Peter Robinson's Blog, page 12

Peter's Report from the Quais du Polar Festival in Lyon, France

I've just got back from Lyon, where I had a great time at the Quais du Polar festival. It was wonderful to meet so many French fans of DCI Banks, and so many readers who were about to try him for the first time. One of the special attractions of festivals for the writers who attend is seeing old friends and making new ones, and it was great to meet up with John Harvey, Karin Slaughter, Craig Russell, Peter Gutteridge and Martin Solares again, and to chat with David Peace, R.J. Ellory, Arne Dahl, Greg Olear, Brian Freeman, Pierre Lemaitre and Arni Thorarinsson for the first time. The festival organisers and my French publishers Albin Michel did a great job. I wish I had some photographs to post, but I was so busy signing and talking that I didn't have time to take any! From what little I saw, Lyon looked like a lovely city and I must go back there and see it one day.

Peter at the Quais du Polar Festival in Lyon, France

Peter has been invited to the Quais du Polar festival to be held in Lyon, France, March 25-27. Among other things, Peter will be discussing the television adaptations of his books, and a trailer for DCI Banks: Aftermath will be shown at the festival.

Peter will be participating in the following events:

Saturday, 26 March, from 2 pm to 3.30 pm at the Hotel de Ville, in Lyon: THE EXILE AND THE KINGDOM: CROSSED LOOKS ON ENGLAND, with John Harvey, David Peace and R.J. Ellory.

Saturday, 26 March, from 7.30 pm to 8.30 pm, in the Tony Garnier Room: SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER: POLAR AND MUSIC, with Arne Dahl (Sweden), Marc Villard (France), Greg Olear (USA) and Hugues Pagan (France).

Peter's Next Novel: Before the Poison

Coming later this year…

Grace Fox poisoned her husband in January, 1953. Or did she? Though she was tried for murder and subsequently hanged, Grace remained a silent and enigmatic figure to the very end.

When Chris Lowe returns to his native Yorkshire to live in the isolated Kilnsgate House nearly sixty years later, in the wake of his wife's untimely death, he wants only to be left alone to compose his piano sonata after years of soul-destroying, though lucrative, work writing film scores. Soon, however, as he learns the troubled history of Kilnsgate, he becomes fascinated by Grace's story. The more he discovers about her life and her work as a Queen Alexandra's nurse during the war, the more certain he becomes that she couldn't have murdered her husband.

As Chris searches for other explanations of what might have happened on that snow-bound January night, through rumours of half-glimpsed figures, mysterious strangers and a missing letter, his quest to prove Grace's innocence becomes entangled with his own need to sift through the ruins and loose ends of his own life in search of some kind of meaning and order, and his new relationship with local estate agent Heather Barlow.

Alternating between a contemporary account of Grace's trial, her wartime journals of Dunkirk, Singapore and Normandy, and Chris's quest for the truth, Before the Poison is a suspenseful exploration of guilt, self-sacrifice and redemption, moving inexorably towards a revelation that, when it is uncovered, will prove shattering and surprising both to Chris and to the reader.

More DCI Banks TV Adaptations

After the success of the first DCI Banks adaptation, Aftermath, the first full series of three two-episode dramas is going into production at the end of March, with filming to be made in Yorkshire again. Peter hopes that he can have another cameo appearance in the new episodes. (You did see him in the first one, right?)

The three books being adapted are Playing With Fire, Friend of the Devil and Cold is the Grave. If you haven't read the books, make sure you do. If you have, you may want to read them again.

Peter at the Quais du Polar Festival in Lyon, France

Peter has been invited to the Quais du Polar festival to be held in Lyon, France, an March 25-27. Among other things, Peter will be discussing the television adaptations of his books, and a trailer for DCI Banks: Aftermath will be shown at the festival. We'll post more information when we know exactly what Peter's schedule will be at the festival.

Happy Holidays, and Some News for 2011

Peter would like to share his wishes for a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all, and wishes the best for 2011. He has three events planned in 2011, so far, and here is some early info for those who want to make reservations or plan a trip.

From March 25 to 27, he's going to be at the Quais du Polar Festival in Lyon, France.

From 22 to 29 July, I'm going to be teaching a creative writing course at the Tallinn International Summer School, at the University of Tallinn, Estonia.

From 16 to 23 of October, Peter will be one of the two dozen or so authors participating in a "Murder at Sea" cruise on Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas, starting at Fort Lauderdale, then stopping at Nassau, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. There will be panel discussions, signings, cocktail parties and dinners.

Peter Receives Harbourfront Festival Prize

Peter was given the 2010 Harbourfront Festival prize on Saturday, October 30. At the right is Mark Medley, National Post books editor and one of the judges.

As Peter said, "It was a great honour to receive this prize and a privilege to be included among such august company as the previous recipients. Not only is this award an honour for me, but I also hope it respresents a small step forward for crime writers everywhere."

DCI Banks TV Series To Continue

ITV have announced that the DCI Banks TV series, starring Stephen Tompkinson as Inspector Banks, will continue, with three more books being filmed. Shooting will begin in Spring 2011, and the three books adapted will be Playing with Fire, Friend of the Devil and Cold as the Grave.

For those who enjoyed Aftermath, these three additional dramas will certainly be welcome. If you haven't read the books, you have plenty of time to do so before the shows air.

Have You Watched Aftermath on TV? Now Read the Book

If you've watched Stephen Tompkinson in Aftermath on ITV, you may now want to read Peter's novel Aftermath, that the story was taken from.

The book is now available with a TV tie-in cover, showing Tompkinson as Inspector Alan Banks. The book is available at all fine bookstores.

Peter Writes About the Coming Inspector Banks TV Drama

Peter has written an article for the Telegraph sharing his thoughts about the first Inspector Banks TV drama, Aftermath, due to air on Monday 27 September on ITV. He discusses his thoughts about the TV show, the process of getting it made, and even lets out the secret that he has a small walk-on role in the show. See if you can spot Peter when you watch!