Questions - here are some questions Don has been asked by his fans

Q. What was the name of the first book that you wrote?
A. The Owl Who Couldn't Give a Hoot.

Q. How many books have you written?
A. 40

Q. Which do you prefer: writing or drawing?
A. I like both, when you're drawing, you're creating pictures with a pencil or a pen and when you're writing, you're creating pictures with words.

Q. Which is your favourite of all the books that you have written?
A. Each book I write is important to me, because so much effort goes into writing a book, but I suppose my first novel, On Silent Wings, would be one of my favourites.

Q. How long does it take to write a book?
A. This can vary from 6 weeks to 6 months, that's not including the research that may have to be done before you start writing it down.

Q. Why do you like writing books about animals?
A. I've always been interested in wildlife and the natural world. Apart from telling a good story I'm interested in getting across the message of conservation because wildlife needs our help, there is so much pressure on the environment these days.

Q. Which came first drawing or writing?
A. Drawing, I can remember when I was 4 years old, drawing at the kitchen table. My mother used to collect my drawings and when I was older, about 14, and discovered girls were nice, sometimes a girl would call to my house and admire a recent drawing that I'd done, my mother would pull out pictures I'd done when I was 7, how embarrassing when you're trying to be a cool 14 year old. But I was glad that she'd kept them, so I could look back and see what I'd drawn during my childhood.

Q. Who's your favourite author?
A. I have many favourites, from C.S. Lewis to J.R.R. Tolkein, Bram Stoker to William Shakespeare.

Q. Are you interested in poetry?
A. Yes I am very interested in poetry, one of the first poets that really impressed me in my teenage years was an anti-war poet called Siegfried Sassoon. I love reading Yeats, Kavanagh, Keats, Shelley and the sonnets of Shakespeare. I write poetry as well and am hoping some time to write a collection of poetry for children.

Q. Would you ever think of writing a book for adults?
A. Sometime in the near future I plan to, but as CS Lewis said 'A good children's book should be read by a 10 year old or a 50 year old and still be enjoyed'.

Q. What's the scariest book you've ever read?
A. Dracula by Bram Stoker - when I was 16!