More Fun Facts with Andy Griffiths - you want 'em, we got 'em!



Andy with business partner Terry Denton

Who are your favourite authors?
Dr Seuss, Enid Blyton and Lewis Carroll.

What football team do you barrack for?
The Brisbane Lions.

Have any of your books been made into a movie or TV show?
Yes, the Just! series has been made into a Canadian cartoon series called What’s With Andy? (see clips from the show on YouTube)



Are your stories true?
Most of the stories are based on a real event or a real emotion but then I get carried away and they end up completely exaggerated and not true at all.

Do you have any cool games kids can play?

Yes!

• The Andy Game
  Are you clever enough to get my big fat head safely across the park, over the river and into a cave?
• The Bumageddon Game
  Are you brave enough to fight the evil bum invaders?
• The online Andy Griffiths quiz
  Are you smart enough to take the Andy Griffiths trivia quiz?
• Mr Brainfright’s banana slide game
  See how far you can slide on a banana peel!

How old were you when you started writing?

I have stuff that I wrote when I was five.

What is it like working with illustrator Terry Denton?

It’s really fun and very harmonious. We share a similar sense of humour and we’re always pushing each other to see how far it can go and what surprising places it can take us.

How does it feel when a publisher accepts a book you have written?

When Just Tricking!, my first book, was accepted in 1997 after ten years of trying to get a publisher to accept my work, it was a magical, wonderful feeling. So many people had told me it was impossible. Luckily, I am quite stubborn and extremely persistent: two qualities that are every bit as important for success in writing as actual writing talent.

Any advice for young aspiring authors out there?

See the last sentence in my answer above and read it three times. Then write it down in the cheap exercise book that you practise writing in every day. What? Call yourself an aspiring author and you don’t HAVE a cheap exercise book that you practise writing in every day? Then GET ONE and start writing in it every day... five minutes a day to start with, and gradually increase to at least thirty minutes a day. You get better at writing like you get better at everything else: constant practice.