John Weldon is leading workshops in writing about sport. Find out more about the man who once called the Western Oval his office.

I am a Western Bulldogs supporter. I started following them when I was 13, when they were called Footscray and they played at the Western Oval.

My favourite piece of new technology is my tiny transistor radio. It fits in my pocket and I can carry it everywhere. I can plug the earphones in and listen to the football and cricket wherever I go.

I like books that…excite me and fire my imagination. I like books with powerful stories and unexpected twists. I love sports books too, especially those that tell you how to play the game. When I was a kid I loved reading cricket books, by people like Dennis Lillee, that gave you fantastic hints on how to improve your technique.

My dream car is…a 1964 EH Holden. I just love those old cars, they’re so big, and I love the fins.

I like watching Tin Tin DVDS with my kids.

The best thing about reading is…it’s exciting. You can lose yourself in books and live adventures that you might never get to even dream of in real life. I like the fact that through reading you can find out stuff you might never otherwise know. I learnt how to hold a cricket ball so it would swing by reading Dennis Lillee’s book. I love the fact that you can read anywhere: on the bus; in the bath; in bed and even at school.

I began writing stories in my head as a little boy. Then I found that I couldn’t remember them so I started writing them down and then I found that I loved doing that and that people liked to read them and then I found that I couldn’t stop.

The best thing about writing is…having other people enjoy your stories. It’s a real thrill knowing that something you have written has given pleasure to someone else.

The biggest myth about being a writer is that you have to be able to spell and punctuate and write neatly. That you have to spend all day scribbling away at a page, or tapping away at a keyboard. That it’s boring and that you have to be an incredibly full on study-pants to do it. Writing is really about having, and imagining, adventures and turning them into stories. It’s a lot of fun.

If you have a question for John, send it via the comments link, below.

Melton in Victoria is named after Melton Mowbray, a town in the English Midlands. Melton Mowbray was well known as a great place for hunting, which is how our Melton got its name. The open paddocks, bush and scrub would have reminded the early settlers of “the old country”.

But the old Melton, the English one, is also famous for two kinds of foods. Tell me what the foods are and win a tasty prize. You have until 6pm this Friday ((19th October) to reply to the comments below and win. Names drawn at random. Be quick!

Boys, Blokes, Books, Bytes launches in Melton on Tuesday 16 October. We have some new writers, and some great new books and things to do.

In the morning we are Melton South Primary School and at Staughton College in the afternoon. In the evening, it’s an all ages (and that includes dads or mums or mentor) at Melton Public Library. This session, which includes free books, pizza and a meet the writers session, starts at 7.00pm. Sharp!

The writers will be Michael Hyde, John Weldon and actor Ix Adams.

See you in Melton.

PS, Just a reminder that all comments sent to the Boys, Blokes, Books blog will be posted. They come to Mike’s inbox and are then added to the blog.

What is Drouin best known for? Its farms, its footballers, its Ficifolia Festival?

Tell us briefly about the town where you live and what you like best about it and you can win a prize, including t-shirts and CDs. Answers will be posted on this blog.

And there is a bonus mystery prize (winner drawn at random) if you can answer this question: How did Drouin get its name?

Here’s one famous local getting out and seeing the world. Arizona, in fact.

Writer David Metzenthen began writing because he felt he could tell stories other people might find interesting. And he was sick of people telling me to do things at work that he didn’t want to do.

Dave will be taking part in Boys, Blokes, Books. He will be at Drouin on Thursday 11 October for workshops and talks. Copies of Dave’s book The Really, Really Epic Mini-bike Ride will be given away during the program.

I support the Bombers and have since I was five. I also like the Western Bulldogs as my dad loved Footscray.My favourite piece of new technology is Foxtel!

I like books that could be real, and tell me things I want to know.

My dream car is a Ferrari, of course, or an old Indian motor bike I could ride along the backroads without getting killed.

Favourite TV program is the one minute segment with John Clarke and Brian Dawe on 7.30 Report. Boring, eh? Summer Heights High also makes me laugh and The Chaser.

The best thing about reading is it is an escape into another person’s world.

I have never been able to be a jockey (too big), a pilot (too dumb), an AFL footy player(too hopeless), or the captain of a ship (I don’t have a ship), damn!

My latest book is Black Water It’s about Farren and Danny Fox, two brothers who live on an island in 1915, and are orphans. Danny’s been to Gallipoli and has been wounded. Farren has to look after him, and also a wild kid named Souki whom Danny saved from a shipwreck. It’s also about the sea, storms, boats, and what it means to have good mates.

The best thing about being a writer is that I work as hard as I can to write something that is hopefully interesting to other people.

The biggest myth about being a writer is that they’re all mad.

My all-time favourite film is Withnail and I, because its very funny, and although it’s about two actors in England, it’s really all about trying to get somewhere in the world without the world hammering you into the deck.

My teenage years were probably not adequately supervised – oh well!

If I could change one thing about Australia it is stop Climate Change!

People might be surprised to know that I actually try to work hard!

Michael Hyde will be joining us for a day of workshops and talks in Melton on Tuesday 16 October. Here’s the Magpie-loving writer to introduce himself.

I am a mad Collingwood Magpies supporter. When my family arrived in Melbourne in 1954, I was about eight or nine years old. We rented half a house in Parkville, near the Carlton footy ground. My Dad worked at Collingwood Tech as the Chaplain. I went for the Maggies and my brother went for the dirty Blues.

My dream car is a campervan. We used to have vans but then became all conservative and boring with proper cars. My fantasy is to spend a couple of months on the road bumping into stories along the way (just like Alan Marshall used to do)…

Favourite TV program would have to be Summer Heights High. If you’re not watching it by next week I’ll give you a detention where you have to watch the whole series. If you don’t crack up you need a humour transplant…

The best thing about reading is doing it on the toilet. People tend to leave you alone – especially after a hot curry…Don’t you just love Kenny?

I have never been able to kick ten perfect drop punts in a row. As soon as I can Collingwood will put me in the same team as Strauchnie.

I began writing when kids at Footscray Tech in the seventies asked me to have a go. They didn’t much like the stuff that was around then…

My latest book is Surfing Goliath which is about two mates pitting themselves against the power of nature. One kid wants to surf a massive wave and his friend intends catching a huge bronze whaler shark. Both the wave and the shark are called Goliath. And Winning Streak (basketball), the sixth in my choose-your-own-adventure Change the Game series. I have another two teen books and another YA novel out next year.

The best thing about being a writer is the massive pile of money I make which allows me to employ chefs, maids, cleaners and drivers (when I need one), masseurs, a pilot for my private jet, and of course which lets me give away heaps of money to my kids and friends and…

I like books that take me into a world of characters, events and settings that make me forget I’m reading and leave me with a better understanding of the world and people. Don’t care if they make me sad or happy, just as long as they keep me on the hook and leave me with something.

For more on Michael Hyde, visit his publisher’s website.