The Booktrail comes to Bloody Scotland
The Booktrail takes over the Bloody Scotland blog for a series of posts exploring where setting shapes a number of novels from authors attending Bloody Scotland this year.
Bloody Scotland is one of the crime writing, literary festivals of the year and this year, more than ever, The Booktrail is investigating some of the best crime fiction celebrated at the three day event.
The Booktrail is all about books set in various cities and countries across the world but there’s nothing like some gritty crime fiction set in Scotland. For every book on the site, there’s a travel guide and map so you see the country through the eyes of the author as well as their characters. It’s a Bloody (Scotland) good way to travel! (Visit Scotland via fiction: http://www.thebooktrail.com/book-trails/?pg=1&location=Scotland)
This year, we’re collaborating with Bloody Scotland and I will be reporting on events, Scottish fiction and the wealth of crime fiction that’s on display up in Stirling. I even got to sit on the rather nice and cosy Judges Sofa as the crime book of the year, now the McIlvanney Prize longlist was drawn up. The winner will be announced on 9th September. Hush, but my favourite is on there so fingers and tartan covered trouser legs will be crossed. Sworn to secrecy about who I voted for though!
Tartan Noir: Crime fiction set here even has its own name - Tartan Noir. It’s a stamp, an identity for the type of crime writing that uses the rough and rugged Scottish landscape as a character in itself.
To use a Craig Robertson turn of phrase, there is a lot that is ‘Gallus’ about this Tartan Land. I have found more out about Scotland via fiction than anything else, despite having holidayed from John O’Groats via the Scottish islands and down to the Scottish borders over the years. And I’ve grown to love my adopted country even more because of it.
From Aberdeen to Edinburgh: No need to visit the Tourist Centre if it’s the literary Scotland you want to see. Aberdeen is known as the Granite City, famous for its stone as well as its oil, but just wait until Stuart McBride shows you the sights and crime underbelly of the docks!
If it’s Glasgow you fancy visiting, then I can assure you that if you allow Douglas Skelton to guide you around, there’s a experience you’ll never forget. He writes of the Glasgow underbelly where gangsters and gritty Scottish banter will not only show you the city but introduce you to the ahem ‘unique’ Scottish vernacular.
From the modern day, Scotland has always had that allure of times gone by and its supernatural, folklore element. Of course this has been incorporated into its crime fiction in more ways than one. Edinburgh’s ghostly gothic tones are as much a character in James Oswald and Oscar de Muriel novels than anywhere else. And just wait until you head up to Orkney. There’s something endlessly ethereal about these islands and this more than comes across via fiction set there.
Oh, but let’s not forget deadly Dundee under the hand of Russel D McLean or the often theatrical Galloway of Catriona McPherson. Scotland is such a diverse country, small but perfectly formed and some of the most stunning landscape in the world. And the home to some of the most memorable characters in crime fiction.
I’ll be writing about these and more in future posts. How writers showcase their part of Scotland on the map and how Scottish greats have come to the fore with their writing no matter where they write about - Val McDermid has even invented her own city of Bradfield in England. The Scottish/English divide no more.
But let’s not forget the lovely Stirling itself - home to the very festival of crime writing greatness. A city where for three days, the finest of the fine will be gathering to talk crime, murder and more. Scotland has never looked so bloody.
Scotland be brave...
Susan, TheBooktrail.com
Visit the booktrail for maps, travel guides and reviews for the books featuring in Bloody Scotland.
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Doug Johnstone: 5 albums to write crime by
McIlvanney Prize longlister Doug Johnstone told us his top 5 albums that he listens to while writing.
I mostly listen to instrumental music when writing, as I find it hard to concentrate if there are vocals and lyrics. I like to listen to stuff that’s maybe a wee bit unsettling or offbeat too, just to set the vibe for the nasty things in the books.
Boards of Canada, ‘The Campfire Headphase’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBA9yqhH57I
Two Scottish brothers who make electronica that sounds like a false memory from the 1970s. Retro but also futuristic, somehow comforting but also unnerving. I love all their music, but this is their best album.
Mogwai, ‘Les Revenants’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MP9evk0f7Qg
Again, I love all of Mogwai’s music, but I find myself returning to this record over and over again. It’s their soundtrack to the melancholic French drama of the same name, beautifully understated, but still disturbing.
Jon Hopkins, ‘Late Night Tales’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIXVb4WVM-k&list=PLZqsyBiYZFQ2Fv77R87Ovd6bxZ2DLW5D8
Hopkins is a brilliant producer and soundtrack composer, and this is a mix album of other people’s music that he’s weaved together. It’s a beautiful example of how to evoke mood through sounds, so skillfully put together, it’s a real journey from start to finish.
LCD Soundsystem, ‘45.33’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72-ebRSMJdE
LCD Soundsystem are an amazing punk-dance outfit from NYC. Their regular music is full of poignant lyrics and vocals by frontman James Murphy, but this continuous mix is one of the finest and funkiest soundtracks to life imaginable.
The Avalanches, ‘Since I Left You’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfAuFAgHpzc&list=PL0oWJhzmgVQds4gQodCzgovSntMpJ0_M2
This album was allegedly made up entirely of samples from other records, and I could believe it. A leftfield Australian collective, they disappeared after this amazing album, which is a patchwork of wobbly beats and scratchy mash-ups.
Doug Johnstone will be appearing at Bloody Scotland in Writing Orkney on Sunday 11th Sept, 1:30pm and at our Scotland vs England football match.
Volunteer at Bloody Scotland 2016
Would you kill for the chance to get behind the scenes at Scotland’s premier crime writing celebration? Would you grab the opportunity with both hands…and throttle it? Then why not become a volunteer at the fifth annual Bloody Scotland festival in Stirling?
Bloody Scotland is seeking enthusiastic, responsible and reliable volunteers to help out at this year’s festival. This is our fifth year and the festival is taking place across Stirling from Friday 9th to Sunday 11th September.
There are a variety of roles available for volunteers from being the first port of call for information for our guests to helping set up venues, providing assistance and usher around festival-goers and featured authors alike. So if you would like to gain some valuable festival experience, meet some authors and get free tickets to some events or would just like to get involved and get behind the scenes then follow the link below to download the information pack to see the full list of available volunteering opportunities.
Deadline for applications: Friday 12th August.
Full information and application form: https://bloodyscotlstg.wpenginepowered.com/volunteer/
Mark Billingham's top 5 crime novels
In the theme of Bloody Scotland's 5th anniversary, Mark Billingham has listed his top 5 crime novels for us. How many have you read?
THE MALTESE FALCON (1929) by Dashiell Hammett
Still a cracking read nearly ninety years on from its publication, this was the novel that kickstarted the hardboiled movement. Fizzing, fat-free prose, an incredible cast of characters and, in Sam Spade one of the most iconic sleuths of all time.
RED DRAGON (1981) by Thomas Harris
I bought this at an airport, and didn’t put it down even when I was eating. Hannibal Lecter’s first appearance became the template for a legion of inferior imitations and though filmed twice – once well and once badly – the book still affords the most powerful glimpse into a world where monsters are made flesh.
NIGHT DOGS (1996) by Kent Anderson
The most powerful cop novel ever written. Hanson, a damaged Vietnam vet, struggles through the summer of 1975 to exorcise his demons Portland streets that have themselves become a combat zone. Makes Joseph Wambaugh look like a scriptwriter for Midsomer Murders.
THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY (1955) by Patricia Highsmith
In Tom Ripley, Highsmith created the ultimate anti-hero. A chilling depiction of a con-man, serial-killer, and, ultimately, a very American anti-hero.
THE BIG BLOWDOWN (1996) by George Pelecanos
Though happy to call himself a mystery writer, Pelecanos’ ‘tale of Washington’s immigrant community from the early thirties through to 1959, has an epic sweep. Young men take hard decisions in a city which goes to war and then struggles to recover from it. Gripping and heartbreaking in equal measure.
Mark Billingham will be appearing at Bloody Scotland in 3 events:
Mark Billingham and Chris Brookmyre, Friday 9th Sept, 8:30pm
Mark Billingham and Peter Robinson, Saturday 10th Sept, 12:15pm
Mark Billingham and My Darling Clementine, Saturday 10th Sept, 8:15pm
Die of Shame by Mark Billingham is published by Little, Brown £18.99
Douglas Skelton on 'The Buddy System'
McIlvanney Prize longlister Douglas Skelton wrote a blog for us about the importance of sidekicks in crime writing, or, as he calls it, 'the buddy system'.
Holmes had his Watson, Sexton Blake had Tinker (before Lovejoy inherited him), Poirot had Captain Hastings, Nero Wolfe had Archie, Batman had Robin.
I am, of course, talking sidekicks. The assistant.
Generally speaking, the pal was there mostly to allow the incisive mind of the sleuth to show off. (‘Holmes, you astound me!’) He, or very occasionally, she, was a foil, perhaps even acted as a muse – or simply to amuse. (Step forward Nigel Bruce.) Sometimes, they might handle the rough stuff. (‘Do you have your service revolver, Watson?’)
But it’s all changed now. The sidekick has grown up and tends to be far more hands-on than before, not just in handling the action but in actually solving the crime.
As a Scot I like to think the notion of the buddy system was created by Arthur Conan Doyle, but really it goes back to Edgar Allan Poe and ‘The Murders in the Rue Morgue’. Dupin had a chum. He wasn’t named and it was more or less a bit part, but Dupin needed to show off his ratiocination to someone.
However, it was Doyle who really ran with the sidekick. Or rather, walked at a sedate pace. I don’t see Holmes as much of a runner, despite Mr Cumberbatch’s efforts. Not to mention the energetic Peter Cushing.
There followed an endless stream of super-smart detectives expounding to an all-agog associate. Charlie Chan to Number One Son, Morse to Lewis, Columbo to, well, anyone he was about to collar.
In modern crime fiction the tradition continues, although the inaccurate image of Nigel Bruce’s bumbling Watson has transformed, perhaps most noticeably in TV’s ‘Elementary’ in which the character is not only Holmes’ equal but a woman to boot.
Robert Crais’s Joe Pike is partners with Elvis Cole, but the sidekick role in this duo is interchangeable.
Similarly, John Connolly’s Charlie Parker can call on Louis and Angel when the going gets tough and he needs the tough to get going. But Parker’s more than capable himself.
The point is, nowadays they’re not so much sidekicks as a collaborators. The central protagonist may have to go it alone on occasion or as part of a team.
But he or she will never get by without his pals.
Douglas will be at Bloody Scotland this year in Scotland the Grave on Saturday 10th September, 12:15pm. His book Open Wounds is longlisted for this year's McIlvanney Prize.
Val McDermid: 5 tracks to write crime by
Because it's Bloody Scotland's fifth year we asked McIlvanney Prize 2016 longlister Val McDermid to reveal the top 5 songs that accompany her while she writes her books.
Private Investigations - Dire Straits
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9K27HvhDxA
Moody and dark, with a great guitar break from Mark Knopfler. I used to listen to this a lot when I was writing the Kate Brannigan private eye novels.
Von - Sigur Ros
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7M_gt_Zc44
I often listen to Sigur Ros when I'm writing. Because their lyrics aren't in English, they don't distract me and I love the way they blend the ethereal vocal with the very strong musical lines.
Struggle for Pleasure - Wim Mertens
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmtY6U0KwoI
I love Wim Mertens music. I find it good for concentration and also quite uplifting, which is always a good antidote to some of the dark places the work takes me. And his voice is quite extraordinary, which is also a good way to get into heads that are far from ordinary.
Dies Irae from the Requiem - WA Mozart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MQf-86ikvM
There comes a point close to the end of a book where I need a kick of energy to drive me forward and this is a track that does precisely that. It's a great surge of sound that impels me into action, profoundly serious and quite terrifying too.
Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts - Bob Dylan
This is one of those great story songs. It bounces along with an energy and brio that belies the darkness of the tale it tells. It's always good to be reminded of how to write tantalising mystery into a narrative. And it has one of my all-time favourite lines -- 'The only person on the scene missing was the Jack of Hearts.'
Splinter the Silence by Val McDermid is published by Sphere, £7.99.