There's a Shark in My Pants

I’ve been writing short stories since I was a teenager but had it in my head that I would write a novel one day. I began writing The Thirteen Treasures in my first year of university after being shown work by fairy artists and children’s illustrators by my tutor. It was at this point I knew I wanted to write about a girl who is persecuted by malicious fairies. I researched fairy legend and folklore, learning about the beliefs people used to hold about protection from fairies, and of the mysterious thirteen treasures. Many of the ideas developed as I was writing the story, although I had a rough idea of the beginning and the ending when I started.

David Tazzyman lives in South London with his girlfriend, Melanie, and their son, Stanley. He grew up in Leicester, studied illustration at Manchester Metropolitan University and then travelled around Asia for three years before moving to London in 1997. He likes football, cricket, biscuits, music and drawing. He dislikes celery.