Just under 3 weeks now until the Bloody Scotland Crime Writing Festival and excitement is building – today I have part two of my little foray into all things happening in Stirling – still time to grab tickets and come along and join the action. If last year is anything to go by it will be the best bookish fun you’ll have in ages with a plethora of top authors doing a lot of fun stuff.
The full programme can be found HERE and you can still win tickets to the opening salvo featuring Caro Ramsay and Stuart Macbride HERE – that should be a fantastic opening and the competition closes soon so go go! I’m hoping to be there train delays not withstanding and I’ll also be attending what promises to be the most hilarious event as Mark Billingham and Chris Brookmyre look to raise the roof once more.
Anyway I’ve stuck another pin in my list of authors and come up with Russel D Mclean and Douglas Skelton both of whom are taking part in the Scotland the Grave event where you can take a tartan noir tour of Scotland in the company of four of the country’s finest crime writers. They will each make their pitch as to why their own piece of the map is the perfect place for murder.
Gillian Galbraith enthuses about Edinburgh, Douglas Skelton sticks the heid in for Glasgow, Russel D McLean helps us discover Dundee and Catriona McPherson gets gallus about Galloway.
So I asked my little set of questions as a taster and this is what happened…
The latest novel from Douglas Skelton is The Dead Don’t Boogie – which I’ve recently read and loved – and will be featuring on the blog soon with a slightly longer more focused interview with the man himself – so look out for that but seriously get hold of the book when you can. Time to meet Dominic Queste if you havent already!
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?
The Dead Don’t Boogie is (hopefully) the first in a new series. It’s designed as a fast-moving, action-packed tale, far lighter in tone to my Davie McCall series but still has it’s darker moments. I wanted to write something that had a hero who was fast with a quip (Davie McCall being, let’s face it, taciturn) while also telling a story that was not quite so grounded in reality. So if I wanted a gunfight in a city park, I’d damn well have it.
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?
I’m very drawn to US authors like Dennis Lehane, Robert Crais, John Connolly (I know he’s Irish, but you know what I mean). My writing idols are Ed McBain and William Goldman. I seldom read anything but crime and thrillers these days.
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?
I think this is my third time at Bloody Scotland. It’s a great festival, very friendly, very informal, and there is real creative thinking behind the various panels. It’s lots of fun and Stirling’s a fantastic setting.
Tell us one random fact about you that is unlikely to come up at the festival?
I once played the principal villain in a background. I wore red tights.
Tights? Love it!
You can purchase The Dead Don’t Boogie HERE
Russel’s latest novel is “And When I Die” – a fast paced, brilliantly addictive crime thriller all about family. Well you’ll see – again I have a review for that one coming soon alongside a longer interview, this is another highly recommended from me!
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?
The new novel is AND WHEN I DIE, just an ordinary tale of a criminal who can’t feel pain, his cousin, who’s determined to be the only good member of a bad family, and an undercover cop who’s in way over his head. It’s also my first book to be set in Glasgow (I’ve written about Dundee for the last five books).
The original idea came about because I really wanted to write a book with a character who felt no pain. Sounds odd, but there we go. When I discovered a real condition that could help me create this kind of character, things really took off. But the idea was always that this character would be in the background; the threat that really drives how the other characters react to his single minded vendetta.
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?
Most of the books I read can be classified as crime. And admittedly, I read a lot.
Some go-to authors include Lawrence Block, Megan Abbott, Ross MacDonald, Raymond Chandler, John Connolly, George Pelecanos, Walter Mosely, Dominique Manotti, Laura Lipman, Don Winslow and Richard Stark. A great deal (almost all) of that list is US crime – it’s what I came up reading, and what really inspires the pacing of my work. I love many UK writers (Eva Dolan, Ray Banks spring to mind as two who I believe should be wider read) but the US stuff really seems to deal with dialogue in a way that makes my spine tingle. I also have a weakness for French authors. Horror is another my genre loves (The late Tom Piccirilli is one that more UK readers should be aware of) along with SF (I grew up devouring the work of Philip K Dick). Honestly, if I went on we’d be here all day.
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?
I was at Bloody Scotland many many years ago on a PI panel with the wonderful Gordon Ferris and Craig Russell. Haven’t been able to get back since due to conflicting commitments. It sounds like the festival has gone from strength to strength since then, so I’m excited to see what’s going on. Any crime festival should have a slightly anarchic feel, and more than any other festival, Bloody Scotland seems to have these unusual little things such as the football match or Crime at the Coo that really stand out. Readers should go for the atmosphere and the chance to discover new authors – – again, one of the festival’s strengths is that it gives smaller presses a chance to shine; something that some of the others could do better with.
Tell us one random fact about you that is unlikely to come up at the festival?
I was once stopped on the streets of Dundee and asked for my autograph. Which was wonderful, until the person in question admitted that, until I spoke, they thought I was Ricky Gervais. I have since grown a full beard to prevent this ever happening again (with no offence to Mr Gervais, of course. But I’m sure he’d appreciate not being mistaken for me, too…)
I would also mention the cursed mask that I once had to share a flat with, but since that appears in every bio ever written about me…
Well the cursed mask is a first for me, I’ll have to find out more about that!
You can purchase And When I Die HERE
Thanks to both the guys for taking the time to have a quick chat. Tempted yet? Not sure? Well you know, STILL more to come in a few days including a few more authors tempting us in – In the meantime 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.
These guys have excellent taste in authors! I’ll see you there chaps (and you too Liz, obviously!)