ISSUE 7, 2024
OUT NOW!
AVAILABLE
13 AUGUST
2024
JK: Let's start this interview off with a bang...Can you tell us the funniest thing you've ever done?
Do you mean apart from forgetting to put my running shorts on when I went for a run? Oh yeah, of course not. According to my daughter there is NOTHING funnier than an grown up man running around the streets in his underpants.
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JK: How did you come up with the plot line and the characters in your book, Adventures Unlimited: The Land of Lost Things?
Well, one of the most common requests from readers over the years has been "Can you put ME in your next book?" So I thought it would be really fun for me (the writer) and YOU (the reader) to have a fun adventure together. I figured if we are wearing adventure suits with cardboard boxes on our heads then all readers everywhere, regardless of their age, gender or nationality, would have no trouble identifying with the YOU character.
I decided that we would be adventurers and our first adventure would be to go to the Land of Lost Things to look for my lost Lucky rabbit's foot, and, in the process we'd get lost ourselves. Once the illustrator Bill Hope started drawing pictures of us in the Lost Things lands I started seeing ideas for characters (a lost watch, a lost bull who's lost his temper etc.) and of course, Johnny Knucklehead who's looking for lost treasure. I like to give my characters problems, and as they come up with various means- sensible and silly- to solve them, the overall story slowly emerges (after a lot of different drafts and a lot of re-writing and re-drawing).
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JK: When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A singer in a heavy rck and roll band like my hero Alice Cooper. I actually did this for a few years after I left school and it was a lot of fun!
JK: Why did you decide to be a writer?
Although I loved being in the band, I realised my true talent was for writing. My song lyrics were getting longer and turning into little stories so I decided to concentrate on learning how to write really good stories. Eventually, I became an English teacher and met all these kids who told me how much they hated reading so I started writing funny stories to show them how much fun reading and writing can be.
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JK: What is your number one writing tip for kids?
Write as much and as often as you can. For yourself, for your friends and for school publications. Writing is like anything else: you get better at it the more you practice.
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JK: Do you have a favourite song you listen to over and over again?
Oh, I have MANY!!! I guess one of the ones I've been listening to for the longest is Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. Such an epic and imaginative song.
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JK: If you could have a superpower, what would you choose and why?
To be able to write stories that make lots of people laugh. Oh, hang on...l've already got it! I love to be able to make people laugh because not only does laughing make them feel good, it makes me feel good, too.
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JK: What do you do to get in the headspace of writing?
Do an hour of circuit training, eat a good breakfast while reading a chapter of whatever book I'm reading, have a cup of strong black coffee and play some music that makes me feel good and, magically, the words start flowing! I challenge myself to write the best, silliest, most surprising, most ridiculous and most original story that anybody has ever written.
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YOUR FAVOURITES...
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Thing to do at the weekend?
Play music and go for long walks.
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Animal?
Dogs of course, they're always smiling and up for anything!
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Movie?
It's a toss up between Pee Wee's Big Adventure and Scott Pilgrim VS the World
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TV Series?
Lost in Space
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Food?
Banana Smoothie
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Book Character?
ME of course!
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LOOKING FOR BOOK WEEK COSTUME IDEAS? DRESS UP AS YOU & ME FROM ADVENTURES UNLIMITED!
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CLICK IMAGE TO DOWNLOAD!
WIN
For all you Andy Griffiths fans out there, we have TWENTY signed copies of The Land Of Lost Things, Adventures Unlimited to giveaway! All you have to do to win is leave your details below and answer that all important skill based question. Entries close August 31st 2024. Best of luck to you all!
