Strange Loyalties (39 page)

Do you have any literary regrets?

Some, inevitably. When I wrote
Laidlaw
, they said: “Do one of these a year and you'll be a millionaire.” I thought: “But I don't want to do one of these a year.” I didn't want to get trapped because there were other things I wanted to try. That was in the 1970s. Occasionally, at two in the morning, I now think: “Aye, I wouldn't mind the 1970s back. I could have made a right few quid.” But that's a joke with myself. I don't really regret that. That was how I felt then. I have this half-baked dream that before I die I'll look at all my unfinished writing and make final decisions about what to bin and what to keep, but although I have maybe about 12 undeveloped ideas for novels, I can't regret not having
written them, because if I can find the energy, maybe the potential for writing them is still there. Although obviously the older I get, the less likely that becomes.

What do you wish you'd known when you started writing?

I think I know a lot of things now that I didn't know then, but I don't wish I'd known them then, because that's the way I was then, and I respect that. Also, I don't think that my knowledge now is so impressive that it would have made a great difference to my life. Most of what I think I know has gone into my words. It's hard to be as innocent as I was then, but that innocence was a very valuable commodity and I hope some of it remains.

For the full 9000-word interview, please see
The Crime Interviews Volume Two: Bestselling Authors Talk About Writing Crime Fiction
by Len Wanner (published by Blasted Heath, 2012)