“A novel might start with an expression on a stranger’s face, a title, a photo in the paper, a chance conversation, a little bubble of anger, whatever. I plot the start, spend months in my head with the characters, broadly plan for where they’re headed. The moment they take over is the moment the book comes to life.”

“Novel writing is never about the plot. It is about human beings and what lies beneath their surface. Every one of my books has that subtext.

“Thematically, again and again my books are about people who are trying to be better than they have been. Max Holman is the most complete example of that that I have addressed.”

“When I set out to write, I aim for pure balls-to-the-wall adventure, pure escape and entertainment. I follow the three M’s of storytelling: murder, magic, and mayhem. But with that said, I don’t think any adventure story will work unless you do indeed engage the reader on a level deeper than pure popcorn-entertainment. He/She must care about the characters or why join you on this journey? I strongly believe that character and plot must be tightly interwoven, especially in adventure fiction. One will not work without the other.”

From www.jamesrollins.com

“My most vivid memory of school...? Maybe playing a school disco with my first punk band. Later on, I fell over and had to be taken to hospital for stitches.”

“I hear back from a lot of readers and sometimes it feels that they have taken Harry more to their heart than I have. He feels like an entity that they know. That is extremely flattering, but it does mean that when I kill off a character or don’t come back to a reader there is room for upset. But you can’t write with someone looking over your shoulder.”

“Thompson held many different jobs after completing his B.A. at the University of Nebraska. He began as an oil well and pipeline worker. During the Depression he joined with the Federal Writers Project in Oklahoma, helping to turn out guidebooks of the state. Thompson also contributed to "true crime" magazines. During this era of prohibition, Thompson got to know the local gangsters, losers, deputies, corrupt civil servants, and later depicted their world in his books. He was also a member of the Communist party and had contact with other political activists, such as folk singer Woody Guthrie.

Thompson turned to crime fiction as a way of making money. His favourite characters were barflies, grifters, losers, and psychopaths. Thompson knew that he was not destined for big success, but before he died he told his wife to protect his manuscripts and copyrights, anticipating posthumous fame and ten years after his death, Thompson's view of the world has inspired such filmmakers as Sam Peckinpah, Stephen Frears, Bertrand Tavernier, and Quentin Tarantino and the titles that became these well known films are available from Orion Books.”

“When I was six years old, I had a truly great literary year. I had a poem published in a big volume of children's poems. It was called 'Socks' and was about the difficulty of keeping a pair together. And on top of that, I was in love with a little girl who lived far away, and I was writing her a serial novel and sending her a chapter every week. I don't know if she got tired of it, but it kept me busy.”

The Crime Writers’ Association has awarded its Cartier Diamond Dagger for 2006 to the highly respected American novelist, Elmore Leonard.

Elmore Leonard already holds the title of Grand Master from the Mystery Writers of America. He has been dubbed ‘a literary genius’ by The Times and described as ‘the greatest crime writer of our time’ by The New York Times. Many of his novels have been made into films, including ‘Valdez is Coming’, ‘Get Shorty’, ‘Out of Sight’, and ‘Rum Punch’ (as Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Jackie Brown’).

Elmore Leonard said of this award:

“This is great news, by far the best kind of achievement award, to be recognised by fellow writers for the one thing I have ever wanted to do in my life, tell stories, what I've been doing for the past 55 years. I see the Diamond Dagger giving me a boost of energy, telling me to make the book I'm writing now the best one yet.”

“I've never had very much in the way of ambition, except to play saxophone like Charlie Parker and write a book – both dreams I've had since I was probably 6 years old. Fulfilling one out of two has been very, very sweet. It's a dream come true, quite literally.”

“Basically, I worship the printed word. If you’re going to be in this business, you might as well be passionate about it.”

“I don’t map out my books, but I have a general sense about what they are going to be about and where they will go, but I am often surprised by how they end up.”

“He admits he likes his characters to have a life of their own, and it is one reason that stalwarts in the Ed McBain canon remain fresh and believable.”

“I try to block out the novels, although I'm never successful. My outlines last 60 pages if I'm lucky, and after that it's up to my characters. Thank God for them, they know what needs to be done, and how to have a good time when they're not doing it.”

Henry Porter has an extraordinary knowledge of espionage, terrorism and international affairs, with personal experience of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 which features in Brandenburg.

His philosophy of life: “Keep flying into the wind. It looks tough, but that way your aeroplane stays aloft and gains speed.”

‘Probably the best living Italian crime writer’ Il Manifesto.

‘Carlotto's books are as interesting as the man himself’ Irish Examiner

Massimo Carlotto was at the centre of one of the most controversial law cases in Italian history when he was accused of a brutal murder. His first book was an autobiography, but he then started writing a series in which the main character, Alligator, is a former convict who becomes a detective, and, like Carlotto, has a thirst for truth and justice.