Book Event: Phil Rickman at Booka Bookshop
Written by Nikki-ann on Thursday, 8 September , 2011 at 9:55 pm
This afternoon I visited the wonderful Booka Bookshop in Oswestry to see novelist Phil Rickman give a talk.
Phil Rickman is the author of the Merrily Watkins series of mystery books, among others. He might have been born in Lancashire, but he has adopted the Welsh border as his home. He even uses the area in his books.
Phil didn’t come on his own. His wife and dog (Fergus) came too. Fergus even joined in with the Q & A session in his own way!
I’ll make an admission here… I’ve not yet read any of Phil Rickman’s books, but they sound right up my street. I already have a couple waiting on my Kindle for me to read and I couldn’t resist buying his latest novel to get signed while he was at Booka Bookshop. I was worried I’d be the only one there who hadn’t read Phil’s books, but when he asked if there was anyone there who hadn’t read his books (yet) I wasn’t the only one to put my hand up… half the attendees did!
Phil kindly told us about his books and where he gets inspiration and information. He preferred to do the talk as a Q & A and there wasn’t a shortage of questions. His answers weren’t short either, they were informative and there wasn’t a shortage of laughs. I’d definitely recommend going to see him if he’s at a bookshop near you.
I thought it was funny when somebody asked Phil if any of his characters were based on him… His wife started to laugh as if she knew something the rest of us didn’t, but she wouldn’t say!
Somebody asked which book of the Merrily Watkins series he would advise starting with. Having not read the books I was thinking it would be obvious to start with the first book of the series, but Phil surprised me. He said that a reader could choose any book of the series to read as he’s written them with the intent that they each work as a standalone book as well as part of the series. He said to read the back of each book and see which one you think you’d like to read first. Of course though, you get the character development throughout the series if you start with book one (which is ‘The Wine of Angels’).
Phil was also asked (jokingly) if what he would think of Dawn French being cast as Merrily Watkins (Merrily is a parish priest and Dawn French was the vicar in the Vicar of Dibley)… He didn’t think much of that! He said he’d rather cut off his arm than have that happen!
Much more was discussed, but the Q&A sadly had to be stopped so there would be enough time for the book signings afterwards.
Thankfully I’d bought my copy of Phil’s latest book in the Merrily Watkins series, ‘The Secrets of Pain’ before the talk, because most people decided to buy theirs after the Q & A, so I was able to get in the queue rather quickly (although that didn’t stop Fergus sitting on my feet at one point!).
I really enjoyed seeing Phil Rickman today and would definitely recommend going to see him if you ever get the chance (whether you’ve read his books or are a fan of crime novels in general). I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into his books!
With thanks to Booka Bookshop for holding the event. It really is a lovely bookshop and I’ll be able to attend more events there in the future.
Comments (6)
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Comment by Yvonne
Made Thursday, 8 of September , 2011 at 11:04 pm
Hi Nikki,
Why have I never read anything by this author before, his books sound right up my street, so I am going to have to rectify that situation ASAP.
I wonder if Phil is typical of other authors, or the exception, when he is quite happy to conduct a talk with several people who have never read his books? I always assumed that you needed to know something about the author before it was worth attending a book talk/signing, but it sounds as though he made everyone feel completely at ease during this event.
I checked him out and couldn’t believe how prolific an author he is, so I have got some catching up to do!!
Glad that you enjoyed your afternoon
Comment by judith Weymark
Made Friday, 9 of September , 2011 at 7:36 am
Hi Nikki -
I’ve been a fan of Phil Rickman’s books for several years and I’m glad you’ve discovered him. I’m sure you’ll have many happy hours reading all those books. Some of the ones that are not in the Merrily series are also excellent reads and feature some of the minor characters you’ll come to love from Merrily. There’s a facebook site where Phil’s fans chat, don’t worry no spoilers. Might see you there one day, perhaps. Meanwhile, happy reading.
Comment by Petty Witter
Made Friday, 9 of September , 2011 at 3:52 pm
How I love these sessions – for a large(ish) city Newcastle is woefully lacking in such events.
Comment by OldOldLady Of The Hills
Made Friday, 9 of September , 2011 at 6:46 pm
It sounds like it was a wonderful afternoon! I think it is great to be able to hear authors speak about their work—-And this series sounds terrific! I enjoy detective/crime novels…I am going to see what Amazon has, here in the U.S. As always, thanks for the “heads-up”.
Comment by Shelleyrae
Made Saturday, 17 of September , 2011 at 6:25 am
I find it amusing that so many that went to the signing had not read anything by him. His titles have been on my TBR for a while but I haven’t managed to get to them yet.
Shelleyrae
Comment by Cath
Made Wednesday, 12 of October , 2011 at 11:44 pm
Hi, Yvonne at Fiction Books told me you’d done a post about seeing Phil Rickman so I came to look for it. I’ve just finished The Wine of Angels and absolutely loved it to bits, highly recommend it to you. I think it’s quite hard to read it without thinking of Merrily as Dawn French, so I’m not surprised someone asked that. She’s not at all like Dawn though so I fought hard to keep the image away. Thanks for sharing your experiences, I enjoyed reading your post.
