Written

Wendy loved Songs FromTwo Continents and wanted to know more about what cultures had influenced Moris Farhi"s writing, and if he was still writing poetry:

Wendy: Why is the book called 'Songs from two Continents?

Moris: The ‘two continents' are Asia and Europe. I was born in Ankara, in Turkish Asia, and spent my youth there before moving to Istanbul. Then for the last 50 years or so I lived and worked in the UK. Thus, in terms of culture and sensibilities, I'm a product of those two continents. ‘Songs' refers to a tradition in Turkish folklore which advocates that poems should not only be read and recited, but also sung.

In 2001 David Cunningham had one of those rare opportunities to interview Val McDermid about her life and writings: Enjoy!

Even for a city that rivals Glasgow in its reputation for being wet and grey, Manchester puts on a pretty impressive display the morning I arrive there to meet Val McDermid. The city centre - dominated by slab-like hotels and patrolled by ponderous trams - looks like the sort of urban stew where anything could happen: murder, drug-peddling, property scams, child pornography rings, dodgy fertility research. In Val McDermid's novels all these things, and more, do happen, investigated by her two main protagonists: private eye Kate Brannigan and journalist Lindsay Gordon.

I met Alison Goodman in 2008 when I interviewed her on 'The Two Pearls of Wisdom' and now having read The Necklace of the Gods I very much wanted to know how things had been and what her research experiences had been for the new book. She has very kindly answered some questions from me.

Vicky: The build up from The Two Pearls of Wisdom to The Necklace of the Gods is brilliant (the books are also published as EON and EONA in some parts of the world). Did you experience, on a personal level, any of the martial arts described in your books?

I very much enjoyed reading the children's manga series Vermonia and wanted to find out more about the YoYo authors. Saki who started it all by forming the YoYo group of artists has very kindly answered my questions.

Vicky: Why did you form YoYo and what does the name mean?

Wendy very much enjoyed Anglea's book 'The Double Life of Cora Parry' as it was set in the Victoria period, and wanted to know more about why she shows to write in this time.

Wendy: What was your inspiration for writing a book set in Victorian England?

Anglea: When I started writing about Cora I knew I wanted to explore ideas of identity and to play out moral choices. Because of this I wanted her to be able to develop a double life and for that deception to go unnoticed. When I looked for a setting that would give her opportunity and concealment, the overcrowded, crime-ridden back streets of Victorian London seemed perfect.

Wendy: Fletch is such a complex character - why did you write her out so early in the story.

Having read all the Jack the Station Cat book series for children I wanted to know more about Alan Cliff and his influences and why he wrote his books.

VW: How did you go from being a Methodist Minister to writing about Jack the Station Cat?

AC: When I had to take reirement from full rime ministry in 1987 one of the doctors treating me suggested that in order to keep my mind active I should write. I told him I hated writing. Even my minister's letter in the church magazine was written by my wife Rosemary!!

"Tough" he said, "you will have to learn." So Rosemary enrolled in an Open College of the Arts writing course and I became a ghost student.

I met Tina Turbin over the internet when she sent me her book, dvd and cd all to do with Danny the Dragon, from America. On the surface Tina appeared to be a writer but dig a little deeper and what I discovered was an amazing person who is doing so much to help people especially those who have a problem with Gluten, and has three websites that show the different facts of her life.

How could I not do an interview with her - enjoy.

Vicky: Can you remember anything about the photo shoot with the Bing Crosby family when you were 36 months?

Tina: I recall vividly the pool, the swimming lesson and feeling so free in the water. I was not all that into the attention. I was just so proud that everyone loved to watch me swim. I was terribly young.

Vicky: Did this perhaps unconsciously spark the interest in your going into showbiz? Not really, to be honest.

Guy Gavriel Kay has the special ability to take history and turn it into a fantasy that makes it a joy to read. I first met him when I interviewed him about 'Tigana' which now seems to be in the mists of time.

Ann has also been a fan of Guy's works and read 'Under Heaven' and so got to ask the questions for this interview - I just added a couple at the end - we hope you the reader will enjoy the result.

Ann: Do you visualize your characters?

Guy: As a rule, more as the books go on and they grow for me. I don't outline, and so there's very much a discovery process in every book.

Ann: How much input do you have into the cover design of your books ?

Guy: This varies from market to market, and is mostly a function of situations where I have longstanding relationships with editors and marketing people. In general by now I certainly get to say my piece and in some cases the covers represent very happy collaborations among a number of us.

Having read House Rules and being the mother of Naomi an adult on the autisitic spectrum I wanted to do an interview with Jodi Picoult. Time was very precious in her schedule so Kerry Hood her PR from Hodder & Stoughton kindly asked the questions for me while they travelled from one interview to another.

Thankyou Kerry.

VW: You seem to keep your writing eye fairly attuned to subjects that are difficult to talk about - what is it about any given subject that you feel would make a good story?

Bleinda Bauer's debut novel 'Blacklands' seems to have caught the public imagination and so we here at BFKbooks wanted to know more about what went into writing the book. Gareth who did the review is the interviewer.

G: This is an assured debut - how long have you been nursing this wonderful premise before you actually wrote it?

BB: Not long at all. I had the idea and the story fell into place in my head in days, so I just started writing pretty much straight away because I knew exactly where I was going.

G: What were your main aims when writing this - did you have a particular reason for writing it?

BB: Not really. I just thought it would be an exciting story to write.