Lee Child!

I read pretty much anything, and like to read a good juicy, SMART thriller. My mum loves good thrillers too and always recommends them to me, and she usually knows what I like. She had been telling me for years to read Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels, but for some reason I didn't want to. Probably because the main character didn't happen to be a cop like Harry Bosch (Michael Connelly) or Inspector Rebus (Ian Rankin), and the whole idea of an ex-MP roaming the country didn't appeal to me.
For some insane reason I left the house one day back in June without a back-up book, and finished the one I was reading on the way in to work. NIGHTMARE. I was at Grand Central on my way up to see Meg and ended up buying Gone Tomorrow from the newsagents there, as it was the only book that looked remotely worth reading.

Two pages in and I was a goner. I borrowed every other book from my mum over the summer and raced through them, trying to ration them so that I wouldn't suffer from Reacher withdrawal, but to no avail... I finished 61 Hours last week and couldn't believe I was going to have to wait a few months until the next one came out in paperback. I don't like hardbacks as they are too bulky and heavy. But my mum found the paperback UK version for me while she was in Europe last week, so I'm busy reading it...

Anyway. Lee Child held a talk/Q&A session and book signing at Barnes & Noble in Union Sq yesterday. He's entertaining, eloquent and very funny. It was interesting to find out that Lee pretty much knows what time it is at any point without looking at his watch, and that's probably why he gave Reacher that talent too. The name "Reacher" came from the fact that little old ladies were always asking him to reach for things in the supermarket, and his wife had mentioned that if his writing career never worked out, he could always get a job as a "supermarket reacher".
He doesn't know if the movies will ever be made, but the option is still out there. He doesn't know who will be Reacher if it ever happens, but there ARE Reacher lookalikes out there as he had met one from Australia the week before when he won an award.

He signed my book, listened to my story about my mum, told me to say "hi" to her, and told me that "my story only proved that mother's are always right, aren't they?".

I left B&N feeling really happy. It's not that often that you actually get to meet the people who write the stories you love - and it's always interesting to hear what they have to say, why they write and where the inspiration comes from.

CBS were filming the event and it will be on CBS Sunday Morning this Sunday... Maybe you will see me...

Lee Child - Official Site