A Quick One on The Side - Linwood Barclay

My guest writer today is Linwood Barclay.

Linwood was born in the United States but when he was aged four years, the family moved to Canada, settling in Toronto. His first newspaper job was with the Peterborough Examiner. He was 22 years of age. In 1981 Linwood joined the Toronto Star, which was Canada's largest newspaper. In 1993 he became the humour columnist for the Toronto Star. In 2008 he 'retired' to write books full-time.
Linwood has written four comic thrillers featuring Zack Walker and his standalone novels have catapulted him into the world of the bestsellers. His novel 'No Time for Goodbye' started his meteoric rise. Linwood is always in great demand for guesting at events and writing festivals and is a highly entertaining speaker. So here we go, here are my ten quickies for Linwood. When I sent him the questions, Linwood replied "These are easy, at least some of them." See if you agree...

Who is your favourite author?
"In my teens and twenties it was Ross Macdonald. These days, there are too many to mention."
(Ross was the pseudonym for the American-Canadian writer Kenneth Millar, who wrote hardboiled novels located in Southern California and featuring the character Lew Archer.)

What would be your favourite book read?
"'American Pastoral' by the American novelist Philip Roth."

Who is your favourite band/group?
"Chicago."

What is your most listened to album?
"'Concert by the Sea' by Erroll Garner, or maybe 'Live in Paris' by Diana Krall."
(American jazz pianist, Erroll Garner's live album was recorded in 1955 in Carmel, Claifornia. Canadian jazz pianist/singer, Diana Krall's live album was recorded in 2002.)

What has been the best gig/concert that you have attended?
"About a decade ago, I heard Oscar Peterson play, live. That was pretty amazing."
(You may guessed by now that Linwood is a big fan of jazz pianists.)

What is your favourite food?
"Pasta."

What would be your favourite holiday destination?
"Any great, big city. Paris, London, New York, Chicago."

What would be the most autographs you've ever signed in one session?
"500."

Have you ever been mistaken for someone else?
"When I was in my late teens, I looked a lot like Bobby Orr, the ice hockey player. I got stopped a couple of times."
(Canadian, Bobby Orr played for the Chicago Black Hawks and the Boston Bruins.)

How often do you get recognised?
"Occasionally, but mostly in the Toronto area, for the newspaper column and television appearances, I used to."


My thanks to Linwood for taking time out from his busy schedule to join me on my blog today.
My next guest writer will be Meg Gardiner. Thank you for reading...