Well, everything surprises me about the writing process because illustrating comes much more naturally to me than writing does.

I think when I'm drawing, I'm seeing what's happening on the page almost as if it were unfolding like a movie in my head.

I love being an illustrator because I get to read really great stories, work with amazing people, travel and see places I never would've seen. And I get to draw all the time.

My house had suddenly turned into a hospital ward.

I love illustrating for other writers because I am given stories I never would have thought of, and my work as an illustrator is always in support of the story.

But I'm a fairly mechanical worker - I tend not to think about themes so much as plot. I want to get the feeling right. If it's moving through tunnels, I ask myself, what is it like to move through tunnels?

I think I always knew that I would do something with art because it was the one thing that I knew I was really good at.