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There are 50 Questions and  Answers for Golden Compass Author, Philip Pullman 

I didn't know anything about the book or the story until I got an email from a church friend telling me NOT to see it.

To be sure, it made me want to go see it.

The interview -

1. Where do you get your ideas from?

2. What do you do about writer's block?

I don't believe in it. All writing is difficult. The most you can hope for is a day when it goes ....

3. Where do you work?

I used to work in a shed in my garden. But it got too crowded with books and manuscripts and ...

4. What is your favourite among your books?

Difficult. I like them all, for various reasons. And I know that each of them is ...

5. What is a typical day like for you?

I'll get up at about half past seven and take my wife a cup of tea, and have my breakfast at the kitchen table reading ...

6. Will there be another book about Lyra and Will?

There is already another book about Lyra. It's called Lyra's Oxford, and it will come out at ...

7. Who is your favourite character to write and why?

I like them all, of course. People are surprised when I say that I like Mrs Coulter, but what I mean is that I like writing about ...

8. Can you give us some insight into what daemons are? Why don't non-humans have them?

I was discovering more about daemons all the way through - right up to the very end of THE AMBER SPYGLASS. And I'm sure there are ...

9. What books did you like when you were young?

Well, for one thing, I liked books I wasn't supposed to read - books for adults. I didn't always ...

10. How do you feel about letting people make a film from your books?

If I didn't want it to happen, I could always have said ...

11. His Dark Materials seems to be against organised religion. Do you believe in God?

I don't know whether there's a God or not. Nobody does, no matter what they ...

12. You once said that His Dark Materials is not a fantasy, but stark realism. What did you mean by that?

That comment got me into trouble with the fantasy people. What I mean by it was roughly this: that the story I was trying to write was about ...

13. When did you start writing?

When I was very young. I used to tell stories to my ...

14. Were you encouraged to be creative?

No, I was ignored. When anyone took any notice it was to point out what a twit I was, and ...

15. What inspires you?

Three things. (1) Money. I do this for a living. If I don't write well, I won't earn enough money to pay the bills. (2) The desire to make some sort of ...

16. When was your first book published?

It was published when I was 25 years old, and I was very pleased with...

17. Who do you write for - children or adults?

Myself. No-one else. If the story I write turns out to be ...

18. How long does it take me to write a book?

It depends on how long the book is. THE FIREWORK-MAKER'S DAUGHTER took me ...

19. What advice would I give to anyone who wants to write?

Don't listen to any advice, that's what I'd say. Write only what you want to write. Please yourself. YOU are the ...

30 more Q & A here.