How long did it take you to write How to Eat a Huhu Grub and come up with all the activities?
From initial concept to final delivery was about a year. We did most of the work through the summer holidays, then we had a break when Conrad went back to school, then we realised the deadline was imminent and worked weekends and evenings to finish on time.

Was there anything that you didn't include in the book?
Some things were potentially just too dangerous. There was the possibility of a potato canon, but after a while I gave it up; it was just too powerful and had the potential to proliferate into the Potato Wars.

How closely did you follow the format of The Dangerous Book for Boys?
After the initial inspiration, not closely at all, in fact we didn’t look at it all while we worked on our book. We decided pretty early on that The Dangerous Book for Boys could possibly be re-named The Dangerous Book for Dads and we decided to tailor our stuff directly towards today’s kids. So, for instance, we have a section on how to convert sheep poo into paper, and how to create a photo display cube from old CD cases. And it is not just aimed at boys. We chose stuff that could be enjoyed by boys and girls, mums and dads. The whole family making paper from poo!
    Finally, it had to be a ‘kiwi’ book, so it’s very much ‘made in new zealand’. All of the activities are tailored to a New Zealand audience, there are sections on identifying local birds and trees, and short profiles of New Zealanders we admire, like Nancy Wake, the girl from Wellington who became the Gestapo’s Most Wanted.

What was the most difficult instruction to illustrate?
Conrad reckons it was the chopstick trebuchet, closely followed by the origami water bomb. By the end of the project, he has become New Zealand’s greatest drawer of hands! Both were very detailed and complex, and he would re-do some of the illustrations that we didn’t think quite worked.

Have you eaten a Huhu Grub?
Absolutely! We recommend them to anyone, but make sure you follow the instructions.

Is there an experiment that didn't work that with a little more research might be useful to know?
We did or made everything in the book to make sure it worked, and we tried to keep them as simple, but effective, as possible. You should be able to find most of the things you need just lying around the house. We have a few ideas up our sleeves that didn’t quite make it, but they will have to wait for Huhu 2!
    Thinking about it, we did have a wee mishap with the hot air balloon. It took the best part of 3 hours to make, glueing together panels of tissue paper. When it came to launch time, I reverted to type and increased the amount of meths in the basket. As soon as I lit it, it went up in a ball flame, completely disappearing in under a second.

What was your most useful source for the research of this project?
It’s hard to pick one thing. We poured through stacks of books and surfed a tidal wave of web pages. We talked to lots of our friends and got ideas from them. I remembered a lot from my childhood, and my brothers added a few more.

What was it like working with each other?
We had a great time doing it, and it was easy working with Conrad who was very amenable to re-draws if he thought it necessary; and, he wasn’t shy in telling me if he thought some of my prose sucked.