James DuBern

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First, the classic author bio stuff; I live in the UK with my wife, kids and two cats. I love cats and am on a mission to see all forty species. So far I’ve seen 26, but I’m running out of steam because I’ve got all the famous ones and need to go to a jungle to spot the little obscure ones.

I have always enjoyed writing and telling stories. My first novel was Wild Summer, which I published in 2020. I was inspired by my umpteenth trip to a zoo, when I started to wonder if there really was an ocelot in that enclosure. Couldn’t someone just make a fake zoo, I thought, without any animals at all?

That’s how most of my ideas start. I go off on a train of thought, and it grows and grows until I’ve got a book in my hands. I’ve written for middle grade (Wild Summer, Puzzle Forest), for early teens (a survival trilogy including Great White Bear), and for adults (Hotel Taurus, Ski Lovers).

When I’m not writing, I’m making furniture out of wood, writing the questions for MOUNT CLEVEREST or peering out of the window to see if the skatepark is dry.