Wow, difficult to get it down to five. There are so many, Danny Champion of the World is a classic. The Fantastic Mr Fox is just that, fantastic. The Phantom Tollboth by Norton Juster is pure genius and I couldn't possibly miss out Robert Arthur's Three Investigators. More recently my kids introduced me to the wonderful work of Jonny Duddle.

Humour, wonderfully drawn characters blended with a fat dose of Tolkein''s erudition. People obsess on LOTR and forget he wasn't all 9 hour epics. Also Catch 22, Dune (or God Emperor), The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien. Err, is that five?

I wouldn't be publishing without Smashwords. Before I found this site I looked at other e-book publishing platforms and I didn't even know where to start with them. Smashwords is 100% responsible for where I am today as an e-book writer! It's a really fantastic platform with a great range of features and I'm very happy with it. I'm just so amazed it;s free.

I'm never sure what my characters are going to do next so it's tremendously exciting whenever they do something unexpected.

Certainly. It's the disastrous story of a failed bank robbery with illustrations in coloured pencil., I must have been about six. My mother guards it in a scrapbook.

I usually start with the kernel of an idea and then I worry it around trying to see where it could go. I keep scrapbooks full of interesting news articles, overheard speech and everyday observations. What do they mean? Are they pieces of one story or many? One day maybe I'll solve the jigsaw puzzle.

I would if I could see it. It's surely there, somewhere under the sedimentary layers of paper. I know it's there because it keeps the laptop and the cups of cold coffee off the floor.

Mobile or laptop, whatever is within arms reach and charged up.

I pick a strong scene and then, I rough arrangements. A good layout has blocks of dark, light and mid-tone in strong shapes. The layout can't bee too complex and it has to fit the required page format, Being able to see the characters faces is a factor too. A composition might be great with good tonal values but if you can't read the characters emotions most likely it's time to try something else.

Mostly what the kids tell me to. This year we've been through the Naughtiest Girl in school series. The first one is one of Blyton's best IMO. Full of character development and emotion something scarce in much of her work. Jonny Duddle is popular in our house. Have I mentioned his illustration is fantastic?