Valerie Martin, Author of the Stunning New Novel
Trespass, Talks of How She Conceives Her Ideas

Trespass by Valerie Martin

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Authorlink Audio Interview
With Valerie Martin
author of Trespass

Audio Length: 14.5 min.

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Valerie Martin, winner of the 2003 Orange Prize for her novel, Property, talks with Authorlink about her writing career and her stunning new novel, TRESPASS, released in September 2007 by Nan A. Talese Books/Random House.

What begins as a story about a cultivated American family becomes an insightful look at war and violence, and what happens to societies when their principles are tested.

To Chloe Dale, the initial threat is Salome Dragovich, the smart, sexually confident young woman with whom her cherished son Toby has fallen in love. Chloe's mistrust deepens, alienating her from her tolerant husband and besotted son. Salome, haunted by her war-torn past and a family secret, leaves America to search for her presumed-dead mother, the day after her hasty elopement with Toby. Chloe believes her worse predictions have come true.

With extraordinary storytelling abilities, Valerie Martin enlarges an initially quiet tale into a shocking socio-political journey where liberal American values collide with the fear of foreign invasiveness.

In this 14-minute discussion, Valerie also talks of her own publishing journey and how she triumphed over eight-year gap between the publication of her first two books and her later award-winning works.