Horrible Histories - Terry Deary
WHY DID you START WRITING?
Lewis Carroll told a story about a place called Wonderland to a little girl called Alice. The little girl said, "You should write it down or it will disappear!" So he wrote Alice in Wonderland which became a classic book. Even though I have published over 270 books I still get a thrill from seeing every new book of mine when it's published. Is that being big-headed?
WHEN DID you START WRITING?
I started writing when I was about twenty-nine years old, but I have met a girl who wrote a book when she was seven years old and a lady who had her first book published when she was eighty-two. Age doesn't matter when it comes to writing.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE you TO WRITE A BOOK?
A book takes me between six hours and six weeks to write, depending on how long it is and how difficult it is to get the information together. Some authors take ten years or more to write a single book. Of course I work six days a week – Sunday is my only day off. In March 2009 I wrote six books in 4 weeks!
HOW MANY BOOKS HAVE you PUBLISHED?
I have just finished writing my 270th book and have many more planned. I am also writing scripts for Birmingham Stage Company's theatre tours. Many of my books have been translated into 40 languages. Not everything I write gets published. Some writers spend all their lives writing books and never get anything published so I guess I must be very lucky.
WHY DID I START WRITING HORRIBLE HISTORIES?
Over twenty years ago, I started writing Horrible Histories because a publisher asked me to write a funny history book. I discovered an amazing secret; children love hearing about the dangerous and the disgusting things that people used to do to one another. They want to learn about the foul food, the terrible toilets and the torturing teachers. They even love my jokes that are older than Queen Victoria's granny. Who'd have thought it?
WHAT IS MY FAVOURITE HORRIBLE HISTORIES BOOK?
I love the English language so I was really pleased when I was asked to write Horrible Histories Special: Wicked Words.
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