Show Me Meets Nick Arnold

Nick Arnold has written HUNDREDS of books about science. His Horrible Science books cover everything from blood to bugs, poisons to pus - it's all gory, yucky stuff and we love it.

Here's the man himself.

We expected a long white coat, wild beard and sticky-up hair, but couldn't have been more wrong.

It seems you all love gore too, as Nick's books fly off the shelves. Well, they don't actually fly, you just buy them quickly. Hmmm, flying books, now there's an idea for a story… anyway, back to the point.

We've had a chat with Nick to find out about the man behind these gruesome, grisly books. Our questions are in italics.

Were you interested in science as a child?

'To be perfectly honest science wasn't my favourite subject as a child. I was the original 'horrible pupil'.

I loved English as I could write horrible stories, and history as it was concerned with gory goings-on. I studied history at university.'

You mentioned writing stories when you were young - what did you write about as a child?

'My favourite stories were, sure enough, horrible! I wrote ghost stories, monster stories… I was writing horrible stories of all kinds by the time I was six or seven.

Where do you do your writing?

Behind my house is an old factory, which I've modernised and turned into a writer's studio. It's light, sunny and full of my favourite things.'

How long does it take to write a book from start to finish?

'How long is a piece of string? It varies, depending on how long the book is! The quickest I've ever written took about two months and the slowest was getting on for a year.'

How do you do your research?

'I'm glad you asked me that. If you made a list of every kind of way of getting information that you know, I would say yes to all of them.

I use them all - from talking to scientists and visiting museums to looking at books, magazines, videos and the Internet.'

How does your partnership with Tony De Saulles (illustrator) work? Do you sit side-by-side working on your books?

'No. First we choose a topic. I'll research and write the book, adding directions for Tony where required.

The book is then prepared for printing - at this point here may be extra spaces for Tony to put in extra cartoons. Then finally I check everything over before it's printed.

It's actually quite unusual for authors and illustrators to even meet! Tony and I are great friends though and talk on the phone a lot.'

Lastly, what do you look for in a good science book?

'Speaking personally… is the book exciting? Does it make me feel excited about science? Does it teach me new and interesting facts I didn't know before? Is the science presented in a new and imaginative way? Is this a book that I would love to own myself?'

More on Nick Arnold and writing...

For advice on writing, take a look at Nick Arnold's Top Tips For Science Writers.

Find out more about Nick's books on Scholastic's Horrible Science website.

Nick was the judge for Show Me's Science Writing Competition - click here to see the winning entries!

Nick's pics © Nick Arnold, book pics © Scholastic.