Wendy: Where do your ideas come from? How to Rob a Bank suggests a classic heist film and That Time I Got Kidnapped evokes a typical road movie. Have films been a big influence?

Tom: Very much so. Also, I keep a notebook to record stuff I find interesting or amusing – a Guardian report about a missing golden eagle is what directly inspired the new book [When Things Went Wild]. I guess I almost visualise the stories as films. With the same kind of rhythm. Maybe if I were to return to writing for an older audience it wouldn’t quite be the same, but I think it’s fun playing around with generic conventions if that doesn’t sound too pretentious. 

Wendy: Your latest book imagines a world with no mobile phones and other devices. Does this stem from a secret longing and/or a serious concern?

Tom: The message, if such a thing exists, that I’d like readers to take away from the book is ALL THINGS IN MODERATION. I remember my parents telling me off for playing too much Championship Manager when I was a kid and, although who’s to say how immensely successful I may have become if I’d heeded their warnings, it helped declutter my mind and distract me from the stresses of being a teenager. Now I find myself as a parent and my inclination is to suggest to my sons that THEY COULD BE LEARNING THE PIANO rather than watching mindless YouTube videos. But I try to remember that wasting time can sometimes be healthy. Not everything you do has to be productive. 

Wendy: Do you feel your work as a teacher and being a Dad have a big influence on how you see life through a young person’s eyes? Or does that have more to do with never having quite grown up?

Tom: Ha! It’d be interesting to see what my parents say to this. I think it’s important to remember the person you were when you were a child, what was meaningful to you then. I’ve tried to do that. (And not just through my Britpop playlists.) And, clearly, working with kids and being a dad is extremely helpful, if only to keep up with the newest social media app etc.