I once played a murder suspect on ‘90s TV show ‘Australia’s Most Wanted’. That turned out spectacularly well when I was spotted working at Just Jeans by an old lady pointing at me, yelling ‘That’s him - That’s him!!”
2. What is your nickname?
There are a couple floating about – My mum and sisters call me Del (which comes with no explanation), and I’m also known in parts of Tamworth as both ‘Uncle Cartoon’ and ‘Lord Cartoon’.
3. What is your greatest fear?
Not looking up in time as an enormous old woman falls from a great height, directly above me.
4. Describe your writing style in ten words.
Lately I’m writing ‘Craz-ad-rom-ac-dra-coms’ - Crazy adventure-romantic-action-drama-comedies.
5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Quirky, Humorous, Sensitive, Ridiculous, inspired.
6. What book character would you be, and why?
Hagrid (Harry Potter series), because he can rock a killer beard without trying to be a hipster.
7. If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?
I’d skip on back to 1957, just for the music – Elvis topping the charts, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry… waaaay too cool.
8. What would your ten-year-old self say to you now?
“So, being short and nerdy and not very sporty kinda worked out ok then?”
9. Who is your greatest influence?
As far as writing goes, it would be Steven King. He was the first author I really sunk my teeth into (not literally – that’s socially frowned upon). I read a whole pile of his books when I was a teenager, and - horror aside, it was his characters that I loved most of all. The man knows how to write people.
10. What/who made you start writing?
It wasn’t until I was well into my thirties that I actually sat at a computer and made an attempt to write. I’d published a cartooning book, and my editor asked if I wrote anything else. I’d had some ideas cruising around in my head, and the planets must have been aligned, because I sat down, and it just came to me, felt really natural to write and create characters. It’s one of my greatest loves in all of life (an equal first with my family and good coffee…)
11. What is your favourite word and why?
Mostitshowysableftolosplupertysogorijenshackysnoofam.
It’s a word that my best pal in high school and I made up. Although I can recite it effortlessly, it has absolutely no meaning, but it’d be a great name for a dog. Seriously.Now go buy a dog, and get that engraved on his collar.
12. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
After January by Nick Earls. It’s just perfect in its simplistic, understated beauty.
'Cartoon' Dave Hackett is an Australian author and illustrator, well known for his popular cartooning books and workshops and his appearances on TV programs Toasted TV and It's Academic. Dave has recently released two books, Gross Cartooning and his first young adult novel, The Summer of Kicks (UQP, August 2014, KBR review). You can find out more about Dave and his work, including watching video cartooning tutorials, by visiting the Cartoon Dave website and Facebook page.
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