Philip Kerr
Philip Kerr
Philip Kerris a British author...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth22 February 1956
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.
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.
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.
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.
legal naturally quite
The most interesting legal philosophy is German, so naturally I went to Germany, particularly to Berlin, quite a bit.