Or click on a number to go to that question:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1. Where and when do you write?

I've turned one of the spare bedrooms of my house into a work-room, and I try to write from 9-5, although I often end up skiving off in the afternoon and going for a walk on the moor.

2. How long does it take to write a book?

Mortal Engines took about six years, because I didn't know if it was publishable and had to work at it during little bits of spare time between illustration jobs. Now that I can afford to devote more to writing I find it takes between eighteen months and two years to complete a book of that length.

3. How do you come up with your character's names?

Some just arrive in my mind and sound right, like Hester Shaw. Most are based on 'found' words; Natsworthy is one of my favourite places on Dartmoor, and Chudleigh Pomeroy is a combination of Chudleigh Knighton and Berry Pomeroy, which are both close to where I live in Devon . When I'm stuck for a name I usually turn to an atlas or a reference book; I found Shrike and Smew in a guide to British birds, while Scabious and Pennyroyal are both flower names.

4. Which children's writers do you admire?

I try to avoid reading contemporary children's books, but I always make an exception for Geraldine McCaughrean, who writes like an angel. I also love the work of Rosemary Sutcliffe, who was one of my favourite authors when I was growing up.

I can't give away much, but there is a return to London , which might come as a surprise to everyone who thought it had been completely destroyed at the end of Mortal Engines (including me).

6. Are there any surprises in store for Tom, Hester and Wren?

Everyone in the book experiences constant surprises, mostly of a nasty, life-threatening sort and at the end of chapters.

7. Did it take long to write?

Infernal Devices and A Darkling Plain started as one book, which had to be split in half when it became too long. I've had the end in my mind ever since

I wrote Predator's Gold but working out all the sub-plots and secondary characters took a long time.

8. Do you have a favourite character in the book and are there any new ones?

I'm still fond of Hester, despite all her dreadful behaviour. A Darkling Plain also introduces a clutch of characters, of whom my favourites are the mysterious and rather smelly Grandma Gravey and an old soldier called Kriegsmarshal Von Kolbold.

9. Is this really the end for Tom, Hester, and Wren?

I have a few ideas for further stories set in the same world, but I think A Darkling Plain concludes the stories of this particular set of characters!