The ex-Gunnedah author has escaped into a world of imagination to craft his first children's book Sizzly Bumpy.

The book is aimed at 8 to 12-year-olds and is centred around the escapades of "Sizzly Bumpy" and his cousin X.

The main character "Sizzly Bumpy" is inspired by Knight's own son, nine-year-old Iggy.

"It started primarily in discussion as a bit of a conversation with my little man Iggy ... he asked me a bizarre question, as kids so often do, and I took it a little further and said, 'Let's write a book about it'," Mr Knight said.

"I didn't think much more about it until we went to England at Christmas. Iggy and his cousin were playing a game and it hit me, 'Wow, I've got a real idea and I can make it into a book'."

Mr Knight said Sizzly Bumpy and X were "the central characters to what I think could be a very intriguing adventure".

It was a year ago that the author told NVI his biography of ex-Gunnedah youth officer Bernie Shakeshaft would be his non-fiction book, and hinted that he might venture into children's writing.

And he hasn't looked back since.

"You know the best part of all? ... every day I write is an adventure," Mr Knight said.

"It is such a good place to be. Certainly, as adults we don't ever spend as much time in our imagination as we should. I think it's critically important for all of us and it has really opened up my eyes to a whole new world and I've jumped into it.

"It's one hell of a challenge, but also dovetailed with the fact that it is so bloody enjoyable. It's not a chore but other writing did become a chore. This one is pure joy. It's like going for a run or hitting a ball or looking up into the sky; you don't realise you're working."

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Mr Knight said by journeying into imagination "you begin to look more at the world through a kid's eyes".

"It's bringing the kid out in me again," he said.

"I think it's a personal journey as well because you've spent so much time delving into other people's lives and it's been incredible ... but I suppose in my professional and personal stage, this is a very important challenge for me.

"I think now being a parent, it's even more important than I realise because I know how important it is to foster the imagination of children and give them room to explore.

"I'm beginning to think children writers are some of the most important writers ever because one of the greatest gifts you can ever give a child is the ability to read, and a love of reading."

Mr Knight has been reflecting on his own love of reading and told the NVI that his "all-time favourite book ever" is Sylvester Mouse with the Musical Ear, a picture book by Adelaide Holl, that his mother Ann gave him when he was four or five.

The book is about a country mouse that lives in a guitar in a music store because it loves the sounds the strings of the guitar make when it comes and goes.

Folk soon come to believe it is a magical guitar and it is bought by a musician who discovers the mystery source of the music. The pair become "the best of friends".

"I think growing up in the country, it might have run with me but I think more than anything it was the image of a mouse playing a guitar that stuck with me. And of all the books I've read - and I read a lot - it's still my favourite book," Mr Knight said.

He said he had been watching his own son reading at home: "he's lost, he's not in the real world, and you think, 'God, that's a beautiful place to be'."

"Children's books, they're the ultimate time machine ... you can go anywhere ... nothing is impossible in a book," Mr Knight said.

The author said he wanted to capture that essence in his own book and "take kids on a journey".

"It is so critically important to find a voice kids can relate to," he said.

"I want to give back and no better place to give back to the next generation."

Mr Knight recently shared a video excerpt from the book online but said "it's early days".

"I don't think I'll be finished until at least the end of the year," he said.

"I think it will be the first of a series because the idea lends itself to a series."

Iggy has been part of the writing journey and Mr Knight has also shared sections of the book with his son's friends and classmates.

"Feedback has been, 'We want to know what's happening next'," Mr Knight said.

That remains to be seen.