Halloween is tomorrow and acclaimed author Philippa Dowding, (The Lost Gargoyle series, and The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden) sits down with us to talk about her new book Jake and the Giant Hand.

Tell us about your book.

As a middle grade author, I have the honour of regularly talking to children across the country. I really enjoy it, and I especially love answering their questions. Here are some of my favourites over the years:

1. “Why did you write your book?” I usually say because I had the idea and I just had to. Kids get that, no problem.

2. “Did you write your book in two hours?” I often ask the class how long they think it takes to write a book, but this estimate was a bit of a surprise.