Bestselling mystery author Peter Robinson will be at Powell River Public Library on May 25 to talk with teen writers and read from the latest instalment in his popular Detective Chief Inspector Banks mystery series.
Robinson, who splits his time between Toronto and Yorkshire, England, has attended Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts in Sechelt a few times but has never made it to the Upper Sunshine Coast.
“I’m looking forward to it; roads and ferries willing,” said Robinson.
The first Inspector Banks novel was published in 1987 and the latest book, Sleeping in the Ground, is the 24th instalment of the series, which has been translated into 20 languages and adapted for a popular television series. Writing about one character for that long is both a comfort and challenge, according to Robinson.
“It means I don’t have to reinvent the novel every time I write a book,” he said. “I find it’s helpful to have a break from Banks once in a while. But on the whole I enjoy his company, and I’ll be sad when it gets to the point when he’ll have to retire.”
Library adult services coordinator Mark Merlino said the stories are a hit locally.
“It’s very exciting to be able to host an author whose books are read voraciously in our community,” he said. “The library currently owns 17 different editions of Peter Robinson’s books and most of them are checked out at any given time.”
Along with the evening reading, Robinson will host a question and answer session with teen writers in the afternoon. He said his journey to becoming a bestselling mystery writer began with an early passion for words.
“I started to write before I went to kindergarten, just making up and illustrating stories based on heroes or myths I already knew,” he said. “I dabbled in science fiction and horror in my early teens, then wrote only poetry between the ages of 16 and 35 until I got bitten by the crime-fiction bug.”
Robinson said he did not make a living at writing until he was in his 50s.
“If you’re lucky enough to end up making a living from it, you are very fortunate indeed,” he added.
The question and answer session for teens is scheduled to begin at 4 pm on Friday, May 25, at the library. A reading open to the general public takes place that evening at 7 pm.
