Our author of the month for February is the English writer, Anthony Horowitz. He has written more than 50 books. Many of them are mystery and suspense novels for young adults. He also has written scripts for television shows, plays, and films.

Anthony Horowitz was born on April 5, 1955, in Stanmore, Middlesex, England. He came from an upper-class family. Anthony did not enjoy most of his time at school. However, he knew from an early age that he wanted to be a writer. He always asked for books and pens for his birthday. He has two sons, Nicholas and Cassian.

Horowitz studied writing at the University of York. He then worked in advertising before becoming a full-time writer. He published his first book, The Sinister Secret of Frederick K. Bower, in 1979. It is a children’s adventure story.

Horowitz’s Alex Rider series became popular as well. After Alex’s guardian dies, the 14-year-old boy is forced to join a British spy agency. In each adventure Alex has new gadgets to use and new villains to defeat. Some of the books include Stormbreaker (2000), Snakehead (2007), Scorpia Rising (2011), and Russian Roulette (2013).

The Power of Five (also called the Gatekeepers) books are another popular series by Horowitz. In these supernatural tales, five young people figure out how to save the world from evil. The series began with Raven’s Gate (2005) and ended with Oblivion (2012).

His three tips for writing fiction are: (1) Read more. (2) Write more. (3) Believe in yourself.

One of his favourite books is Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and he listens to a lot of classical music, such as: Chopin, Benjamin Britten and Mozart.