How I became a writer.

Creative writing (then called composition) was what I did best as a child, but I could not see how I could make it my living. Those were the days before authors came into schools, and published writing seemed a sort of magic to me.

It still does. How else can you make something wonderful out of nothing more than a pencil and paper?

I came back to creative writing late in life, after research work, teaching in schools and university, and technical writing in the computer industry. It was after meeting the lady in my life Berlie Doherty that I began to write for children in paricular.

    

 

Alan and Berlie.
I like to tell a good story that will be fun to both read and write, often using myth and fantasy, sometimes linked to an environmental concern. I have written non-fiction for children, novels for older readers, picture books and story books for younger ones.

Texts for picture books are short but every word counts! A bit like poems. My latest titles are I Am A Dog, and Hoot and Holler, both published by Red Fox.

The research for non-fiction is fun, and it's exciting to tell the stories of ordinary people who have done extraordinary things. My Hodder narrative or literary non-fiction titles are The Smallpox Slayer, and Tolpuddle Boy.

I'm never short of ideas for stories, just the time to write them. What I enjoy most about being a writer is being my own boss. I was never happy when being told what to do!

My latest projects are constructing this home-made website and publishing Michael and the Monkey King myself on the Internet. Both take a lot of time and effort and I now have a lot more respect for the professionals.

 

  

 

We live in Derbyshire, and both enjoy walking in the Peak District. I play as much tennis as I can, and play the flute rather badly. Here in the countryside we make our own entertainment!