Meeting Lee Child
So today was the day of the Lee Child signing at Waterstones in Nottingham. To say there was a surprise in store for me would be quite an understatement. Let me explain...
I trundled over to the store nice and early to pick up my copy of Nothing to Lose, Lee's latest novel (which even has a really nice Waterstone's exclusive booklet in it with the author's thoughts on creating the character of Jack Reacher - very cool). When I noticed a bit of a queue building up I got in line with my boss, Lindsey, who'd also come to the signing.
The big moment arrived and, after a few photos, the signing commenced in earnest. I'll confess, I was actually a little nervous as I approached the signing table and came face-to-face with one of my authorial heroes. Imagine then, after I had said 'hi' and introduced myself, my utter surprise when Lee said to me, 'Are you Nick Kyme?' Somewhat dumbstruck, and now totally on the back foot, I replied in the affirmative, for Lee to then go on to tell that he reads this blog. Or, at the very least, my blog post about the signing. This was awesome.
My brain pretty much turned to mush after that, despite the fact I had been determined to pose some incisive questioning about Lee Child's technique and style. All I managed was something about getting hooked on his novels with The Killing Floor (a superb debut, if you've not read it folks, truly fantastic) and that his books had a lot of chapters. Oh dear.
Lee, for his part, was charming and very cool indeed - if it's possible my regard for him has increased. I would have loved to have chatted to him more, but I was a little star struck to be honest and the queue was literally out of the door and into the street, so I didn't want to hold up the line too much.
Lee, if you're reading this post, it was an absolute pleasure to meet you and thanks so much for signing my books for me. I very much look forward to reading Nothing to Lose. I hope you do some more signings in the UK and in Nottingham, as it would be great to come and speak to you again (hopefully, I'll have some better questions for you next time...).
Rest assured, once I've read the new novel I'll be posting a review (pretty sure I owe a few more, too...).
I trundled over to the store nice and early to pick up my copy of Nothing to Lose, Lee's latest novel (which even has a really nice Waterstone's exclusive booklet in it with the author's thoughts on creating the character of Jack Reacher - very cool). When I noticed a bit of a queue building up I got in line with my boss, Lindsey, who'd also come to the signing.
The big moment arrived and, after a few photos, the signing commenced in earnest. I'll confess, I was actually a little nervous as I approached the signing table and came face-to-face with one of my authorial heroes. Imagine then, after I had said 'hi' and introduced myself, my utter surprise when Lee said to me, 'Are you Nick Kyme?' Somewhat dumbstruck, and now totally on the back foot, I replied in the affirmative, for Lee to then go on to tell that he reads this blog. Or, at the very least, my blog post about the signing. This was awesome.
My brain pretty much turned to mush after that, despite the fact I had been determined to pose some incisive questioning about Lee Child's technique and style. All I managed was something about getting hooked on his novels with The Killing Floor (a superb debut, if you've not read it folks, truly fantastic) and that his books had a lot of chapters. Oh dear.
Lee, for his part, was charming and very cool indeed - if it's possible my regard for him has increased. I would have loved to have chatted to him more, but I was a little star struck to be honest and the queue was literally out of the door and into the street, so I didn't want to hold up the line too much.
Lee, if you're reading this post, it was an absolute pleasure to meet you and thanks so much for signing my books for me. I very much look forward to reading Nothing to Lose. I hope you do some more signings in the UK and in Nottingham, as it would be great to come and speak to you again (hopefully, I'll have some better questions for you next time...).
Rest assured, once I've read the new novel I'll be posting a review (pretty sure I owe a few more, too...).
posted by Nick Kyme at
20:29
3 Comments:
This anecdote rules. FACT!
Not long after reading this, I was perusing books in a shop and espied Bad Luck and Trouble, and I really enjoyed it, so thanks for the recommendation (and Lee, if you're reading, thanks for the story!). I'm not sure I'll pick up another one, though - the "get the old unit back together" theme appealed to me and the brief blurbs of the others suggest they're something else, but it was good holiday reading.
Hey Ross,
Nice to see you on the blog and I'm really glad you liked Bad Luck and Trouble. I would heartily recommend a couple of other of Lee's books, in particular. The Hard Way is a great novel, especially if you're not a Child connoisseur. I'd also suggest you read his debut novel, The Killing Floor. That is a simple awesome book. Give one a try, you might find you like it... :-)
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