Name: John Lockyer
Date of birth: 12 July, 1956
Place of birth: Kawerau
Now living in: Auckland (Forrest Hill)
- What is your favourite food?
- Anything with chocolate! Chocolate peanuts, chocolate cake, chocolate biscuits, chocolate!
- Do you have a nickname and if so what is it?
- I've been called a few names but not one that has stuck, so no.
- How do you relax?
- Reading, running, watching T.V. Walking along the beach.
- Who inspired you when you were little?
- Anyone who achieved any greatness – Peter Snell, John Davies, Edmund Hillary, Don Clark, President Kennedy.
- What were you like at school?
- Fairly quiet. I learned early on that by listening and watching I often learned more than by talking.
- What was your favourite/most hated subject at school?
- Favourite: any sports – sometimes English – often Reading.
I didn’t like Science and some Maths. - What was the book you most loved as a child?
- The silver crown, by Robert O'Brien.
- Which person from the past would you most like to meet?
- Roald Dahl.
- Who is your favourite author/children’s author?
- Favourite author: Roald Dahl
Favourite children’s author: Joy Cowley - Why did you want to be a writer?
- Not really true. It was something I always thought I would do. I find writing easy and difficult. The difficult times make the easy times worthwhile.
- Do you have a special place where you write your books?
- Spare room. It has bookshelves, desk, computer, easy chair and a window that looks into a huge oak tree.
- What’s the best thing and worst thing about being a writer?
- Best thing: seeing my work in print. It’s always exciting to flick through a new book and smell the fresh pages.
Worst thing: sometimes being stuck in the middle of a story and not knowing where to go. 
If you weren’t a writer, what would you like to be?- I am a teacher. So that’s what I would always do.
- What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
- Write, write, write!
Read, read, read!