Authors whose surnames begin with ‘V’, and their latest books

This month’s featured authors
		James Lee Burke Swan Peak “There are many pernicious influences at work in American society. The real issue of the 20th century will be the biggest issue of the 21st century, and that is energy and resources.” Read the full interview with James Lee Burke Watch James Lee Burke discuss his new volume of short stories, Jesus Out to Sea, and the effect of Hurricane Katrina on his writing James Lee Burke’s profile and books
		Marcus Sedgwick The Kiss of Death “I remember consciously thinking before I wrote The Kiss of Death that Venice was going to be a character. The city was a gift for the gothic. It’s really beautiful, but rotting to pieces at the same time. The 18th century was when it was considered at its most beautiful but also at its most debauched.” Read the full interview with Marcus Sedgwick Watch Marcus Sedgwick talking about The Kiss of Death Marcus Sedgwick’s profile and books
		Complete listing of author interviews, Q&As and audio interviews. View by subject or in alphabetical order by author.
Previously featured authors
		Peter Grimsdale Perfect Night Peter Grimsdale also worked under cover in Enver Hoxha’s Albania, one of the most secretive societies of recent history. “It was hilarious. I went on a package tour,” he recalls laughing. “It made Moscow look like Monte Carlo: they still had statues of Stalin.” The trip proved a lesson in how to be a spy. “The trick is to be terribly, terribly low-key.” Read the full interview with Peter Grimsdale Peter Grimsdale’s profile and books
		Robyn Sisman A Hollywood Ending “The way some women are treated in Hollywood is pretty ghastly. I have heard some terrible stories.” Read the full interview with Robyn Sisman Robyn Sisman’s profile and books
		Robert Crais Chasing Darkness “All writers are readers first. I want to tell myself a good story and those are the types of story I enjoy.” Read the full interview with Robert Crais Robert Crais’s profile and books
		Paul Carr Bringing Nothing to the Party True Confessions of a New Media Whore “I found myself hanging out with these people who had multi-billion dollar valuations for their companies and thought, ‘There is a story here’.” Read the full interview with Paul Carr Paul Carr’s profile and books
		Kerry Reichs The Best Day of Someone Else's Life “There isn’t a woman of my age who doesn’t know that half this book is autobiographical,” laughs the 35-year-old, who could probably hire herself out as a professional wedding guest if she ever decides to give up writing. Read the full interview with Kerry Reichs Kerry Reichs’s profile and books
		Richard Mason The Lighted Rooms “I needed to rediscover the joy that made me wake up at four in the morning when I was seventeen and write a short story. The Lighted Rooms really gave me that.” Read the full interview with Richard Mason Richard Mason’s profile and books
		Dan Cruickshank Adventures in Architecture “Over the four days it took to build the igloo I had a lot of time to talk to Andreas, and what struck me was the different context of the whole global warming story, which we are all so familiar with, but here was someone who lives in a society where it is affecting their life very dramatically.” Read the full interview with Dan Cruickshank Dan Cruickshank’s profile and books
		Rebecca Stott Ghostwalk “There are these claims to absolute truth around us all the time, and I guess I have been interested in that grey area between the rational and irrational.” Read the full interview with Rebecca Stott Rebecca Stott’s profile and books
		Jonathan Tropper Everything Changes “We build these very big insulating lives and don’t stop to ask what it is exactly we are building or why. Suddenly you can find that you are trapped in the prison of your own life, realising that you are not very happy.” Read the full interview with Jonathan Tropper Jonathan Tropper’s profile and books
		Jasper Rees I Found My Horn “The more I learned and moved in the world of French horn players and listened out for it at concerts and on recordings, the more my respect for the people who play it well deepened and my adoration of the sound and the huge variety of sounds the instrument can make became greater.” Read the full interview with Jasper Rees Jasper Rees’ profile and books
		Linda Newbery Nevermore “We can’t help making stories of our own lives. It is strange the way that we do that. We know our lives are not stories, but it is as if we know that our lives have to be shaped to have a particular ending. It is bred into us to make stories.” Read the full interview with Linda Newbery Linda Newbery’s profile and books
		Sir Ronald Cohen The Second Bounce of the Ball Turning Risk into Opportunity "Although there are some characteristics, such as determination, a desire to work hard and resilience in the face of adversity, which are necessary and are probably innate rather than developed, most of entrepreneurship can be learned." Read the full interview with Sir Ronald Cohen Sir Ronald Cohen’s profile and books
		Tamasin Day-Lewis Where Shall We Go For Dinner? A Food Romance "We are the first generation who don't eat rabbit," she says with vigour. "Rabbit is one of the most delicious things around. It is free round here – the price of a cartridge. It's better to eat that than fish that is not sustainable." Read the full interview with Tamasin Day-Lewis Tamasin Day-Lewis’ profile and books
		Jeff Lindsay Dexter in the Dark "There is a lot of literature on the subject of hearing that other voice. It is a psychotic symptom. This new book is an attempt at exploring that a bit further." Read the full interview with Jeff Lindsay Jeff Lindsay's author profile and books
		Kate Mosse Sepulchre "I am interested in strong women and putting women out there who are not just looking for a husband or are victims. I love crime writing, but I find it distressing how many women are victims in crime fiction, and even the strong women in crime are strong but at enormous personal cost." Read the full interview with Kate Mosse Read an extract from Sepulchre Listen to an audio extract from Sepulchre Listen to the music inspired by Sepulchre (1 minute and 18 seconds) Kate Mosse’s profile and books Video: Watch Kate Mosse introducing and reading from Sepulchre
		James Lee Burke The Tin Roof Blowdown The Tin Roof Blowdown is a gripping thriller and also a vivid evocation of the horror that engulfed New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina smashed into the Big Easy. "My emotions about what happened are irrelevant; simply stating what occurred leaves one numbed and disbelieving." Read the full interview with James Lee Burke James Lee Burke's author profile and books
		Maya Slater Mr Darcy's Diary “I was talking with friends and found myself saying that I would love to read Mr Darcy’s diary and everybody laughed and thought nothing of it. But it stayed at the back of my mind and just bubbled away.” Interview with Maya Slater Read an extract from Mr Darcy's Diary Maya Slater’s profile and books
		Duncan Bannatyne Anyone Can Do It My Story "I think everybody has entrepreneurial genes hidden inside, but they don't let them blossom because they don't need to." Interview with Duncan Bannatyne Duncan Bannatyne's profile and books
		Valerie Martin Trespass "I have been interested for a long time in that rift between one's ideals and one's actions." Orange Prize winner Valerie Martin talks with Danuta Kean about the links between the personal and the political. Interview with Valerie Martin Valerie Martin’s profile and books
		Thomas Pakenham In Search of Remarkable Trees On Safari in Southern Africa “It is quite funny taking photographs with a man carrying a gun standing beside you in case an elephant comes round the corner and you have to run for it. We were told that if a lion comes, don't for God's sake run, but stand quite still.” Read the full interview with Thomas Pakenham Thomas Pakenham’s profile and books
		Raymond Khoury Sanctuary Sanctuary is special not only because of the page-turning urgency of the plot, but because it is written with a real passion for the subject and the places in which it is set. Born in Lebanon, Khoury was forced to flee in 1984 as the country was engulfed by one of the bloodiest civil wars of the twentieth century. Read the full interview with Raymond Khoury Raymond Khoury’s profile and books
		Marcus Sedgwick Blood Red, Snow White “Until you sort out your feelings about death, you can't get on with anything else. Fiction is a safe place to come across these things when you are young. When you are seven or eight you start to learn about death, but it is when you are eleven or twelve that you start to ponder it seriously.” Read the full interview with Marcus Sedgwick Marcus Sedgwick’s profile and books Watch Marcus Segwick introducing Blood Red, Snow White
		Catrin Collier One Last Summer “One Last Summer is a novel based on my mother, Gerda Jones, and my grandmother Martha Salewski’s wartime diaries. The characters in the novel are figments of my imagination. The traumatic events they lived through are sadly not.” Read how Catrin Collier gained inspiration from her mother’s shocking real-life Nazi experiences for her latest novel, One Last Summer Catrin Collier’s profile and books Catrin Collier's novels listed in series and chronological order
		Jennifer Worth Call The Midwife A True Story Of The East End In The 1950 “I feel huge affection and admiration for these women all these years later. They worked so hard. I think they were heroines. I loved writing the book, because they all came back to me so vividly. I could hear the Cockney voices.” Interview with Jennifer Worth Jennifer Worth’s profile and books
		David Devereux Hunter's Moon Though writing takes him into dark places, his usual work takes him into still darker realms. David is Britain’s first professional exorcist and, as well as writing about demons and the dark side, he has dealt with them, casting them out of offices, homes and bodies. Interview with David Devereux David Devereux’s profile and books
		Guy Pratt My Bass and Other Animals “Serendipity has followed Guy through his life, making him an observant, amused fellow traveller with rock icons.” Read the full interview with Guy Pratt Guy Pratt’s profile and books
		Simon Sebag Montefiore Young Stalin “Stalin is one of those subjects that one never gets bored with. He was incredibly complex and subtle, both diabolical and terrifyingly seductive.” Read the full interview with Simon Sebag Montefiore Simon Sebag Montefiore’s profile and books
		Janey Lee Grace Imperfectly Natural Baby And Toddler The Natural Way From 0 to 2 Years And Beyond . . . “I really hope that the book will credit mothers with the intelligence that they have. The government likes to believe that most of us are stupid. We are not.” Read the full interview with Janey Lee Grace Janey Lee Grace’s profile and books
		Bee Lavender Lessons in Taxidermy “I'm a deeply contrary person, I don't like to be told what to do. That included not dying.” Read the full interview with Bee Lavender Bee Lavender’s profile and books
		Paul Torday Salmon Fishing in the Yemen “The contrast between people who pray five times a day and people who shop five times a day is marked” Read the full interview with Paul Torday Paul Torday’s profile and books