Iain Banks took part in an In Conversation With... talk at St Cuthbert's Church in Wells on Friday 13 October. Speaking to BBC Somerset's Helen Otter after the event, Iain said: "I think the talk went very well. "These things are always good when no-one throws anything at me - rotten fruit, old-fashioned irons (especially if they're heated), shopping trolleys, darts etc! So, yeah - it went pretty well, really. I enjoyed myself." You can listen to the full interview by clicking on this audio link: Hear Iain talking about his connection with Somerset, his writing, his starring role (!) in Monthy Python's The Holy Grail, his top tips for getting started as a writer, and what he thinks makes a good novelist. "You've got to have the kind of ideas which are worth putting across to people in the first place," says Iain. "What you're basically trying to do as a writer is get your ideas, images, feelings out of your brain and into someone else's by the medium of print. "So you have to have something worth saying and then the ability to say it - writing's a double skill, really." The Wells Festival of Literature 2006 runs until Friday 20 October. For further information, visit the event's website: | 
