Jeffrey Archer: “Writing is a drug”
A decade after his last collection, international best-selling author Jeffrey Archer is back with a fresh batch of suspenseful short stories, Tell Tale. To find out more about the book and when we can expect to see more from him, Over60 sat down for a quick chat with the 77-year-old storyteller.
Our readers are huge fans of yours and they’re very excited to see what you’ve got in store for the future. What motivates you to keep writing and working at an age when most people – our readers included – are long retired?
I think your opening sentence answers that question. Your fans are very excited to hear what I have to say and there’s a lot of them waiting to find out. In a way, it’s a drug in itself that so many millions of people buy the books, but when you’ve done one, you want to do another.
You’ve written dozens of novels and short stories on many varied topics, where do you draw inspiration for your stories, and this latest batch of short stories in particular?
In the case of Tell Tale, which is 14 new stories, several of them have come in my visits around the world where I pick up the stories. To give you an example, one of my stories from an earlier set of short stories, “The Queen’s Birthday Telegram”, someone gave me that story in Sydney. So, I’m always being told stories or incidents and sometimes I can turn those into a short story.
Our readers are huge fans of the Clifton Chronicles, and they’ve been dying to ask – do you think you’ll ever write another? Or perhaps revisit the characters in some other way?
No, the Clifton Chronicles I felt worked as seven books and had a natural beginning, a natural middle and a natural end. Although, if you read the last book carefully (This Was a Man) you’ll find out what I’m doing next, because what Harry was going to do next is what I’m going to do next. So it’s very clear for you to see.
Who’s your favourite author and what are you reading at the moment? Any recommendations?
My favourite author, although it’s probably impossible to have a favourite author, is Stefan Zweig, and in particular his masterpiece Beware of Pity. What am I reading this week? P. D. James’ series of six short stories on murder.
You published your first book in 1976. 41 years on, how has your writing process changed? Do you still write by hand?
The routine of [writing from] 6am to 8am, 10am to 12pm, 2pm to 4pm, 6pm to 8pm hasn’t changed, and yes, I still write every word by hand. I think after 40 years, one becomes a better craftsman, one becomes better at your chosen work. I’m still a storyteller, although and there are still many of my fans who believe Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less and Kane and Abel were the best things I’ve ever done, and that’s over 30 years ago.
What’s your favourite story from the new book?
From the new book, I did enjoy writing “Who Killed the Mayor?” though funnily enough, from the early reviews and comments, a lot of people like “A Wasted Hour”.
Are you working on anything at the moment? When might we expect to see more from you?
I’ve completed about 14 drafts of the new novel and in Tell Tale, the first four chapters are at the back of the book, so you can read them and discover exactly what you’re going to get in a year’s time.
Tell Tale by Jeffrey Archer is available from all good bookstores and online.