#InterviewByTheme with Adam Wallace

Shut your eyes tight (no don’t, you’ll want to see this!) because Adam Wallace is here to scare us senseless with his answers to our ‘Thriller’ themed interview! Thanks, Adam! 😜

What is the scariest book you’ve ever read?
Ummm, well, this is kind of a tricky one, because I don’t scare easily. I was reading thrillers and horror books when I was 10! James Herbert was a favourite of mine. But books that scared me? Okay, so Alice in Wonderland freaked me out. Seriously, what was that guy on when he wrote that?

What scares you most about being an author / illustrator?
Ha, easy! I worry about plagiarising someone without meaning to! I sometimes write something and have this feeling that I know I’ve read it somewhere before, but have no idea where!

What has been your most frightening moment in this career?
Thinking I might have to go back to engineering, closely followed by the time I almost accidentally swore when reading part of one of my stories to a group of kids and got the words mixed up!

Finish the sentence… “In a dark, dark…” dark, dark, dark, dark, dark, dark, dark room, there was a light switch, so I turned it on and then it wasn’t dark anymore … but there was a vicious chainsaw killer waiting there with his chainsaw, who was glad I turned the light on because he previously hadn’t been able to see.

Who is your favourite literary villain? Why?
Ooooh, I love The Twits. They’re evil! I also love the Joker … what? He’s from a comic! That’s literary! From a purely selfish point of view, my favourite villain I’ve written is a guy called the Master of Darkness, because he was so dumb but so focused and motivated!

Which literary scene would scare you to death if you were to visit?
Any scene from Pride and Prejudice.

Describe yourself in an acrostic poem, using the letters,
N-I-G-H-T-M-A-R-E!
Oooh, fun. Okay. Here we go.
Nerdy (I love maths!)
Ice-cream allergies
Golfer, although not as often as I would like to be
Horse whisperer
Thin little legs
Man
Adam … wow, these are getting worse
Really nerdy … I love making spreadsheets too
Excitable

Which author / illustrator would you die to meet?
Harpo Marx. I know, people think he’s an actor, and they’re right. But his autobiography is my all-time favourite book ever in the world. Harpo Speaks. Get it, read it, change your life!

If you came back to Earth in another life, what career would you choose?
Tennis linesman. Seriously. You get paid to be in the middle of a tennis match, and sometimes the players come and do goofy things with you!

What is your top tip for those itching to succeed in the children’s literature industry?
Kill your rivals, kill them all … mwaaaawhahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!! That or something like get your writing to the best possible level you can. If you do that, people will take notice of you.

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Mwahahahaha! Thanks for answering our ‘thrilling’ questions, Adam! It was a HOoT! 😱

Adam Wallace is serious about writing and illustrating… but always does it with a smile on his face! His antics serve him well when presenting to adults and kids, and this certainly comes through in his books. Adam has written over 30 books, some of which include the wicked Pete McGee series, the awesome Rhymes with Art series, the revoltingly hilarious Better Out Than In series, and his newest (yep, another series); including Accidentally Awesome and Blunderingly Brilliant, and there’s also Random and The Vanilla Slice Kid. If that’s not enough, check out more at his website and Facebook pages.

#InterviewByTheme