CARDENDEN-born writer Sir Ian Rankin has told of his happiness at the latest Rebus adaptation as he prepares to appear at Aberdour Festival.

The best-selling author who grew up in Fife will be appearing at ‘A Blether and a Bevvy with Ian Rankin’ in the Festival Marquee at Silver Sands at the end of this month.

This will be Ian’s first appearance at the event, with the talk hosted by fellow-author Jenny Colgan.

When speaking of what he will be discussing, Ian told the Press: “I don’t know to be honest, probably give a wee sneak preview of the next book, although it doesn’t come out until October, so I won’t say too much about it.

“We’ll just pass the time then go to the pub and have a drink.

“Aberdour is a gem of a place to live, I passed through it last year when doing the Fife Coastal Path with a friend.”

Ian’s upcoming book, Midnight and Blue, will be his 25th novel featuring John Rebus, the also Cardenden-born detective.

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Now living in Edinburgh where many of his works are set, Ian still visits Fife and has fond memories of growing up in the Kingdom.

“I had lots of family about," he said.

“I think there’s bits of Fife that are underappreciated by outsiders, places like Aberdour and Burntisland.”

He used to enjoy summer holidays in St Andrews and would go into Dunfermline to see local heroes The Skids.

However, upon a recent visit to St Andrews, he noticed that the town was not as busy as he used to remember.

He said: “The beach was almost deserted; just a real change in people’s holiday habits. It’s just a pity more people don’t discover the Fife landscape.”

Ian has received numerous accolades and honours for his work in both the world of literature and charity.

He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2002 before receiving a knighthood in the late Queen’s 2022 Birthday Honours.

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He commented: “It came out of the blue. I wasn’t expecting it.

“I thought back to the last Scottish writer who got a knighthood, I think it was Compton Mackenzie in the early 60s.

“That was really big (for me), especially coming from my background, not that many folk get that recognition."

However, Ian’s books were not initially successes, and it took a lot of persistence and dedication for him to achieve what he now has.

“The first ten years I was a published writer I wasn’t making much money," he reflected.

“There was sort of moments where I was very frustrated and thought about giving up. My wife was always hugely supportive, she kept saying, ‘You’re a good writer, eventually people will notice that'.

“You need supportive people around you, whether that’s other would-be writers or family and friends, you do need a support network.

 “It’s quite a lonely job and it’s scary when you start showing it to people and getting feedback.

“This piece of work is your baby.”

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When asked which of his many works is his favourite, Ian said: “My first successful book, Black and Blue, that remains my favourite, Rebus novel number nine.

“I was struggling, I wasn’t very successful, I wasn’t making money, my publishers were not very enthusiastic.”

He had thought at the time that if Black and Blue did not do well he may have to give up on writing, but the book was a success.

“I have been writing about that guy since I was 25 and I am now 64, a huge chunk of my life is with John Rebus," he added.

Rebus has recently been adapted for the TV screen once again with the new series airing on the BBC back in May.

Ian spoke about how he was “really happy” with the most recent adaption.

“The screenwriter, Gregory Burke, he’s a Fifer like me, and he’s working class like me and we understand each other, and we understand the world I am trying to write about and show," he commented.

“He was very sympathetic to that when he wrote the script.”

The role of Detective Sergeant John Rebus is played by Richard Rankin (of Outlander fame and of no relation to Ian), who he said "did a brilliant job".

With social media, Ian can now see people’s reviews of the show as the episodes air, saying: "You can’t please everybody all the time, so you have to try and not listen to the critics and remain true to your own ideas.”

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When it comes to writing, Ian sometimes starts his crime novels not knowing who the killer is, and this allows him to take a similar path to his detective.

It’s only by writing the story that he discovers the culprit’s identity.

He offered some advice for those thinking of writing a crime novel: “It’s not something that can necessarily be taught, the advice would be read a lot and write a lot and hopefully eventually you will find your own voice.

“Find a good story, a story you want to tell... and you need to get lucky.”

When speaking of where he gets his inspiration from, Ian commented: “I am a junkie for news, I get a newspaper every day, I am always scanning the BBC website.

"Then I go out and about in Edinburgh and people tell me stories, I might go to the pub and get told an anecdote. You never know where the next idea for a novel is going to come from.

“There’s a multitude of stories waiting to be told.”

Ian will be appearing at Aberdour Festival on Monday, July 29, and tickets are available on Eventbrite.