Name: James Norcliffe
Date of birth: 3 March 1946
Place of birth: McBreerty Annexe, Grey Main Hospital, Greymouth
Now living in: Christchurch
- What is your favourite food?
- Prawns in sweet chilli sauce or smoked chicken salad or anything - I’m an omnivore.
- Do you have a nickname and if so what is it?
- Jim
- What was your most embarrassing moment?
- Covering the ceiling and walls of my flat with chocolate instant pudding in a failed experiment in centrifugal force.
- How do you relax?
- In a hot bath with a soggy cryptic crossword.
- Who inspired you when you were little?
- My primary school principal at Mt Pleasant School - Cliff Wright.
- What were you like at school?
- Good with words. They kept me out of serious trouble.
- What was your favourite/most hated subject at school?
- My favourite was English. I didn’t hate any subject but I wasn’t fond of woodwork as I could never get dovetail joints right.
- What was the book you most loved as a child?
- The island in the pines by Elleston Trevor.
- Which person from the past would you most like to meet?
- Merlin
- Who is your favourite author/children’s author?
- Changes all the time. Adult: Jane Austen. Children's: Alan Garner, Leon Garfield, Sid Fleischman.
- Why did you want to be a writer?
- Because I really enjoyed writing - the making of things.
- Do you have a special place where you write your books?
- Not really. I write them in my head then I put them down in my study.
- What’s the best thing and worst thing about being a writer?
- Best thing: Thinking up a wonderful poem/story/line that works beautifully.
Worst thing: Being unable to remember it in the morning. 
If you weren’t a writer, what would you like to be?- 1. Another writer.
2. A musician. - What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
- 1. Read and write and write and read.
2. When it’s ready - show people your writing.