No Sir, he’s just my sibling

I interview a lot of interesting people in my job, but I think my favourite guests are writers. There’s something thrilling to me about finishing a book and then meeting the creative force behind it.

So I was delighted to chat to Ian Rankin in his Edinburgh office this week about his 24th Rebus novel, A Heart Full of Headstones. There’s a brilliant cliffhanger at the end of it, which I won’t reveal, but it suggests there’s more to come from the maverick detective.

As well as talking about the new book, I asked him if life had changed since he was knighted. No, he said.

And when he’d called up his big sister Linda to tell her about the prestigious honour, she replied: “Maybe, but you’re still my wee brother.”

You can always count on your family to keep you in your place.