I was fascinated by The Lord of the Rings from about the age of eight and that lasted well into my teens.

Is it...dead?" asked Tom, his voice all quivery with fright. "A town just ran over him," said Hester. "I shouldn't think he's very well.

That's what History teaches us, I think, that life goes on, even though individuals die and whole civilizations crumble away: The simple things last; they are repeated over and over by each generation.

As a child I always steered clear of science fiction, but in the autumn of 1977 the bow-wave of publicity for the first Star Wars movie had already reached me, so I was eager for anything science-fictional.

I used to be very fascinated by Victorian stuff, and my best known books, the Mortal Engines series, have a sort of retro, Victorian vibe, despite being set in the far future.

I was fascinated by The Lord of the Rings from about the age of eight and that lasted well into my teens.

But boys will be boys, even the ones who are only girls dressed up: That's one of the rules of the world.