Alan Furst

I was working for the Michael Malone event the other week and they weren't on the patio so I couldn't listen in. Wendy told me that he discussed a lot about writing and the writing process - as he's a teacher as well as a writer. Last night however I went to the Alan Furst reading, we had a good turnout and he was an interesting speaker. Among the questions he got asked, were things like, how often do you write and for how long, do you use pen and paper or a computer, how much research do you do and my favourite "you seem like such a happy chap, why is there this sense of melancholy about your books" - the answers 3 hours a day 1000 words, typewriter - he doesn't like Mr Gates getting between him and his words, he picks a country learns it's politics and goes from there, of course the books have a sense of melancholy about them war is hell - as they say.

I got my copy of The Spies of Warsaw signed and as I was walking back to my car it occurred to me that Furst and Dubus III and Michael Malone and the like are the equivalent of the rock stars of the book world. It still amazes that these guys don't let the fame go to their heads.We had one author last year who popped into the bookstore incognito just to check the place out. He said in his intro that wherever he went he heard booksellers talking books with customers. We should have a sign on the door that says 'books spoken here'.