Paul Mason

My children's books often find their way into a subject via surprising, unbelievable or just plain revolting facts. Among them are award-nominated books about 101 ways to save the planet, managing money, vile things that go wrong with the human body, the dangers (or otherwise) of being sucked down an airplane toilet, how to be an ace skateboarder, and the world's looniest inventors.

As well as books for children, I've written adult sports titles, material for the Discovery Channel, a blog for the Guardian newspaper, and many other projects.

Today, I live at a secret location on the coast of Europe, where sadly my writing shack usually smells of drying wetsuit. There's always a surfboard propped in the corner ready for a new swell, a bike leant against the wall waiting for the next ride, and in winter a scattering of snowboarding gear lying around.