James Herbert

James Herbert     (novelist)
Born	James John Herbert April 8, 1943 London, England
Died	March 20, 2013 (Age 69) Sussex, UK
Nationality	British
A best selling horror writer who died suddenly, 6 months after remarking that "I wanted to have another knock at the Establishment".

James Herbert was an English horror writer. A full-time writer, he also designed his own book covers and publicity. His books have sold 54 million copies worldwide, and have been translated into 34 languages, including Chinese and Russian.

Novels

James Herbert's last novel, "Ash" was published in December 2012.

It "queasily imagines Princess Diana and her secret son as well as Lord Lucan, Colonel Gaddafi and Robert Maxwell living together in a Scottish castle."

Herbert explained:

"That’s why I became a novelist in the first place,” he says. “I can’t bear to work by committee. As a writer I can say whatever I want. All my stories begin with the premise ‘what if?’ I get to play God...

"Prince Charles gave me an OBE a couple of years ago. I was firmly told beforehand to call him Your Royal Highness to start with then Sir. But that went straight out the window. I only call head waiters Sir. So finally it’s my turn.

"He asks me, ‘Are you working on anything at the moment?’ I told him, ‘I am and you’re in it, Charles.’ He went bright red, then chalky white. I was dismissed.”

Death

James Herbert died suddenly "at home" in Sussex in 2013. The BBC was more explicit than his obituaries in the Telegraph and Guardian, stating that "His publisher, Pan Macmillan, confirmed that he died at his home in Sussex this morning. No cause of death was given". His facebook page states that he died "peacefully" while his publisher also confirmed that "he had not been ill".

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