Veronica Lamond is the author and illustrator of the well-loved and highly successful Landy and Friends books. He doesn’t like to brag about all the awards he’s won, such as the Irish Book of the Decade, or the Red House in the UK, or all the other awards that he humbly displays on his mantelpiece. He is also far too modest to mention things like the first book being a Publisher’s Weekly Best Book of t Derek Landy is an Irish writer and screenwriter. In addition to the bestselling children's/YA series of Skulduggery Pleasant books, a supernatural mystery series starring Skulduggery Pleasant, a skeleton detective, and Valkyrie Cain, a young female magician, he has written two screenplays that have been made into films: the IFTA award winning "Dead Bodies" and the IFTA nominated "Boy Eats Girl". Landy himself was nominated for an IFTA for Best Script. The characters presented in this novel are fantastic. First of all, Skulduggery is the very smart guy who will do everything under his magical capabilities to save those close to him. Also, Stephanie is a strong 12-year-old who manages to withstand all the challenges that the world has to offer despite her world being turned upside down. Lastly is Tanith Low, a brilliant fighter. The plot is tight despite the novel mostly focused on action.

The author Landy was first contracted to write a trilogy, with a promise that any further books would highly depend on how the books sold in the market. The success of these novels led to the extension of the deal to a total of six novels in 2011. Which five words best describe your new book? Colourful, warm-hearted, informative, diverse and fun. Can you tell us something about Landy or yourself that even most loyal fans may not know? Every time I start a new book I always have a vision of it - I think in images rather than words – but am always afraid that I might not be good enough to translate the vision into good illustrations. Fender – we meet Landy’s friend who lives near the beach. The story is based around a beach clean-up and how Fender and Dan rescue a seal pup. What do you love about writing stories for children? It is the initial thinking of the story in imagery that I find wonderful – you can take it wherever you want to go. When I write, I am not just writing for children, but for the grown-ups who read to children. I want people to identify with my characters and for my books to trigger lots of conversation between children and adults, especially at bedtime.Why do you think non-fiction books are an important part of a child’s home library? Life itself is so amazing and interesting and it is so important for children to find out about all the wonderful things it offers. Derek Landy is an Irish writer and screenwriter. In addition to the bestselling children's/YA series of Skulduggery Pleasant books, a supernatural mystery series starring Skulduggery Pleasant, a skeleton detective, and Valkyrie Cain, a young female magician, he has written two screenplays that have been made into films: the IFTA award winning "Dead Bodies" and the IFTA nominated "Boy Eats Girl". Landy himself was nominated for an IFTA for Best Script. The seventh special edition Landybook Three weeks before Defender production stopped at the end of January, Land Rover challenged Veronica to write a story about Landy visiting the factory and this book is the outcome…then they opened the factory for her on a Sunday so she could take all the reference images. All the people in the book are the real people who were working on Defender 2 week before production stopped.

What has been the best reaction from a reader, so far? The people who run the Ethiopian Wolf absolutely love whatI have done and feel it will help promote the wonderful work they do. Her book 'Jojo's Wire Car' was published in June 2014, by Random House Struik Publishers in South Africa. The Landy and Friends series of books engage children in diverse, real life activities through the lovable, animated characters of Landy (1956 Series 1) and Fender (1999 Defender). However, to defeat it, Pleasant will require the aid of a new partner, a twelve-year-old teenage girl named Stephanie. After I released the YouTube video of Landy last year on my Landy and Friends channel – and discovered how much fun it was, I created the Fender film, which came out in June.

The Skulduggery Pleasant Series in Order

There are eight books in the series so far. The seventh book is a special edition about Landy visiting the Defender Factory in Solihull. Did your early memories of South Africa have any influence on your books? Yes, Africa is in my blood. My Zulu nanny with her warm, relaxed nature was a wonderfully creative person who helped inspire my own creativity. My mother Ruth Keech was a poet, so writing was something thatwas always going on around me. When I was 14 I read The Lost World of the Kalahari by Laurence van der Post, whichmade me want to go exploring Africa in a Land Rover, but sadly, I have never had the time to do it – I guess I did it vicariously by writing about Dan and Fender travellingin Africa!