R is for Robinson

There are a lot of us about, but the particular Robinson I’m concentrating on is Peter Robinson, creator of DCI Banks.

It’s surprising how many similarities there are between us. I was born in January 1950 in Holbeck, Leeds. He was born two months later in Armley, about a mile up the road from me. He went on to study at the university of York and Leeds and I went on to study at the Gas Board and the Bookies. Peter emigrated to Canada in 1974, presumably for a better life, and not long after that I emigrated to Manchester to put some distance between me and the first wife.

And of course, we both write crime fiction.

This is where you might spot a slight disparity. He created the incredibly successful Alan Banks, I created the mildly popular Joe Murray. His books are runaway bestsellers, mine are stable sellers in an overcrowded market. His characters are on TV, mine are on the computer.

Am I envious?

To be truthful, no. In fact I will raise a glass to the success of a fellow Leodensian (it means someone from Leeds) and when it comes to Banks, I enjoy the books more than the TV series.

The STAC Mysteries bear little resemblance to the murky world of DCI Banks, a world I could never recreate even if I wanted to. I may like reading Banks but I wouldn’t want to write one. The research alone would put me off for life.

And as for the disparity in our lives, well no one is to blame for that, but me. At about the time Peter Banks was contemplating further education, I was discovering the joys of girls and Tetley Bitter, a fine ale from Leeds, and for both I needed to be earning not learning.

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Friend and fellow Crooked Cat author Miriam Drori is running an unusual blog for her A-Z Challenge by asking writers about others who share at least an initial letter, and the links between the two. Peter Robinson is my contribution to her blog which you can find at http://miriamdrori.com/