The table turned

It's a strange experience being interviewed - after all, given my job, I'm used to being the one who asks the questions!

I was musing on how it felt after a couple of media interviews in the last week, for the Western Morning News and Radio Devon.  And it strikes me it's not so easy as you may think, fielding questions.  You reckon you've got the answers prepared for all that you're going to be challenged with and then up comes something you weren't expecting.

The point I'm thinking of particularly was a question about the dedication and acknowledgements in The Balance of Guilt.  They're very personal to me, and are there because I wanted to recognise in print some important events in my life.  But being asked about them brings it all back of course, and that inevitably means a lump in the throat and a reddening of the eyes - and all that in mid interview!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, the questions I was asked were perfectly fair, I've no problem with them at all - in fact, the interviewers were two of the region's finest journalists and presenters, people of great talent in my humble view.  I just thought it was odd how you can be at full steam, talking about your precious books, and then up rears the past and bites you. Ah well, such is life, I suppose.

Anyway, I'm grateful for the interest in my scribblings and the thoughtful and gentle way I was interviewed.  The Radio Devon sequence is still on line - if you're interested in listening, see the news page - www.thetvdetective.com/news.html  You need to go 2 hours and 11 minutes into the programme.  The interview includes yours truly reading the first couple of pages of The Balance of Guilt, the first time I've done that live on air.  See what you think!

One final thing to mention here. If you fancy something to do on Saturday and you're in the Dorset area, there's the excellent Charmouth Literary Festival, at which I'm doing a guest slot.  It's a wonderful town and a great idea, which I'm delighted to support.  There are more details on the News and Events page, opposite the link to the radio interview.