Category: Books
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Snazzy new website alert!
I’ve decided to split my blog and official website in two, meaning I can properly write about anything that takes me away, but also have a site that’s all about my books, something smaller but effective. It can’t have been too easy for anyone coming here to find out information on my fiction only to […]
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Cover reveal!
At last, I’m able to present the cover artwork for Sadie, Call The Polis. I wanted something that recalled the old Faber & Faber/Flamingo book covers of the late 80s/early 90s, which is an aesthetic I love. Strange, disembodied images, striking bright colour, and bold typography. Those novels looked like CULT FICTION to me, and […]
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I prefer American book art and here’s why…
The list of sites on my bookmark is precisely four strokes of my fingertip long. One touch takes the page halfway. The second goes further. By the fourth I’m at the bottom of the list. My bookmarked sites are literally all about books. Most of them American literary pages that I read every day, keeping […]
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Library lurking for a living
Most authors I know also have part-time jobs on the side as well as other means of making money. None of them are criminals or slum landlords. Not yet, anyway. But writing has never been the most reliable way of earning a living, which means we need to get out and find work in the […]
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Off The Page 2022
I’ve always wanted to do Off The Page and now I am. I’m appearing live at Fallin Library on 27th May at 17.30. You’ll get the full experience. Tickets are limited so book soooooon. I’ll see you there. #OffThePage #books #shows #Stirling @stirlinglibraries
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Announcing “Sadie, Call The Polis”
When I first signed a contract for Happiness Is Wasted On Me in 2019, I honestly didn’t expect much to happen for me. In an industry obsessed with debut authors, I’m in a strange position as a rising star who hasn’t really risen. A friend once said I was the best accessory a book launch […]
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Oh Marina Girl by Graham Lironi
I look back at Oh Marina Girl, the Glesga cult novel that I felt never got the attention it deserved…
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My favourite things of 2021
It’s that time of year again where everyone posts a blog about their favourite things of the years. “Things” mean different things to people, but for me it means books, music, film, TV, and moments that stick out for whatever reason. Let’s get stuck into the year we’re living through, now we’re nearly at the […]
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Tickling the back of your throat with a feather, AKA why I love Vurt by Jeff Noon.
Jeff Noon’s Vurt was a seminal novel for me, strange and beautiful, it felt like the future – but not one I’d want to live in. Here’s my story with this book…
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The weirdness of Penguin Classic Crime art
Whoever said you should never judge a book by its cover clearly has ugly cover art on their books. I like artwork to say something, even if I can’t understand what it’s trying to tell me. When Happiness was picked up by Fledgling, I immediately knew what I wanted: “Make it ’90s inspired brutalism with […]