Publisher - Harper Collins

This book is such a big departure from Percy's Park - what gave you the idea to write it?

This book is such a big departure from Percy's Park - what gave you the idea to write it? Everyone seems to be saying this, so I suppose it must be. But for me the difference in this book is more of a natural evolution rather than a dramatic change of tack. It's visually different and the language reflects the story and, in particular the narrator. But the underlying values are the same as those that have forced their way into pretty much everything I write! Friendship. Inclusiveness. Kindness.

I suppose things look different when you approach them from the other side, i.e. the absence of these things. Oh dear. I'm not sticking to the question very well, am I? The idea grew out of a desire to write something with a bit more of an edge. Believe it or not, I've tackled 'junk' before. It's very interesting to draw. (junk, as in rubbish rather than the other sort of junk!) Then I went on extended leave to Percy's Park. Often something visual will trigger my thinking for a book. The scrap yard set me off on this one.

The illustrations in The Whisperer are also very different from anything else we've seen from you - were they a challenge?

Yes! I counted something like 160 cats (or bits of cats!) and fur isn't a natural subject for my technique that is basically line orientated. All I can say is, thank goodness for rust! I found the application of rust in these illustrations had the same unifying effect as the moss does in a Percy's Park illustration!

I do wonder if the difference referred to in this question is actually a difference in the design of the book rather than the illustrations. In comparison to a Percy book, for example, the page layouts for The Whisperer are more varied and a bit more complex in the way that the rectangular elements and the rather freer parts of the illustrations interact.

The narrator is, early on at least, outside the action he is describing. The story of the cats unfolds within the rectangular areas whilst the narrator, the Whisperer himself, remains outside and detached. . . until things start to go wrong for him. Then he gets more caught up in the action than he wants to be.

What is one thing you most hope children take away with them after reading The Whisperer?

Most of all, I want children to enjoy my stories, enough to want to come back to them. It is very rewarding, whenever I hear from someone that one of my stories is their favourite. I really don't want to moralise or preach at children. Heaven knows, they are not the problem in the world! But values will out, in any writer's work. So if mine are detected, I hope they will make a positive contribution and not detract from the story.

The Whisperer seems to have a number of moral 'messages' contained within the story - how do you think parents can use these to full-effect?

This question overlaps with the last, so perhaps I might continue along the same lines. I didn't produce this book to be 'used'. If it does have any positive effect, it will most likely come from the book being enjoyed, in the same way that, as a teenager, I enjoyed Catch 22 and Puckoon and Nineteen Eighty Four, etc. (Obviously, I don't mean to make a direct comparison with those books.)

However, I suppose it is not unlikely that my book will be dissected in some quarters and then it will depend upon the one carrying out the operation as to what benefit comes from it. The obvious questions will be about racial or religious divisions. There may be issues of gangs that could be discussed. Then it might get really interesting with things like, "do you think the rat in this story gets a fair deal?" or, "where can I buy a kitten that looks like a tiger cub?"

You've dedicated the book to Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu - why is that?

I've never been one for having heroes. When I was once asked 'which famous person would you most like to have dinner with?' I could only think of Twiggy because she's great fun and she probably wouldn't want to eat all the rhubarb crumble.

But as I was working on this book, I read an interview with Desmond Tutu and I realised just how much admiration I have for the man. He has had a huge influence during the transformation of South Africa. Of course, he is the first to acknowledge the mountains still to climb. Nevertheless, it all could have been so much worse. He has made sure that forgiveness and tolerance have been identified as vital ingredients as well as truth and justice in the difficult rebirth of South Africa. On top of that, he has a wicked laugh. . .and he's a pretty good mover on the dance floor too!

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