The most difficult part of any crime novel is the plotting. It all begins simply enough, but soon you're dealing with a… — Ian Rankin Copy Share Image
I started writing novels while an undergraduate student, in an attempt to make sense of the city of Edinburgh, using a detective… — Ian Rankin Copy Share Image
I love short stories - reading and writing them. The best short stories distill all the potency of a novel into a… — Ian Rankin Copy Share Image
I took the first James Kelman novel, 'The Bus Conductor Hines', home to my dad. I thought, 'My dad will like this;… — Ian Rankin Copy Share Image
My first novel was turned down by half a dozen publishers. And even after having published five or six books, I wasn't… — Ian Rankin Copy Share Image
I used to think that: whenever I heard that someone had taken 10 years to write a novel, I'd think it must… — Ian Rankin Copy Share Image
You need a great idea, but then you've got to carry it through. If you get it right, you're going to be a critical… — Ian Rankin Copy Share Image
In 1991, I won the Chandler Fulbright Prize, which came with $20,000 and the stipulation of spending six months in the U.S. — Ian Rankin Copy Share Image
When I was in my early 20s and still at uni, I won a short-story competition: £200 was the prize. — Ian Rankin Copy Share Image
“1446, that's when the foundations were laid. It took forty years to complete." "Sounds like some builders I know," Rebus said. "Can't you feel… — Ian Rankin Copy Share Image
When I'm writing, I won't know whodunnit until maybe two thirds of the way through. Until then, I know as little as my detective.… — Ian Rankin Copy Share Image
My mother worked in a school canteen - then worked in the canteen of a chicken factory. Every Friday, the pay packet money would… — Ian Rankin Copy Share Image
I am, of course, a frustrated rock star - I'd much rather be a rock star than a writer. Or own a record shop.… — Ian Rankin Copy Share Image
I don't want the books to become PR exercises for the police; I want to have the freedom to write about cops who cross… — Ian Rankin Copy Share Image
“...despite rumors to the contrary, you're on the side of the angels. (...) Whether you like it or not.” — Ian Rankin Copy Share Image
Rebus was eating breakfast in the canteen and wishing there was more caffeine in the coffee, or more coffee in the coffee come to… — Ian Rankin Copy Share Image
