Interview

Philip Ardagh gives advice to budding young writers, discusses where he gets his ideas and why he chose to become a writer.

What gave you the idea for the Eddie Dickens Trilogy?

I simply wanted to set an adventure in the days of Charles Dickens and beyond. The characters developed from there.

Do you know anyone like the Dickenses?

I've said it before and I'll say it again: You should meet my family!

What made you choose to be a writer?

I went to 'proper school' when I was two-and-a-half years old. No play group for me. My big brother was at school so I wanted to go . . . and I always loved writing. My dad used to be given lots of business diaries come Christmas and I'd fill them with squiggles and pretend writing and -- hey presto -- I had a book with a cover and everything. Then I began to get (very) short stories printed in school magazines and I'd sit in my dad's study and do pretend typing on his gun-metal gray portable typewriter until I jammed the keys so badly, one time, that I was banned from that activity! So, from very early on, I discovered that I liked the thinking process, the sharing of the ideas process and the physical act of writing itself; whether with pen or by keyboard.

Where do you get your ideas from?

I wish I had a simple answer, such as 'www.fresh-ideas-for-...