How a book is created - Frequently asked questions:

Where do you get your ideas from?

Ideas are illusive creatures; they lurk in hidden places, scurrying around when they think you’re attention is elsewhere. But they are all around, they just need catching.

How long does it take to write a book?

As long as it takes! Characters can be very unruly, and once they find their voice they take on a life of their own… but if you listen, they may just take the story in a new and magical direction, that leaves you wondering where the words in front of you came from.

Did you do the illustrations as well?

Yes, but it took a long time to train my pencils to draw, and some pencils just didn’t have pictures in them, just words.

Did you send your illustrations away to be scanned?

No, I scanned my own artwork, and did any necessary editing on my laptop, then I formatted the pages, coaxing words and pictures to work together to build a story. There’s always a bit of argy-bargy at this stage with words and pictures vying for their share of each page.

Who is your publisher?

I fully self published under my own imprint Lost in a Book. The only thing I didn’t do was printing and binding, and that was done by a local printer.