“Zoe supplies many of the original ideas’ says dad
I recently received a press release about a book that was coming out soon, the usual stuff I get in my emails, but this one stood out. This book was written by a father and daughter duo: Marc Clerkin, an English teacher, and his nine-year-old daughter Zoe Clerkin Alt, and that’s what intrigued me, so I made contact with Dad to arrange an interview with them, writes Michael Holland.
So far, they have written two books for The Adventures of Katy Krazzle series of books for the age 8-12 readers: Secret of the Sea and The Mystery of Tilgate Forest, both books using real places around the South East of England.
At what age did Zoe become interested in books?
Zoe has been interested in books and storytelling from around the age of seven. What has been particularly lovely to see is how her interest developed from simply enjoying stories into helping create them. She loved Enid Blyton’s Secret Seven mysteries and the Harry Potter series. That imagination eventually became part of The Adventures of Katy Krazzle, so the books grew naturally from a genuine shared enthusiasm.
Whose idea was it to write a book together?
Definitely Zoe’s. While we were on holiday, she suggested that we should write a book together, and I promised that we would. What makes the story unusual is that it became a genuine father-and-daughter collaboration. It wasn’t a case of an adult writing a children’s book and simply putting a child’s name alongside it. Zoe has been involved creatively from the start, and that partnership has become an important part of what the Katy Krazzle books are.
Who came up with the name Katy Krazzle?
I came up with the name Katy Krazzle, while Zoe created the majority of the other character names.
It’s a wonderfully memorable name because it immediately sounds like a children’s adventure character. Once Katy Krazzle had a name and personality, it gave us somebody around whom we could build this whole world of adventures and mysteries.
Who’s the ideas person in the team when you’re writing?
Zoe supplies many of the original ideas, although the best answer is probably both of us in different ways. An idea from one person can spark something completely different in the other. Zoe brings a younger person’s imagination and perspective to the stories, which is enormously valuable when writing for children. I bring my own experience, including my background in teaching, and help turn those ideas into a structured story. As a child, at Zoe’s age, I was reading classic Doctor Who books by Terrance Dicks and Ian Marter and being swept away by them. There is plenty of bouncing ideas backwards and forwards. Sometimes the best parts are not what either of us originally imagined; they emerge when we start talking about an idea together.
How is the work shared out?
It’s very collaborative. We discuss the characters, situations, and direction of the story together, and then the ideas have to be developed into a complete narrative.
My role involves much of the actual construction and development of the manuscript, making sure the story works, flows properly, and brings all those individual ideas together as one coherent adventure. Zoe contributes many ideas and, importantly, gives the story that younger perspective.
We don’t really think of it as dividing the book into percentages. It’s more like a creative conversation. One person suggests something, the other develops it, and eventually, you can’t always remember where one person’s idea stopped and the other’s began.
Do the books take long to write?
The concentrated writing stage can take around a month once we have a clear plan, but the writing itself is only part of the process. An idea can come very quickly, while turning it into a finished book takes considerably longer.
There is the plotting, writing, rewriting, and checking, and then all the work involved in producing an actual published book—covers, formatting, ISBNs, bibliographic information, and distribution.
We’ve now learned an enormous amount about that process. Our books are registered through NielsenIQ BookData, and we’re working on developing the series further within the professional UK book trade. So there is much more happening behind a finished book than readers necessarily see.
Our third book, The Whispers of Old London Town, is scheduled for publication on 4 December 2026.
We certainly see more adventures ahead for Katy. One of the attractions of creating a recurring character is that you’re not saying goodbye to that world when one story ends. You can take the characters somewhere completely different and discover what happens next.
Who gives the final okay on the finished book?
Both of us have to be happy with it.
That is important when both our names are on the cover. We can disagree about things along the way, which happens quite a lot, but that is part of working creatively with somebody. The finished book has to be something we are both proud to put our names to.
And having a younger co-author is useful because children can be very straightforward critics! If something isn’t interesting, you’re likely to find out.
Does Zoe plan to follow in your footsteps as a teacher and author?
As her dad, I would not want to decide Zoe’s future for her. She is already a co-author, which is quite an achievement in itself, but where she takes that in the future is entirely up to her. If she continues writing, I will obviously be delighted. The important thing is that she follows whatever she genuinely enjoys and wants to do.
Anything you’d like to add?
For me, the most special part of all this is not simply being able to say that we have published books. It is that I have been able to create them with my daughter. Years from now, whatever happens with the series, we will still be able to pick up these books, see both our names on the cover, and remember that we created them together.
At the same time, we are ambitious for Katy Krazzle. We want children to discover the books, enjoy the adventures, and want to know what happens next. We are working to bring the series to a much wider audience and into more bookshops. Seeing Katy Krazzle sitting on a bookshelf where a child can discover her would be a very special next chapter for us.
Schoolteacher Marc and Schoolgirl Zoe will be visiting the Copleston Centre, Copleston Road, Peckham, SE15 4AN to talk about their books and writing on September 23rd at 3.45pm, when school is finished.
Ample free parking outside.
To book your free seat, contact an*@*****************rg.uk
ISBN: Secret Of The Sea – 99781919234014
ISBN: The Mystery Of Tilgate Forest – 9781919234045
Available online now.
