Roald Dahl was the first author to inspire me. His talent for making characters live and breath triggered my love of writing. I love that fantasy can touch reality, that as a writer I can make this happen on a page. I was more encouraged, though inadvertently, by an English teacher telling me "You'll never write." It wasn't the red rag to the bull you might have thought. It devastated me, for a year or two... twenty actually, but in hindsight it made me a strong and better writer.
Reading constantly children's authors like: Roald Dahl, Darren Shan, Mark Haddon, David Clement-Davies, Beverley more...