Tony Payne

Writing is more fun if you live in interesting places. Jan Payne and husband Tony have lived on a houseboat on the Thames - on an island in Scotland and at the moment in a farmhouse in France.

For a while they ran a children's pop-up card ompany called Payne Family Cards. Tony did all the clever stuff - the designing, the paper engineering and sometimes even the printing - and Jan made the tea.

For the last few years they have concentrated on writing stories for children. Simple stories like Plummet and The Hippo-NOT-amus for very young children. Funny stories, like Not Again Annie, for children who are a little bit older. And for children who are almost grown up and don't want to feel left out, Tony is in the middle of writing a fantastical science fiction adventure which is funny and exciting at the same time.

Nowadays, Jan still makes the tea - but often helps out with the writing as well. She has just written the World's Best Book. Seriously!