| Questions
for Duncan
Where
do you live?
In Sydney, Australia.
Are
you married?
Yes. My wife's name is Jill.
Do
you have any children?
I have two sons: Eliot and Ian. They're both grown up. Ian and
his wife, Donna, have three sons.
When
and where were you born?
I was born in February, 1941, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Do
you have any pets?
Yes, we have a cat called Jasper. He's very unusual because he's
a ginger cat but he doesn't have any stripes. He's a darling.
What's
your favourite colour?
Magenta (It's sort of a purply reddy
colour.)
What
do you like?
Talking to friends, bushwalking, painting paintings, eating and
listening to music. Oh, and reading books.
What
kind of music do you like?
Almost anything by Mozart.
What
don't you like?
People who don't like animals and pumpkin (unless it's in pumpkin
pie).
How
many books have you written?
I'm not sure but I think it's between 60 and 65. The best-known
ones are the series about Selby, the talking dog, and another
series about Emily Eyefinger (who was born with an eye on the
end of her finger).
What
made you become a writer?
I always loved making up stories. I thought about writing books
for years before I wrote one. My first book was published in 1978.
What
is it like being a writer?
It's great. I work at home and take breaks whenever I want. The
worst part is having to think up new ideas.
Do
you draw the pictures in your books?
No. The Selby books are illustrated by Allan Stomann
and the Emily Eyefinger books are illustrated by Craig
Smith. They're both wonderful illustrators.
Do
you work closely with the illustrators?
No. I've known Allan Stomann for many years but we almost never
see each other. And I've never even met Craig Smith! When I write
something I email it to my editor. The editor then fixes any mistakes
and sends it on to an illustrator. The illustrator then draws
and paints the illustrations.
What's
your favourite book that you've written?
I don't have one favourite. I like the Selby and Emily
Eyefinger books. I also like Piggott Place, Piggotts
in Peril, and the picture books My Dog's a Scaredy-Cat
(illustrated by Craig Smith) and Jeremy's Tail (illustrated
by Donna Rawlins).
Who
is your favourite character to write about?
Selby. But I also love to write about Emily Eyefinger. Bert Piggott
is another favourite. He's only twelve years old but I still think
of him as being like me when I was twelve.
What
did you work at before you were a writer?
I studied Mathematics and Chemistry at university and I worked
as an Industrial Chemist. I still like the sciences a lot.
What
would you do if you weren't a writer?
I’d like to be a painter.
When
do you think you'll stop writing?
When I get bored with it or when I die.
Where do you get your ideas from?
Getting ideas is the hardest part of writing. I'm always on the
lookout for ideas. Sometimes I see something or hear something
or read something that gives me an idea and sometimes an idea
just pops into my head.
The
idea for Emily Eyefinger came from a conversation I had with my
wife. She was telling me about when she was in Year 2 at Coffs
Harbour Primary School and her teacher asked the class where they'd
like to have a third eye if they could have three eyes. After
the kids had told her their ideas, the teacher said, "Think
of all the things you could do if you had an eye on the end of
your finger." When I heard that I thought, "What a great
idea for a book! It'll be about the adventures of a girl who was
born with an eye on the end of her finger."
What
is Selby's real name?
I don't know. He won't tell me. The reason he keeps his real name
(and the name of the town he lives in and the names of his owners)
a secret is so that no one can find "the only talking dog
in Australia and, perhaps, the world" and "ruin his
life forever". He rings me up and tells me his stories and
I just write them down but he never, ever, tells me his real name.
Even when he's dropped in on me he was wearing his dog suit disguise
so that I couldn't see what he looked like.
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