My Grandmother: Zenobia Evaristo
Zenobia Evaristo, second wife of Gregorio (below). Born Zenobia Sowemima in Ibadan, Nigeria. Died 1967, Lagos, Nigeria. Brought back to life as ‘herself’ in the new LARA. (Love the hair-do!)

My Grandfather: Gregorio Evaristo
Born Brazil. Lived Nigeria. Died Cameroon 1927. Brought to imaginary life in ’Lara’ revised & expanded (Bloodaxe Books, Oct 2009)

Diana Evans: The Wonder
Diana Evans’ first novel ‘26a’ was a huge success and won, among others, the Orange Prize First Novel Award in 2005.  ’The Wonder’ is her follow-up. A beautifully written novel set in Notting Hill of both the 1960s and today.

Interview with Helen Oyeyemi
Helen Oyeyemi is a bit of of a wunderkind. Well, no, she IS the Ultimate Wunderkind and I doff my cap to her. Born in 1984 she has already published three novels, the first written while she was doing her A’Levels at 18, as well as two plays. Her novels are ‘The Icarus Girl’, ‘The Opposite House’ and ‘White is for Witching’. Her plays

Pascale Petit: Poems & Pictures
I am proud to present Pascale Petit as my Guest Blogger. A fascinating poet and former artist… A Suitcase-full of Hummingbirds After nine years’ search I’ve finally found this photo – the trigger for my opening poem ‘The Strait-Jackets’ in The Zoo Father. I originally came across it in an out of print book on South American wildlife during one of my obsessive trawls through Canning House’s Latin American library w