While researching the history of the Vietnam war for my book, Mandarin Road, I stumbled across many heartbreaking stories of the Amerasian children left behind when the Americans withdrew their troops from the country in 1973.

The Bookseller of Kathmandu is set in two different locations and two time-zones and the inspirations behind the story came from many different sources. Cover for The Bookseller of Kathmandu I’ve wanted to write about Kathmandu since I first travelled to Nepal in 1987 when I was on a long trip round India and Southeast Asia. I was enchanted by Kathmandu, especially the narrow old streets of Thamel and the ancient heart of the city, Durbar Square. Thamel was a maze of pedestri

It’s over ten years since my first novel Bamboo Heart , was first published by Monsoon Books, and I’ve have been thinking back to what...