Interview with writer Martin Brown

Martin Brown is a writer, currently living in the UK. He writes both children's books and books for adults. Some are bilingual in Spanish and English. We have conducted an interview with him about his work.

When did you start to write bilingual books?

I began writing bilingual books when I moved to Spain in 2008. I worked on my first one with one of my Spanish students. It was a translation from English to Spanish and vice versa of different sayings. It was a funny book and also very useful for people learning either language.

After the success of that book I wrote a series of humorous essays about my observations of Spanish culture which were then translated into Spanish and argued against by various friends and students. This became my second book, Spain is Spain.

Finally I wrote a series of bilingual children's books about Marvin the Magic Pillow and how he could change children's lives.

Which are your favourite genre of books?

I don't really have a favourite genre but I do think that whatever the genre, humour is an important element. At the moment I am writing mostly children's books as they are fun and very quick to bring to market.

How do you get inspirations for your writing works?

My inspiration comes from everywhere. I have a huge store of memories from my personal experiences and travels around the world. Inspiration is never the problem, time is the problem.

Which is one of your favourite characters ever crafted?

I love all of the characters that I come up with. It would be difficult for me to write about a character if I didn't feel positive about it.