Paula and I met in 1981, soon after she had completed her Diploma in art and design at Reigate College of Art. We married in 1983 and moved to Thames Ditton, a village just across the River Thames from Hampton Court Palace.

Here's Paula enjoying another family holiday in Cornwall!

We have three children, Jonathan, Christopher and Rosie. Jonathan is at Sussex University, studying Multimedia and Digital Systems, Christopher has just done his GCSES and hasn't decided yet whether to stay at Hinchley Wood Sixth Form College or go to Esher College, and Rosie is in year 7 at Hinchley Wood School , where she seems to do nearly every after school club there is! She's in the squash club, the school athletics squad as well as doing performing arts and drama! Jon and Chris are also in a rock band called Stenograph. You can listen to some of their music at www.myspace.com/stenographband , or catch them in the East Slope Bar at Sussex Uni. They're very good! They've even promised to buy us a new house when they're rich and famous - can't wait!

We have also had lots of different pets at one time or another, including 3  gerbils, a hamster, various types of fish, a cage full of lots of different kinds of stick insects, a preying mantis and a giant African land snail. However, at the moment we are just down to four cats - although perhaps that should be three and a half cats, as Tibbles only seems to turn up every other week!

Tibbles and gerbil!

Minnie

Frankie (the black and white one) and Smudge.

Our first book was written almost by accident. Paula and I had come up with a story for her to illustrate, mainly to give her some pictures to show to publishers. Luckily, one of the publishers liked the story too. With a lot of help and encouragement from the then editor of Hamish Hamilton, David Grant, "Willisk's Tooth" (which you can read on the "Stories" page) was published in 1986.

And this is me -king of the gnomes!