Quintin Jardine's blog

I have good news for you, and any other Kindle-owning QJ fans. There are already twenty-seven of my titles available on Amazon for download, and the other three should be there before long. To find them you have to log on to www.amazon.com,  go to the Kindle store and enter my name in the search window. So, Debra, storage is no problem.

I’m glad that your local knowledge helps, Hazel. Looking at your surname, and your hope of meeting me in the Mallard, I’m prompted to ask a question. Are you one of Cameron’s Crew?

You have a good one also. By the way, why bother with Amazon? Order on http://www.campbellreadbooks.com and you’ll receive it signed.

Having mentioned my signing at Kesley’s in Haddington yesterday, I must tell you  of a very pleasant meeting there. Once the early rush had died down, Simon was able to tell me of a forth-coming event on Saturday, January, 23, a visit by Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, Baron Selkirk of Douglas, as part of the launch of his autobiography, ‘After You, Prime Minister’. More than that he told me that James had asked him to pass on his regards. I had no sooner bought a copy of  the book and requested a signature by the author, than the shop door opened and the man himself walked in. A mutual signing session ensued. Afterwards, when I saw the generosity of the dedication on my book, I was embarrassed by the brevity of mine on his. If I could, I would ask for it back and  add the words, ‘To the nicest man, and finest gentleman, in British politics, and one of  our finest all-rounders.’ I do not believe that anyone who knows him, not even his most strident ideological opposite, would disagree with that description.

James is the younger brother of the present Duke of Hamilton. He began his professional life as an advocate,  but spent most of it in politics. He was an MP for a marginal constituency for 23 years ( Fine testimony to his popularity) and was a minister in the Thatcher and Major governments for ten of those. When that came to an end he was elected to the Scottish Parliament where he sat fora further eight years until his retirement in 2007. Members of our Parliaments have been vilified over the last few months. In some case this has been entirely appropriate, but Lord James stands apart from that crowd. I believe that people enter politics for two basic reasons. The majority hunger for the power buzz and influence that such a career brings, a few are driven there by ego, and some, perhaps the smallest of the three groups, seek office out of a desire, maybe even a duty, to help improve the lot of their fellow man. Unlikely as it may seem of someone who might be described in shorthand as a Tory Grandee, the former MP for Edinburgh West belongs firmly in the third  group.

But there’s much more to him than politics. He is a top-class golfer. In his youth he was a fine amateur boxer. He has always been a keen military historian, and has published works on incidents in the Second World War II in which his family  were involved. Whatever your view of his politics he is living a very interesting  life, and his account of it . . . so far . . . makes excellent reading. Knowing the man, having met him thirty years ago in what was for me another life, it took me only a couple of pages to know for sure that there was no ghost writer involved in the telling.

‘After You Prime Minister,’ is published by Stacey International, Price £14.95. Trust me on this one: I’m an author.

(Who’s the nicest woman in British politics? My friend Jacqui Lait, MP)

Skinner’s Festival isn’t a bad place to start. I’m grateful for your enthusiasm, but I’m worried about all that coffee. We’re on a serious diet just now, SWMBO and I. Yesterday morning my kind friend Simon gave me a large Americano, (There is no finer coffee in East Lothian than in Kesley’s Bookshop, Haddington) while I was signing books. After an apple for breakfast, and some energy burned off picking up my wounded cat from the vet, it hit my bloodstream, straight  and unfiltered. Wow.

My wife will be among the first to tell you that when I’m in my office, which is most of the time, I’m dangerous with the 1-Click button on Amazon. Now and then I make a mistake and buy a pile of old shite, as witness, Sting’s turgid Christmas offering, but mostly I get it right, as witness, ‘Get Lucky’ by Mark Knopfler, the excellent ‘Live at the Olympia Dublin’ collection by REM and a wonderful Jimmy Scott CD, ‘Moonglow’. I had not been over-exposed to Florence + the Machine, or their debut album ‘Lungs’, not until she appeared on Jools Holland’s ‘Hootenanny’ New Year show on BBC 2. I hit the 1-Click button and now I’m a convert. Trust me, those of you outside the UK who may not have heard of her, Florence Welch is going to be BIG. The title of her CD is no accident, but she’s one of those people who could sing The Telephone Directory, Live, and get your attention.

You have me at a loss, my friend. What effing jailbreak?

Skinner 20, ‘A Rush of Blood’, is scheduled for release on June 10. Yes, it’s a question I’m asked often, but I never tire of answering it.

Congratulations, SK. Your countless efforts have paid off at last. Your praise is so lavish that it’s humbling, and I find it remarkable that in a country so large you’ve ever heard of me. I hereby appoint you head of my Kolkata fan club.

Now, about the signed photo. Thing is, I don’t carry a stock of those, so all I can do is . . . the best I can. Watch your post. I don’t believe that we ever grow to old to dream.

Although it’s been in the shops since just before Christmas, the ‘official’ launch of Blood Red took place last night in Musselburgh Library. In weather that was barely above freezing we drew a full house, and I’d like to thank, and pay tribute to, everyone who resisted the strong temptation to stay in their armchairs, but instead took the trouble to come along and listen to me waffle for an hour or so. Thanks also for the questions; they’re always important to the success of the event . . . which wouldn’t have been possible without the enthusiasm and effort of Trina Gavan and Dorothy Elliott. Any time, ladies, just ask.

To tell you the truth I gave up contemplating Skinner on the box quite some time ago. I had a close call a few years back, and that opened my eyes to the potential damage that can be done to a series by a bad adaptation. Since then I’ve been pretty blasé about the proposition. I hear what you say about the preponderance of American productions, but they’re not all bad. By the same token, not everything British is good. I watched a good chunk of  the recent BBC series Paradox, and I’m still struggling to figure out what the hell it was all about.  On Sunday I sat through a 90-minute episode of Wallander in which only two of the characters mustered a smile, the bad guy when he thought he was getting away with it, and the redeemed ex-cop, just before he died. The rest were miserable as sin, so much that the experience left me profoundly depressed. For your sake I hope it doesn’t make it to Australia.

I hope you get a lot of fun from your Christmas present. Yes, it could be a good way to burn money, but if it suits your lifestyle, go for it. You’ve prompted me to look at my own Kindle listings. As far as I can see all the titles are there, apart from Blood Red, Skinner’s Round and Autographs in the Rain. Enquiries will be made!

That’s nice to know. Since you’re East Lothian based, and on Murmuring the Judges, I’m wondering. Have you ever taken a walk out to inspect the submarine in Aberlady Bay? If you follow the tide out, you can do it.

I can only hope that your 4-year-old wasn’t too hungry by the time you’d finished. Looking at your travel timing, having Skinner 20, ‘A Rush of Blood’ in your luggage, shouldn’t be a problem. Be careful reading in the sun; it melts the glue.

Glad to have hubby’s attention. Let me know if it becomes a problem. The books are listed in order on the website.

That’s the way book retailing is these days. It’s where you have to be if you want to be noticed by new readers. That works to the advantage of the existing fan base as well, so everybody should be happy. Unfortunately the big black cloud hanging over this is the contraction in the number of book stores after years of expansion. Go back thirty years and in Edinburgh you’d find James Thin and John Menzies, a newsagent that sold books. Go back ten years and you’d find the same two, although Menzies had become W H smith by then, plus Ottakars, Waterstone and Borders. Go there now and you’ll find Waterstone and WHS.

What’s happened?  Well, Amazon has, for a start, but everyone sells on-line these days, including me. There’s no doubt that has impacted on the High Street. That wasn’t foreseen in the years of expansion, but neither was the voraciousness of supermarkets, their expansion into areas that are miles away from their core business and their practice of listing only the top-selling titles, often at loss leader prices. It could be argued that every time a book is sold in Tesco  it’s another nail in the coffin of the traditional book trade.

That’s a very good question. Blood Red will be available digitally, soon, and I expect it to be available first in Sony-compatible format, through Waterstones. (I’d love to have my work available in downloadable form on Campbell Read Books, but there are lots of things to be sorted before that can happen.) However, if you own a Kindle reader, it will only process volumes that you buy from Amazon. Once a book is digitised by Headline, it’s available to them for adaptation, but it’s down to them to decide when to add it to their library.

So, the most precise answer I can give you is . . . I don’t know.

I’m assuming, Neil, that you have a Kindle. If so, I’d be interested to know how you’re getting on with it. Amazon has put a lot of development money into its reader, but Sony beat it into the marketplace. Then there’s the rumoured Apple tablet, which will do what they do and more, although there’s an application out already that will let you download books on to an iPhone. Indeed, my editor told me this afternoon that he read Alice in Wonderland on his phone over Christmas. Crazy? Confusing? Undoubtedly, but with that sort of variety on the horizon, I’m not sure that Amazon will be able to make the Kindle pay, long-term, unless they find a very creative way of marketing them.

Thanks for that. It’s an excellent suggestion. If you see the names St John, McFadyen, Pettigrew, McBride or McClair in future books, you can claim credit.

I can understand you being taken aback by the Aussie price: I was. Al and I are pleased that your book arrived so promptly. I hope you enjoy Primavera, and FLW when the paperback is released.