Phil Earle shares his hilarious new series, Finn's Epic Fails
About Author
ReadingZone spoke with best-selling author Phil Earle to find out about his new series, Finn's Epic Fails. Expect laughter, chaos and some epic fails!
Phil Earle is the award-winning author of more than 25 books for children and teenagers, including When the Sky Falls, which won both the British Book Award for Children's Fiction Book of the Year and the Books Are My Bag Readers Award for Children's Fiction, as well as being shortlisted for the prestigious Carnegie Medal.
Interview
January 2025
Phil Earle shares his hilarious new series, Finn's Epic Fails
Secondary school hasn't been going well for Finn N.O. Hope, but with a series of epic fails behind him, Finn is determined to turn things around. With two good friends by his side, he sets out to navigate classroom failures, his parents' divorce and two terrible siblings, with the 'Fail-o-metre' there to measure every success - and epic fail . . .
Here's author Phil Earle talking about Finn's Epic Fails, the first book in his new series; look out for life experiences, cringe moments - and a lycra-mad dad!
ReadingZone Review: "Finn's Epic Fails really is a laugh-a-minute read!"
Q&A with Phil Earle
"I've always loved underdogs, the kids who you think are going amount to nothing,
but end up surprising you."
1. Can you tell us a little about yourself, how you started writing for children, and the kinds of stories you enjoy writing?
I didn't start writing until I was 28 and fell in love with kids stories when I was working in a bookshop. I well and truly got the bug. Now I write for the most important reader there is, ME, and hope that enough other readers like my stories too.
2. Your new book, Finn's Epic Fails, is very different from some of your earlier novels. Why did you want to write a funny novel this time around?
My last five novels have been period set, and full of tension, so it's been lovely to have some variety to my writing life. I've always loved underdogs, the kids who you think are going amount to nothing, but end up surprising you. That's what Finn is. He's a self-proclaimed fail magnet, but he has a huge heart!
3. How do your characters, like Finn, develop? What does life throw at him?
As with all my characters, I just allow myself to play, to have fun with them, and to make the obstacles in his way as HUGE as possible. These include a power-mad big brother, a unicorn-mad sister, and a lycra-mad dad!
4. Why did you decide on the 'not-a-diary' format for this novel?
Diaries are quite common, and Finn was too scared to call his a diary in case his brother found it! The torture that would follow would be off the scale!! I really enjoy writing in the first-person, it feels like you're having a chat with the reader...
5. Why the failometer?
I love books that break up the text. They relieve a bit of the fear factor for reluctant readers like me. Plus the failometers give you a sense of…'uh oh, oh no…” And yes, there's plenty of real life experience plundered. My kids were especially helpful!
6. Finn's fails are hugely embarrassing and very funny - how do you make your readers laugh?
I simply try and think about what would make ME laugh. Then what ever happens to Finn, I really ramp up the cringe factor to ten!! Go BIG!
7. What kinds of things make you laugh in real life? Do these make their way into your writing?
Oh they definitely do. I like slapstick. I like ridiculous names. I like lavatorial stuff (still). I'm basically a 51 year old kid.
8. Apart from lots of laughs, what would you like your readers to take from Finn's Epic Fails?
The power of friendship and also the notion that you NEVER GIVE UP. Keep going….
9. Do you have more adventures planned for Finn? What's coming up next for him?
I certainly can. In book 2, the gang decamp for a foreign holiday, which does Finn NO favours whatsoever. then in Book 3, he finds himself stuck in the middle as dad falls in love with the worst person imaginable - his TEACHER.
10. What kinds of things do you do to escape your deadlines - and what are your own everyday fails?
I walk the dogs. Endlessly. I try not to look at my phone…and fail epically.
Find out more from Phil Earle about his earlier novels, When the Sky Falls and While the Storm Rages
Finn's Epic Fails: The hilarious new series packed with school fails, friendship, pranks and chaos!
