This post isn’t a review, but something a little different. In April I am going to be reporting for the Chipping Norton Literary Festival, along side the wonderful Pheebs! I have interviewed her, she has interviewed me, she has interviewed Jo Cotterill and Cathy Brett and now I’m interviewing the world famous, the international best seller, the one and only: STEVE COLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! “Please put your phone on silent… Now let the movie, I mean the interview commence…”

1. What were your favourite books when you were around the age of 10?
I liked Doctor Who books, Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, the Hardy Boys… I always loved adventure.

2. What did you want to do for a living when you were a kid?
I had no idea. I didn’t think being an author was very likely, so I thought perhaps I’d be a cameraman for the BBC. But you needed to be good at Physics for that, and I wasn’t. I did work for the BBC but as a magazine editor, and later a book editor.

3. Where do you get your inspiration for your books from?
From a big bubbling pit in my head where the magic bananas grow

4. Where is your favourite place to write?
My office man-cave, late at night

5. In ‘Stop Those Monsters!’: how did you come up with the idea of Bob falling into Monsterland?
I was talking about the Wizard of Oz with a friend, when Dorothy is blown up into the air by a whirlwind that takes her to the magic land of Oz. I thought it would be fun to turn that upside down and have Bob blown down through the earth into a secret monster kingdom!

6. Zola was my favourite monster, do you have a favourite?
I’m very fond of Verity the ninja hamster-monster, but then I also like yelling ‘I’m down with the BOOOOM!’ like Alfie. And Zola got some of my favourite lines so I’m fond of her also. I love them all!

Thank you sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much Steve! Now my children, BUY TICKETS (at ChipLitFest Steve Cole) AND SEE THIS SLIGHTLY CRAZY GENIUS IN ACTION!!!!!!!!!

And read my review of Steve’s Stop Those Monsters!