Michelle Hodgson, once Iain Banks's press officer, recalls the warm friendship she shared with the author for nearly 25 years
Iain Banks: ‘gregarious, genuine and generous'. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod
Iain Banks didn't laugh – he guffawed. Alongside his hearty intellect and appetite for politics, Iain knew how to appreciate the simple pleasures of life, from food to fireworks to friendships. Giggles emanating from the spare room some years back when he was visiting turned out to be Iain reading a copy of a Calvin and Hobbes book. Small wonder that he enjoyed stories of a mischievous wee boy off on big adventures inspired by a vivid imagination.
Iain was a great friend, irrespective of the fact that he was also not one but two of the best novelists of his era: Iain Banks for his mainstream oeuvre, Iain M Banks for his SF novels. Although we first met through work – I was his book PR from 1989 to 2000 – one of the reasons we hit it off was because I'd grown up on a diet of science fiction and devoured his SF novels as keenly as the mainstream ones. Over time we became friends: he invited me to stay at his home outside Edinburgh, we took trips around Scotland with our respective partners and socialised when he was visiting London. Notoriously not a fan of hot weather, he nonetheless came out to visit when I lived for a period in Guadeloupe.
More
Iain was a great friend, irrespective of the fact that he was also not one but two of the best novelists of his era: Iain Banks for his mainstream oeuvre, Iain M Banks for his SF novels. Although we first met through work – I was his book PR from 1989 to 2000 – one of the reasons we hit it off was because I'd grown up on a diet of science fiction and devoured his SF novels as keenly as the mainstream ones. Over time we became friends: he invited me to stay at his home outside Edinburgh, we took trips around Scotland with our respective partners and socialised when he was visiting London. Notoriously not a fan of hot weather, he nonetheless came out to visit when I lived for a period in Guadeloupe.
More
No comments:
Post a Comment