A few questions I have been asked since I made the decision to publish my first book, The Ghost of Bobby ...

What made you decide to become an author?

I didn't consciously decide to become an author.  I wrote The Ghost of Bobby simply as a gift for my elder daughter. The characters came to me because she used to love me to make up stories and tell them to her before she went to bed.  We were living in Amsterdam at the time, and in my room was a double bed that was set high off the ground. We would hide under the bed and I'd tell her the stories there. 

What books did you enjoy reading as a child?
 
When I was a young child, I loved the Famous Five. Nothing else.  I read every book, time and time again; I think there were over twenty of them.  The characters and settings were great, and the way food was described always made me hungry. I loved the world that those kids lived in.  When I was an older child, I started reading adventure stories such as Treasure Island, and then moved on to great tales such as A Tale of Two Cities. The earlier centuries and different eras fascinated me. 
 
Where do you get inspiration for your stories from?

Nothing in particular gives me inspiration, and I can't really say where ideas come from: they just are.  Probably the most accurate answer I can give is to say that fear, good and evil feature strongly in books that I read today, and what I find interesting to write about. I also love the unexpected.  It's why good films are so rare. 
 
What do you find scary?

Heights are scary. The devil. ( The Exorcist still scares me) Things that are there, that you can't see. The inability to fight back. 
 
What's the secret to writing a scary story?

I'd say that the secret is setting scenes and using words that trigger people to use their own imaginations, and that's because when people use the power of their own imagination they are likely to see the darkest possible picture. If you describe every detail it may not be scary. If you set a scene, or describe something in a way that triggers people to use their imagination, then in my view, that'd be the secret.