Interview with Martin Baynton

Book Cover of Jane and the Dragon: Three's a CrowdName: Martin Baynton

Date of birth: 13 February 1953

Place of birth: London

Now living in: Whangamata

What is your favourite food?

Mango

Do you have a nickname and if so what is it?

No

What was your most embarrassing moment?

Being attacked in a supermarket by an angry elderly woman.

How do you relax?

I have horses and I do a lot of riding.

Who inspired you when you were little?

A.A. Milne

What were you like at school?

Very quiet, serious and hard working.

What was your favourite/most hated subject at school?

Favourite was English.

Most hated was Latin (had to do Latin and Greek when I was 9 - 11 years old).

What was the book you most loved as a child?

When we were very young by A. A. Milne.

Which person from the past would you most like to meet?

Leonardo da Vinci

Who is your favourite author/children’s author?

Charles Dickens

Why did you want to be a writer?

I loved books, writers were my heroes.

Do you have a special place where you write your books?

No. I have a laptop and write anywhere, very often in hotels, at the beach, in the bush.

What’s the best thing and worst thing about being a writer?

Best: You are your own boss, work when you like.

Worst: Can be lonely - you work on your own in your head most of every day.

If you weren’t a writer, what would you like to be?

I am also an actor. I work on TV and in the theatre. I would do this full time.

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

Read - read - read - everything you can find. Try to read some good writing everyday to practise hearing what good writing sounds like.

Try: Winnie-the-Pooh (original not edited)

Narnia series by C.S. Lewis

Read some books by Martin Baynton
More information about Martin Baynton

This interview is from 2002.

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