I usually write at the computer and I can just about type as fast as I can think the story – I go back and edit it and correct the mistakes later. The Mystery of the Darkstone is set in Africa with the same central characters as The Race For The Lost Keystone. When I visited Tanzania I wrote by hand in a notebook as there wasn’t always enough electricity to power a computer.

Photo: Val in Zanzibar by Judy Bould

Writer In Residence:
I was lucky to be chosen as the first Writer in Residence at the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre when it opened in 2005. It was a dream job working with great people and one of the best things about it was actually living there.

The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre isn’t really a museum in the old-fashioned sense of the word. Roald didn’t like the stuffy atmosphere of museums with exhibits in cases so his museum has been designed to be lively and fun.

I’ve had a thing about museums ever since I used to visit The Tower of London once a month when I was a child. My father went to army reunions there and while he and my mother chatted the night away with my father’s old wartime friends I would wander off to explore. Along the corridor from the Fusiliers' Clubroom was a collection of armour, guns and silver. This area was cordoned off and there was a booth with a ticket machine, rubber date stamps, stickers and everything you might need for a couple of hours pretend play. The daughter of one of my dad’s friends and I used to creep inside and take turns dispensing tickets and making up interesting facts about the various displays. When it was my turn to be a visitor I would dare myself to go to the far end and turn the corner where it was quite dark and a long row of suits of armour stood guard. They looked like they might turn their creaky heads at any moment and I used to feel sick with fear. If something spooked us we would run back along the corridors screaming!

So, while there were lots of lovely things about being Writer in Residence; I liked meeting visitors to the museum and working with schools, it was fantastic to be able to wander around such a unique museum either before it opened or just after closing.

Val sneaks a late night nibble at the museum's famous solid chocolate doors

The writer’s flat is at the entrance to the museum and from my kitchen window I looked down into the courtyard towards the Story Centre. There was also a great view of the hill behind the village of Great Missenden from the same window and I enjoyed watching for red kites soaring high over the trees.

Roald Dahl was a big man and he had a huge personality. At the museum you’re surrounded by his work and possessions, the things that inspired him and the things that he felt passionate about. It is very moving. And because there are film and audio clips playing continuously in the galleries you really do sense Roald Dahl’s larger than life presence – he might even speak to you when you’re in the loo!!

Val does some homework before a school writing workshop

If you haven’t visited The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre yet you should – and plan your day so you can have a walk in the local countryside too. It’s beautiful and you might find yourself in the woods where Danny’s dad got his pheasants or in the lane where Miss Honey lived.

The Roald Dahl Museum and Story centre is in Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire, within easy reach of London, Birmingham and Bristol.