What inspired the idea behind this book?
It was inspired by reading a short story about Pippi Longstocking causing chaos in a school classroom. I thought it would be really fun to see Andy, Terry and Jill attempting to cope with the rules-based structure of a classroom after living their freedom-loving rule-breaking treehouse lifestyle. Oh, and I’ve always loved the idea of doppelgängers and thought it would also be fun for Andy, Terry and Jill to confront their opposite selves. There’s a lot going on in this one!
Can you tell us a bit about your writing process?
It takes me, Terry and Jill (my wife and also our editor) about a year to write each book. I spend about 3 months roughing out the plot and talking it over with Jill. Then I type it all up and lay out the pages. Then Terry does rough sketches. Jill and I then rewrite and edit the story until we are happy with it. It goes back to Terry for the final pictures. This takes him 3–4 months. And then it all goes to the publishers and it takes a couple more months to do the cover and print the books.
What were your favourite books as a child?
When I was a kid I liked reading comics, especially horror comics full of stories about mad professors and time travel and crazy inventions. I also really liked The Magic Faraway Tree and The Adventures of the Wishing Chair by Enid Blyton and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr Seuss. The thing that they all had in common was that they were all full of fun, mischief and danger and it was difficult to predict what was going to happen next. I loved the element of surprise and try to incorporate it into every story I write.
What are you hoping readers will take away from your book?
I would hope that the reader has a blast reading the book and gets the idea that reading is a fascinating place full of wild places, wild things and wild ideas and that they can’t wait to read another one!
Did you always plan to be an author? What led you to where you are today?
I’ve always loved reading and writing, ever since I was young and I’ve always enjoyed making up crazy stories and trying to get people to believe them. I was inspired to become a children’s author because in the 1990s I was an English high school teacher and I was shocked to find that my students did not like reading (or writing). I wanted them to see how much fun both these things could be so I started writing little stories to amuse them, and encouraged them to write their own stories to amuse one another. I enjoyed doing this so much that I decided to stop being a teacher and to try being a writer full-time.
Do you write about people you know? Or yourself?
Andy, Terry and Jill in the Treehouse series are all based on real people—me, the narrator; Terry, the illustrator; and Jill, who in real life is a book editor and my wife. I have always found it easier to tell a story if I can imagine myself into it, so almost all my books have me as the main character telling an outlandish tale and trying to make it as convincing, and as much fun, as possible.
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