This is my first graphic novel—and not, I hope, my last! Set in 1936, it features three young people, Otis Falcon, ex-boxer; Nicky Flamel, ex motorbike racer; and Andromeda Frost, musician, and daughter of a duchess. All three of them have had an accident, and on waking from unconcsiousness have found themselves in a top-secret facility called Archangel Island, off the coast of Britain, which trains young psychics to fight young Nazi psychics who are being trained in the rival Zauberberg Castle, in Germany.

There are three different kinds of psychics in Archangel Island: naturals, who are born with the gift; swots, who learn it through hard work; and accidentals, who get it, yes, by accident! That's what Nicky, Otis and Andromeda are—accidentals. It's not easy to cope with the sudden change in your life—and for some, like Andromeda, it's harder than most. Desperate to leave, she escapes the Island, only to land in terrible danger. Can Nicky and Otis help to save her from the Nazi wizard, Dr Karl Totenhexer, and his wicked accomplices?

That's the story—but I I thought you might be interested in a bit more detail, on how the book came to be, and why I wrote it: Actually, the 'why' part is easy. It's the fulfilment of a childhood dream.

As a child, I adored graphic novels and comics. My top favourites were the adventures of Tintin, which I read and reread over and over. I also used to write and illustrate my own naïve comic strips and stories. Always, in the back of my mind, was the dream that one day, I might see my own graphic novel in print—a story which would convey to young readers the same wonderful mixture of excitement, mystery, danger and humour, the sense of wonder, as the Tintin stories had for me. What's behind the story itself? Well, it comes from my research into the strange, but true story of the Nazis' fascination with the psychic and occult. Himmler, founder of the SS, believed that psychic powers and magical talismans—such as the Grail, the Ark of the Covenant, Thor's Hammer, etc(yes! Indiana Jones is based on fact too!)--could be used to help the Nazis become invincible. Psychic research units were set up at Wewelsburg Castle, the SS headquarters.

The Allies were aware of this, and considered setting up a rival psychic unit of their own(Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond, who worked in the British intelligence service, was one of the main instigators of this idea! ) Though it never materialised, the notion gave me a strong starting-point for my own story. And the more research I did, the more material I found. Fantastic stuff! Writing the novel felt quite natural, perhaps because I've read so much in this genre. The main characters, Nicky Flamel, Andromeda Frost and Otis Falcon, leapt to life immediately, as did the atmosphere of the rival psychic research institutes, Archangel Island and Zauberberg Castle. I wrote the first draft as a kind of play, with dialogues and instructions to the artist. The second and third drafts, however, were worked on in full co-operation with the artist, designer, and editor. Working on this four-way process was an amazing, enlightening, exciting experience, and I'd love to do it again!