The e-reader has been kindling a debate here. Sorry, that's an appalling attempt at a pun, but I find it difficult to be light hearted on this subject. The e-reader is not a comfortable topic for a constitutionally anxious Luddite author. I know the e-reader is Progress and we should all feel Very Excited. Something else new on the market, way hay! 

Would I be happier to revert to writing longhand with a smudgy quill pen? . . . I'm not prepared to answer that question on my computer. The gremlins in the hard drive might not like it. (Yes, of course I know my computer is controlled by tiny gremlins who live inside it. Give me some credit. I may be old fashioned, but I'm not completely ignorant about how computers work!)

As for e-readers - I'll try to explain my trepidation. All of my crime thriller plots begin with one question: "What if?" The idea for Cut Short occurred to me as I was walking through my local park. "What if I see a body in the bushes?" I thought, and the whole story spun out from there.

The possibilities are endless. "What if I hear footsteps on the stairs in the night?" "What if my car breaks down when I'm out alone at night and there's no mobile phone signal?" "What if I'm driving down the road and hear a noise. I'm not alone in the car. . ."

No, I can't even begin to contemplate the "What if" questions the e-reader suggests to a writer with an imagination like mine. I'll stick to thinking up plots for my crime thrillers. They're less frightening than the prospect of the demise of the book.  

And please don't point out that if the entire human race had my attitude, we'd still be living in caves - What if there's a bear lurking at the back of the cave? Or a rock fall over the entrance in the night? Or there might be a snake concealed in the shadows . . .  or poisonous spiders . . .