Berhampur, Oct. 3: Children's author Ken Spillman interacted with the students of De Paul School here today.

Known as one of the most prolific authors and storytellers of present times, the Australian author engaged in conversations with the students during an entertaining session.

He has written as many as 40 books for the children. The 56-year-old read out a few lines from two of the books of his famous Jake series, Jake's Baloon Blast and Jake's Great Game, before the students.

"He is more than a rock star. He combines each word in the story with beautiful expressions and great sound effects that he creates vocally. The acting of dribbling the football and crying in pain after the ball hit the abdomen while narrating the story of Jake's Great Game was incredible," said a student, Sania Dash, who asked Spillman how he groomed his writing skills.

"To make a good story, take the character and put it into situations. I imagine the story as real and have fun," replied Spillman.

The kids asked the author about his hobbies, writing career, favourite Indian authors, favourite book and so on.

Born in London to Australian parents, Spillman spent his childhood in Sydney and Perth. He had been active in amateur theatre during his teens and also performed in a school rock band. His first book Identity Prized: A History of Subiaco Nedlands was published in 1985 when he was only 25 years old. Among his favourite Indian authors are Vikram Seth and Arundhati Roy.

"I've seen for myself that everywhere kids are wonderful, magical beings. I have visited India 20 times, and it's wonderful to see that the children here are very appreciative," said Spillman, whose Jake series has brought him international fame. The series has appeared in about 20 languagesand is very popular in India.

Principal Saju Antony expressed his happiness that the students were inspired by the author. "Some stories by Spillman have also been introduced in the CBSE curriculum, and we are proud to present him before our students," said Antony.