Q&A with author Luke Gamble

Luke Gamble is a vet and the author of the magical adventure series The Secret Animal Society. We asked Luke all about his writing, what it’s like being a vet, and, of course, his favourite animal.

What inspired you to write about magical animals?

I love the freedom of only being limited by imagination! The excitement of possibility. All the creatures in The Secret Animal Society exist in myth or legend – so whilst they might have a few enhanced special powers, it’s not like I’m completely making things up. Remember, just because we’ve never seen something, doesn’t mean it isn’t true!

What is your favourite thing about being a vet?

Whilst I enjoy the variety and challenge that is intrinsic to the job, I love making animals feel better. There is an enormous sense of satisfaction in successfully treating something that is sick, and the bond with have with animals is often a lot less complicated than it is with people. I guess that is why I am drawn to working overseas a lot with the WVS charity – there is no agenda with the work and helping animals in places where there are no other vets is perhaps why I switched it around to make the Doctor a vet who treats animals that only he (and Edith!) can help.

How did you approach writing the second book in The Secret Animal Society series?

When I write a book I generally do 500 words before I go to bed. The trick is to do this every single day. Everyone works differently, some people write better in the mornings, others in the afternoon. For me, because I work in the day, I write at night and I find it very relaxing because it’s so different from my normal work. I have four children so ideas flow all the time and I often my myself looking forward to writing a section of book before I turn in for the night!

In The Forgotten Phoenix, there are only six phoenixes left in the world. What can we do to protect endangered species?

Of all the species that have ever lived on this planet, only a tiny fraction are still alive today. Conserving what biodiversity is left on the planet is super important, not just because of moral or aesthetic reasons, but because each extinction represents the loss of irreplaceable genetic information that could be utilised for medicines, crops and the balance of ecosystems in which non-endangered species also exist. It is probably typically human to think so selfishly, that a good reason to protect endangered species is so we can potentially exploit them – but history has taught us that everything has to have value to survive. That sounds horrible doesn’t it – but even conserving an ecosystem so people can watch animals in their natural habitat has potential value. That’s why game reserves can exist. That bit is relatively easy to sort – the hard bit is how do we protect the environment in which they need to survive and then we get onto climate change which is probably the biggest threat to all of us, endangered species or not.

Finally, what is your favourite animal – real or magical?

I should totally say something really cool like a Siberian tiger crossed with a dragon that could fly underwater and breathe fire, but actually it would be dogs. I love dogs. You know where you are with a dog. If I was shrunk to the size of a mouse, my cat (bless her) would probably eat me – I like to think my dogs wouldn’t. Unless I was ball-shaped – then Ivy would pick me up and want you to throw me around the house a bit.

The Secret Animal Society: The Forgotten Phoenix is out now.