I bumped in to Guy at his London home, just as he was cooking up a rather unusual culinary delight of sorts...
I think it was Pythagoras who said, “Maths makes no sense. I’m off to the pub.” It’s a mantra I’ve always lived by.
Thanks Guy, this is by far the best maths advice I have ever received - see you there!
2. Tell us something about yourself that we may not already know.
I have hobbit’s feet. My wife calls them ‘Bilbo’ and‘Frodo’.
Hmm... scary!
anything else apart from books?
When it comes to cooking I’m both keen and amateurish, which only
gets you so far, but I do like to think I make the best Bolognese in London.
Then again I like to think I’m Europe’s greatest free runner, which is how
I broke both my legs.
Oh no, sorry to hear that Guy. Maybe you should stick to the book cooking.
Perseverance - you’ll need around 28 pints. Frustratingly, It’s also the hardest ingredient to get hold of in any significant quantity. Inspiration is putting the right ingredients into the mixing bowl, but Perseverance is stirring that thing until your arm falls off.
Maybe a little light music will help Guy...
I guess I should say Stitch Head since it’s certainly the most popular, but I think my favourite is Secret Santa: Agent of X.M.A.S. The puns alone bump it to the top of the list. For some reason I expected a book with Father Christmas on the cover to sell for more than two months a year. I could write a hundred Secret Santa books… or at least four.
I think I’d have to go with some sort of “utility bloomer”– roomy, hard-wearing
and comfortable but with added storage pockets for all my catastrophe-busting doodads.
Hmm - very nice Guy, not sure they'd be a good look with your Hobbit feet though!
7. Apart from Frog, who is your favourite character in ‘The Legend of Frog’ and why?
Sheriff Explosion the sheep. He shouldn’t be a fun character- he’s disinterested, non-committal and neither well-meaning nor particularly loyal – and he only says “Baa”. But if that’s good enough for Frog, it’s good enough for me! I love writing him.
incredibly luckily with illustrators and seeing the designs and roughs is one
of my favourite parts of the process.
Yes I totally agree with you, it's very exciting to see a book cover come together, however I don't have any that are so dramatic and eye-catching as yours. Maybe I should look in to the 'Frog' options for future books - I wonder if I could conjure up a frog romance with a dribble of humour...
9. If you could star in ‘The Legend of Guy’, who or what would be your sidekick and what could they do for you?
An otter. It would teach me the forgotten arts of frolicking and
clamshell-cracking.
I read a lot of Roald Dahl, the Willard Price Adventure books, the Silver Brumby series… plus a lot of non-fiction. My brother was into dinosaurs, so we had dozens of dinosaur books. My dino-knowledge is pretty good to this day as a result. I also read a lot of comics – I mean, a LOT.
12. What annoys you the most?
Injustice. And when musicians break into song during interviews.
13. If you were to get a dog, what type would it be (a permanent resident, not a doggy-sitting job)?
A soppy Staffordshire bull terrier. The more softies like me have them, the fewer people will see them as status symbols.
between?
Mornings and evenings. I have a period of creativity when I get up, which I generally augment with a gallon of coffee. Catch me at 3pm and I’m just staring blankly at the computer screen or writing and deleting the same sentence, like a stuck record. I really get going at around 6pm though. Not great for the social life…!
Ah, so you're a night writer. Well Guy, here is a little something to keep you warm during those long winter nights of writing on your laptop...
Thanks!
I suspect I think I’m funnier than I am, day to day. When my wife comes to events people often ask her if I’m funny at home – and she generously resists the urge to tell them I’m a navel gazing grump. I try to see the funny side though. Life can sometimes seem like a bad joke, and I love a bad joke.
I’m also making a funny face as I write this.
I have no doubt Guy, I've seen your funny faces!
If ‘The Legend of Frog' were to be made in to a film, who should
play the part of Frog, either in person or as a voice-over?
Doesn’t Kermit have a little brother? He might have what it takes.
I think this could be his younger brother - Kevin...
Roald Dahl, although apparently they’ve both done reasonably well.
18. Chinese or Indian takeaway?
Chinese. Crispy shredded beef, please!
English… although creative writing stopped abruptly when I went to secondary school. I was gutted.
20. . Are you a planner or spontaneous?
I’m too lazy to make plans. Spontaneous!
21. The countryside or the city?
City.
22. Cautious or reckless?
I think choosing a career that could implode at any moment is inherently reckless. Or at least incautious.
I’m writing the third Legend of Frog book at the moment, which wraps up Frog’s adventure in Kingdomland. It’s the first time I’ve planned out a
single story arc over more than one book, and it’s been a lot of fun. After that I’m hoping to return to one of my previous series and write another book or two.
That’s another first and I’m really excited about it. Not sure I can say much else at this point! I’m also working on some picture book ideas, and an older book.
Great news to hear that there will be more froggie delights for us to look forward to in the future.
24. Last but not least, if I gave you an elephant, where would you hide it?
In “the room.” No one talks about the elephant in the room, so no need to hide it.
Thanks Tara! It’s been more fun than fondue!
Find out more about Guy and his books either here, on the Author Showcase, or at his website: http://www.guybass.com/