BBC7

When Paul Shipton was a child he wanted to be an astronaut, a footballer or a rock star. He never really thought about being a writer. When he read books he wanted to be the characters rather than create them.

He was born in Manchester and has lived and worked in England, Turkey and America. After going to Cambridge University, he spent a year teaching English as a Foreign Language in Istanbul. He and his family have recently moved to the US, where he works as a freelance editor and writer. He says that although he is enjoying life there, moving has made him realise how British he really is. He misses things like British crisps, TV soaps, villages, pubs and double decker buses.

He says his favourite fictional character is Huck Finn, his favourite TV show is Star Trek and his favourite snack is cheese and onion crisps.

His books include:

• Pig Scrolls
• Zargon Zoo - "a fairly daft science fiction story written for people learning English"
• Bug Muldoon and the Garden of Fear