Ebook: The Crime Interview: Ian Rankin

Len Wanner finds new routes into the mind of one of the giants of crime fiction in this 13,000-word interview with the creator of Inspector Rebus. Ian Rankin on his fictional characters: "Sometimes they do weird things I'm not expecting them to do - like die." On the first Rebus novel: "It's over-written. It's a bit up itself. It's obviously written by a literature student: 'The manumission of dreams' - no idea what that means." On teaching creative writing: "If somebody's got talent, you can spot it and help them move it along, but you can't make somebody talented." On Rebus: "He became much bigger than I ever intended him to be to the extent that he seems more real to people than I am." On 'tartan noir': "'Tartan Noir' is a term I'm confident I invented, but I gave it to James Ellroy." Also by Len Wanner and published by Blasted Heath THE CRIME INTERVIEWS: VOLUME ONE Engaging, informative and shot through with humour, Len Wanner's collection of in-depth interviews is a must-read for anyone interested in contemporary crime fiction. His interview subjects are nine of today's most successful Scottish crime writers: Ian Rankin, Stuart MacBride, Karen Campbell, Neil Forsyth, Chris Brookmyre, Paul Johnston, Alice Thompson, Allan Guthrie and Louise Welsh. Wanner's relaxed, conversational approach enables him to ask the most penetrating of questions time after time in his attempt to find the answers to the big questions at the heart of Scottish crime fiction. Brimming with pithy, witty and sometimes just plain weird revelations, these interviews provide a unique and unforgettable insight into how writers think, and into the professional secrets of some of the genre's greatest exponents. THE CRIME INVERVIEWS: VOLUME ONE also includes a foreword by Louise Welsh, an afterword by Aaron Kelly and a comprehensive recommended reading list. THE CRIME INTERVIEWS: VOLUME TWO With THE CRIME INTERVIEWS: VOLUME TWO, once again Wanner's encyclopaedic knowledge of Scottish crime fiction is put to expert use in his enthralling and revealing conversations with another inspired line-up of stars of tartan noir. His latest interview subjects include William McIlvanney, Tony Black, Doug Johnstone, Helen FitzGerald, Quintin Jardine, Gordon Ferris, Craig Russell, Douglas Lindsay, Ray Banks and Denise Mina. THE CRIME INTERVIEWS: VOLUME TWO also includes a foreword by Ian Rankin and an afterword by Lee Horsley.