Neil Grant

My latest book is Indo Dreaming

It’s about surf, friendship, ghosts, travel, Indonesia, a guy named Goog, a dorky American, a mysterious girl, a sea goddess, sharks, volcanoes, shadow puppets, shipwrecks, independence, home.

The best thing about being a writer is daydreaming and working the same time.

If I wasn’t a writer I’d be Brad Pitt.

My first published work was Rhino Chasers

Morning person or night-owl? I am a night-owl forced, blinking into the early morning sun. Curse alarm clocks and small children!

My first job was making isolating pumps for kidney dialysis machines. This inspired me to look for my second job.

On a quiz show, my special subject would be how to type while balancing a baby on my knee.

My last holiday was not nearly long enough but extreme fun. We went waterskiing and I think I still have a broken rib.

My perfect Saturday is a long lie-in, a big brunch, a short walk and a nice snooze on the couch. Man, I am getting old!

The last CD I bought was Magic Dirt's Tough Love. Vulcanella is the most amazingly long and complicated prose poem set to music.

I’m currently re-reading The Old Man and the Sea. I think I pinched Hemingway's shark scene. Sorry, Ernest.

Big Brother or Australian Idol? I would switch on Big Brother if George Orwell (author of 1984 and creator of the original Big Brother) rose from the dead and gave Gretel Killeen a hard time. But then I would also turn to Australian Idol if they voice-trained a Howler Monkey from each of the Australian states and hooted them off against each other. But I doubt I would waste my hard-earned 22 cents to SMS my vote for either.

Favourite film/tv show is... Film: Life is Beautiful — a funny, tragic movie about a father and son in a concentration camp. I never make the ending without reaching for the box of tissues.
TV show: Survivor for the bombast, brilliant challenges, bikinis, bravado and banter. But not so much for the bickering, backbiting and bitching.

My favourite books are The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje and The Lorax by Dr Seuss.

The book character I would most like to meet is the Lorax because he stood up to the Once-ler and his logging of old-growth Truffula Trees for manufacture of Thneeds. He spoke for the trees, "for the trees have no tongues" and for the Brown Bar-ba-loots, the Swomee-swans and the Humming-fish. It would be nice to meet him before Hollywood gets hold of him and removes his soul.

The book character I would least like to meet is Jasper from Rhino Chasers and Indo Dreaming. He is one creepy guy. Also Aldo from Rhino Chasers who is a neo-Nazi, racist, bully (but a great character to write).

The worst thing I’ve ever written is a novel about an environmental crusader who becomes the new Messiah and is finally cremated at the burning ghats in Varanasi, India. I think I was trying too hard. Thankfully, for the world, it was never finished and will never, EVER, be published.

When I was growing up I wanted to be an ornithologist… really!

My heroes are the Dalai Lama, Dr Seuss, Nelson Mandela because of their love and belief in humans.