Peter Robinson

Shelley and I went to London last night to hear him speak and read from his newest novel, Piece of My Heart.

He talked a little about he started writing the series and how he had no idea that it would span almost 20 years ( in 2007).

He started off by talking about the book and what led him to write it; mainly his passion for 60's rock music and the challenge of writing two narratives within one novel. He told us some anecdotes about his own experiences in England during the late 60's rock scene that really added to the understanding of his personality (and how much of his personality is in Inspector Alan Banks) and the background for the novel and he set up the introduction of a new character that is central to the "past" narrative in the novel as well. He told us how he had to invent a rock band for this novel and that his influences came from the late 60's music scene, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and The Who.

Much of the audience was laughing throughout his anecdotes. He has a witty and intelligent sense of humour. He read the opening pages of the new book and I was completely hooked. He has a lovely English accent, not Canadianized at all, and a wonderful reading voice - full of expression and emotion. His facial features were animated during the reading and he made it quite interesting despite how short it seemed.

The "promo" photo on the cover of most of his books must be at least 10 years old. He seems to have lost quite a bit of weight and aged some since it was taken, but he is still a handsome man and perfectly fits what an "author" should look like in my mind.

He opened the floor to Q & A and I was brave enough to ask him "You have said that you had no idea when you started writing about Alan Banks that it would go one for this long. After all this time, do you see Alan Banks as a real person and do you see his future and where he is going or do you still make it up as you go along?" His reply is that he starts the novels out with a victim and a setting and then writes Banks' personal life around what is happening in the case and it is always a surprise for him, it's not pre-planned. He said that Ian Rankin also writes Inspector Rebus this way and he believes that the characters are more believable and the writing more interesting this way because he, the author, never knows what will happen next until he writes it.

He told us his favourite Inspector Banks novel is In A Dry Season because it was his first attempt at the double narrative and also some of it takes place during the time of his own childhood.

He very graciously signed copies of any books for everyone there.

BookCrossing

The blurb from the back cover - below - about sums it up.

There are so many story lines in this novel and no real conclusion that I am not sure what the point was. It was interesting and timely in terms of terrorism tactics and cells - but other than that - I can't say anything else about it.

Back Cover Blurb:

"December 25: A bomb rips through a packed Cathedral in Jakarta.

As the hours pass, terrorist explosions continue around the globe, triggering worldwide panic and creating a nightmare beyond words...

Inside the covert agency known only as Office 119, agents Renate Bachle and Lawton Caine are called upon to identify the groups responsible for the bloodshed. But the so-called "Black Christmas" attacks are nothing more than a smoke screen for a far more sinister conspiracy. At its heart are ruthless secret societies with blood ties that date back thousands of years, whose goals are nothing less than global domination.

Renate and Lawton are only beginning to fathom how far the darkness extends. With the U.S. president set to deploy nuclear weapons against the wrong targets and religious violence erupting across Europe, they must untangle the interwoven plots before time runs out and Armageddon becomes a terrifying reality."