving turkey, and a monster. 

Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?

I generally have an idea of where my story is going, but I don't plot per-se. It makes me feel more comfortable to let the characters lead the way. 

What made you decide to sit down and actually start something?

I’ve been writing my entire life, so the decision to attempt a novel came on the heels of the revelation that writing isn't just a hobby for me. It's a lifestyle. Truthfully, the starting part is always the easiest; it's the finishing part that can be hard. 

Can you pass on any tips regarding the writing process to other budding writers?

Sure! I think when I first started out in publishing, I suffered from wanting things to happen fast all the time. I wanted to finish books quickly, edit them quickly, and see them in agent/editor hands quickly. I've come to learn this is a pretty common rookie error. The publishing industry is not a fast one, and the work of a writer should not be either. You need to take your time to write a good, timely book. It's impossible to know your characters and their goals/dreams/what motivates them unless you slow down and figure out what makes them tick. Same goes for plot. And editing? The more time you can take shining up your work, the better. There's a lot of amazing books out there, so make yours stand out! 

Do you think that the cover plays an important part in the buying/reading process?

Yes. Although we've all heard the old adage "don't judge a book by its cover", I think cover art is immensely important. A striking cover stands out on shelves, and a thoughtfully designed cover speaks to the reader even while they are reading the book. I got very lucky with my cover for THE PECULIAR INCIDENT ON SHADY STREET because the designer - Jessica Handelman - has designed several other covers that I adore, so I knew I'd love whatever she came up with for Tessa's story. The colors in the background are not only a nod to the stormy weather that persists in the book, but also my main character's hobby - pastel drawing. It truly couldn't be more perfect. 

What are your thoughts about how to encourage more children to read? Tough question. I really think this varies from child-to-child. For many children, it seems the key is finding what they enjoy. Finding books that don't feel like a chore to read - either from a content or reading level standpoint. 

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

Spend time with my family. I have three children - ages 15, 14, and 11 that are my inspiration for everything. My favorite weekends are the ones where we hang out together, make dinner or rent a movie. 

My husband travels for work so when he's here, we do our best to make the most of it. 

What is your favourite book to read that scares you?

Yikes! Favorite scary book? That's a hard one. I'm going to answer with a book from my childhood called The Dollhouse Murders. That book terrified me as a kid, but was so deliciously wonderful that I couldn't stop reading. I reread it about two years ago and was delighted to discover that it still raises goosebumps on my arms today! 

About the Author 

Lindsay lives in Chicago, Illinois with one incredibly patient hubby, three amazing kids and THREE DOGS! She's fond of tea, Halloween, Disney World and things that go bump in the night!

 

An author of young adult and middle-grade fiction, Lindsay is represented by Kathleen Rushall, of Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Her middle-grade novels are published with Simon & Schuster/Aladdin. Her young adult novels are published with Flux/Llewellyn and Merit Press. For more details on Lindsay's upcoming books, please visit her website:https://www.lindsaycurrie.com

Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books: Interview With A.P. Winter - The Boy Who Went Magic

Today, it's great to be interviewing A. P. Winter, debut author of The Boy Who Went Magic, to find out more about him and his writing. This is an amazing magical read that was recently published by Chicken House in June 2017.  I send a very warm welcome to A. P Winter - thank you for agreeing to this interview.

Let's talk about writing! How do you want your readers to react when they read the first and last page of The Boy Who Went Magic?

Really good question. I wanted the opening to tap into the excitement I always felt opening up an adventure story as a kid - that sense that anything might happen - and at the ending. I hope the reader feels they've been on a journey with Bert, with all the bittersweet feelings the end of a good journey brings. 

This is your debut book. What did you learn from writing it? 

It is my debut 9-12 novel. I think the most important thing I learned how useful it is to have a good bad guy. Prince Voss didn't exist in early drafts, but once he came to life, it really made a lot of things fall into place.  

I hear you have a discerning palette for chocolate, does this help you write a good story for children? 

I don't know about palette, but there are some complementary skills. Chocolate tasting relies heavily on a good memory, specifically a good memory for sensory experiences, and I think that does cross over with what you tap into when you're trying to create an evocative world. 

Can you remember an early experience where you learned that language had power?

I remember making a teacher cry with one of the earliest stories I wrote. It was about a ghost porpoise who'd had a sad life. I actually thought this meant I was in trouble until she explained it was a good thing. 

What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?

I don't really think about it. All my main characters are an amalgamation of people I know and aspects of myself, so I never consider writing 'a woman' or 'a man' - it's more about figuring out who they are and what they want on a character by character basis. 

What did you edit out of this book?

Honest answer - tonnes of stuff. I take editing pretty seriously, and there was a lot that got cut and changed to become the novel it is now. My saddest omission was the pirate island. There was a whole middle section of the book where they hang out with some pirates and get into scrapes, but unfortunately, everything that happened there always felt like filler instead of an essential part of the story, and the pirates had to go. The last remnant of them is a couple of comments about how flamboyantly the crew dress on the Professor's ship (they were glam pirates). I miss those guys.

Has the city of York inspired any part of this book?

I don't want to spoil too much, but York has about two miles of medieval wall that is part of my regular running route -  descriptions of one of the key locations in the book are based on the feeling of running there when it's foggy, and you feel like you're up in the clouds. I mean, I said I wasn't going to spoil anything, but that doesn't take much detective work to piece together. There's a castle in the clouds. It's ace. That was York. 

I love the cover for The Boy Who Went Magic. Do you think that the cover plays an important part in the buying process?

Definitely (it also just occurred to me that the castle in the clouds is on the cover, so I don't know what I was thinking there). I was so grateful for Manual Sumberac's art on that cover. I work part-time in a bookshop, so I know how big a difference it makes to stand out from the crowd, especially when it comes to impulse buys - I don't think there's anything like that cover on the shelves. 

You're hosting a literary dinner party, which particular authors/illustrators would you invite and why? 

I tend to avoid writers like the plague in real life (obviously with the exception of the lovely people at Chickenhouse, or anyone else I follow on twitter, or work with, or anyone else I may have offended there), but I guess it would be fun to hang out with Cervantes. I love his Don Quixote, and he did a lot of prison time, so I'm pretty sure he'd be excited about whatever I cooked. 

Mr Ripley's Interview with Andrew Guile - The Amazing Adventures of Skinny Finny and Super Spy Wobblebottom: The Mad Moon Mission

This is the second book by Andrew Guile involving Skinny Finny and his sidekick brother, Tubby. It's a crazy adventure that will make you laugh your socks off. It is a magically illustrated fantasy affair that everyone will love, regardless of age. To tempt you all to read it, I have asked the author a range of questions regarding the book and his writing career. I hope that you enjoy this interview and it will grab you enough to pick up this book and read it. 


The Amazing Adventures of Skinny Finny and Super Spy Wobblebotton is out now. Grab a copy in your flying superhero cape. 

Who do you think will love reading The Amazing Adventures of Skinny Finny and Super Spy Wobblebottom: The Mad Moon Mission?

I would hazard a guess at boys between 8-12 years old. Skinny Finny dreams up all sorts of crazy gadgets and boys often like that sort of thing. I do hope that girls read the book too. I specifically chose to introduce a female viewpoint character in this book for this very reason so I do hope it works!

A good villain is hard to write, how did you get in touch with your inner villain(s) to write this book?

I think, if we are honest, we all have a dark side though most of us are good at keeping it hidden. From an author perspective, I suspect it comes down to honesty. If you’ve taken the time to look critically at yourself over your lifetime, you’ll find it easier to tap into the more negative, villainous side of your own personality. I think I’m pretty good at that. I think though that all authors are bound to be influenced by what they have read and watched over the years too, that’s inevitable I guess. I also just try to put myself in the mind of the villain and think of things they can say and do that children would find alarming. I promise though that I have never held any children down and dripped lemon juice in their eyes! Not yet, anyway.

Of all the characters you have created, which is your favourite and why?

I think it’s probably Tubby. Sir Mimsey Parpington definitely has the best name but I have a real soft spot for Tubby. He’s accident prone and is never going to join MENSA but he views the world through rose-tinted glasses and it gives him I’m a vulnerable appeal. He also has a very clear moral compass that his brother could benefit from understanding better.

What inspirations do you think helped to make this book happen?

I began telling stories to my children many years ago. We used to make up stories together, using two or three words each and moving round in a circle with the next person adding their 2-3 words to the story before passing on to the next person, etc. That was great fun and produced some hilarious and bizarre stories. That morphed into me just making stories up myself and Skinny Finny was born. He was named after a kid I went to school with and ‘Wobblebottom’ was a phrase I pinched from Blackadder the Third. I made it into a name and then had Curt Walstead design him.

In the book there are over 150 brilliant black and white illustrations, how did the illustrations come about in the book? 

I always wanted it to be illustrated. I found Curt Walstead on Elance.com (now Upwork.com) and he pitched for the job alongside four or five others. He stood out over all the rest. I was very lucky to find him as he has a great pedigree having worked as an illustrator for Dora the Explorer, Diego and Baby Looney Tunes in California. He specializes in character development and I couldn’t be more delighted with his work.

Which scene in the book made you laugh the hardest?

Definitely the scene in Windsor Castle near the start of the book where Skinny Finny tells Tubby that he’ll do his duty and kick Tubby between the legs if Queen Elizabeth won’t. It’s the earnest way in which Skinny Finny tells it and the fact that Tubby takes him seriously. And then the punch line with the Kit Kat a little later on. It’s perhaps slightly more adult humour than child humour but I think it’s always a good idea for gags to hit different levels. Quite a few children will, I imagine, have the book read to them. It’s wise to entertain the adults too!

What tactics do you have and use when writing? (outline or do you just write)

I am definitely a planner. I can’t start writing the first draft until I have a chapter sketch mapped out. I need to know where the story is going and what the character arcs are going to be, etc. I love that development period where anything is possible.

How did you break into publishing? Tell us about the process you were involved in? 

I have been wanting to write for many years. I have read countless books about the craft and have been on many, many courses and workshops. Being a planner though, I didn’t want to start anything until I felt I knew what I was doing. That time of enlightenment coincided with the desire to write and publish a Skinny Finny story for my three children before they got too old. That came in 2013. I primarily self-published the Crazy Christmas Caper via Amazon.

The Mad Moon Mission is the second book that follows the antics of Skinny Finny and Super Spy Wobblebottom. For this second outing I used Troubador (Matador) who are a self publishing company. I used all aspects of their service including copy editing, typesetting and proofreading prior to publication. I also had an editor, Bella Pearson who helped me with the story structure. She was fantastic and has a great pedigree of her own having previously worked with Phillip Pullman.

Do you remember the first story you ever read and the impact it had on you?

Looking back, my earliest memories are of my reading books for school. I remember one in particular where the cover image was of two massive pillars at the end of a spooky driveway that leads down towards a derelict mansion. The pillars had gargoyles sat atop them and the story describes how these stone beasts come to life. Amazing! I have always been drawn to fantasy books and sci-fi. I just love the escapism. I can’t imagine writing a story that doesn’t have some element of sci-fi or fantasy.

What are you working on next?

I have stepped away from Skinny Finny for my next book. I’m working on a middle-grade fantasy adventure story. Tim’s life is changed forever when he, his best friend and his sister, find a portal to a world ravaged by warring dragons while on holiday in Cornwall. There he betrays his friend and is forced to face his own fears in order to redeem himself and rescue his friend from the evil Queen and find a way back home. It will focus on similar themes of family and friendship. 

I’m writing this new story while attending the Golden Egg Foundation Course. I’ve sort of gone back to school I suppose! Golden Egg was set up by the great Barry Cunningham (the man who discovered J.K. Rowling) to develop and nurture children’s writers. It’s an amazing course that’s really helping me improve my writing further and I’m really excited for what I may next have in print.

Website: https://andrewguilecom.wordpress.com