Every author has to do it. It isn't something we can't avoid, and many of us have tried. Sometimes we might even feel flattered that someone cares enough to need it. You see them online, on posters, in brochures, and of course sometimes even in books. The author portrait. That's the official looking photograph of… Continue reading The author portrait of Dorian Gray
One of the problems I had with Happiness Is Wasted On Me was the question of how to make a coming-of-age novel sufficiently different from the rest. If we're honest, we have to face the fact that all coming-of-age novels are similarly built. The protagonist struggles against life, valiantly battling through their teen years, facing… Continue reading We Run The Tides by Vendela Vida
Dear independent bookshops, No matter how listless I've felt, or how boring everything seemed, you were always there to make me happy. From The Scan Bookshop in Cumbernauld, Scotia Books in Kilsyth, Edinburgh Bookshop, and The Book Nook, you've all been there for me in different ways. Not all of you are here any more.… Continue reading Indie bookshops, this is for you!
I live in a strange area which I won't specifically mention because I'm still hiding from the debt collectors, but it feels very apart from everywhere else. The transit system is infrequent, with buses forgetting to pass by on their route, but when they come, they take me to Glasgow, Stirling, and Falkirk. All of… Continue reading Library Lurking in Scotland
Most writers arrive fully-formed, their debut novel hailed as something special and original. That or they're just ignored and left to fend for themselves. The word ‘debut’ carries a special cache around the publishing industry. I started off performing live shows, writing my own stories, hoping to be published one day. Twilight was a huge… Continue reading The Path to Happiness
Blame Joe Meno. I was going through a period of obsession with his work because I enjoyed The Boy Detective Fails so much. This happens when I find someone new whose work sparks something, a need for more. Hairstyles of the Damned came next. I read that in a few days, turning the pages until… Continue reading Zazie dans le Métro by Raymond Queneau
Hello everyone. I'll be appearing live with Ely Percy (author of Duck Feet, which is amazing by the way) as part of Scottish Books Long Weekend. It's nice to finally be doing promo for something I wrote two years ago, but the pandemic has made us all get creative in other ways, hasn't it? Anyway,… Continue reading Two cool authors live on a screen talking to YOU and YOU and YOU!
Last year I was forced to launch my book digitally. I really wanted to have the experience of a live book launch in a shop, but I actually enjoyed myself. Putting together a set of clips, turning my ideas into something visual, structuring a small film...well, I enjoyed it. So I'm doing it again. On… Continue reading Adventures Close To Home!
It was a day I'll never forget because it was when everything went from bad to terrible. The 12th December 2019. I was in Edinburgh with my friend Alex Nye, both of us suffering in the cold, but still excited to be seeing our old friends in the writing community. Our equivalent of an office… Continue reading Christmas Time, Irn-Bru and Wine
This week is Christmas for authors, really. I've been stuck in my house seething at the Covid-19 lockdown that's keeping its heel on our throats, but still trying to keep busy. A few weeks ago I had my live digital launch, which mostly went rather well, if you ignore the bit at the start where… Continue reading Book Week Scotland!
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