I took a trip down to Lyme Regis this summer and visited Catherine and Laurence Anholt at their book shop by the sea. Here's what Laurence had to say...

Where were you born and brought up?

I was born in London but grew up in Amsterdam. I'm a Cockney Rebel!

What was the best thing about your childhood?

I had a wild and wicked time as a teenager but I can't talk about it on a kids website! Having left school with very few qualifications, I was lucky enough to spend eight fantastic years at Art School and I finished with an MA from the Royal Academy of Art

What did you want to be when you grew up?

I have been obsessed by Art since I was young. So my dream was to become a painter like Van Gogh or Picasso. Picasso was better because he had two ears.

Do you prefer being an adult, or do you long with yearning for your happy childhood days?

I did things back to front. When I was little I was rather serious and not hugely happy. But I am now thoroughly enjoying my childhood! Yes indeed, Life is a beautiful thing - I recommend it to all my friends!

What do you do in your spare time?

Everyone in my family loves to travel. We took the kids on many fantastic adventures when they were young and they once spent Christmas day riding camels in the Sahara desert. Our oldest daughter is now an Anthropologist and has visited some extraordinary places. I loved Indonesia and Morocco and Cathy and I are currently preparing a trip across India. In the meantime, I must admit that we have a campervan and we like to take off spontaneously in Europe and the UK. I know what you're thinking...'middle-aged, middle of the road...' but really, it's more Jack Kerouac than the Caravan Club... honest!

Tell me three interesting facts about yourself (likes, dislikes, ambitions, weird things you can do….whatever!)

 1.   I have done many weird jobs including hotel-night-receptionist, carpenter and tropical fish salesman.
       2.   I have a peanut allergy (although my family tell me it is psychosomatic).
       3.   I was born with two heads. (One of these facts may not be true).

How long have you been writing and how many books have you published?

I started making books with my wife, Catherine in 1984 when our children were babies. Since then we’ve made more than ninety (….books that is, not babies!)

Are your books in other languages?

I think it’s about 40 or 50 languages around the world including Icelandic, Cantonese, Hebrew and Welsh.

Can you speak all those languages?

No. But I can do lots of silly voices.

You work with your wife, Catherine. But who does the writing and who does the pictures?

This is a bit complicated. It goes like this… I do the writing and Cathy has illustrated about half of our books. But… I also write for other illustrators, including my good friend, the disgustingly talented, Arthur Robins and lots of other lovely artists. To make things even more confusing, I also illustrate my own books, mainly my series about famous artists called ANHOLT’S ARTISTS, which is very special to me. Admit it, you're totally confused…Anyway, the main thing is to go and read all of them IMMEDIATELY!

Where do you get the ideas for your Seriously Silly Stories?

Well, first of all you have to be a bit silly yourself, (you can practice that on your own), then take a large net and go hunting for a traditional fairy story. When you see a good one, grab it, tie it up, drag it home, turn it upside down by its ankles, jump up and down on it and then stick it all back together again - it sounds cruel, but stories really don't mind being treated like that. I get some of the corny jokes from my own children - sometimes they try to make me pay for them! I mix the jokes with a few daft rhymes and when I have finished, Arthur Robins does his brilliant pictures and we sell the whole lot to our publisher for A HUGE AMOUNT OF MONEY... it's as easy as that

Were you a genius at school?

A lot of people think that authors must be alien beings with brains as big as a football stadium. Well, it ain't true! Most authors are ordinary humanoids with brains like tinned prunes, (some very old authors have brains like salted peanuts). When I was at school, I was not very clever at all; my maths was sort of 2+1=6ish and my spelling woz evun wurs, BUT I always loved reading and was keen on drawing; I also had lots of weirdly wonderful ideas. (My teachers didn't know what to do with me except beat me quite a lot.)

What were your favourite books when you were young?

1. The Cat in the Hat by Dr Suess

     2. The Tintin books by Hergé

     3. The Owl Service by Alan Garner

     4. The Catcher In The Rye by J.D.Salinger

Have you got any advice for someone who wants to write?

Words are wings so fly away.

But if that’s not helpful enough, you download my Tips for Writers here: http://www.anholt.co.uk/about/pdfs/A%20Few%20Suggestions.pdf