So here we are again then and in 3 days time it will actually be time for Bloody Scotland so today here is my last little feature about what will be happening – there is still time to get some tickets and come along – you know you want to and last minute trips are often the best.
I have another couple of soundbite teasers for you to finish off this series and hopefully that will be enough to encourage you to drop real life and come and hang out in the crime writing world for a while – Tickets are available HERE see what you can find!
On Saturday Rachel Abbott and Melanie Raabe will be on a panel – Can you trust the narrator of your favourite crime novel? Of course not. These two are bound to be absolutely fascinating and I had a little chat to Rachel Abbott and asked her those questions.
On Sunday you’ll find E.S. Thomson and Oscar De Muriel discussing Victorian Gothic – Thats one I definitely fancy popping long to for sure and E.S. Thomson was also kind enough to have a chat.
Could you tell us a little bit about your latest novel and what readers can expect from it, maybe about what originally sparked the idea?
Beloved Poison is set in 1850s London, in a decaying hospital. Six tiny coffins are found as the hospital is prepared for demolition, and one of the doctors is murdered. Apothecary Jem Flockhart – born as a girl but disguised as a boy – and Will Quartermain, the junior architect commissioned to excavate the hospital’s over-stocked graveyard, have to find out what happened, and why. The story ranges through the hospital’s crowded wards, the brothels and rookeries of London, and the fearful confines of Newgate.
The idea was sparked by my own interest in nineteenth century medical history, and by the potential for intrigue offered by poisons and poisoners. I’d also seen the tiny coffins found on Edinburgh’s Arthur’s seat (currently lodged in the National Museum of Scotland). A few inches long, each with a tiny doll-like figure inside, there is no explanation for these curious relics. In Beloved Poison, I took these macabre, unexplained items and wove a story around them
In the wonderful world of Crime writing which Crime authors inspire you? Who writes your “go to” books when you look to read for pleasure. Or indeed do you read outside of Crime?
My favourite crime-writers are Raymond Chandler and James Ellroy – though my own writing is a million miles away from this sort of hard-boiled American noir. I’m also a big fan of Sherlock Holmes stories – I’ve returned to these again and again since I was at school. I love them! I also love Wilkie Collins and Elizabeth Braddon – brilliant and prolific writer of sensation fiction. In Lady Audley’s Secret she makes her bigamist heroine shove one man down a well, consider poisoning another, and burn down a house. Elizabeth Braddon had six children and looked after five more belonging to someone else – and she wrote 80 books too! A brilliant and inspiring woman in so many ways. I’m also a big fan of Sarah Waters. The Little Stranger is one of my favourite books of all time, though its a ghost story, and not crime fiction. I do read non-crime fiction books. I recently read Waterland, by Graham Swift (though i suppose that was also a crime novel) and The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry, both of which I loved. Such clever writers.
Will this be your first time at Bloody Scotland? If so are you excited? If you’ve been before what would you say to encourage readers to attend?
Yes it is my first time at Bloody Scotland and I am very excited indeed. I’m to talk about Victorian Gothic, and given what I’ve said above about the sort of things I usually read, Gothic fiction is clearly my favouite kind. I’ve heard its a very friendly festival, despite being full of people who read, write and think about murder. And there are so many brilliant and famous writers attending – I’m looking forward to meeting them.
Tell us one random fact about you that is unlikely to come up at the festival?
I once almost blew up a flat and gassed a pair of dogs – at the same time!
HA poor dogs!
You can purchase Beloved Poison HERE
Could you tell us a little bit about your latest novel and what readers can expect from it, maybe about what originally sparked the idea?
With Kill Me Again this is a hard question to answer without giving the plot away! I like to give my protagonists real dilemmas wherever possible, to place them in positions where it’s difficult to know what is the right decision given the circumstances. So when Maggie Taylor comes home to find her husband has walked out of their home, leaving two small children alone in the house, at first she is furious. But then she wonders what could have happened to make him do something so irresponsible. As events unfold she has some difficult decisions to make, and has to decide just how much she is prepared to trust the man she has lived with for the past ten years.
The inspiration for this idea came from thinking about how well people really know each other, and just how many skeletons might be itching to burst out of their cupboards!
In the wonderful world of Crime writing which Crime authors inspire you? Who writes your “go to” books when you look to read for pleasure. Or indeed do you read outside of Crime?
There are SO many great writers, and it’s difficult to single any out. I have always loved Val McDermid, of course (but who doesn’t?) and Sharon Bolton’s books are amongst my favourites too. Recently, though, I read Clare Mackintosh’s second novel, I See You, and thought it was a great concept. I also love Elizabeth Haynes but that’s just the tip of the iceberg!
I do read outside of crime. I am a member of a book club with friends who have very diverse tastes, and it’s brilliant because it forces me to read books I would never even consider – everything from literary to historical fiction. We’re currently reading Jeanette Winterson’s autobiography Why Be Normal When You Could Be Happy – it’s fascinating.
Will this be your first time at Bloody Scotland? If so are you excited? If you’ve been before what would you say to encourage readers to attend?
It is my first time, and I am both delighted and excited to have been invited to speak. As I haven’t been before, I can’t be specific about this event in terms of encouraging readers to attend, but what I can say is that the Scots do know how to have a good time, and there is a terrific line up of authors – so it would be great to meet some readers there.
Tell us one random fact about you that is unlikely to come up at the festival?
I make my own chocolate when no-one is watching!
Chocolate! Excellent!
You can purchase Kill Me Again HERE
So there you go! I hope to see some of you in Stirling this weekend!
Thanks to all the authors for taking the time to have a quick chat. Do pop over to the Bloody Scotland website for more detail and follow them on the Bloody Scotland Twitter feed for updates and more information.
Happy Reading!
