Philip Kerr
Philip Kerr
Philip Kerris a British author...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth22 February 1956
knows presume reader
There is always a temptation to take things for granted, to get lazy, and to presume that the reader knows more than they do.
clapton good king lead quite
I used to play quite a good lead guitar, R&B style. Clapton and BB King are heroes.
outward race slightly tortured turmoil
There's something weird about the Scots. We are a troubled, slightly tortured race - the sense of the respectable outward character and, inside, the turmoil of something darker.
among berlin english great music people state terms
There's a great tradition among the English of writing about Berlin. It's kind of a state of mind, almost. That even translates in terms of music. A lot of people go to Berlin with the idea that it's a state of mind.
putting
Publishers just want you to write the same book over and over again. But why would I want to do that? It would be like putting on a threadbare dressing-gown day after day.
easily flow onto text transfer
I write by hand and then transfer the text onto the computer. I like the process of actually having a pen in my hand. Things flow more easily for me that way.
anyone dirty future independence money people scotland scottish supports
I will say that anyone who supports Scottish independence should go to Athens. Because nothing works. It is a disaster. It is a ruined, dirty place where people do not have money or future prospects. The day one after independence, Scotland would be worse.
borrow friday member money nearly pocket spend took
I was a member of Corstorphine Library in Edinburgh, and every Friday night, my parents took me there to borrow books. I also used to spend nearly all my pocket money on books.
adult believe children deal instead prefer respecting strongly
I prefer to write books for children instead of reading them. But I do strongly believe in childhood and in respecting childhood innocence. I don't like books for children that deal with adult themes.
bad believe decent good human realistic until
I don't think any of us know how we would react until we were put in a situation where we have to do something bad or do something good. I think I'd like to believe I'd act like a decent human being, but I'm realistic to know I don't know.
best bit gives handled license ourselves point tend
Being British, we tend to think of ourselves as America's best friend. And as your best friend, that gives us a little bit of license to point out things that could have been handled better.
crime fit history learn move obligation period personal repeat slightly suffers tradition treading unreliable
A lot of crime writing suffers from treading water. I feel an obligation to move the character on and not repeat myself. I try to fit him into a different period and a different agenda. That way, you learn slightly more about his personal history in the tradition of the unreliable narrator. It makes it more challenging to write.
When I feel I'm repeating myself, I'll probably pack it in.
legal naturally quite
The most interesting legal philosophy is German, so naturally I went to Germany, particularly to Berlin, quite a bit.