There's Nothing Faster Than a Cheetah

About Tom Nicoll

Tom Nicoll has been writing since he was at school, where he enjoyed trying to fit in as much silliness into his essays as he could possibly get away with. When not writing, he enjoys playing video games (especially the ones where he gets beaten by kids half his age from all over the world). He is also a big comedy, TV and movie nerd. Tom lives just outside Edinburgh with his wife, daughter and a cat that thinks it's a dog. There's a Dragon in My Dinner is his first book for children.

A Q&A with the author

How did you make the characters of Eric and Pan come to life?  I wish I could give some deep or technical answer here – like I spent months researching dragon lore or something – but the truth is I just set out to write a book that made me laugh. I think it helped that before I had even started writing I had planned out the entire story. So I knew where things had to go and I had such a clear idea in my head of not only Eric and Pan, but all the characters, that most of the time it almost felt like all I really had to do was let them get on with it!

If you had a Pet dragon like Pan, what would he be called and what would he look like? I’m not sure how much of a say I’d have in his name to be honest, his mum and dad would probably sort that out. But if I did, I’d probably go for a traditional dragon name like Zakarra or Malar the Magnificent or Steve. A jet-black dragon would be pretty cool. He’d probably wear a Mini-leather jacket and ride a Mini-motorbike. He’d basically be a Mini-Dragon Fonz.

What would you get up to with your pet dragon?  I think for the most part we’d probably do our own thing. I’d be writing books and he’d be working on his Mini motorbike. But at least once a month we’d meet for a catch up, maybe go see a film or get something to eat. Of course Mini-Dragons only eat mountain goats, prawn crackers or dirty washing so our choice of restaurants might be limited. Actually, maybe we could capitalize on the gap in the market there and go into the restaurant business together. Hmm…

Are any of the adventures based on real life events? Unfortunately not, they’re all just things I’ve made up. Except for one time when my parents smuggled me inside a crate of beansprouts to another country and I ended up being delivered to someone’s house inside a Chinese takeaway. But then we’ve all been there, right? Right? 

Are there any more adventures planned for Eric and Pan in the future?  There’s two more books in the series coming out this year. In the next one, There’s a Dragon in My Backpack! Eric reluctantly agrees to bring Pan to his school. But when their horrible neighbour Toby dragon-naps him and takes him to his school instead, Eric has no choice but to launch a daring rescue attempt. And in There’s a Dragon In My Toilet! we’ll get to meet some more Mini-Dragons, including Pan’s Aunt and Uncle. If you love Pan, you’ll love… actually, no you’ll hate his aunt and uncle. Seriously, they’re just the worst.