BEST AUTHOR BEST : DAN JONES

Inspired by George R.R.Martin, the prolific historian and British TV personality has added fiction to his repertoire.

'' Wolves of Winter,'' the second novel in his Hundred Years War trilogy is out this month.

.-  What books are on your night stand?

There are no books actually on the night stand - just a clock, lamp and photo of my daughters. But beside it a wobbly pile of 20 volumes [ I just counted ], and a smaller tower of almost as many again.

Highest on the big pile is Karl Ove Knausgaard's '' Wolves of Eternity. '' There's also a book of vintage tattoo art, a history of the world in 500 maps, two Jack Reachers, a history of Death Row records, some Norwegian sagas.

Thucydides '' History of the Peloponnesian War,'' a collection of Walter de la Mare ghost stories and a book about negotiating with the terrorists.

.-  What's the last great book you read?

Alice Winn's debut, '' In Memoriam,'' came to the taverna with me last summer. It blew my mind. I sent Aica fanmail to say so, and we ended up on the phone for an hour talking about medieval beards.

.-  Who are your favorite authors of historical fiction?

Tolstoy, obviously. Mary Renault. James Ellroy. I must have read '' American Tabloid '' eight or 10 times, Ellroy takes history down to the sewer and rolls around with it until everything is filthy. I dig that dark energy.

.-  What's your favorite book no one else has heard of?

'' The Wake'' by Paul Kingsworth, set during the Norman Conquest of  England in 1066. It features a grumpy outlaw called Buccmaster and it's written in a hybrid modern / Old English, which is challenging to pick up.

I keep giving this book to people, but no one ever thanks me.

.- Is there a writer of history who inspired you to try your hand at fiction?

In 2019, I had dinner with George R.R. Martin after interviewing him. We talked history. George has read more history than most people alive. But he turns his love for the subject into something so wild and unbounded. It struck me that it could be fun.

.-  What do you read when you're working on a book? And what kind of reading do you need while writing?

Writing fiction. I just try to avoid other novels on the same patch. But I'm more particular about music and exercise.

I have to get on a certain mental frequency, which means a lot of deep house, techno and drum and bass, plus Peloton and yoga every morning. That makes me sound like I'm some ghastly yuppie. Probably I am.

The World Students Society thanks The New York Times.