Happy New Year! What better way to celebrate the final day of our calendar than with a debut author?!
Mark Powers has been making up ridiculous stories since primary school and is slightly shocked to find that people now pay him to do it. As a child he always daydreamed that his teddy bear went off on top secret missions when he was at school, so a team of toys recruited as spies seemed a great idea for a story. He grew up in north Wales and now lives in Manchester. Spy Toys is publishing in January 2017!
Name three things on your Christmas list this year! Chocolate, more chocolate, upset stomach medicine.
Christmas is a time of family traditions – what are your best (or worst!) family traditions? In the Powers family, we are firm believers in the tradition of the Enormous Christmas Day Family Argument. It usually starts over something trivial (“We’re not watching the boring Queen’s speech!”, “Why aren’t you wearing the lovely socks/tie/scarf I bought you?”, “Who made that smell?”) and ends up as a massive shouting match about who’s always been the favourite child (it’s me, of course) complete with neighbours banging on the walls and police sirens.
(Sounds like a nice ‘peaceful’ time!!)
‘What is your favourite story to read at Christmas? A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Christmas is the perfect time for spooky stories – when it’s snowy and dark outside and you’re tucked up snugly inside with a hot drink and your feet slowly t
oasting by the fire.
If you could have Christmas dinner with anyone (alive today or person from history) who would it be? I would choose Sue Townsend (author of the brilliant Adrian Mole books, who died in 2014). I think she would have been a fascinating and hilarious dinner companion.
Your debut book Spy Toys features amazing toys that are ‘alive’. If you could choose any of your Christmas toys from childhood to come to life which would it be? I had a toy Dalek for Christmas when I was six and it would be amazing to see it come alive and obey my commands. It would definitely give me the edge in the Enormous Christmas Day Family Argument.
You’ve been making up stories from a young age; if you had to make up a festive story for Christmas who would be your main character? I think I might write a story about a sad snowflake that has only five points instead of six. Might make a good picture book. Hands off my idea if you’re reading this, David Walliams!
Reader’s question from the children at Inkpots Writers’ Hut; how do you start writing a story; do you type or write them by hand? I usually type them on my laptop; sometimes I make notes on my phone.
Turkey or goose? Goose.
Real or fake tree? Real.
Mince pies or Christmas pudding? Christmas pudding.
Stockings – end of the bed or over the fireplace? End of the bed.
Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve? Christmas Eve!
Thank you for joining our festive Q & A! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Find out more about Mark at www.bloomsbury.com and follow him on Twitter @mpowerswriter.
You can read a review of Spy Toys on the Bookshelf.
Spy Toys is illustrated by Tim Wesson who was born somewhere in England. As a young boy he enjoyed climbing trees and drawing pictures of dogs in cars. Eventually he became an illustrator who creates children’s books. Tim doodles and paints whenever he can and likes to draw the first thing that pops into his head. He lives by the sea in Suffolk with his family.
Kat Ellis grew up in North Wales and studied English with Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University. She is an active blogger and amateur photographer. Kat has had short stories published and wrote Blackfin Sky last year after trying her hand at sci-fi. Her first published novel, Blackfin Sky will also be released in the US next autumn.
Reader’s question from the children Warden Park Academy: we sometimes have to correct our creative writing. How do you feel when you have to make corrections to your work? Before I share a story with anyone else, I read it over and over, looking for mistakes and polishing it to make it as good as possible. But – and I don’t think I’m alone here – I inevitably reach a point where I can’t look at my own work objectively, and I might miss a mistake that’s obvious to someone reading it for the first time. That’s why I’m always grateful to work with editors; they offer me expert guidance to make my stories flow better, and make my writing more polished. Writing is a skill you never stop learning and honing, so it’s great when you have someone helping you to improve.
John Burningham’s Harvey Slumfenburger’s Christmas Present.
Reader’s question from students at Warden Park Academy; did you get to choose the cover of your book? It was really nice actually. The designers at my publishers, Scholastic, came up with the design and sent it to me, saying ‘tell us what you think’. I was really nervous that I was going to have to say ‘urgh I hate it’ but if you’ve seen it, I think you’ll understand that I just gasped and said ‘I LOVE IT’. It’s a cover that expresses the feel of the book and gives glimpses of the story without giving anything away and I adore it.
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