| Interview with Panama Oxridge |
When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer?
I’m not one of those people who knew as a child that I wanted to be an author. I was an avid reader, of
course, but my ambition was to be either an animator or an illustrator. However, once I settled on illustrating
I soon realized that I didn’t particularly want to illustrate someone else’s stories. Working on detailed
illustrative artwork is a painstaking process, and during the long hours I sat hunched over a growing
picture, I found myself mentally exploring the characters I was trying to portray, imagining their lives and
stories … and before long, I realized that I wanted to write these stories down for others to read.
One of the best things about being able to both write AND illustrate, is that the reader gets the author’s true
vision. There’s nothing more frustrating for an author than to see his or her characters portrayed
inaccurately by an illustrator because readers will forever see those characters as the artist imagined them
… not as they were originally conceived in the author’s mind. Once I realized this, I knew that I HAD to write
stories as well as illustrate them. However, as the years passed the stories grew longer … and I found
myself illustrating less and writing more.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
I started 20 years ago, mailing out portfolios of my artwork to anyone I could think of. However, publishers
are notoriously slow, and after waiting to hear from one for almost two years, I lost my patience and wrote
them a very grumpy letter asking for my illustrations to be returned immediately. To my astonishment, when
they replied, they offered me a job in their art department. Most sane people would’ve leapt at such an
opportunity, but I turned them down, explaining that I had no desire to relocate, as this would take me away
from the inspiration for my stories. Intrigued, the publishers then asked if they could visit me at my home,
and when they did so, decided to offer me a contract. Over the next few years I wrote and illustrated
several picture books for them, the most well-known selling over a million copies worldwide. Then, one day,
I decided I wanted a change from illustrating, and started to plan my first full-length novel – “Justin Thyme”.
Tell us a little bit about either your latest or upcoming release. If you could only tell your readers one thing
about the story that had to convince us to buy the book, what would it be?
“Justin Thyme” is the first part of a time-travel mystery called “The Tartan of Thyme”. It’s the story of a
thirteen-year-old self-made billionaire who starts building his own time machine, and the strange sequence
of events this triggers. When Justin’s mother is kidnapped, a mysterious enemy demands the finished
machine as a ransom. Nothing in the story is quite as it first appears … including the title, which looks
exactly the same even when you turn the book upside-down!
I’ve always loved books that leave you with plenty to think about once you’ve finished reading them –
preferably books with a host of enigmatic clues so you can argue with other readers about what might
happen next in the series. Because the entire “Tartan of Thyme” has been planned out in meticulous detail,
I’ve seeded plenty of clues throughout the book, (and maybe a few red herrings too). I’ve even included
some special pages at the back so everyone can keep a record of their favorite theories.
To add to the mystery, I’ve written the book under a strange pseudonym and hidden my real name
somewhere inside it!
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
With the “Tartan of Thyme” I’ve returned to all the things that especially intrigued and inspired me as a
child: the legend of the Loch Ness Monster, puzzling encoded messages, time travel paradoxes, primates
with advanced communication skills, missing persons with amnesia claiming to be long-lost relatives,
parrots who can perfectly mimic the human voice, mysterious family curses, baffling whodunits … and so on
… all woven together into one amazing plot!
Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
As my most recent book is my eleventh, my family are probably rather bored about having a published
author among them. To make matters worse, because the official “Justin Thyme” website is running a
competition challenging readers to discover my true identity, the whole family are sworn to secrecy … which
is VERY boring for them indeed!
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
If I’m working late, I often feel the desperate need for a grilled cheese sandwich around 3.30 am.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
When I wake up, I groan, turn over and go back to sleep for at LEAST another half hour. I’m NOT a
morning person!
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise
me the most?
If you looked in my closet/attic/basement I would be the one who was surprised … as I don’t have any!
Everyone asks the question about “if you could be a tree, which tree would you be?” so I want to know: If
you could be a color, which color would it be, and why?
Psychology … sneaky! What hidden truths are you trying to discover? Being an artist, you might expect me
to choose something vibrant, however, I would unhesitatingly choose black. I am nocturnal by nature,
preferring to be awake all night and sleep during the day. In theory, if I now pick three words to describe my
chosen color they should reveal how other people perceive me. Mmmm … how about Dark, Shadowy and
Mysterious?
Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?
Aha! Isn’t this meant to reveal how I perceive myself? Hmmm … I’m tempted to pick something intentionally
misleading like Tinkerbell or the Mad Hatter; and part of me wants to choose Peter Pan, because, like many
children’s authors, I have no desire to grow up! However, I’ll be honest: my favorite cartoon character is the
Beast from Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast”. Hmm … now what three words would I choose to describe HIS
character and what would THAT reveal!?!
If you could beam yourself to anywhere in the world (“Beam me up, Scotty!”), during any time in history,
where and when would it be—and why?
I would love to travel aboard the Titanic, (as long as I could “beam” back home again before it sank).
However, I’ve heard it’s swarming with time-travel tourists these days, so I’d probably choose somewhere
less obvious, like the 1901 Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Why? Because it must have been amazing (the
first time electric lights were used out of doors) and yet, unlike other places of historical interest, the whole
place was demolished when the World’s Fair closed … so there’s nothing we can see now except a few old
souvenirs and sepia photographs.
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while
you’re writing?
I absolutely cannot stand music, or any noise whatsoever, whilst I’m writing … NOTHING! Otherwise, (whilst
driving or playing Scrabble), I like listening to the Savoy Operettas by Gilbert and Sullivan; my favorite is
“The Pirates of Penzance!”
Do you have any favorite T.V. shows? Movies you watch over and over again? What was the last movie you
saw at the theater?
I rarely watch TV and it’s been so long since I last went to a movie theatre I’ve forgotten what it was I went to
see. My favorite old movie is “Meet Me In St Louis” … which is about the nearest I’ll ever get to visiting the
1901 Louisiana Purchase Exposition!
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
Don’t fold down page corners … always use a bookmark!
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
The second book in the "Tartan of Thyme" series will be called “Thyme Running Out” and will continue
where Part One concluded. Justin is hoping to find some answers to the many questions still baffling him,
but he’s in for several surprises and possibly a few unpleasant shocks … especially now that his time
machine is complete. The dreaded Thyme Curse still hangs over the family … and every tick of the old
Thyme Clock brings somebody one second closer to their inevitable death!
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
I’m not one of those people who knew as a child that I wanted to be an author. I was an avid reader, of
course, but my ambition was to be either an animator or an illustrator. However, once I settled on illustrating
I soon realized that I didn’t particularly want to illustrate someone else’s stories. Working on detailed
illustrative artwork is a painstaking process, and during the long hours I sat hunched over a growing
picture, I found myself mentally exploring the characters I was trying to portray, imagining their lives and
stories … and before long, I realized that I wanted to write these stories down for others to read.
One of the best things about being able to both write AND illustrate, is that the reader gets the author’s true
vision. There’s nothing more frustrating for an author than to see his or her characters portrayed
inaccurately by an illustrator because readers will forever see those characters as the artist imagined them
… not as they were originally conceived in the author’s mind. Once I realized this, I knew that I HAD to write
stories as well as illustrate them. However, as the years passed the stories grew longer … and I found
myself illustrating less and writing more.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
I started 20 years ago, mailing out portfolios of my artwork to anyone I could think of. However, publishers
are notoriously slow, and after waiting to hear from one for almost two years, I lost my patience and wrote
them a very grumpy letter asking for my illustrations to be returned immediately. To my astonishment, when
they replied, they offered me a job in their art department. Most sane people would’ve leapt at such an
opportunity, but I turned them down, explaining that I had no desire to relocate, as this would take me away
from the inspiration for my stories. Intrigued, the publishers then asked if they could visit me at my home,
and when they did so, decided to offer me a contract. Over the next few years I wrote and illustrated
several picture books for them, the most well-known selling over a million copies worldwide. Then, one day,
I decided I wanted a change from illustrating, and started to plan my first full-length novel – “Justin Thyme”.
Tell us a little bit about either your latest or upcoming release. If you could only tell your readers one thing
about the story that had to convince us to buy the book, what would it be?
“Justin Thyme” is the first part of a time-travel mystery called “The Tartan of Thyme”. It’s the story of a
thirteen-year-old self-made billionaire who starts building his own time machine, and the strange sequence
of events this triggers. When Justin’s mother is kidnapped, a mysterious enemy demands the finished
machine as a ransom. Nothing in the story is quite as it first appears … including the title, which looks
exactly the same even when you turn the book upside-down!
I’ve always loved books that leave you with plenty to think about once you’ve finished reading them –
preferably books with a host of enigmatic clues so you can argue with other readers about what might
happen next in the series. Because the entire “Tartan of Thyme” has been planned out in meticulous detail,
I’ve seeded plenty of clues throughout the book, (and maybe a few red herrings too). I’ve even included
some special pages at the back so everyone can keep a record of their favorite theories.
To add to the mystery, I’ve written the book under a strange pseudonym and hidden my real name
somewhere inside it!
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
With the “Tartan of Thyme” I’ve returned to all the things that especially intrigued and inspired me as a
child: the legend of the Loch Ness Monster, puzzling encoded messages, time travel paradoxes, primates
with advanced communication skills, missing persons with amnesia claiming to be long-lost relatives,
parrots who can perfectly mimic the human voice, mysterious family curses, baffling whodunits … and so on
… all woven together into one amazing plot!
Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
As my most recent book is my eleventh, my family are probably rather bored about having a published
author among them. To make matters worse, because the official “Justin Thyme” website is running a
competition challenging readers to discover my true identity, the whole family are sworn to secrecy … which
is VERY boring for them indeed!
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
If I’m working late, I often feel the desperate need for a grilled cheese sandwich around 3.30 am.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
When I wake up, I groan, turn over and go back to sleep for at LEAST another half hour. I’m NOT a
morning person!
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise
me the most?
If you looked in my closet/attic/basement I would be the one who was surprised … as I don’t have any!
Everyone asks the question about “if you could be a tree, which tree would you be?” so I want to know: If
you could be a color, which color would it be, and why?
Psychology … sneaky! What hidden truths are you trying to discover? Being an artist, you might expect me
to choose something vibrant, however, I would unhesitatingly choose black. I am nocturnal by nature,
preferring to be awake all night and sleep during the day. In theory, if I now pick three words to describe my
chosen color they should reveal how other people perceive me. Mmmm … how about Dark, Shadowy and
Mysterious?
Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?
Aha! Isn’t this meant to reveal how I perceive myself? Hmmm … I’m tempted to pick something intentionally
misleading like Tinkerbell or the Mad Hatter; and part of me wants to choose Peter Pan, because, like many
children’s authors, I have no desire to grow up! However, I’ll be honest: my favorite cartoon character is the
Beast from Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast”. Hmm … now what three words would I choose to describe HIS
character and what would THAT reveal!?!
If you could beam yourself to anywhere in the world (“Beam me up, Scotty!”), during any time in history,
where and when would it be—and why?
I would love to travel aboard the Titanic, (as long as I could “beam” back home again before it sank).
However, I’ve heard it’s swarming with time-travel tourists these days, so I’d probably choose somewhere
less obvious, like the 1901 Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Why? Because it must have been amazing (the
first time electric lights were used out of doors) and yet, unlike other places of historical interest, the whole
place was demolished when the World’s Fair closed … so there’s nothing we can see now except a few old
souvenirs and sepia photographs.
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while
you’re writing?
I absolutely cannot stand music, or any noise whatsoever, whilst I’m writing … NOTHING! Otherwise, (whilst
driving or playing Scrabble), I like listening to the Savoy Operettas by Gilbert and Sullivan; my favorite is
“The Pirates of Penzance!”
Do you have any favorite T.V. shows? Movies you watch over and over again? What was the last movie you
saw at the theater?
I rarely watch TV and it’s been so long since I last went to a movie theatre I’ve forgotten what it was I went to
see. My favorite old movie is “Meet Me In St Louis” … which is about the nearest I’ll ever get to visiting the
1901 Louisiana Purchase Exposition!
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
Don’t fold down page corners … always use a bookmark!
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
The second book in the "Tartan of Thyme" series will be called “Thyme Running Out” and will continue
where Part One concluded. Justin is hoping to find some answers to the many questions still baffling him,
but he’s in for several surprises and possibly a few unpleasant shocks … especially now that his time
machine is complete. The dreaded Thyme Curse still hangs over the family … and every tick of the old
Thyme Clock brings somebody one second closer to their inevitable death!
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!