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Alexander Gordon Smith & Jamie Webb |
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1. Tell us how the two of you end up writing together and how The Inventors came about?
G: I actually came up with the idea in a dream! I woke up one morning with the image of two young inventors running away from an evil genius, and my first thought was that I wanted to make it into a book! My second thought was that I was going to write it with Jamie, who was nine. It was the summer holidays, and something really fun for us to do.
J: Gordon ran round to tell me about The Inventors as soon as he had the idea – he was so excited he didn’t even put any shoes on! I thought it was a great idea and so we started writing. What we did was we would talk for hours about the ideas and the characters and all the crazy inventions and what was going to happen in the story, then Gordon did most of the writing and we read through it and changed bits together. It was really good fun!
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2. How would you describe The Inventors, and who do you think is really going to love it?
G: The Inventors is about two young, well… inventors! They are called Nate and Cat, and you name it, they’ve tried to build it. Some of their inventions work, but quite often they are a complete disaster! One day they accidentally turn their headmaster bright blue, but instead of expelling them he enters his troublesome pupils into a competition to win a year’s scholarship with the world’s most famous inventor, Ebenezer Saint. They win, and along with 23 other young geniuses Nate and Cat begin a year long stay in Saint Solutions, Saint’s massive industrial wonderland which is full of unimaginable inventions.
To start with, it seems like paradise – Nate and Cat have free reign to build anything they like! But after a while the young inventors start to realise that Saint is hiding a dark agenda, and if they ever want to see their parents again – and save the world – they have to out-run, out-wit and out-invent the world’s greatest inventor!
J: I think the book is for everybody who likes a great adventure story, feisty heroes, crazy inventions, evil villains and killer robots! It’s really action packed, but it gets quite scary at times so it might not be suitable for people under eight. We’ve had loads of people tell us they’ve loved the book – from eight year olds to eighty year olds!
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3. Did you have disagreements when you were writing together? Any fights break out?!
J: Amazingly, we didn’t have a single fight. Well, it’s not that amazing really as Gordon and I have only had one argument with each other in our whole lives, and that was only a small one!
G: We were a real team when we were writing. One of us would come up with one idea, then the other person would add something to it, then the first person would develop it into something else – most ideas evolved like this into something that neither of us would have thought of on our own! I know that neither of us could have written the book alone.
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4. How did you find out that you’d come second in the WOW Factor competition, and what was your reaction?
G: We were so excited! We had no idea that we’d be shortlisted, let alone coming so close to winning! We found out this the same time we discovered that Faber were going to publish the book, so it really was a dream come true. I was so shocked when I heard the news that I dropped the phone and banged my head on the table when I picked it up. I wondered afterwards if I’d knocked myself unconscious and was dreaming it!
J: It was so cool when we found out we’d come second and we were going to be published. Gordon ran straight round to tell me, and it took ages to sink in. I really started to get excited when I went to bed that night and read a book – I suddenly realised that there would be people like me reading The Inventors when they went to bed. It made me grin all night.
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5. Gordon, what’s your writing background?
G: Well, I’ve wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember! I wrote my first book when I was about six – it was called Super Carrot and it was pretty rubbish! I wrote a horror novel when I was about eighteen but it never got published because it was too gory! After that I started writing non-fiction because it was really interesting learning about new things. I’ve been writing for The X-Files magazine and Scooby Doo magazines for a while now – it’s great fun and you find out so many weird facts and get loads of inspiration for new books! I just want to write novels now, though, as they are so much fun – it’s like living the adventure yourself! |
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6. Jamie, how does it feel to be a published author at the age of 11? What does everyone at school think? Did you always want to be a writer, and is that now what you want to do when you grow up?
J: It makes me feel so proud, and so lucky! The best thing about it is going into the shops and seeing our book on the shelves next to books by my favourite authors like Anthony Horowitz and Darren Shan. Not many eleven-year-olds get to write a book, although anyone could do it if they really wanted to! At first, nobody at school believed me when I told them, and some didn’t even believe me when I came in with the proof copy and an Inventors T-shirt! Most of them believe me now though.
When I was younger I really wanted to be an inventor, but I would like to be a writer too. Most of all I think I’d love to be an actor because it would be so amazing to be in a film.
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7. Have you received any fanmail yet, or done any signings?
G: Because the book has just come out we haven’t done any signings yet, but we’ve had a few emails and letters from people who liked the book. It’s the best feeling in the world to read a letter from someone who enjoyed the story so much that they took the time to write and tell us!
J: It makes me so happy when people say they like The Inventors. I would really like to do some signings and I think we’ll probably do some soon – I’ve been working on my signature. We are still planning to have a big party to celebrate the book and anybody can come – we’re going to make it a fancy dress party where you come as your favourite character from a children’s book!
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8. Are Nate, Cat or any of the other characters based on anyone you know?
J: I think we based quite a bit of Nate and Cat on me and Gordon because we both like building crazy things in the garden! I think Nate is based more on Gordon though because Gordon is always getting things wrong and breaking stuff!
G: We did put some friends and family in the book as some of the other young inventors, although there are a few gentle jokes too – the character with my girlfriend’s name is an inventor who is really clean and trying to invent a machine that destroys germs, but in real life Lynsey is really messy! We also put some people we don’t like in as some of the more silly inventors – although we changed their names!
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9. Jamie, we read that you’d love to play Nate if there was ever a film of The Inventors. Who would you both like to see playing Cat and Ebenezer Saint?
J: It would be the best thing in the whole world to play Nate if they ever made The Inventors into a film! Although I think I’m probably too tall… Gordon and I have thought about the film loads, but we’re still not sure who would be best as Saint and Cat. I’d really like it if Alexa Vega played Cat because she was Carmen in Spy Kids and she was really good, but I think she’s 20 now! Johnny Depp would also be great as Saint but he was Willie Wonka so he can’t do it now. I think the best thing would be for new actors to play the roles because it would give them the same sort of chance that we got when we had our book published! |
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10. If you could invent anything to make your life better, what would it be?
J: A teleporter! I hate walking, and with a teleporter you could just say where you wanted to go and instantly you’d be there! It would be great for Gordon too because he is terrified of flying and he wouldn’t have to go on a plane again!
G: I think it’s really amazing the kinds of things they are actually trying to develop right now, like nanotechnology. These are tiny little robots – you could fit millions into the full stop at the end of this sentence – that can do all kinds of amazing things. They are so small that they can change atoms, which means that billions of these robots working together could turn rock into bread, or air into water. They could even live inside the human body, getting rid of disease or turning fat into muscle or blonde hair into brown. These robots are still a long way off but scientists are already starting to design them!
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11. Who are your favourite authors, and what are your favourite books of all time?
J: I absolutely love Anthony Horowitz, all his books are ace. My favourites are the Alex Rider books, especially Eagle Strike. I think that would be my favourite book of all time, apart from The Inventors, of course! I also love Darren Shan’s books because they are so gory!
G: I’ve got too many favourite books and favourite authors to list here. I love reading, and every new good book I start becomes my favourite because I get caught up in the story and, for a little while, completely forget about anything else I’ve read. Great things I’ve fallen in love with recently include Clive Berker’s Abarat series, which are just mind-boggling, and Jonathan Stroud’s wonderful Bartimaeus Trilogy. If I had to choose a favourite book of all time, though, I think it would have to be George Orwell’s 1984 because it’s just so powerful.
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12. What do you enjoy doing when you’re not writing?
J: Playing on my trampoline! It’s my favourite thing to do, even if it’s dark or raining. It’s a bit like being in space because you feel like you’re floating, and it’s great for getting the blood to my brain to think about ideas for other books! I also do Taekwondo which is really cool.
G: When I’m not writing I’m usually thinking about writing, or trying to unravel a tricky plot point or invent a new character or machine – that’s the best thing about being a writer, you can spend all your time daydreaming and call it work! My favourite place to daydream is at the beach – the sound of the sea is both the most relaxing and the most stimulating thing in the world. I’d love to own a little beach hut on the North Norfolk coast so I could literally wake up in the morning, open the curtains and see the sea. Perfection!
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13. Have you ever written to a favourite author or been to a book-signing? Which writer – dead or alive – would you like to meet?
J: I have never written to a famous author because I’m too shy, but a friend did get me a signed copy of an Anthony Horowitz book which was the coolest thing ever. I’d really like to meet him one day, and if me and Gordon start to do book signings at festivals and things maybe we will!
G: Great question! If I could meet any author it would be George Orwell because he was a fascinating guy. I’d love to meet Dickens too, and Shakespeare. I’d love to have a tea party with all my favourite dead authors! That sounds a bit spooky, actually… I’d like to meet Darren Shan (he’s still alive!) because I wrote to him once and he sent me back a really nice letter wishing me and Jamie luck with the book. He seems like a really nice guy! I’d also love to meet Clive Barker because I’ve been a fan since I was a kid and I adore all his books and he looks like a fascinating person.
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14. What advice do you both have for children and teenagers who want to get published?
G: I’ve spoken to loads of people who say they don’t write because they can’t think of any ideas – but ideas are everywhere! Remember that everything has a story, and as a writer it’s up to you to imagine what that story is. Next time you’re walking down the street look at everything around you and think of ways it could be used in a book – for example if there’s a phone box imagine it was ringing and you picked it up, who could be calling and what sort of adventure could they drag you on? Also, don’t put too much pressure on yourself – writing takes time, so don’t be disheartened if you don’t write a masterpiece straight away. Keep working at it and, most importantly, have fun!
J: I think you should always try and get inside the heads of your characters and imagine exactly what it’s like to be them and how they see the world. You really have to live the adventure too otherwise you won’t have any fun and neither will the people who are reading the book!
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15. Is there going to be an Inventors 2? If not, what are you going to write next?
G: Yes there will definitely be an Inventors 2, we’re writing it now. It’s got even scarier villains, even crazier inventions and is just full of adventure and excitement! We’re hoping that we can write quite a few Inventors books because we’ve got loads of ideas. We’re still trying to build all the inventions – I’m getting a new shed that we’re going to use as our lab! We’ll be like mad scientists before long…
J: I’d like to write five or six Inventors books but probably no more than that. Gordon and I are planning a new book which we’ll hopefully write together quite soon, but in order to research it we’d have to travel round the world – we haven’t told Mum yet! Gordon is writing some books on his own as well, and so am I – I’ve just started one called Radioactive Rabbit!
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