I once worked with Justin Timberlake. For 4½ minutes. (I filmed a promo with him for the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards. We had five minutes. I work fast.)
2. What is your nickname?
Mick. My real name is Michael, though only my mum still calls me that. Mick is my mickname.
3. What is your greatest fear?
Being eaten by a tiny squid.
4. Describe your writing style in ten words.
Inky. Thinky. Crinkly. Stinky. Icky. Sticky. Manky. Tasty. Scary. Hairy.
5. What is your favourite word and why?
Cumquat. It is the perfect addition to almost any sentence.
6. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Bouncy. Bendy. Cheeky. Sleepy. Cumquat.
7. What book character would you be, and why?
My workmates seem to think I look like an aging Tintin. I’m cool with that.
8. If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?
1977. I’d love to watch the very first Star Wars movie in a cinema. While wearing flares.
9. What would your ten-year-old self say to you now?
‘Nice beard, old man.’
10. Who is your greatest influence?
My great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandmother. She was just great.
11. What/who made you start writing?
I wanted to write the comic adventure series that I would have loved to read when I was 12.
12. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
This question is horrible! It’s torturous! How could you even ask it?! Would I be allowed to eat and go to the bathroom, or could I only read the book, over and over until I expired? Hmm…Probably BOY by Roald Dahl.
Mick Turner is an Australian children's television producer, scriptwriter, animator and author. His book The Turners' is the first book in a hilarious new middle fiction trilogy. You can find updates from Mick about The Turners and his work with Nickelodeon Australia at his Instagram account (@whatmicksaw).