Quintin Jardine's blog

No, I haven’t been ill, or in the huff. I’ve been pre-occupied, that’s all, with all manner of things; with working off nine hours’ jet-lag then having another mini-bout of same, the result of moving back to Scotland from Spain the day after the clocks went back, with catching up on Scottish business, with starting to prepare for the Lennoxlove Book Festival on November 19, and all sorts of other stuff. Vancouver, as always was great, enjoyable events with appreciative audiences, and new friends made; cheers to Chevy, Gail and Linwood. Public thanks also, to Barry Auger, a gracious, generous and hugely entertaining host, to his other half, the unsinkable Alma Lee, to Susan and Lonnie, to Peri Maric, who will never walk alone, and to Hal Wake and his team.

But now I’m settled in for a couple of winter months in Scotland. Since I got back, at least half a dozen people have asked me what I’m doing in Gullane in November when I could be in Spain. The answer is, I like it here; it’s where I’m from, and bottom line it’s where I live. If I wanted to winter properly, I’d go a lot further south than L’Escala, trust me. That said, there is one way in which Catalunya does score in the winter and that is through its time zone. I don’t mind the dark mornings too much, but I do enjoy not having to turn on the lights until after five, even in the very dead of winter. I’ve noticed a few people saying the same via the media over the last few days. Is momentum for a change starting to grow? At the moment, government is not looking at switching to Central European time or to permanent BST, but given the present parliamentary situation it must surely be open to persuasion.

The unfortunate truth is John, those typos are probably on the printed version as well. Spell-checkers are convenient, but also dangerous, and  digitisation doesn’t require a complete reset. As for that word, well spotted, but no, it isn’t a brain-freeze by anyone, other than me, because it is misspelt. (I confess, it should be ‘Mercès’.) In the part of Spain in which that scene is set, people use Catalan, rather than Castellano. It’s the official language, with 10,000,000 speakers, and that character is one of them. It’s used in public communications, in schools, and in general conversation.

Whatchaonabout, Martyn? A Rush of Blood has been available for the last six months via the website on http://www.campbellreadbooks.com. It’s in hardback and trade paperback at the moment, and it will be there in mass market form next February.

Why do you call yourself jellybaby? And what’s your favourite colour? Congratulations on your voracity for books. My next? The Loner, a mystery with a difference, is due out in hardback next March.

E-book availability on Waterstones and WHS confuses me too. I’m looking into it, and I’m told that ‘It’s technical’, and that they’ll be available soon. They are all on Amazon Kindle, though.

Hold on! You did 20 Skinners in six weeks? That makes you the world record holder. If there are other claimants out there I’d love to hear from them.

Thanks for your message. The first thing I have to say to you is that there’s a world of difference between Bob Skinner and Skulduggery Pleasant. The second is that while it’s been a long time since I had a twelve-year-old, if I had I’d be holding back for two or thee years before I introduced her to Bob. Your 17-year-old though, he’s a candidate, not least if his cultural influences are drawn from video games. That said, in a way I envy him; I’d love to look at that world, but I have two problems with it, those being generational and time.