A Q&A with Tom Vaughan!

Posted on 21 April 2026

A copper background with lightning bolts. A shield sits in the middle with Hercules vs the Minotaur written on it and Herclues and the Minotaur on either side.

Could you tell us a bit about the Hercules series and what readers can expect from the fourth instalment, Hercules vs the Minotaur?

My Hercules series is the story of 11-year-old schoolkid Hercules Braver, and his epic, never-ending question for popularity… which happens to weave its way through the gods, heroes and monsters of ancient Greece. All told in diary form. Picture it as Percy Jackson meets Diary of a Wimpy Kid. In the fourth book, Hercules finds he has an annoying cousin called Theseus and the two of them have to team up to battle the Minotaur.

What made you want to write a children’s book series centred around Greek mythology?

Because they are just the greatest stories ever told! The fact that kids still connect with them today, despite being thousands of years old, just tells you how great they are… and how ripe they are for hacks like me to come along and riff off them.

The characters in the Hercules series are based on actual figures from Greek mythology – who has been your favourite to reimagine and why?

I think the god Hermes in book 3, Hercules: Hero to Zero. All the other gods are in it for their own selfish, vain reasons. Hermes is just up for the lols. And that’s the kind of deity I can get behind.

Can you tell us more about your writing process?

In each of the four books, Hercules ends up saddled with three impossible tasks, inspired by the original Labours of Hercules. So my writing process always starts with mapping out those, then finding a cool location and some Greek gods to interact with, and the rest is just about 10,000 hours of trying to write ingenious new fart jokes.

With 2026 being the National Year of Reading, it is more important than ever to get children reading not only books that they enjoy but books that inspire them to do great things – are there any books you read as a child that have shaped who you are today?

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, aged 13¾ by Sue Townsend is still the funniest – maybe even, best – book I’ve ever read. It didn’t just shape me and my sense of humour, but the characters I create. Like Adrian, Hercules has a very lofty opinion of himself that absolutely doesn’t tally with reality. Sue Townsend’s gift of allowing the reader to fully understand the reality of Adrian’s world through his own eyes, even though he doesn’t, is as close to literary genius as exists.

What do you hope readers will take away from Hercules vs the Minotaur?

In Greek mythology, the question of who the real monsters are isn’t always as clear-cut as it seems.

A bright blue background featuring all four books in the Hercules Braver series.

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Hercules #4: Hercules vs the Minotaur

Featured in The Sunday Times’ best children’s books inspired by Greek myths.

Hercules Braver, modern-day son of Zeus, is about to face his BIGGEST challenge yet… A legendary Greek monster has escaped from the underworld!

Hercules is ready to start a new school year as the BEST demigod when, to his surprise, his cousin Theseus suddenly comes to stay from Greece. Theseus, son of Poseidon, is a young demigod just like Hercules. But right as Herc was (finally) preparing to be a heroically good role model, infuriating Theseus causes TROUBLE at every turn!

But soon the boys are forced to work together – because Zeus has been so focused on writing a book that he’s lost control of the cosmos… and now the universe is in jeopardy. One of the most terrifying monsters in Greek myth has hatched an escape from the underworld! With their dads pre-occupied, it’s up to Herc and Theo to track down and stop the Minotaur.

No doubt about it, this is Herc’s most high-stakes adventure yet. Will the boys become monster-slaying heroes like their namesakes? Or will they learn that myths might not have the full story?