James Herbert (part 2) and a couple of plugs
Last night I had the honour of interviewing James Herbert again – this time at Foyles in London, in front of a sell-out audience of more than 200 people. As I said in my previous piece, it’s hard to quantify the effect James’ books have had on me and on my writing. I don’t profess to have slavishly read everything he’s written, but his style, approach, attitude and (of course) his success are an inspiration to anyone who writes horror. There’s no doubt in my mind that discovering his books as a teenager was a pivotal moment which set me on the path to doing what I do today. Thanks again to James, his team, and the staff at Foyles. A truly memorable evening.
By the way – the audio quality isn’t great, but I stumbled across a brief clip of James and I on YouTube this morning. It’s embedded at the bottom of this post. (Thanks to YouTube user astroduckula – I hope you don’t mind the link, and I hope you enjoyed last night!).
And on the subject of James Herbert… my friend Michael Wilson (the brains behind THIS IS HORROR), recently interviewed James for SCREAM magazine. The interview appears in the latest issue (pictured) which is available now.
And on the subject of This is Horror… the second in their series of chapbooks – THIN MEN WITH YELLOW FACES by Gary McMahon and Simon Bestwick – is released this Saturday, 22nd September. There will be an exclusive launch event in Manchester on Saturday featuring Ramsey Campbell and Conrad Williams alongside Gary and Simon. Click here for details. I believe there are a few copies of JOE & ME (my entry in the series) still available. That’s a story no AUTUMN fan should be without, but I’ll say no more about that for now…
James Herbert (part 2) and a couple of plugs is a post from: David Moody - author of TRUST and the HATER and AUTUMN books
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Astroduckula is fantastic at uploading the footage for all of us that couldn't get tickets for last night at Foyles. Thanks Astroduckula :)
Hi I'm astroduckula :) I was sat in front of you Dave last night - the one who muttered yes! when James said one of his favourite books to write was the Magic Cottage (which I had with me to be signed)! I don't mind you using the clip and I know the audio quality was naff I posted about that on the video itself. Trying to upload the next part to Youtube now - just going uber slow. I thought last night was awesome especially as I got a hug from James Herbert - he's quite a flirt too isn't he? That was fun! No problem Stella I'll FB the next video when it's up :) x
Amy wrote: "Hi I'm astroduckula :) I was sat in front of you Dave last night - the one who muttered yes! when James said one of his favourite books to write was the Magic Cottage (which I had with me to be sig..."Thank you very, very much for the videos.
Well, James didn't flirt with me (!), but he is a wonderful guy. Very warm and incredibly generous with his time. It was an education to watch him signing at Birmingham (and I'm sure he was the same at Foyles - unfortunately I had to rush away). He signed constantly from 8pm until almost 11pm, and gave as much attention and time to the last person in the signing queue as the first.
What a hero! I'm really pleased you enjoyed the evening, and thanks again for getting in touch.
No worries :)He did flirt with me it was funny, my husband was taking the photo and James asked which camera so I pointed to hubby and James asked 'is that your boyfriend?' to which I replied 'no he's my husband', James looks at me shocked, pulls me into a hug tighter and told hubby to go away. He is a funny guy, very sweet too. I managed to get Ash and the Magic Cottage signed about 8.30 and James laughed at me when I thanked him for traumatising me as a child as the first book I read of his was The Rats and I had nightmares for weeks.
I thought it was funny too when you and James were talking about Ash and suddenly you guys would get shushed by those who hadn't read it yet :) I'd run up to my local Waterstones the day Ash was released and for the next 3 days I disappeared from the world I just curled into the corner of the sofa and read.
He is one of my idols it really was an honour to meet him. Great night :) Thanks!
