Ian Rankin Discusses FaceOff on Book Binge

FaceOff is an anthology that was edited by David Baldacci and Ian Rankin co-wrote a short story in the anthology with Peter James. Ian was kind enough to answer some questions about his short story, In the Nick of Time.

What was it like collaborating with Peter James on In the Nick of Time?

It was fun, as well as challenging. Peter and I have known one another for years. Our biggest problem was how to bring together two quite different cops who work 500 miles apart in different countries! Once we had nailed that, the ride got more comfortable.

The characters Roy Grace and John Rebus are like night and day. Was it difficult to create a connection between two very different people?

Rebus and Grace come from different backgrounds, have different philosophies of policing, so we knew they wouldn’t exactly be best buddies when they met. But that is always interesting – as a writer you want relationships that provide sparks. Of course, they share one crucial imperative – they want to put away the perpetrators. Doesn’t matter where your cops are from or in what ways they differ – they’ll have that in common.

Explain why you chose Brighton as the setting for the story.

Well, we had to get Rebus to Grace’s jurisdiction or vice versa. Brighton made sense because Rebus is a big fan of The Who and in their album Quadrophenia they sing about the fights that used to take place in Brighton in the early 1960s between rival gangs. That gave us the inkling of a plot, and we found a way to make it work!

About the authors:

Ian Rankin: Born in the Kingdom of Fife in 1960, Ian Rankin graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1982, and then spent three years writing novels when he was supposed to be working towards a PhD in Scottish Literature. His first Rebus novel was published in 1987, and the Rebus books are now translated into twenty-two languages and are bestsellers on several continents.

For more information on the author link to: http://www.ianrankin.net/about.asp

Peter James: Born in Brighton, Sussex, England Peter James is an international best selling thriller author of the Roy Grace series.

For extended information about him link to: http://www.peterjames.com/about

About FaceOff:

FACEOFF edited by David Baldacci

For the first time ever the world’s greatest thriller characters meet head-to-head in 11 electrifying stories.

Where else will you be able to read about Jeffery Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme meets John Sandford’s Lucas Davenport? Fans of Steve Berry’s Cotton Malone and James Rollins’ Gray Pierce have waited for years to see those characters together. Then there’s Lee Child’s Jack Reacher meeting up with Joseph Finder’s Nick Heller in a bar in Boston. Steve Martini’s Paul Madriani becoming entangled with Linda Fairstein’s Alex Cooper. Plus, you can’t forget the ever-odd Aloysius Pendergast coming face to face with the scary world of R.L. Stine.

In an unprecedented collaboration, twenty-three of the world’s bestselling and critically acclaimed thriller writers have paired their series characters in an eleven-story anthology curated by the International Thriller Writers (ITW). Edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci, FACEOFF is a who’s who of not only the most beloved contemporary thriller writers, but also their iconic characters—putting them head-to-head with their most worthy opponents.

As worlds collide, the characters you think you know best are thrown into unpredictable situations and partnered with, pitted against, and, in some cases, romantically entangled with, characters you’d never suspect—and some that you would. With introductions to the stories that describes the writers, their characters, and a bit about the story’s creation, FACEOFF is truly a treasure trove for thriller fans.

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