'The best books, reviewed with insight and charm, but without compromise.'
- author Jackie French

Tuesday 27 April 2021

10 Quirky Questions with author/illustrator Graeme Base

1. What's your hidden talent?
Filling in question and answer form s wihtout llojjinf at the keyboarf,

2. Who is your favourite literary villain and why?
Gollum from The Lord of the Rings - he is so fabulously conflicted.

3. You're hosting a literary dinner party, which five authors would you invite? (alive or dead)
Oh, definitely dead. I find the alive ones tend to eat more, leaving less for me. And does it have to be five?

4. Which literary invention do you wish was real?
The Time Machine, so that I could go back and look at the keyboard while I wrote the answer to Question One.

5. What are five words that describe your writing process?
Passion, perspiration, persistence, perseverance, patience, pizza. Sorry, that was six.

6. Which are the five words you would like to be remembered by as a writer?
All of the above but with pictures instead of pizza.

7. Picture your favourite writing space. What are five objects you would find there?
A cup of coffee, my computer, another cup of coffee, three baby hedgehogs. a cheque for a million dollars.

8. Grab the nearest book, open it to page 22 and look for the second word in the first sentence. Now, write a line that starts with that word. (Please include the name of the book!)
Boost your chances of literary fame and fortune by taking note of the answer to Question Seven. (New Scientist Magazine, 5 Sept 2020) I need to add here that the baby hedgehogs are the most crucial bit. I cannot explain why. The cheque comes a close second.

9. If you could ask one author one question, what would the question be and who would you ask?
Dear Mr Tolkein, what did you think of the ending of the last film in The Lord of the Rings trilogy where they totally ignored the Scouring of the Shire bit and did an overly protracted and awkwardly soppy departure scene at the Grey Havens instead?

10. Which would you rather do: 'Never write another story or never read another book'?
Never write another story. You can make books without words you know. Just ask Shaun Tan.

Graeme Base is one of the world’s leading creators of picture books. Animalia received international acclaim when it was first published in 1986 and has achieved classic status with worldwide sales of over three million copies. Other favourites by Graeme Base include The Eleventh Hour, The Waterhole, Uno’s Garden, Moonfish and The Tree. Graeme lives in Melbourne, Australia, with his artist wife, Robyn. For more information, see www.graemebase.com.au.