Silence Thayer:  I have to tell you, when I first read the long list of titles you've authored I said to myself, "just what kind of man is this"! You've written so prolifically on such diverse subjects, from psychical research to children's books, from Martians to romance novels. How do you explain your desire and ability to do so?

Herbie Brennan:  Addiction mainly. I discovered years ago I was addicted to writing much the same way some people get addicted to drugs - and for essentially the same reason. Stephen King somewhere talks about the writing process as a window opening up on the page and the writer passing through it into a whole different world. I know that feeling very well: it's an escape from mundane reality and I love it. That's what gets me writing; and it's a rare day when I don't write something. The variety of topics reflects a variety of interests - psychical research, psychology, history, prehistory... I'm a nuts and bolts man. I love finding out how things work. If you and I were sitting together at a supper party, I'd be trying to find out what your job entailed, how you got it, how your Web site works, what drew you to the Gothic and so on. It's a genuine interest and it's not confined to glamorous jobs like editing a Web magazine - I'd be digging just as hard if you were a road-sweeper. The children's books are a bit different. I started writing for kids partly because I got interested in role play gaming and partly because an American publisher told me I'd make lots of money. I kept doing it partly because I discovered I have a very childish mind - what amuses youngsters (bad puns, scatalogical references and so on) amuses me as well - and partly because of the feedback. Children are the best critics in the world. They tell you when you're great and they tell you when you're useless. A writer needs that to keep on his toes.