Robin Pawlak was a teacher for 31 years in Red Deer, Alberta (Canada). He had boatloads of fun with his students, but three decades is a long time, so he decided to retire to something a little quieter. Nowadays, he spends most of his time in his office, making stuff up and muttering to himself. Some say this is a sure sign that all that time with children drove him mad. This may be true. But if one writes his imaginings down, he can call himself an author, which is a somewhat more respectable title than lunatic.