Name of author:  Des Hunt

Where do you currently live? Matarangi on the Coromandel Peninsula.

What inspired you to write your first book? I wanted to engender an interest in New Zealand’s unique fauna and geology – the novel seemed the best way to do this. They are certainly more successful at doing it than any of my textbooks were. Plus, writing fiction is much more fun than writing textbooks. The impetus for ‘A Friend in Paradise’ was a lifelong interest in New Zealand reptiles, and when I discovered that we once had a giant gecko, it seemed the only thing to do was to write a story about it.

How long does it take you to write a book? I do a lot of research, because I want to know much more about the location and the features of the story than I will ever put in the book. I remember as a boy finding things in books that I knew to be wrong; I don’t want that happening too often with my books. This research and thinking occurs off and on over many months. When I get to writing, I like to get the first draft done in three to four weeks. Then I let it mature for a while before I do the editing work. It may be up to six months before I send it to the publisher.

How has being a writer changed your life? Now that I’ve given up teaching, it is having much more of an influence on my life. I can now visit schools and talk about my books and science. The feedback I get will, I’m sure, help my writing to get better. It’s a much different job to teaching. Each presentation I do is to a new group, and mostly I find that their minds are more open than the students that I used to teach day after day after day…

Any tips on how others can become writers? Write, write, write! That’s what I did. I wrote a book that was 250,000 words, covering all sorts of things to do with science. While it was totally unpublishable, it started the development of the skills I use today.

I have trouble letting others see my work before I have it published; that is a fault. I think if I could overcome that, and let others have some input, I’d end up with better stories.

What are some of the pitfalls you have experienced as a writer? Thinking I had it all worked out after having had one book published. I learnt the hard way  –  my next two books were rejected.

What is the best thing that has happened in your writing career? Having a supportive team at Harper Collins. While my first book wasn’t published until 2002, they had seen some of my earlier efforts going back to 1993. They were always encouraging and helped by suggesting ways in which my writing could improve; and they continue to do so.

Can you give an example from one of your books of how you found your characters? Mandy in ‘The Moa Cave’ was based on a girl that I taught. She could be infuriatingly abrasive, and yet beneath the exterior was a very sensitive girl. She developed into a lovely adult. I wanted to show my readers that the outward behaviour of a person, especially one that we don’t know well, should not always be taken as a definitive guide to the personality.

Did you base any of your books on a real life experience?  Yes. There is no one thing that I can single out, but many of the scenes are familiar to me, as either an observer or personal involvement.

Do you start your stories with the aim of making a social statement or do the stories grow on their own as you write them? The plot is mostly fixed before I start, certainly the climax is. The way the characters develop can never be anticipated, and neither can the values that you portray through the characters. I certainly don’t want heavy social statements, but I do want to provide a window into other people’s lives, and the values that they hold.

What was the last book you read? ‘Predicament’ by Ronald Hugh Morrieson. I’m currently catching up on New Zealand authors that I should have read in the past.

Do you have children (since you write children's stories)? Yes, a daughter and a son, both in their late 30s. However, reading to them when they were young has, of course, influenced my writing.

What books have you written for children?

A Friend in Paradise

The Moa Cave

Frog Whistle Mine

Where Cuckoos Call

Shadows in the Ice