(1) WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR IDEAS FROM?
I get asked this question all the time and it drives me nuts, because I don't really know the answer.

I usually start by picking a topic for a book - like cocaine dealing for CHERUB: Class A - and the ideas slowly come together as I learn about the subject.

(2) HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE YOU TO WRITE A BOOK?
It takes 4-5 months from my agreeing the contract with my publisher to finishing the first draft.

The first month of this is research. I usually read lots of books, occasionally I also interview people (like retired police officers or swimming instructors), and I do research at the British Library, or the newspaper library at Colindale.

Next I come up with a detailed plan that says what is going to happen in every chapter. When everything is all planned out, I start actually writing the book, which takes around three months.

(3) HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO GET YOUR FIRST BOOK PUBLISHED?
I finished writing CHERUB: The Recruit in early 2001. I then sent it to two agents and one of them took me on.

After doing some more work on the book with my agent, we sent it off to a bunch of children's publishers in September 2002.

After some rejection letters, the nice people at Hodder decided to buy it. Sadly they didn't give me one of those seven figure advances you're always reading about in the newspapers

(4) WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK?
I love Catch 22 by Joseph Heller. I've read it about ten times and it still cracks me up.

I was an Asterix nut when I was a kid. The best kids book I've read recently was Hoot by Carl Hiaasen. I also like the Roman Mysteries series by Caroline Lawrence.

(5) WHAT BOOKS DO YOU REALLY HATE?
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. I read this for my English GCSE. By the time I'd spent four months reading, re-reading and writing essays on it I wanted to scream.

Also, Harry Potter 5 was pretty terrible. At least it was up to page 279, when I gave up.

(6) HOW MANY CHERUB BOOKS ARE THERE GOING TO BE?
The plan is to keep producing two CHERUB books a year until I run out of ideas! There are definitely going to be at least ten books.

(7) WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO WRITE FOR KIDS?
I've always read loads, but when I was about 12/13 I got fed up with all the kids books, but I was still a bit young to really get into adult books.

So my starting point for CHERUB: The Recruit was to try and write the book that I was searching for when I was thirteen years old.

(8) I WANT TO WRITE A BOOK WHERE SHOULD I START?
Bog off, I don't want the competition - just kidding!

Start off by writing short stories and articles. Show them to as many people as you can and ask for an honest opinion.

If you listen to their criticism, you'll improve and start getting more confident. Once you've had plenty of practice you might want to start on that novel. All you'll need is a really good idea!