First author interview up for grabs

Top work Emily - I haven't read any of his stuff and he's written too many books for me to go off and research, but I hope that a lot of questions come in. There must be a fair few fans here on the site, who have stuff to ask him. Please - anyone interested in putting a question to him, submit it to Emily; this is an excellent opportunity.

Aw - cheers Andrew. I can definitely recommend his books, not least because of the gloriously pun-tastic titles - Sex and Drugs and Sausage Rolls; Web Site Story; The Sprouts of Wrath; Waiting for Godalming - the list goes on... Although he did make Father Christmas evil in one of his books, which I don't approve of at all.

Okay, to get the ball rolling, a couple of questions :- 1) working in the fantasy / sci-fi genre and then adding comedic elements seems to be a cast-iron guarantee that people who haven't read your books will always look down their noses at them - was it a conscious choice to go into that genre - influenced by what you enjoyed reading, or is it just what comes out when you start writing ? Is there ever going to be a 'serious' Robert Rankin piece ? For what its worth, my opinion is that humour is the one genre of fiction that can absolutely deliver, when its done right. When I pick up a Wodehouse, I know that it will make me laugh and it delivers as promised. 2) It's not uncommon to hear you described as a 'cult' author - while this means that you have a loyal fanbase, does it also mean that they are more vocal and critical than most ? Does that connection they develop to the books means that they become more demanding, more expectant ? 3) The physical process - do you map out the plots in detail, or do you begin with a rough idea and then see where the story takes you as it develops ? 4) Success - does the thrill of walking into a bookshop and not only having your book in there, but not needing to search, looking at a display ever fade ? Be honest, did you ever go into a bookshop and thumb through your own work ? 5) Confidence - does being successful put an end to the times when you look at a page in despair and think 'this is awful' - does it make you more able to get through it and think 'yes, but it will be alright when I rewrite it' ? Do you still get nervous when you're submitting the latest book to your agent or publisher, or do you develop the knack of just knowing that it is good ? - (it is very hard to be objective about your own work)

bloody hell andrew...... you should do this for a living. 5 stonking questions there. btw 'couple = 2'. :->

In Lincolnshire, "couple" = some. If I go out with a couple of mates, for a couple of beers - there aren't three of us and we don't buy six pints. And I do sort of ask questions for a living - I would rather be asking them of interesting people than low-lifes (sorry - Service Users)

my dear friend E. Bimble (Esq.) is a great fan of R Rankin ... when he visits tomorrow i shall get him to craft some corking questions ... *can't wait*