Young Samurai: The Ring of Sky (44 page)

W
HEN DID YOU START
WRITING?

I’ve been writing all my life, but
mostly lyrics for songs. I didn’t start writing stories until much later, though I
remember making up stories in my head as a child, especially on
long car journeys to stop myself getting bored.

H
OW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO WRITE
THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR
?

I wrote
The Way of the Warrior
very
quickly – in two months! The story literally burst out of me and on to the page fully
formed.

W
HERE DO YOUR IDEAS AND INSPIRATIONS
COME FROM?

My heart and my life. The Young Samurai
trilogy was inspired by my passion for martial arts. It is the story of a young boy
learning about life through martial arts. It could be about me. Equally it could be
about you.

W
HAT DID YOU USED TO DO BEFORE YOU
WERE A WRITER?

I was a songwriter and musician. I sing, play
guitar and harmonica. I have performed all over the world, appeared on TV and taught
music at the illustrious Academy Of Contemporary Music in Guildford. My musical
experience led me to writing my first book on songwriting (
Heart & Soul
)
for the British Academy Of Composers & Songwriters.

W
HAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE
BOOK?

It
by Stephen King. The scariest,
and his best.

W
HAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE IN
THE WORLD AND WHY?

I’ve travelled to many wonderful
places, but my three favourite memories are playing guitar on a beach as the sun set in
Fiji, sitting in a tree house in the middle of a jungle in Laos and listening to a
temple bell chime at dawn in Kyoto, Japan.

W
HAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE TYPE OF
FOOD?

Sushi. It’s so healthy and very
tasty.

W
HAT’S YOUR MOST TREASURED
POSSESSION?

My samurai sword. The blade gleams like
lightning and whistles when it cuts through the air.

W
HAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE
FILM?

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
. The
action scenes are magical and literally defy gravity, the actors are like fighting
ballerinas, and it features one of the greatest female movie martial artists, Michelle
Yeoh.