About

Q: What's the best and worst thing about being an author/illustrator?

A: The best is, I'm doing the job that I dreamed of as a kid, and I love being able to uplift my readers. The worst is I don't have a boss to keep me in check. I have to rely on me and even my cat doesn't rely on me. He spends most of his time sitting by his empty bowl, pointing at his mouth.

Q: What's going on in the pictures above?

A:  1) Me as a toddler pretending to drive Dad's Ford Escort, with my eyes shut  2) Me aged 7 with a Chinese bao (steamed bun) stuffed in my mouth while wearing a fetching pair of Rupert the Bear trousers  3) Fast forward to me with my son wearing a pair of Rupert the Bear trousers  4) The only sensible photo of me I could find, which has a boat in it for no reason.

Q: Where are you from?

A: Some may be fooled into thinking it's Downton Abbey, due to my accent being so perfectly English, but I'm afraid not. My parents emigrated to England from Hong Kong in the 1960s and I was born in Nottingham. (I've never been to Hong Kong, but can tell you it translates as 'Fragrant Harbour').

Q: When did you decide to become an author/illustrator?

A: I've been able to draw ever since I could pick up a crayon without eating it, but when I read 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' at school - that was it!  Later, I bought every comic from the newsagents, each week, so I could copy the pictures. I collected piles of ideas over the years, then in my 30s, decided to send them off to publishers. My first picture book Bob & Rob was published in 2013. I celebrated with a Pot Noodle.

Q: If you hadn't become an author/illustrator, what would you have been instead?

A: As a teenager I wanted to be a fashion designer. Then at the age of 17, I won a scholarship to The London College of Fashion through a competition in Mizz girl's magazine. I also fancied window dressing for Selfridges, or failing that, become a backing singer for Duran Duran (a 1980s boy band so gorgeous I could have died, in the style of a melodramatic pre-pubescent). Now I want to work for NASA, but they'll never accept me, as my skills in maths, physics, and inability to resist randomly pressing buttons on control panels, are poor.

Q: What do you do when you're not working on your books?

A: Press random buttons, forget to feed my cat, attempt to play guitar, travel to interesting places (favourites so far: Tokyo, Florence and Iceland - not the supermarket), and scuba dive (with sharks and everything!). I also like running, dancing, gardening, painting, yoga and reading (in order of fastest to slowest).

Q: What are some things people don't know about you?

A: I'd love to be a ninja, but I don't like the fighting part - which is most of it. I can't read or write Chinese and can only speak a bit. I've seen loads of ghosts. I'm a certified reiki practitioner and meditation guide. I'm a massively nerdy Professor Brian Cox fan. I have shaken the paw of Larry, the Chief Mouse Catcher at 10 Downing Street.

Q: You're an EmpathyLab-trained author. What does that mean? 

A: EmpathyLab is an organisation that offers innovative ways to build empathy. I work with a team of authors and illustrators who encourage children to #ReadForEmpathy, so we can help them understand what it's like to be in someone else's shoes. This way, we can teach kindness and build a better future.

Q: What are you up to now? 

A: I try to keep everyone up-to-date by posting on my monthly blog here. Or even better, follow me on social media for daily snippets - just visit the homepage and click on the icons.

REPRESENTED BY THE CATCHPOLE AGENCY