Children's author Steve Cole has lived in Bucks for the past three and a half years. He moved from London to Haddenham, to raise his two young children, but it has made writing a lot easier too.

He says: "As a children's writer it is very helpful to get to know kids, and it is great for that, it's a very family oriented place Haddenham. It is also a much better place to write than a second floor flat in London."

He has written a number of books for children of all ages. He started writing the Thumb and Sock books two year ago after moving to Bucks.

They are set in a fictional and mysterious school called Freekham High, where anything is likely to happen.

Steve says: "They are surreal school mysteries, which all take place in a single school day. Freekham High is a place where weird things tend to happen."

He was not always the model school pupil, and advocates some naughty behaviour to build character.

"You'll probably get told off for reading them. Which is not always a bad thing. I am not going to advocate just mucking around all the time. But school is there to be enjoyed, and anyone that expects children just to sit still and listen is wrong."

He is very conscious of the pitfalls of writing for a teenage audience. "I was very keen never to patronise the audience. They know straight away when they are being patronised. So I don't refer to them as children once, they are always people."

He also knows that the teenage audience can be very demanding. "Adults are prepared to give. If it doesn't pick up straight away, they will stick with it. Young adults are the hardest, you have to get right in there and smack them between the eyes and give them something they want to stick with, but at the same time you don't want to bring it down to the lowest level, because they will still only respond to something which is well written and which will entertain."

He clearly gives the audience a great deal of respect, which is more than can be said for some of his former teachers who provided inspiration for some of the characters in the books.

He says: "It is a bit of a worry that some of my old teachers will recognise themselves in the book, though I have changed the names for safety."

Thumb and Sock, published by Oxford University Press, £4.99. ISBN 0192754246