It’s not every day that one gets to talk to an author who has published over 20 best-selling novels, sold over 270 million copies of his work and already has a book in the Top 100 chart even though it won’t hit the shelves for another four months. So when Her.ie were given the chance to sit down and have a chat with Jeffrey Archer naturally, we jumped at the chance. The multi-award winning author will be coming to Dublin on Wednesday, November 26^th to attend this year’s Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards gala dinner as he has been awarded the International Recognition Award. Having had his first book Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less published in 1976, the talented and sometime controversial author looks back on a career that has spanned a fascinating and thoroughly interesting 38 years. ________________________________________ How does it feel to be the first ever recipient of the Bord Gáis Energy International Recognition Award? I am very greatly honoured to be the first recipient because obviously if they invent an award it’s very prestigious to be the first person selected to receive it. But the Irish have always had a very great respect for storytellers. They like writers, they admire writers - heaven knows the Irish have produced a number of great writers - but they always treat storytellers, which is what I am or rather, a seanchaí, with the same respect as they do writers, which not a lot of countries really do. You have been topping bestsellers lists for nearly 40 years, how have you changed as a writer in that time? Yes, it has been 38 years, with 23 number ones and 270 million in sales.  I can’t fathom it. I don’t think I’ve changed as a storyteller, but I do think that after 35 years I’m a better craftsman. There are still fans that write and say Not A Penny More is the best thing I’ve ever done and there are fans that write and say that Kane and Abel is the best thing I’ve ever done and that was my third book. I’ve written 28 books, so the storytelling must have always been there though the craftsmanship I hope, particularly with the Clifton Chronicles, that the craftsmanship has got better. Jeffrey Archer at the launch of his most recent book. (Pic: Getty Images) The fifth book of the ‘Clifton Chronicles’ is coming out in February, what can readers expect? Yes, it will be released on February 26^th and it’s number five of seven. It’s already in the Top 100 four months before it comes out! It’s stupid really - you can wait four months! I’m not telling you what’s going to happen. All I will say is that Harry and Emma will be around for the last three books, as the entire series is about Harry, Emma and Giles, they are key to the whole story so I can’t afford to lose them. You developed Giles more as a character in the last book, is he set to take a central role? Yes, he’s going to become very big, because of what happens in the next book - particularly at the end – he’s in big trouble at the end. But you will have to wait about 100 days to find out, there will be a bit of a cliff hanger at the end. It’s been rumoured that a Margaret Thatcher type character will feature in your books soon, is this the case? Oh most definitely, she will not appear in the new book in February but she will in the sixth book which is still untitled. Margaret will have more than a walk-on part too. I can’t avoid it, I can’t resist it. I worked with her for 11 years and John Major for seven, so both of them will make entries and it will be nice to write about her having known her well so I hope the reader will feel, ‘Wow, he really did know her’ and get an insight into her as a human being. I had 11 years with her and Mary my wife was close friends with her as well. So where did the inspiration for the ‘Clifton Chronicles’ come from? At the age of 70 I made the decision that I needed to focus, I needed to get a grip on myself. I thought I would write a five-book series which would be semi-autobiographical in the sense that it is set in the West Country where I spent the first 18 years of my life. There’s a lot of Harry in me, there’s some of Giles in me and there’s a lot of Mary in Emma so I was going back to my roots, starting the story in the west country and taking it right through to the present century so I was able to take a lot of the people that I’ve met, the experiences that I’ve had, and blend them into the book. The author at one of his many charity auctions.  I had a disaster though in that at the end of the fourth book Harry is 42, Emma is 40 and I knew I couldn’t kill them off in the next book, there was still so much for them to say. I went back to the publishers and said “I’m afraid it’s going to be seven books” and they said “with the sales you are getting at the moment there is no need to be afraid!” Each book has gone up in sales, and it’s been building a new fan base, who are very young. They don’t say “Kane and Abel, oh yes, yes, yes” but then the Kane and Abel group are coming in as well. All indications show that they are loving it and they can’t wait for the new one. The pre sales are massive already with four months to go. You hold a special position of having maintained and increased your fan base for almost 40 years how does that feel? 37 million people have bought Kane and Abel, probably 100 million have read it and they have stayed with me and are buying what I’m writing now which is great to see. Every year I see a book that defeats me that year, it’s a one-off. I’d much rather be someone who has been around for 35 years and is still producing number one books then just have a one-off. They said after Kane and Abel that it was a one-off and now, that’s coming up for its 100^th reprint. What is the process behind your writing? It’s been said that you can take up to 17 drafts of a book until you are happy with it? Yes it’s a long process I’m afraid. This one was 14 drafts, every one of them handwritten so it’s very demanding. If I could find a short cut I would take it but I can’t. I want the fans to believe that the latest one is the best one. I could of course sit back and just hand in the first draft, but I see other authors getting reviews that say stuff like “he hasn’t tried very hard on this one” and that makes me work harder. Jeffrey and his wife Mary Archer pose after she was made a Dame. (Pic: Getty Images) Would there be an element of perfectionism to it so? It appears so, I mean when you are married to Mary Archer you are getting it in example in front of you the whole time. You probably know that she’s just been appointed chairman of the Science Museum, so she’s like a child in Hanley’s. You spent some time in prison, was that a turning point for you as a writer? Of course, I met a group of people I would never normally have met and certainly Cat O Nine Tales, and A Prisoner of Birth came from that. I was able to use my experience and let people know what it was like through fiction and I wrote three prison diaries as well. With A Prisoner of Birth I wanted to write my version of the Count of Monte Cristo - 200 years later and that of course added to its authenticity as the first third of the Count of Monte Cristo is that the guy is stuck in jail which is pretty much the same as A Prisoner of Birth. What do you say to those who have called you an “Enid Blyton for grown-ups”? I have had that silly comment from people who haven’t read the books. But I’m more flattered by The Times saying that Kane and Abel is a modern classic. Of course you get people who haven’t read you, and they say “oh no, but that’s what I’ve been told” – I tell them come back to me when you have read me. There’s a tremendous amount of envy that you have to deal with whether you’re an actor, whether you’re a dancer, whether you’re a singer, whether you’re a writer and you just have to live with it. In the end, the public tell you and 270 million copies is a clue. You are also well-known for your charity work down through the years. Is this an ongoing project for you? I love my auctions, I love raising money. I raised over £400,000 the other night at an auction. I’ve something on nearly every night, it’s non-stop. I’ve raised £3.5 million in the last year and round about £40 million in my lifetime. I love it, it’s a hobby, some people play golf, this is what I do - I’m a charity auctioneer. Jeffrey and his wife with Queen Elizabeth II. (Pic: Getty Images) You spoke out about your own health scare with prostate cancer - how did you cope with that? Mary had it much worse than I did. She has come through it all – she is an inspiration to women everywhere - and went on to continue to chair the hospital and then the Queen made her a Dame and now the Prime Minister has appointed her chairman of the Science Museum. It’s disgraceful what I’m about to tell you but she’s the first woman ever to chair a national museum or gallery. It’s an amazing achievement but it should have been done a long time ago. Back to our experiences recently though, Mary felt that if you could write about what we went through it would help other people going through the same experience. And we receive letters every single week from people saying “thank you for saying that. I now know what is going to happen on day three, on day four etc”. If they can see from someone who has been through the experience and has got through and is clearly back at work and flat out it’s clearly enough to help them through. It was a nasty experience. What have been the main highlights? I think running for my country was the beginning, I love my sport and being selected to run for my country was one of the biggest highlights. I follow most sports and I keep getting teased by the Irish at the moment that they are going to win the World Cup (rugby), I can’t see it, but I can’t see us doing it either. Ireland is looking good this year though. From a writing point of view, a highlight was a weird situation 30 years ago. I’d written Kane and Abel and it was auctioned in the USA and ended up going for $3.2 million so I knew before it came out that it was going to do okay. But I think it was a highlight when they sold a million copies in the first week. That was pretty frightening, I couldn’t believe it. What is the book you are proudest of? The fans are very interesting about it, Kane and Abel is obviously the most popular. However, they are very interesting about A Prisoner of Birth – that’s getting the same recognition as Kane and Abel in the charts so yes, for me I think A Prisoner of Birth is the one that I would like people to read if they haven’t read any of my work. Who is your favourite Irish author? Do you include George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde - two of the greatest storytellers that ever lived? Absolutely. Recently I really enjoyed Maeve Binchy I thought she was a damn good storyteller and she had a real way with an Irish story, she was such a storyteller and a great person. I loved her dearly - such a damn good storyteller. Any regrets? No. I have had a fascinating and interesting life. You don’t look backwards, you get on in the world. You can spend your life looking backwards but just get on with it. I don’t look back. Are you looking forward to your trip to Ireland? Of course, I love Ireland. I’ll be there to receive the award and catch up with a few people and we can talk about rugby! What I love about the Irish, especially when I go over to watch rugby matches, is how welcoming the crowd are, how warm they are. I’m going to my favourite hotel in Dublin and will enjoy one of the best art collections which give me such pleasure. Much looking forward to it.   Voting for the Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards is open until midnight tonight, Friday 21^st November. Visit www.bgeirishbookawards.ie to vote for your favourite books across 12 categories including the Bord Gais Energy Sports Book of the year.