When and why did you start writing?

I started writing when I was univeristy. I'm not really sure why. I just wanted to do it. It seemed like the natural thing to do. My friend jokingly called me the multi-media renaissance man because I wrote for two magazines and had a show on university radio. I was into doing lots of things then and still am.

I write a blog and have just made my first podcast with my friend Sophie. I'm also into stage performance. The quieter side of me likes to sit at home, be amongst my own thoughts and write about the environment, organics and wildlife. Since the age of twenty most of my focus as a writer has been on the environment. It is my muse. I can't see the point in writing about other things.

Do you draw inspiration for your writing from your locality?

Yes. My locality is hugely important. I live in the Dyfi Valley, a few miles from Machynlleth. I came here when I was 24. I'm 37 now. I don't ever want to leave.

It is my inspiration. On my time on planet earth I want to live in a great big natural landscape. It influences everything I write. I wrote a story book called Curious Incidents in the Garden at Night-time three years ago in which I try to capture what the landscape means to me.

In my new book The Organic Garden I do the same for the people. I have some amazing friends and neighbours in the valley and I like the idea of being able to tell their story through my work.

What kind of themes do your books deal with?

The big ones - climate change, biodviversity, community, but also more personal themes like friendship, co-operation, empowerment.

I see organics and environmentalism as a way to empower people who are looking for something we have lost on the way to our globalised celebrity obsessed culture.

My books say THIS IS OUR WORLD, RECLAIM IT. Like the old song This Land is Our Land, I believe we have a duty to take ownership of the problems we have all created and do something positive to reverse them. In this process we find meaning in life.

Why did you decide to write 'The Organic Garden'?

Harper Collins asked me to write an organic gardening book. The Organic Garden is what I came up with. It is radically different to other gardening books, in that it puts community, ethical living and climate change at the heart of gardening.

Gardeners know climate change is happening and they know that things will never be the same again. There is a huge sense of sadness in this decade of what we are about to lose but all gardeners must get on with it, adapt and learn to live with whatever the new climate will bring. Whilst at the same time making sure they do all they can to reduce their own CO2 emmissions.

What advice would you give to authors writing about environmental issues?

Put the writing first. Not the environment. People want to be entertained and informed.

Do you have a favourite tip from the book?

Don't stop when you've finished reading the book. Use the websites and book references I've given to find out where to go next. Make the most of all the amazing free resources available and get involved with your local community activities and other social networks.

Learning to garden is so much easier, if there are people around who can help. And don't give up if you haven't got any land. There are lots of gardening opportunities.

What kind of problems do you face making a living as a writer?

Writers are being squeezed by ever bigger discounting in high street stores and supermarkets. The royalty cheques get lower and lower each year and the advances smaller. Celebrity makes it harder for new writers to work, let alone break through. A non celebrity writer will have to work harder and longer to create sales of his or her titles.

Writing at this level is not for the faint hearted, or in some ways anyone with commitments. I'm quite lucky in that I don't have anybody apart from myself dependent on my wage. I don't think I could write the sort of books I do if I did.

What are your plans for the future?

I'll carry on writing so long as people want me to but I also want to work with people too. Writing does make me feel lonely so its good to have a balance between the two. Apart from that I'm at a point in my career where I'm fairly happy to see what happens. In all things though the environment comes first.

Q&A with Allan Shepherd