Stuart Kelly has seen Margaret Atwood’s new book, The Heart Goes Last, described as everything from a psychedelic 60s caper all the way through to a comedy of errors. He’s not sure where the 60s comment came from but he knows that there aren’t many authors that could write a profoundly serious novel that featured Elvis impersonators and sex robots. … [Read more...] about Margaret Atwood: The Heart Goes Last
Bloody Scotland: The Football Match
One of the interesting features of Bloody Scotland is the football match (on a bowling green) where the Scottish crime writers play against the English ones. There was a lot of cheering and enthusiasm (backed up by the sound of the choir drifting out of the nearby church) and, of course, quite a bit of rain. There was also a discussion of whether … [Read more...] about Bloody Scotland: The Football Match
Bloody Scotland: Writing for the Screen
Craig Sisterson begins by introduces each member of the panel and their backgrounds. Kevin Wignall is an author who has had some of his books adapted for the big screen. Chris Dolan has written novels but has also done screen and radio plays for Taggart and Rebus. Alexandra Sokoloff was a Hollywood screenwriter for ten years and has now turned to … [Read more...] about Bloody Scotland: Writing for the Screen
Bloody Scotland: Dear Mean Place – Talking Glasgow
This session once again started with a surprise reading from a debut novelist. This time it was Margot McCuaig, an award winning documentary and script writer who has just published her first novel. She reads a section where the main character of her story is finally setting out to get revenge. She arrives to find the man she wanted to kill lying … [Read more...] about Bloody Scotland: Dear Mean Place – Talking Glasgow
Bloody Scotland: Chris Brookmyre
This event began with a surprise. One of the aims of Bloody Scotland is give a voice to debut authors and one of the ways they do so is to give them a chance to read for two minutes at the beginning of an event. After inviting Chris Brookmyre onto the stage, the chair Gordon Brown (not the one you might be expecting he adds) introduces Phil Miller, … [Read more...] about Bloody Scotland: Chris Brookmyre
Bloody Scotland: Forensics with Val McDermid & Lin Anderson
Val McDermid and Lin Anderson arrived on stage alone, joking that it had been decided that no one could moderate them. They briskly launch into a discussion on the development of forensics. McDermid's first book was published in 1987, just a year after DNA had first been used in solving a case. At the time forensics largely consisted of … [Read more...] about Bloody Scotland: Forensics with Val McDermid & Lin Anderson