BOOKISH TYPES

Dean Koontz

“I would start writing a scene, and it would hit me that ... some little twist of a moment came from my father. Something I didn’t want to think about . ... I do believe the uncomfortable things in life we have a tendency to ... just not contemplate. But when you’re a writer ... your work brings you to think about these things.”

Koontz to Jim Ruland on how his protagonist’s amnesia in “In the Heart of the Fire (Nameless Book 1)” may have come from a desire to forget his own father’s alcoholism. Sunday Calendar, Nov. 10.

Julie Andrews

“Blake wasn’t just an addictive personality. He was also brilliant, with a million ideas and so much energy . ... I did think, ‘Would this in any way help other people with addiction in their household?’ ”

Andrews to Mary McNamara on her late husband, director Blake Edwards, and her memoir “Home Work.” Daily Calendar, Oct. 15

Don Winslow

“With the exception of my wife and son, I’ve spent more time with Keller than any other person in my life. Keller and me. Five-thirty a.m. every morning . ... I don’t know if I like him or not. He’s gone . ... It’s a little weird. We both come from that Catholic ... guilt-driven moral absolutism.”

Winslow to Jeffrey Fleishman on “The Border,” the last novel in his drug wars series, and his protagonist, DEA agent Art Keller. Sunday Calendar, Feb. 24

Ronan Farrow

“You can imagine going to your editor, as I did, saying, ‘Hi, there’s a secret Israeli spy group staffed by former Mossad agents after me and my sources; they’re called Black Cube.’ ... These cloak-and-dagger tactics should stay in the world of [Robert] Ludlum novels and not be directed at real-world journalists and sources in our country.”

Farrow to Mary McNamara on his book “Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators.” Daily Calendar, Oct. 14.

Gary Coronado Los Angeles Times DEAN KOONTZ with his dog Elsa at home in Newport Beach. He’s written more than 100 books, 14 of which were No. 1 print bestsellers. But his latest “Nameless” series is available only in electronic and audio forms. His computer has no internet access.

Mark Boster For The Times DON WINSLOW overlooking the Borrego Valley, where people and drugs intersect on the desert f loor. The third of his sweeping drug wars series is “The Border.”

Ana Venegas For The Times JULIE ANDREWS wrote her second memoir, covering the years she became a movie star, with her daughter and longtime collaborator Emma Walton Hamilton.

Francine Orr Los Angeles Times RONAN FARROW at an event in Los Angeles hosted by the L.A. Times Book Club and Ideas Exchange.