Coke* with Steven Savile

Yep, another meet-up with Mr. Savile, and this time I think the two of us drank enough diet coke to, well, raise the diet coke shares a few percentage... at least. Oh, and yes, ‘me and me fella’ got lost again whilst trying to find the hotel. Train to Richmond, check; District Line to Gloucester Street, check; Circle Line to Bayswater, check; bothered to work out the route from the station to the hotel before leaving, so we knew which way to go... erm... well. God bless street maps you can download onto a mobile phone... ;)

Steven was sat in the bar when we arrived, Mac laptop open, looking intelligent and cool in his jeans and open shirt, dressed ‘full circle’ as he says, like he had done in the 80’s, an empty glass to one side (to prove how long it had taken us to finally locate the hotel in Queensborough Terrace - 3 minutes from the station - but hey, we took the scenic route!!!).

First round in.. diet coke for me and Steven, an Irish cider for me fella, with the football results playing on the big screen telly - bit of a theme in hotels methinks, or is that just the way it looks (shame we hadn’t met during the Ashes). Steven was pleased to say he’d been moved from his tiny basement room to a big boy's one UPstairs, and then sat enthusiastically telling us all his latest news and gossip. Of course I had to tease him about meeting Sandra Bullock a couple of weeks ago - but then, if she will make a film ‘All About Steve’, who am I to argue?

Then onto news about ‘Silver’ - boy! is Steven excited about this book, and it’s hardly surprising. I can still remember him talking vaguely about it in the past, and even then he was excited: and who can blame the guy... it’s going to be one of those tales that will have you questioning so much about everything you have previously taken as, well... Maybe I should let you find out for yourself. And you won’t have any excuse not to read it when it’s released, as you’ll have the pick of fourteen different languages, such as French, Spanish and Polish.... or maybe you’ll try it in more than one!

Another round of coke & cider, and out came a couple of books I’d brought for Steven to sign, (with much giggling and sarcastic commenting): ‘Slaine: The Exile’ was very kindly signed by Ukko, that little darling who’s the REAL hero; and ‘Vampire Wars: The Von Carstein Trilogy’... which we then sat flicking through, as Steven explained the ‘over 700’ puns and references he had made throughout... highlighting some of the chapter titles, playing on songs that meant something to him which, for some reason, led into a hummed rendition of the 'Peter Gunn' theme - such is life.

And then it was time to eat: I let the guys choose the venue...

We may not have had a pool, and I certainly ‘ain’t no Sandra Bullock’, but Hollywood doesn’t have the "Whiteleys Centre" where we enjoyed MORE diet coke and a good fill of Mexican/Tex Mex specialities at Oscars. Delicious!!! And more talk about ‘Silver’.

This is not going to be a quick read, nor is it going to be an easy read, but our book shops are full of ‘best sellers’ that you can plough through in a couple of hours, which then end up at the local charity shop, having made NO impact, what-so-ever, on your life. ‘Silver’ is going to change you, challenge you... and have you thinking about deeper things than “will the hero get the girl/heroine get the guy (or new handbag/pair of shoes)”.

Steven is such an intelligent writer, and has probably been slightly stifled (my term, and used loosely) over the years of his ‘over night success’, but now he is coming into his own, and a thriller is were his heart lies. I don’t think I’ve ever met somebody who can hold me totally enthralled by simple observations, which he fills out with Plato-like philosophies. A chat with him isn’t just a natter about ‘how’s things?’, ‘did you see that thing about what’yer-ma-flip on the telly?’ and ‘what about old thingy-ma-bob saying...?’: it’s all that, and then some... and then some more. He always has an amazing theory or two (or ten), which you know are going to set you thinking... And then he’ll have you giggling in the corner with some antic he’s been up to... ;)

*Coke - well, I’ve had Coffee and Curry with Steve so far... but I don’t think I’ll be sticking to the formula next time... unless we go to a Butterfly Farm with a rather weird menu.