| There
was a war going on in Korea and we lived on an Air Force base.
To make sure that everyone was ready in case of an attack, the
army and the air force had lots pretend air raids and practice
fighting with soldiers running around shooting blanks at each
other. For a kid, this was great fun. (Thankfully we never did
get attacked.)
Later,
when I was a teenager, my family moved to Madrid, Spain. We were
there for three years. At first I went to a Spanish school where
no one spoke English. That was kind of scary but the kids were
very friendly and soon I learned enough Spanish to make friends.
Living in Spain was a wonderful experience.
When
I was a teenager I became interested in painting and drawing.
I also started reading books. When I was in primary school I’d
been a very poor reader but suddenly I became interested in reading.
I had no idea what I wanted to do when I grew up but I thought
it might be fun to be a painter or a writer. People kept warning
me that it would be a very hard way to make a living and that
I’d better think of something more practical to do.
I
finished high school in America, went to work for a while and
saved a small amount of money. With it I travelled to Paris, France,
and spent a year there doing a university course in French and
French culture. But I ran out of money and had to move back to
America again. There went to work again and also studied Mathematics
and Chemistry at university.
When I moved to Sydney in 1974 I was working as an Industrial
Chemist, doing chemical research. I still wanted to paint and
write, which I did in my spare time.
I
wrote a novel for adults which was published and later changed
professions and worked as the editor of the School Magazine at
the Department of Education of New South Wales. This was a wonderful
opportunity to write for children and it was at this time that
I knew that I wanted to write children’s books.
After
a few years of editing the School Magazine in the daytime and
writing books for kids in my spare time I quit my job to write
full-time — which is what I still do.
I
live in a little terrace house near the centre of Sydney in a
suburb called Glebe. I live there with my wife Jill, and cat,
Jasper. Jill used to be a professional musician and for years
we didn't see each other in the evening as she was out playing
her viola in orchestras six nights a week. Finally she decided
she needed a change so she went back to university and studied
to be a librarian. Jill now works during the day and we get to
have dinner together and even go to the movies.
My
two sons, Eliot and Ian, are grown up and have moved away from
home. Eliot lives in Sydney, while Ian and his wife, Donna, and
their three sons live in Tasmania. So I get to visit that beautiful
island occasionally. I love to go walking there.
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