Tom McLaughlin

Tom is a writer/illustrator. On leaving Falmouth College of Arts he spent several years being a satirical cartoonist for a regional daily newspaper.

Since then he’s illustrated the Captain Buckleboots series for Puffin and just had his debut picture book called The Diabolical Mr Tiddles published by Simon & Schuster. He’s also worked as an animation designer, most recently for the BAFTA nominated Grizzly Tales on Nick Toons.

When not writing or illustrating, Tom can be found making tea and having a sneaky biscuit. Tom lives in Devon with his wife, two boys and a sleepy cat.

How long have you been writing and illustrating books for children? Was it something you always wanted to do, or did your own children inspire you?

I’ve been at it for about 3 years now. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, even before I had children of my own, although having my two boys around now is great for getting feedback on my ideas. I love the process of thinking of ideas and working out concepts. When I was at college I had a hankering to do animation, so that’s where the early drive to create came from. But I was also obsessed with caricaturing, so on leaving college I spent almost a decade working as a satirical cartoonist. Eventually, animation drew me back and I started working on stories, characters and concepts. It got to the point where I needed an agent for a TV project I was working on, and through that I found my way into publishing.

Do you think it’s important for children’s authors to address a moral message?

Not at all. But equally, I don’t think it’s wrong to have a moral message in there either. I think the sole job of a story, is to entertain and fire a child’s imagination. If a a book happens to have or need a moral message: so be it. But it certainly shouldn’t be the main aim of any book, in my opinion.

What are you working on at the moment, and how’s it going?

At the moment I’m illustrating two picture books, one called Catch That Rat for Simon & Schuster and the last in a trilogy for Puffin, all about a misbehaving pirate who lands himself on the naughty step. I’m also working on a comedy book for older kids, but it’s still in the early stages at the moment, so I can’t say too much about it.

Books aside I’m developing a few ideas for kids’ TV with writer/producer Anna Starkey, which we’re excited about. Television is really tough to get into, especially children’s TV, as there seems to be fewer and fewer opportunities for writers and show creators.

Are there writers who have particularly inspired you, and the way you write? Are there any new children’s writers you admire?

There are lots. I love the work of Roald Dahl, George Orwell and Sue Townsend. That pretty much sums up the kind of stories I like. I was never a great reader as a child, because I’m dyslexic, so I found the process of reading tough, but with those authors, it didn’t seem to matter.

I also love other kinds of story-telling. I love kids’ film, in fact I still do. Particularly Stephen Spielberg, the likes of E.T, Indiana Jones and The Goonies are still great favourites of mine.

Can you describe your writing environment and practice – do you have a particular place where you write, or time of day, number of words, for example?

Everyday’s different, that’s the lucky thing about my job. I have a small studio at the top of my house where I’m surrounded by papers, drawings and a huge computer. It’s a bit chaotic, but frankly I can’t be bothered to tidy up. I tend to work long hours, 9am til at least 9 at night. Some days I’m illustrating, others writing. I tend to dart between the two, I find that way I never get bored, or if something’s not quite happening, I can do something else for a bit. It’s also great when I have some animation design to do, that way I can completely leave the world of books for a few days and come back refreshed - well, hopefully anyway!

Do the illustrations come first or do you usually have a story in mind?

There’s no real formula to it. Whenever I’m writing I’m imagining how it will look and the same when I’m illustrating; I’m working through the story. An idea can come from a doodle, and couple of words, even a title. I just have to try and remember to write them down.

Do you intend to continue to write for children, or does an adult audience appeal to you?

I’m happy working in children’s publishing to be honest. It seems like far more fun than adults’ fiction. I would like to work on some older kids’ stuff. But I also want to keep illustrating too, so I think children’s publishing is the place for me.

Do you have any advice for our readers who may wish to see their work published?

I wish there was an easy answer to that, but there isn’t. It took me years and years to get published, I would spend every evening after I got home from work drawing and writing. I must have spent hundreds of hours at it, but it really helped refine my style and ideas. Then later, getting an agent really helped me a lot, but that’s easier said than done. I guess what kept me going through all those long nights of working alone and sending things out to publishers is my love of stories and illustration, I think if you love what you do then that’s half the battle won.

Thank you Tom!

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