Hi Clive!

Firstly, thank you for letting us ask you some questions today, as one of our most popular authors, World of Books is thrilled to be able to chat to you for our blog.

Q: OK, so we’ll get stuck straight in there Clive! What has been the most interesting feedback you’ve had about your books?

- That men as well as women enjoy adventure reading, and so I try to give it to them. They all love Dirk Pitt. Men want to be like him. Women would like him as a husband.

Q: What are your three biggest pet peeves?

- Politicians, Religious fanatics, and closed minds.

Q: World of Books is sure that the majority of your fans will be aware that you are the founder and the chairman of the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA). The agency is responsible for finding more than sixty shipwrecks across the world. You are also a fellow of the Explorers Club of New York, the Royal Geographic Society in London and the American Society of Oceanographers. Like Dirk Pitt, you obviously enjoy exploring and discovering new things, to what extent do you find material for your writing through these commitments?

- Not much really. My travels and shipwreck searches at sea give me backgrounds but no specific storyline.

Q: If you could explore anywhere in the world (where you haven’t already of course)- where would it be? And what would you hope to find there?

- I’d like to explore from 500 to 20,000 feet under the sea. I’d hope to find historical shipwrecks and historical artefacts down there, things that hadn’t been discovered before.

Q: Your latest novel, The Race, was released in October 2011. The story is set in the time of air travel’s infancy- a newspaper editor is offering a substantial reward for the first person to fly across America in less than 50 days. When “intrepid detective Isaac Bell” arrives, he meets Josephine Frost who is being sponsored to fly the race. However, her husband, Harry Frost, who Isaac has dealt with before (and lost), has just murdered her lover, attempted to kill her and is now on the run, rendering him a threat to Josephine, and even the newspaper editor who set up the competition. So, for those of us who haven’t read The Race yet, what more can you tell us about it?

- Whilst writing this novel, I thoroughly enjoyed working with the novelist Justin Scott (please see Justin’s site for more information on his writing), who taught me more about the history of early flight. I hope readers expect The Race to be a fascinating, spellbinding adventure. It was truly a great enjoyment for me to be able to write about a detective who lives just after the turn of the century as I don’t think anybody else is actually doing it.

Q: As a joke in your novel Dragon, you wrote yourself in as a character, but, much to the delight of your fans, this has become a tradition in your fictional work – particularly in the Pitt adventures (also try and spot Clive in Lost Empire and Spartan Gold of his Fargo Files series). Your role often aids the story by providing crucial information to the main characters of the novel. Do you find it peculiar becoming a part of the world you are creating? Do you find it harder to shake off the story and the characters as a result?

- Originally I typed my name into a manuscript called Dragon. I was going to take it out since it was only a passing meeting between Dirk Pitt and me. But I decided to leave it in purely as a humorous addition. I didn’t expect 600 letters telling me how much the readers enjoyed it! I have no problem with it as far as the story goes, I’m just a minor character in the plot.

Q: A couple of your books have been made into films (check out Raise The Titanic!- 1980, and Sahara- 2005, which starred Matthew McConaughey as Dirk Pitt and Penélope Cruz as Eva Rojas). How does it feel seeing your books on the big screen?

- Terrible! The films aren’t what I wrote, they are purely Hollywood creations that never follow the book.

Angkor Wat

Q: What three things would be on the top of your Bucket List?

– Find a lost revolutionary shipwreck in the North Sea, see Angkor Wat and die broke.

Q: And lastly! Here at World of Books we are dedicated to providing good-quality second-hand books to the public.  In a world with an ever-growing digital media base, and increasing environmental concerns, do you believe in the importance of giving each physical book the chance of a new home?

- That goes without saying. There can be no finer thought then passing on books, like skipping rocks on a pond.

World of Books highly recommends that you take a look at Clive’s website, for more information on his novels and other writing. And as always, make sure you check out the World of Books site to see what Clive Cussler books we have available today.

The company was, setup by book lovers and enthusiasts three years ago and now employs 260 members of staff, selling used books online to over 60 countries throughout the world.

World of Books has teamed up with Skills Training UK to offer Apprenticeships in Team Leading, Management, Customer Services and Business Improvement Techniques. The courses are currently running very successfully with 15 members of staff involved.

Brett Andrews from Skills Training UK and Sophia Leppard from World of Books

The senior management team at World of Books understands the positive impact that investing in their people can have on business improvement. Managing Director Stephen Boobyer said:

“The partnership with Skills Training UK has been very successful, we have been delighted by the enthusiasm of our staff to take on the Apprenticeship courses and see it as a great step forward for the business and for our employees’ individual development.“

One of these is Kelsey Sparshott, age 20, who has worked at World of Books for three years and has made significant progression throughout the company, beginning her career as a Warehouse Operative she is now nearing the end of an NVQ in Team Leading and works as the Supervisor of the Digital Media Department. She says:

“I am committed to my career at World of Books and hope that in the future I will be able to gain more qualifications through the Skills Training UK Apprenticeship programme and continue to progress with the company.”

The current World of Books warehouse space in Goring-by-Sea is undergoing a large extension which will allow the business to grow and develop further and inevitably allow them to offer more learning opportunities for their staff.

For further information about World of Books, visit our website at www.worldofbooks.com or to find out about the range of Apprenticeships available from Skills Training UK visit their website at www.skillstraininguk.com or alternatively telephone 020 8903 4713

After that she co-presented the local evening news for Border Television and after a year she co-presented Thames News. Penny then moved to Sky News before becoming presenter of GMTV`s ‘News Hour’ in April 1993. Since then Penny has presented many shows, including one on Classic FM and co-presenting GMTV until June 2010 when she left to concentrate on being an author. On top of all that, she’s even found the time to make three yoga videos! Finally, in terms of her writing, Penny has also written for a number of national newspapers and magazines, as well as writing her three books, Coming Up Next (2008), After the Break (2009), and Summer Holiday (2011).

Penny Smith

Hi Penny,

We’ve grown up seeing you on our TV screens at some point or another, so it’s brilliant to be able to chat to you today, especially as you’re a fellow book lover!

Q:We’ll just go straight in there with something we’re dying to ask! As big fans of It’ll be Alright on the Night, World of Books would love to hear any funny stories you have from your years of presenting?!

- Well I suppose the one which has been shown most often, was when I was doing a holiday film from Mykonos for GMTV. The producer, cameraman, sound-woman and I ended up on a deserted beach, where I was going to do a piece to camera about this being the island where Shirley Valentine went to find herself in that wonderful film with Tom Conti. We had been up for hours, I hadn’t eaten my lunch because it was too greasy, and we couldn’t find any water. So I had a bottle of retsina on a small table, as a prop. I took a slurp from my glass, delivered my speech, put the glass down. But things kept going wrong. A helicopter went over and made a noise. The camera focus wasn’t what the producer wanted. The shot needed to be changed. Etcetera. And each time, I was slurping from the glass. The obvious happened. I forgot what I was supposed to say, and the more I slurped, the messier it got. Eventually, it was done, and I shrieked with joy before virtually falling off my perch.

Q: So on top of being a successful but incredibly busy TV presenter, your other passions lie with opera, tennis and hiking. And if that wasn’t enough, you’ve even released three yoga videos (with Christmas pudding still weighing us down, World of Books may have a look at them!) How often do you get a chance to relax with a good book? And what would be your book of choice?

- Interesting books which are well written. I recently hosted the Costa Book Awards and read most of the five books which had won the individual categories – thoroughly enjoyable. I secretly wanted the children’s book to win, because it’s rare that the category gets the big prize. Blood Red Road is a stonking good tale set in an apocalyptic future. There are cage fighting girls, rugged boys, and a young heroine who is trying to save her twin brother. I think it’s already been optioned as a film.

Q: As a presenter of Market Kitchen on the Good Food Channel, what has been your favourite dish you’ve seen be made? Cookery books are in one of the best-selling genres here at World of Books, but do you think there is still room for even more cookery guides in the future?

- Maria Elia was one of the chefs on the show. I loved her food – very clean and lots of vegetables. She has a book out called The Modern Vegetarianwhich has the most scrumptious recipes ever. And all the ones I’ve tried have worked like a dream. Watermelon curry. Ginger beer battered mushroom stuffed tofu. Yum yum yum. I’m not vegetarian, but I do adore a vegetable.

Don't Litter!

Q:What are your top three pet peeves?

Littering.

Leaky earpieces on personal stereos.

People eating smelly food on public transport.

Q: Now, some of the ladies among us will have read your beauty column for Femail in the Daily Mail. You’ve also written articles in Good Housekeeping and Woman and Home. Do you get given topics to write about? And how easy is it coming up with consistently fresh material?

- Generally, I get asked to write something by magazines or newspapers – an opinion on a topic, for example. Or I offer to write for them on something I feel strongly about. As for fresh material…. who was it who said there was nothing new under the sun? But new people are reading your stuff, so its new to them!

Q: If you could be anyone or anything for the day, who or what would you be?

- I quite fancy being a marine iguana, sunning itself on a rock, hanging out with friends and occasionally swimming off for a nosh on some algae. But they do whiff a bit.

Q: When your first book, Coming up Next, was released in 2009, it was described by one critic as a “comic roller-coaster”. The Daily Record even commented, “she might want to give up her day job”. You did actually give up your job as a presenter in 2010. How difficult has it been to practise discipline as a writer? And do you ever regret your decision?

- Hmmm. I’m still busy doing radio and television here and there, and I have yet to get down to book number 4. Waking up at 9 o’clock in the morning instead of 4, is still an utter joy. Delicious.

Q: Your most recent novel, Summer Holiday, was released in June 2011. It tells the story of Miranda Blake who is 45 and divorced, and beginning to get ideas such as botox, a toy-boy or even just a new job to spark up her life. The only obstacle in her way is her “pompous” 23-year old daughter, Lucy. After a string of disastrous dates set up by her friends, Miranda decides to randomly help clean out a local canal, in a bid to become an ‘eco-warrier’ (of sorts), immediately falling for Alex- a passionate, dread-locked young man. After Lucy successfully sabotages the relationship, Miranda goes on holiday to Spain, only to get into even more adventures whilst there!

In this novel we were happy to come across the character from your previous two books, Katie Fisher. Was it strange having Katie as a secondary character in this book, rather than as the main protagonist in your previous two?

- I wanted to have a connection to the first two books, and Katie is a little smudge in the story of Miranda Blake. Having lived with her through two books, she almost wrote her part herself…

Q: If you could give any advice to aspiring writers, what would it be?

- It’s never been easier to publish – albeit online. Keep with it. If nothing else, it’s a wonderful heirloom for your family.

Q: Here at World of Books we are dedicated to providing good-quality second-hand books to the public. In a world with an ever-growing digital media base, and increasing environmental concerns, do you believe in the importance of giving each physical book the chance of a new home?

- I don’t keep many books, I recycle them to friends or charity shops. Set them free to live again….

Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us today Penny! Make sure you check out Penny’s novels on the World of Books site, or browse for other great used books!

Ancient Historian and Archaeologist - Dr. Michael Scott

Hi Michael,

Well, we’ll be honest, World of Books is a little intimidated by your resume to say the least- it’s very impressive! You must be incredibly busy, so thank you for taking the time out for chatting to us today.

Q: OK, so a straight-forward one to start, what first attracted you to the ancient world? And what has inspired you to study it in such depth over the years?

- It was a combination of factors. I was lucky enough to have really good teachers at school for Latin and Greek – a great teacher makes all the difference – something I try to remember every time I walk into a classroom. A school trip to Greece when I was 17 (I celebrated my 17^th birthday in an unforgettable nightclub in Tolo called the ‘Gorilla Club’!), seeing the ancient sites, walking in the footsteps of the ancients, convinced me to read Classics at University. I fell in love with the subject during that time and when, during my Masters, I got to spend 3 months working at the British School at Athens (www.bsa.ac.uk), visiting all the major sites and working closely with people at the cutting edge of archaeology, I was hooked. There was no turning back from there, and I never regretted it for a moment.

Q: How to do approach writing your books in terms of time-scale and research?

- Every research project is different, and the key thing is to let the project dictate how you work on it. Some projects require a lot more library research time, some more field time, others require more collaborative work with colleagues in related fields. Sometimes, you can see exactly how to answer a particular research question and there is a huge thrill and satisfaction in solving the ‘problem’. Other projects require time to mull, discuss and think over. With these often-times the ‘eureka’ moment will come when you are least expecting it: an unexpected piece of evidence suddenly comes to light; an article in a dusty journal provides the lightening-rod for the approach you have been trying to formulate for; a visit to a museum or archaeological site finally gives you the clear picture you have been searching for. When it comes to writing up – again the method is dictated by the project. Some research questions are best answered in short journal articles. Others require a book, and for me, the best way to write is, once the research is done, to plan what you want to say for a week then write for a week, then plan the next section and so on. I like to get into a writing rhythm of – if all goes well – about 2000 words a day. But some days you do just stare at the computer screen, which is a good sign that you are not ready to write yet because you don’t know what exactly you want to say. I also like to change the location I write in every so often: certain rooms/libraries/spaces just ‘feel right’ when writing certain things, and its really important to listen to that feeling, because the experience (and I think the end product) is so much better if you do. That might be a Starbucks, the Classics library, my office, home, the research schools in Greece, or on location at an archaeological site.

Q: What is it about ancient Greece that is still so fascinating to modern audiences?

- I think there are 2 main things that captivate audiences about ancient Greece. We are all, to some extent, fascinated by the idea of being able to know what life was like so many thousands of years ago – how humanity has changed and how it hasn’t – just look at the continuing number of successful Hollywood movies about the ancient world. But the culture of ancient Greece and Rome holds another fascination because these two have had – and continue to have – a deep impact on our modern culture, language, lifestyle, ideas and ideals. To understand ourselves, in part means understanding them. I was recently teaching in Brazil about ancient Greek democracy, where even I was amazed to find people really felt it crucial for their modern lives to know about ancient Greece. And the week I arrived, the language of ancient Greece appeared in the Brazilian papers. Thanks to the success of the film 300, the term ‘Spartan’ had become a term of approval used for the Rio police force!

Q: What do you find more useful, the literary sources of ancient writers or the physical evidence of modern archaeology?

- During the 20th Century, there was a strict divide between the kinds of evidence scholars of the ancient world specialised in. You were either a literary expert OR an epigraphist (working with inscriptions) OR an archaeologist (with material culture). The key revolution in ancient world study over the last 20 years has been the recognition that, to really understand the ancient world, you have to consider the full range of ancient evidence available. Literature, inscriptions and material culture were all inter-mixed in the ancient world – the ancients experienced them all as a connected whole. As a result, its hard for me to understand how we can possibly comprehend their world unless we approach it in the same way. That means a tougher job for researchers: you need to

From Democrats to Kings

become skilled in using very different sets of evidence, but I think its worth it.

Q: In your Book, “From Democrats to Kings” you talk in depth about Thebes, and your TV show “Delphi: Bellybutton of the Ancient World – BBC4 (2010)” discusses that great city state – why is that when people think of ancient Greece often they think only of Athens and Sparta? What happened to the other City states to make them fade from popular consciousness?

- Athens and Sparta come to the fore because – for a large amount of time in the ancient world – they were the dominant city-states. As a result, Athens in particular has been a long term focus of historical investigation and so we just have more stuff which has been discovered there, which in turn tends to make Athens, and places like it, more high-profile in modern study. But its absolutely true that lots of evidence does survive from other places all over the ancient world: the trick is getting to it, and then there being enough of it to understand it properly. But we can only play with the hand we have been dealt, and there are some topics and places which – sadly – will forever be tantalisingly out of our reach. But that should not stop us from doing our best to understand the ancient Greek world as much more than simply the story of Athens and Sparta.

Q: What is the current book on your night-stand?

I actually just finished David Nicholls One Day– a great read. But was also recommended and about to start Muriel Barbery The Elegance of the Hedgehog. And, more work related, have recently been reading D.Constantine – In the footsteps of the Gods: travelers to Greece and the quest for the Hellenic ideal.

Q: It makes us tired just thinking about it, so congratulations for participating in the “Original” marathon! How difficult did you find it? And how did it feel to retrace that historic journey?

- I signed up for this race with a group of friends without really thinking through the consequences. I trained in Cambridge – a place with no hills to speak of – and was petrified to find out that the Athens marathon is one of the hilliest in the world! The bus picked you up at the end point and drove you to the start – my heart sank into my shoes as the bus climbed up and down each of the hills I knew I had to run back across! But the experience was fantastic. You started at the battle site of Marathon, running around the famous burial site of the 192 Athenians who died that day in 490 BC defending Greece from the Persian invasion, before setting out for Athens. The route traces as best we can the route the plucky runner Pheidippides took to return to Athens to relay the good news. You pass a statue of him on the way. I won’t lie – the last 10km were the hardest thing I have ever had to do. But the ending was fantastic: you run into the Panathenaic stadium – rebuilt to celebrate the first modern Olympics in 1896. There was a man running beside me who did the whole thing in the kit of an ancient Greek hoplite soldier – including the leather sandals rather than cushioned trainers. I will never know how he managed to survive!

Q: You’ve already dealt with Sex, Religion and Politics in Ancient Greece – are there any other areas or time periods you want to study?

- Of course! The wonderful thing about the ancient world is that there is – and always will be – a never ending list of fascinating topics to study. Sometimes that’s because your own interests change, and new research questions come to the fore often prompted by issues affecting our own modern world: right now people are really interested in identity and ethnicity for example. But sometimes it’s also because new things are discovered: archaeological sites or particular finds which completely change our understanding of a particular place, issue or period. At the moment, I’m fascinated by the Oxyrhynchus project. In the first half of the 20^th century, buried in the deserts of Egypt, an ancient rubbish dump was discovered. Because of the dry desert conditions, thousands of scraps of ancient papyrus had survived. These were excavated, preserved and now sit waiting to be read. There are so many of them that it will take decades to read them all: the project team have just launched a new website with tools to help anyone – no matter how little Greek you know – help decipher them (www.ancientlives.org). Who knows what we may discover in these texts? Already pieces of new plays, philosophical writings, fragments of an unknown gospel alongside a myriad of other kinds of texts have been found.

Q: What did you want to be when you were younger?

- I always loved the Indiana Jones movies, but I never thought I would end up studying the ancient world. I knew I loved languages

and learning about other cultures and societies, but it wasn’t until I was studying Classics at University that it clicked. I often tell people who ask what Classics is that it is sociology, but on societies that existed thousands of years ago. I love working out what made them tick, and along the way, learning about the modern societies that now occupy those same places.

Q: And lastly, here at World of Books we are dedicated to providing good-quality second-hand books to the public. By sourcing a large amount of our books from charities, we are also able to support their cause. Any book we can’t sell, we recycle; last year alone we saved 12,500 metric tonnes of waste from going to landfill sites. In a world with an ever-growing digital media base, and increasing environmental concerns, do you believe in the importance of giving each physical book the chance of a new home?

- Absolutely. The book world is right now in the middle of a revolution between print and digital media. But whatever direction we take, I believe there will always be an important market for print books, and within that, for giving every book the chance of a long life – and second life, not to mention third, fourth, fifth. I’m always fascinated by those book piles you see in some cafés and hotels: people drop books off they have read and pick up others to take with them to some new part of the world. Sometimes people write their names and locations in the front covers: I love learning about previous book owners: it makes the book even more special.

Has this interview rendered your imagination gripped by the Greeks? Why not have a look at Dr Michael’s website by clicking here or following him on twitter @drmichaelcscott. Or if you would like to find cheap books, try World of Books.com.

Hello everyone at the Ministry of Stories! And Lucy Macnab who is answering our questions today,

Firstly World of Books would like to say a huge thank you for taking the time to be interviewed by us, we really admire the work you are doing and, as we’re self-confessed bookworms too, we can’t wait to give anything that gets written by your little monsters a read!

Q: We’ll start with a question for the founders of the charity- Nick Hornby, Lucy Macnab and Ben Payne. What gave you all the idea for the Ministry of Stories? Had you all worked together before?

- The Ministry of Stories has been inspired by 826 Valencia, the young people’s creative writing centre and pirate supplies store founded by Dave Eggers and Ninive Calegari. When I met [Ministry co-director] Ben Payne, we began talking pretty quickly about how we could go about starting something similar here in London. Nick had also been wondering how to go about getting something off the ground. We applied for some seed funding from the Arts Council and the JJ Charitable Trust, and about that time Dave Eggers came to town to do a book reading – the surge of people wanting to help us make it happen, as well as the confirmation of our funding and meeting Nick, helped make it a reality.

Q: World of Books is rather excited about your new shop! What can you tell us about it? And what three top buys do you recommend for all those little monsters out there?

- We’re glad to hear that you humans have a taste for the monstrous! Hoxton Street Monster Supplies was established in 1818, though the exact details of why, and by whom, have tragically been lost to history. In 2010, after closing for a much-needed refurbishment, we re-opened our doors and last Hallowe’en we launched our online store, monstersupplies.org. We pride ourselves on being London’s, and quite possibly the world’s, only purveyor of quality goods for monsters of every kind. Many of our customers have been coming to us for centuries. Indeed, some have been coming for considerably longer. Whether you’re a Vampire, Werewolf, Sasquatch or some Thing else entirely, we have everything you need.

This season we would definitely recommend trying Creeping Dread from our range of Tinned Fear or, if you’re a little younger, perhaps a milder form of fear, such as The Chills. Prepared by the most terrifyingly talented authors around such as Charlie Higson – (check out the World of Books interview with Charlie here) and Jeremy Strong, these tins are marvellous for younger monsters. We would also urge you to try our Cubed Earwax, a delicious treat, and the new January stock is tastier than ever. The other essential for any monster household is The Awfully Bad Guide to Monster Housekeeping, four little books with frighteningly good advice, illustrations and activities.

Q: As you’ve already mentioned, the charity and shop was inspired by the model of 826 Valencia, which was founded ten years ago in San Francisco by Dave Eggers. Eggers hoped that there were writers and mentors in his local community who would be willing to volunteer their time to work with young people in the local area. Because the space he found was in a retail zone, Eggers had the brilliant brainwave of building a wooden ship’s interior, and opening the premises as a pirate’s supply store. There are now seven other similar centres across the USA with different shop themes, and all supporting their own writing programmes. How much response has the Ministry of Stories received since its beginning in 2010? Are there aims to have as many branches across the UK as Egger’s work in America?

- We have been very inspired by Dave Eggers and Ninive Calegari’s project in Valencia, and the other centres around the US – they do incredible work. When we opened the Ministry of Stories in November 2010, there was an amazing response from volunteers, teachers, young people and their parents, wanting to be part of something similar here in London. A year on, we’ve put down some roots here in Hoxton, building great relationships in the neighbourhood. We’ve also had a lot of interest from people around the UK who have been inspired by what we’re doing. It’s early in our story, but we certainly hope to see other Ministries of Stories in the UK in the future.

Q: What value does the charity place on a good book?

- The highest value! Reading and writing are closely connected, as any writer will tell you. This year we’re looking forward to working more with our local library, and on projects with young people that respond creatively to reading great books.

Q: Now, we ask this question a lot, but it’s rare we have actually had the opportunity to talk to people who work with aspiring young authors on a day-to-day basis. What three crucial pieces of advice would the Ministry of Stories’ published authors give to writers who are just beginning to find their feet?

- The Ministry of Stories is about all kinds of writing, from scripts to storyboards, from poetry to puzzles. We always start our workshops with three golden rules – Respect, Courage and Imagination. Take your ideas seriously and treat them with respect, have the courage to follow an idea in an ambitious direction and give your imagination free rein. You never know where it will take you.

Q: If an adult wanted to get involved, how would they go about doing so?

- Very easily. Visit our website and decide whether you could become a member of our 159 Club for those who are as passionate about getting young people writing as we are. By giving £10.60 a month to support our workshops and programmes, you could make a huge difference, click here.

We’re also looking for volunteer writing mentors for our weekday daytime workshops, and you can sign up for this through our website too here.

Q: Now, it’s got to be asked, how do you qualify as a ‘monster’?

- Well, that is different for every type of monster, of course. Readers of Frankenstein, Dracula and Moby Dick will have a more sophisticated understanding. If you’re unsure whether you might be a monster, we recommend a visit to our shop, where staff will be happy to advise.

Q: So, lastly, World of Books admires your work to promote literacy with young people, because we also place a high value on books and the learning they enable. Here at World of Books we’re dedicated to providing good-quality second-hand books to the public, and, like the Ministry of Stories, we believe books should be passed on for others to enjoy and be inspired by. In a world with an ever-growing digital media base, and increasing environmental concerns, does the team at the Ministry of Stories believe in the importance of giving each physical book the chance of a new home?

- Your mission sounds important and exciting. More books for more readers is always a good thing. Books for Victory!

Are you inspired to help more young people get involved with reading and writing projects at the Ministry of Stories? There are lots of ways you can help. Make sure you check out the Ministry of Stories website to find out about giving your time or a regular donation. And whilst you’re there, visit their store for some monster-sized treats!

Fancy catching up on any of the authors we mentioned in this interview? Why not check out the World of Books.

Charlie Higson

Hi Charlie!

Thank you for letting us interview you, your Young Bond series never stay at World of Books for long as they’re so popular- so it’s great that our customers can read a little about you!

Q: Ok, so we’ll start easy- what is the average day in the life of Charlie Higson?

- Up at dawn for a five-mile run, followed by breakfast of raw eggs snake meat, then target practice on the rifle range for three hours. I usually have time to fit in some martial arts training before lunch, and then… I can see I’m not fooling you. The reality of being a writer is rather different. We sit in small rooms making it all up. I have an office at home, and once the kids have gone off to school I settle down at my computer for a full day’s writing. Although I do break it up with a few sessions playing Call of Duty online, which is the closest I came to any action and adventure.

Q: If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

- To expand time. Twice as many hours in a day, twice as many days in a year. I could write twice as many books and have twice as much fun.

Q: As we’ve mentioned above, you’ve also written four adult books, all of which can be said to be somewhat gritty and to different extents, dark. Do you find it very different writing adult fiction compared to young adult? Which do you prefer?

- It’s no different writing for adults as it is writing for kids. A book is a book, and whoever it’s aimed at it needs to do the same things. You need a good story and interesting characters, you need to grab your readers and not let them go and you have to write some memorable passages that will stick in their minds. In a way it’s harder writing for kids. They are easily bored and you can’t be at all self-indulgent (like many ‘literary’ authors). I like to write books in which lots of stuff happens, I like action and horror, and I suppose all of my books have been quite dark. There are some differences between the adult ones and the ones for younger readers. There is less swearing in my teen books, and no sex, otherwise they’re pretty much the same. At the moment I am writing exclusively for kids as I’m enjoying it, and the kids seem to be enjoying it too. I’m sure one day (maybe when my kids have grown up) I’ll return to writing books for older readers – although of course many adults really enjoy The Enemy series.

Q: And a random one- who is your hero?

- It’s hard to find any real life heroes. In the end we’re all human and we all have our faults. That’s what’s nice about books – you can create perfect heroes. I do like people who can make me laugh, though, so I’ll say Tommy Cooper and Vic Reeves, Steve Coogan, Woody Allen and of course my writing partner Paul Whitehouse.

Q: If you could go back in time and give your 16 year old self some advice, what would it be?

- Don’t wear that awful pale blue nylon turtle neck shirt. Otherwise just enjoy yourself, you’ll be an old man before you know it.

Q: What made you want to write the Young Bond Series? How many times have you had to watch the films as ‘research’?

- I was asked if I wanted to write the books by the Ian Fleming estate (Ian Fleming created James Bond, and his family still own the character). It was their idea and they approached me rather than the other way round. As a lifelong James Bond fan it was the perfect job offer. The idea was that I would try to fit in with the original books rather than the films, although I obviously wanted my books to have all the fun and excitement of the films. So I went back and reread the books and picked out anything I thought might be useful – any clues to the early life of Bond. I also wanted to get inside Ian Fleming’s mind and see how he went about writing his books. He was a great teacher. Often when I was writing the books and I wanted to get into the right mood, I would play some of John Barry’s old Bond film music very loud. That was fun and always worked.

Q: What is the current book on your nightstand?

- I am working my way through Bernard Cornwell’s series of Sharpe novels, about a British soldier fighting in the Peninsula War against Napoleon’s armies in Spain. I am about two thirds of the way through and really enjoying them. Cornwell writes really well about action and battles, something I am trying to learn about for my new zombie war series. Cornwell also reminds me a lot of Ian Fleming. You can see Sharpe as a James Bond figure, fighting for his country, with the Duke of Wellington as M.

Q: World of Books have actually been lucky enough to interview Mr Cornwell in the past, so we are just as avid fans!

So, on with the questions! The most recent instalment of your zombie adventure series, The Fear, was released back in September. The book carries on the tale of a world where adults over the age of 14 have contracted a mysterious illness which has killed mostly everyone, and made the survivors zombie flesh-eaters. This particular episode tells the tale of DogNut, who attempts to find his friends across the streets of London. Can we expect another in this series? And what characters across the three have you particularly bonded with and enjoyed writing about?

- I am planning to write at least seven instalments of the series. I have created lots of characters all with their own parallel but intertwining stories, so I need the space to fit them all in. My favourite characters so far are Small Sam and The Kid, two young boys who have wild adventures. The next book– The Sacrifice – which I am writing at the moment (or at least I would be if I didn’t have to answer all these pesky questions!) is all about them.

Q: Sorry Charlie! We’re looking forward to the next instalment, so won’t keep you much longer! Do your sons give you constructive feedback? Or are they your best critics?

The Enemy

- When I first started writing for kids I had no idea if I could do it, if my style would work, if I could actually write in a way that kids would enjoy. So I used to test everything on my own kids. As I finished each chapter of my Bond books I read them out as bedtime stories to my boys, which is why the books are so violent. My boys demanded more and more killings, blood and mayhem. They were very polite but I could tell from their body language if they were bored – for instance, if they fell asleep I knew I would have to put in another gory death. It was the same with my horror series. I used my youngest son, Sidney, as a guinea pig. I read The Enemy to him at night and if he had nightmares I knew I was doing something right!

Q: And finally, here at World of Books we are dedicated to providing good-quality second-hand books to the public. In a world with an ever-growing digital media base, and increasing environmental concerns, do you believe in the importance of giving each physical book the chance of a new home?

- I love books – physical paper ones. My house is full of them. There will always be a place for real books in the world, though eBooks will save a lot of paper. I hate to ever throw a book away, so I think what you are doing is wonderful. I spend a huge amount of time in 2^nd hand bookshops, books have always been recycled in this way. Get the books out there and share them and keep them alive. Keep up the good work.

Fancy checking out any of Charlie’s books? Why not see what Bond was like before he earned his license to kill and pick up a book from our site today? You can find out more about Charlie at his own website over at http://www.charliehigson.co.uk/ You can also find him on Twitter as @Monstroso

Emma Kennedy

Hi Emma!

Thank you for letting us interview you today. Your Wilma series is really popular, so it’s great for parents (and your child-fans!) to be able to learn a little bit more about you.

Q: Wow Emma! Our short biography barely even touches what you’ve been involved in and achieved since leaving Oxford University. How often do you have time out of your hectic schedule? And what do you do to relax?

If Emma gets spare time...

- Spare time is a luxury at the moment. I’m writing my 8^th book – another children’s book about a brother and sister called Spike and Scarlet Peanut, I’m adapting I left My Tent in San Francisco for the BBC, I’m working on Strange Hill High, a new animated series for CBBC and I’m travelling the country for my Travel Column in the Guardian. When I do get a spare moment, I like walking my dog, watching films and playing Angry Birds.

Q: In your own biography on your website (visit Emma’s site here), it doesn’t seem as though you meant to get into acting. In fact during a performance of Twelfth Night at school, you admit you “were terrible” and ended up disrupting the performance by getting your ‘drum’ (a cake tin) “caught against a large old radiator”. What did you want to be when you were younger? And are you surprised when you look back over the journey of your career?

- I genuinely didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do. I was a Jack of All Trades and master of none. Looking back, I don’t think that’s a bad thing as it means I’ve had lots of different life experiences that I wouldn’t necessarily have had if I’d been set on one path from an early age. Part of the fun of growing older is working out precisely what you want to do. It never fails to amuse me that I was a proper lawyer. I think that’s hilarious.

Q: Obviously you’ve written the Wilma Tenderfoot series, but you’ve also written 3 adult books. How different do you find it writing for children or adults?

- I prefer writing for children because I find fiction more fun to write. Also, you can let your imagination run riot, which you can’t when writing non-fiction for adults. Also, because the Wilma books had returning characters, I developed a deep fondness for them. I cried when I finished Rascal’s Revenge! Simply because I wouldn’t be having any more adventures with those characters. Well. I might. We’ll have to see.

Q: What has been the funniest/most alarming/most bizarre response you’ve ever had about your work?

- I was once in a show called World of Beige that we were performing at the Edinburgh Festival and at the end, we had to go off and then come back on holding picture frames round our heads for the bow. We all ran off, then as we came back on again, the audience were already half way out the door. One man saw us and groaned “Oh shit. They’re back.” He got the biggest laugh of the night- we were terrible!

Q: What is your biggest weakness?

Emma's Biggest Weakness

- Beagles.

Q: Do you carry little Wilma around with you in your mind? How often do her stories unravel or pop-up in day-to-day life?

- I did when I was writing about her. Whenever I went on walks I would think about how the story should progress or what might happen to her. I had a very long dark night of the soul over that death in Rascal’s Revenge. But it was the right thing to do, and also serves as an important lesson for children. I hated doing it though.

Q: If you could have three wishes, what would they be?

- Beagles weren’t experimented on.

I could sing brilliantly.

I could have another set of hands (and a spare brain).

Q: Is there going to be another instalment of Wilma’s story? What can we expect? And when can we expect it?!

- Nope. Rascal’s Revenge completes the story arc. We might revisit Cooper island somewhere down the line but I’m working on what I hope will be a new series. So that might have me tied up for a bit.

Q: What would your advice be for any aspiring thespians and writers?

- Get out there and get on with it. And persevere. If you’re good, you’ll be discovered. Talent will always out.

Q:  Last but not least, our favourite question- here at World of Books we are dedicated to providing good-quality second-hand books to the public. In a world with an ever-growing digital media base, and increasing environmental concerns, do you believe in the importance of giving each physical book the chance of a new home?

- ABSOLUTELY!

Make sure you check out Emma’s books at the World of Books site, and keep your eyes peeled for any new work she releases, be that books, TV or radio (you can visit her website here).

C.J. Sansom

Hi C.J Sansom,

Thank you so much for agreeing to an interview today, the most recent book in the Shardlake series, Heartstone, is being released in paperback in February 2012 by Penguin, so you must be rather busy!

Q: We’ll start by just asking simply, why crime fiction? Would you ever venture into another genre?

- There is nothing I like better than a good crime story, it can be a great way of exploring character and also of showing all aspects of society from top to bottom, if you want to take this very flexible genre in that direction.  I have written a non-crime book; Winter in Madrid is a spy novel and so is the book I am writing at the moment, which is an alternate history novel set in a fictional 1950s Britain, after the Germans won the Second World War.  It is a whole new challenge to think about how history would have turned out if just a few important things – in my book Churchill never becomes Prime Minister had been different.

Q: What is the average day in the life of C.J Sansom?

- I always write in the mornings, because I have always been a “morning” person.  In the afternoon I will usually go over what I have been writing in the morning, and then the evenings are mine.

Q: In previous interviews you’ve mentioned that some of your decision to make Shardlake a detective turned barrister was down to the fact that you yourself had studied law so therefore understood it firsthand,  and also because “it existed then and now, so it provides a point of contact for readers”. Obviously a huge amount has changed since the 16^th century in terms of the law, and being a model citizen. Are there any surprising similarities you’ve noticed whilst writing the books? And has it been difficult to separate your modern outlook on Law from how it would have been back in the Tudor period?

- It is impossible for any historical writer to completely separate themselves from their modern outlook on Law, or anything else.  But that is the great challenge, to try so far as one is able to get into the mindset of people living in an age where so many daily realities, and religion and ideology, were quite different from ours.  However some basic structures of English law – the adversarial common law system, many of the rules of evidence, the process of bringing a civil (less so with a criminal) action to trial – have continued down the centuries although the laws themselves have of course completely changed and simplified.  In Heartstone I have a brief conversation between Shardlake and the young girl who one day will be Queen Elizabeth I, about what justice is and whether it can be found using the law, which I think encapsulates some eternal dilemmas.

Q: Your stand-alone novel, Winter in Madrid (published 2006), can safely be said to be rather different to the Shardlake series, albeit all of them being set at changeable times in history. How different was the writing process for this novel? And did you find it more difficult or easier to write?

- The main difference in the writing process was that the story is told through three different third-person narratives – from the very different points of view of the characters Harry, Barbara and Bernie.  That was more difficult in that I had to jump backwards and forwards between the minds of three people, one a woman.  But it also meant I could get a wider range of views and characters in. With the novel I am writing at the moment, I’m telling the story from the point of view of four characters, which adds a further level of complexity. However I find it an enjoyable change from always pursuing murderers to having main characters who are pursued, or in hiding.

Q: What three pieces of advice would you offer to any aspiring writers?

- First and foremost, Bottom on seat and keep practising.  Second – Be ready, even eager, for constructive criticism, because there are always rough edges to be shaved.  Third, don’t start by writing autobiographically – try to keep an edge of distance from your subject.

Q: What top 5 things would be in your Room 101?

The TV series “The Tudors.”

Firmly in Room 101

Facebook

Twitter

Christmas

The Tea Party

Q: What is the most bizarre criticism you’ve ever received?

- That my books are cruel to horses.  The Tudors often were, but that’s history and I won’t prettify it.

Q: The most recent installment of the Shardlake series, Heartstone, was published in March this year, and is due out in paperback in Februrary 2012 (published by Penguin), and for those World of Books customers who haven’t caught up on the series yet, we can strongly recommend it! The novel relays events in the summer of 1545 when Henry VIII dragged England to war with France, and in doing so debased the currency and caused inflation to soar. Matthew Shardlake and sidekick Jack Barak, commisioned by an old servant of Queen Catherine Parr (Henry’s final, surviving spouse), journey to Portsmouth to investigate claims of “monstrous wrongs” that have been inflicted upon a young ward at court.

At a time when life was incredibly cheap, and people lived shortly and roughly, why do you feel a murder investigation is such a powerful storyline?

- Life was indeed very cheap in Tudor times – from disease most of all, but also violence, from the state (punishments were ferocious) and from fellow citizens.  And there were years of bad harvests when people starved.  However it was a strongly religious age, and murder is always looked upon as the worst crime, while the very fragility of the state meant that it was important for it to investigate and punish crime to keep control and credibility.  But murder being the worst crime, then as now, when it happened it would be investigated as thoroughly as the resources of the times allowed.  That could be difficult, especially in a sizeable city with an ever-changing population like London.

Q: What can your fans expect for future C.J Sansom books? Will you write any other stand-alone novels set in different eras?

- As mentioned above, I am now writing an “alternate history” novel set in 1950s Britain.  Then I have two more Shardlakes planned, one set in 1546 against the background of Henry VIII’s last illness, and another set in 1549, during the short reign of his son Edward VI, against the setting of Kett’s rebellion, a massive social revolt that shook the country.  One day, if Shardlake and I last that long, I would like to take him on into the reign of that extraordinary woman, Henry’s daughter Elizabeth I.

Q: And finally, here at World of Books we are dedicated to providing good-quality second-hand books to the public. In a world with an ever-growing digital media base, and increasing environmental concerns, do you believe in the importance of giving each physical book the chance of a new home?

- Of course the more books that are saved from landfill sites the better.  I do worry about the rapid growth of electronic books, because it will damage the whole publishing industry, but I think it will find a natural limits and there will always be a place for books – new and second-hand.

A fan of C.J Sansom and fancy re-reading his work? Not quite caught up on the Shardlake series? A newcomer altogether and been intrigued by this interview? Make sure you pick up a copy of Heartstone when it comes out in paperback in February, and why not visit our site and have a browse?

World of Books.com also has a copy of the brilliant ‘Heartstone’ in paperback up for grabs, to enter just leave a comment on this blog or ask to be entered on Facebook or Twitter.

Stuart Macbride

Hi Stuart,

Thank you for taking time out for World of Books to interview you. Our customers love a good crime fiction novel so we know they’ll be reading this enthusiastically!

Q: Ok, so we’ll start with an random question- what are your pet peeves?

- Ha – too many to list here. I have a whole zoo of them: adverbs, dialogue tags, people who don’t say “thank you” when you hold the door open for them, people who wear black shoes and black trousers with white socks… The list goes on, and on.

Q: How much research goes into your Logan McRae books? Are you on friendly terms with the Aberdeen police force, or are they slightly wary of you?

- How much research I do really depends on the book I’m writing. I tend to research specific things that I need to know, rather than doing a scatter-gun, ‘Research all the things!’ approach. But I certainly tap my forensic and pathology contacts on a very regular basis. As far as I know, Grampian Police are quite happy to be portrayed as human beings doing a difficult job in sometimes impossible conditions. The police tend to be ignored when things are going well, but as soon as something goes wrong they get it in the neck from the media. Usually without any sort of context about how difficult it is to do that job. And since I started writing I’ve been very lucky to make some good friends in the force.

Q: What is the weirdest question you’ve ever been asked?

- “Are you an alien?” Seriously, I was doing an event for the SALT book festival and they’d got this class of primary school children in to hear the first part of the talk, and their teacher encouraged them to ask a question before saying goodbye. And one little girl stuck up her hand and asked if I was an alien. Obviously I told her I was.

Q: You certainly had a lot of jobs throughout your career, what was the best one? And what did you want to be when you were younger? 

- When I was little I wanted to be either an astronaut or a rock star. And if I’m being perfectly honest I still do. But in my pre-writing working life, I think the best jobs were the ones where we had a good team of people to bounce ideas off and have fun with. Being a fulltime writer, one of the hardest things I’ve had to adapt to is working on my own for 90% of the time.

Q: What book are you currently reading?

- I’ve just finished rereading SEXUAL HOMICIDES, PATTERNS AND MOTIVES – one of the FBI training manuals – as part of the research for the next book, and just about to start Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks.

Q: Are you friendly with other crime writers? Or is there a certain amount of rivalry you have to acknowledge?

- There’s a bit of a myth that all crime writers are lovely, but in real life we’re just like everyone else. There are some lovely ones I speak to regularly and are good friends, and others you wouldn’t want to be stuck in a lift with for more than thirty seconds. Unless you had a baseball bat to beat them unconscious with. But for the majority, another writer’s success is something to celebrate, not be jealous of. So we’re always very chuffed when someone’s got a new film deal, or been shortlisted for an award. Which is lovely.

Q: If you could have three wishes what would they be?

- World peace (well, you have to say that, don’t you), the secret to making cold fusion work, and a spaceship!

Birthdays for the Dead

Q: Your new book, Birthdays for the Dead is out in January 2012. It’s a completely stand-alone novel, with no “hint, sniff or sneeze” of Logan McRae and his crew (for the latest instalment of these adventures, grab a copy of Shatter the Bones which was released in January 2011). The novel tells the story of Detective Constable Ash Henderson whose 13 year old daughter is abducted, and who he receives a picture of being tortured each year she is gone. You said that you have been wanting to write this story for over three years, and it certainly hints at being as gruesome and tense as your other novels. Why has this story taken three years to be published? And is it sometimes difficult to switch off from such a dark storyline existing in your imagination for so long?

- The reason it took so long to get around to is that I needed an appropriate place to take a break from Logan. He gets older in real time, so between the end of SHATTER THE BONES and the start of the book I’m currently writing, two years will have passed in Logan’s world. That means he gets a welcome break from me – and let’s face it, he needs one – and can try to get over some of the horrible things I’ve done to him over the last seven books. And this was just the right time to take that break. He’ll be a much happier character having had the time off.

As for the switching off, I’ve got lots and lots of plots bubbling away in the back of my brain. Sometimes they just need time to mature, darken, and deepen. Like worcester sauce. It just makes it all the tastier.

Q: A day in the life of Stuart MacBride?

- Remarkably boring: I get up, I talk to my cat, Grendel, have breakfast, walk to the study, switch on the computer, sit down and write. Break for lunch, then back to the computer again. It’s not exactly a whirlwind of thrills and international wonderment. On a special day I’ll have a cup of tea and a biscuit!

Q: And finally (this question won’t be a surprise to World of Books customers), our company is dedicated to providing good-quality second-hand books to the public. In a world with an ever-growing digital media base, and increasing environmental concerns, do you believe in the importance of giving each physical book the chance of a new home?

- I’ve never thrown a book out in my life, we have boxes of the things all over the house. And I like to rescue books from library sales as well. But if I enjoy the book, I make a point of buying a book by that author from a first-hand local bookshop too. If we don’t support local bookshops they’ll disappear. And if we don’t buy new books from time to time, the authors will too.

Second-hand and charity bookshops are terrific places to discover new writers, as are libraries, but if we want to keep reading great books we need to support the industry too. Otherwise we’ll have nothing left but a dwindling pile of recycled books, and the self-published unedited swamp of eBooks on the internet.

How awful does that sound?

Feel the need to catch up with Logan McRae? Visit our site and pick up a book from Stuart’s series today! And don’t forget to check out Birthdays for the Dead out in bookstores 5^th January 2012, you can also visit Stuart Macbride’s website here.

Photo credit: Deborah Feingold

Kim Edwards grew up in Skaneateles, New York, in the heart of the Finger Lakes region. The oldest of four children, she graduated from Colgate University and the University of Iowa, where she received an MFA in Fiction and an MA in Linguistics. After completing her graduate work, she went with her husband to Asia, where they spent the next five years teaching, first on the rural east coast of Malaysia, then in a small city an hour south of Tokyo, and finally in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. During her time in Asia, Kim began to publish short fiction, and in 1990 her story Sky Juice won the Nelson Algren Award. Her stories and essays have since appeared in a wide range of periodicals, including Ploughshares, Zoetrope, Anteaus, Story, and The Paris Review. They have won many honours, including a National Magazine Award for Excellence in Fiction and a Pushcart Prize, as well as inclusion in The Best American Short Stories. Kim’s story collection The Secrets of a Fire King was short-listed for the 1998 Pen Hemingway Award. Kim has taught in the MFA programs at Warren Wilson and Washington University, and was associate professor at The University of Kentucky. Her novel, The Memory Keeper’s Daughter (2007) was a number 1 New York Times Best Seller.

Hi Kim,

A huge thank you for chatting to us today. Your book, The Memory Keeper’s Daughter (made into a film in 2008), is truly touching, and is always flying off our shelves at World of Books, so we know our customers are sure to want to hear what you’ve got to say.

Q: So, let’s start with an easy one! What are your three most annoying habits?                    

- I suppose that would depend a bit on who you ask!  Let’s see:  I sing off key, I tend to take on too many projects at once, and I worry too much about silly things.

Q: Your novel, The Memory Keeper’s Daughter (visit the site here), illustrates the common response to mental disabilities, such as Down Syndrome, in the 1960′s (also sadly occurring in later years too). How provoking did you find it researching for this book? And how long did it take?

- It took about three years total to write this book, and I did the research within that time.  It was a very organic process; as the characters grew and evolved, I needed to know more, and so I started reading everything I could find, and then meeting with people.  I came to feel that a great deal was at stake in portraying Phoebe in a truthful, compassionate, but unsentimental way.  The insights I gained from my research filtered gradually into the characters and the story.  The more I learned, the more my admiration grew for those parents who fought—and who are still fighting—to make society a welcoming place for their children.  Caroline, for instance, is not based on any single real person, but certainly I was inspired by a multitude of real-life stories while I was writing. 

Memory Keepers Daughter

Q: How real do your characters become to you?

- The characters—and the stories—become very real.  It’s like stepping into an alternate world when I’m writing, and I always carry that world with me until the book is complete.  Then, it’s hard to let go.  I always have a time of feeling quite bereft once the final editing is done and the book has been sent off for good.

Q: What has been the best/most moving response you have received from a reader?

- I’ve had so many wonderful responses from readers around the world.  So many letters have been very moving.  However, the most powerful afternoon came during the book tour for The Memory Keeper’s Daughter in Italy (Where the title is Figlia del silenzio, or Daughter of Silence). The Italians do a very formal launch of their books.  This one took place in the afternoon, in a beautiful old school.  The room was packed, standing room only, to hear the panel discussion about the book.  On stage were a judge, an advocate for disabled children, a musician whose daughter has Down syndrome, me and my interpreter, a literary scholar, and the CEO of my publisher, Garzanti, whose son also has Down syndrome.  The discussion was incredibly vibrant and passionate and also very moving.  It’s an afternoon I will never forget.

Q: Now, World of Books is hugely excited to say that your new book, The Lake of Dreams, was released 29^th November this year. The novel tells the story of Lucy Jarrett, who has returned home to New York from Japan, but is still haunted by her father’s unresolved death 10 years before. One night, locked in a window seat of her family home, Lucy discovers a collection of objects that reveal her family’s complex past. The story follows her on her journey to discover the true nature of her heritage that eventually allows her to live more freely than she’d ever have done before. “With surprises at every turn, brimming with vibrant detail, The Lake of Dreams is an arresting saga in which every element emerges as a carefully placed piece of the puzzle that’s sure to enthrall the millions of readers who loved The Memory Keeper’s Daughter”. When speaking about this work you have said that the idea was many years in the making. What was it that kept drawing you back to Lucy and the other characters in the book?

- I was very interested in Lucy, and once I found her voice I wanted to know her better; she wouldn’t let me go.  Initially, I imagined Lucy was dealing mostly with the unexpected death of her father a decade earlier, something she needed to resolve before she could move on in her own life.  Yet as I wrote, I began to discover this other, parallel story from the deeper past, a scandal from the early 1900s that had radiated through the family in ways no one completely understood.  Writing is always a process of discovery for me.  I don’t know what is going to happen until I write it.  Uncovering the intricate weave of events and seeing Lucy’s

Lake of Dreams

character evolve and change was absolutely fascinating.  This book unfolds something like a mystery—the secret at its center is hidden from Lucy as well as from the other characters.  It was, initially, hidden from me, too, and it gave me great pleasure to discover how all the characters desires, past and present, fit together into a whole.

Q: Have you been surprised at your success as a writer? What has been the most surreal element you’ve experienced?

- Writing is a labour of love for me, and I did it for many years without any recognition or publications at all; writing is simply one of my greatest pleasures, and I can’t imagine life without it.  So the success was a wonderful shock.  I don’t think anyone could be prepared for such a whirlwind.  I enjoyed every minute of it, but I was also glad to get back to the quiet of writing.  The most surreal moment I experienced was when a woman in a bookstore in Memphis turned to me amid the shelves and started telling me about these wonderful books and this wonderful writer she’d just discovered.  It was me–she didn’t know who I was and was totally surprised when I introduced myself.  We had a good laugh about it!

Q: What would your three pieces of advice be for any aspiring writer?

- Read everything you can, write every day, and don’t worry about publishing anything for many years.

Q: How do you feel your time spent in Asia has influenced you?

- My time in Asia was absolutely formative.  I left the rich literary atmosphere of Iowa City for the rural east coast of Malaysia, and then spent six years teaching and traveling in Malaysia, Japan, and Cambodia.  There was a wonderful solitude and freedom in being so far away from anything I’d ever known, and this allowed me to take risks, to use all I’d learned in graduate school, and to grow as a writer.  I wrote constantly, but I didn’t submit anything I wrote—this was before email, and it was virtually impossible to send stories out.  This gave me a tremendous freedom, too.  My perspective on the world was forever broadened and changed by these experiences, and when I returned to the US I saw my own country very differently, too.

Q: If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?

- Exactly the job I have.  I would be a writer.

Q: And finally the one we ask everyone! Here at World of Books we are dedicated to providing good-quality second-hand books to the public. In a world with an ever-growing digital media base, and increasing environmental concerns, do you believe in the importance of giving each physical book the chance of a new home?

- Yes, I do.  Of course I want people to buy my books and the books of all authors when they come out—we work hard and it’s both good and necessary for writers, like all artists, to be able to make a living.  Yet when I was living in Malaysia, one of the biggest treats was driving six hours to Singapore to a great used book store there, and filling up the trunk of the car with enough books to sustain us for months.  I love books, their beauty and the way they feel in my hands, and never want to be without them.  I like thinking of the books I give away journeying into other hands, touching other lives.

Enjoyed this interview? World of Books can’t recommend Kim’s books enough, so visit our store and have a browse! And don’t forget Kim’s newest book, The Lake of Dreams is available in stores now, or you can visit Kim’s site by clicking here.