The mysterious Moonlocket adventure

We speak to Peter Bunzl - the author of Cogheart - about his latest book, Moonlocket! Lily and Robert have a mystery to solve - where is the Moonlocket, and why does criminal mastermind Jack of Diamonds want it so badly?

After their adventures in Cogheart, Lily and Robert are back in Moonlocket with a whole new mystery to solve and villains to catch! Criminal mastermind the Jack of Diamonds has broken out of prison and is searching for the mysterious Moonlocket, but why? And what does Robert's past have to do with Jack? Robert and Lily must stay one step ahead of the villain's plans, or all will be lost.... We asked author PETER BUNZL to tell us more about his books COGHEART and MOONLOCKET. Q: For children who haven't yet read it, how would you describe Cogheart? A: It's an action adventure with heart. You've got airships and battles and dangers, alongside characters who learn who they really area as the adventure develops. Q: What sparked the idea for Cogheart? A: The idea that came first was the 'automatons' or little machines. I was reading a history of automatons in the eighteenth century and how eighteenth century inventors were trying to bring these machines to life. There were lots of discussions at the time about these new machines, for example whether they would have a soul or not. So the whole idea of bringing machinery to life attracted me. Q: How did you develop the Victorian world for Cogheart's setting? A: Having decided to write about automatons I had to find a world they would fit in. I knew I wanted to write a big action adventure story and I decided I could bring these together more easily in a 'Steampunk' world than a more factual historical fiction. Q: Did you enjoy revisiting that world for Moonlocket? A: It was fantastic fun to revisit the world of Cogheart in Moonlocket. I loved having a chance to expand the characters of Lily, Robert and Malkin and take them off on a new adventure - one filled with catastrophe and courage, hidden lockets and escaped convicts. Q: Why did you want Moonlocket to be more of a detective story than Cogheart? A: I adore mystery stories, especially ones with codes, maps and puzzles to solve. Cogheart already had a little bit of that detective angle and I wanted to up those elements of the story. So the mysteries in Moonlocket became more complex and Robert and Lily have to use their wits to a greater degree this time to solve the clues themselves. Q: Did you enjoy mystery stories as a child? A: As I child I loved scary stories with a bit of mystery. I had audiobooks of Sherlock Holmes and they were both fascinatingly scary and fiendishly intriguing when you discovered how the villains had committed their crimes. I also loved Secret Seven and Famous Five mysteries, and other classic children's mystery stories like: The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, or The Box of Delights. Q: The Victorians loved stories that featured lockets and lost identities - did this help you form some of your ideas for Moonlocket? A: When I began thinking of Victorian mysteries, apart from the cases of Sherlock Holmes, the other classic that popped into my mind was The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins - that's where I got the idea for the title of Moonlocket. The Moonstone is a Victorian mystery about a missing diamond that also influenced The Jewelled Moth by Katherine Woodfine and The Ruby in the Smoke by Phillip Pullman, two modern detective stories set in that era, which I have also enjoyed immensely. Q: There are also ghostly goings-on in the story, have you ever seen, or thought you saw, a ghost? A: I am not sure how I feel about ghosts. Like most people there have been times when I've woken in the night to a strange sound, or glimpsed something in the dark beside the bed that looks like a shadowy figure. But usually, when you wake properly and focus, you realize it was a trick of the brain. That's not to say that ghosts couldn't exist, just that I don't think I've ever seen one. Q: What inspired the mechanical elephant in Moonlocket - was it the one that went walkabout in London in 2006? A: Yes, I saw that show; The Sultan's Elephant it was called. But that particular mechanical elephant lives in an amazing theme park in France filled with mechanimals! It's called Les Machines De l'ile. Every day that mechanical elephant walks about the park trumpeting and spraying the passers by with his trunk. We visited when I was researching Cogheart and rode on his back and inside his belly, where you can see some of the workings. It was the MOST fun. So afterwards I thought: I have to put a mechanical elephant in my next book. Q: If you could have your own 'mechanical' - a clockwork human or animal - what would it be and what would they do for you? A: If I had a mechanimal it would have to be an animal that didn't exist in the real world, like a dragon. My mechanical dragon would do everything a fictional dragon can do; fly, breathe fire, hoard gold... Because why go for reality when you can have any creature you want? Q: Much of the series is set in London. What is your favourite part of London, and what is your favourite part of London's history? A: One of my favourite parts of London is around Spitalfields Market where you have those Georgian Streets like Fournier Street that feel like you're walking through history. In fact, Brick Lane, and that whole area is pretty interesting historically. Having hosted the first waves of various migrant communities to this country, who came through London, it is full of their rich histories. Everyone from the Huguenots to the Jews to the Bangladeshis have lived there and made their mark on the area. Q: If you could step back into a period of history, which would it be? A: I think I would like to go and meet my grandparents in Austria in the mid 1930s, when they were young, before they came to England during WW2 (that's another story). Unfortunately they both died when I was a kid, before I really got to know them properly, but I have some great pictures of them when they were teenagers goofing off and hanging out. It looks like it would be fun to go and spend a day with them back then. So I would do that. (I think this answer is partly inspired by Ross Welford's Time Travelling with a Hamster, which I just read and was brilliant!) Q: Do you have another adventure planned for Lily and Robert, or are you writing something else? A: Yes, I have just started writing the third book in the series. I can't really tell you anything about it yet as it's very early days and it's highly top secret. But Lily and Robert and Malkin will be back for at least one more adventure! Q: What are your top tips for budding writers? Read widely. Underline the bits you love in books, or dog ear the corners to save a page. Keep a notebook full of ideas, copy out quotes you like or funny things you hear on the bus. Save postcards and images that inspire you. Watch interesting films - I love old movies which have lots of space for you to add your own interpretation of events. Just collect things that inspire. Then write a little every day, and try to finish what you start writing.