If I had started this blog 3 days ago, I would have been able to write my first post as a body lay under a sheet in the next door neighbour's garden, and I was being interviewed by the police. Sadly, this post will be much more prosaic.
"Donna," I said to myself, "It's about time you got into this blogging malarkey."
"Really?" I said back to myself, munching on a Hob-Nob, "don't you think that everyone else does it so much better?"
"Well, there is that," I said, giving myself a glare. "But you could be a little more supportive here."
I shrugged, and said to myself "So, what's it going to be about anyway, this so-called blog of yours?"
"Well, I thought I might make it about Scottish crime fiction - you know - news, reviews, interviews, books set in Scotland, authors from Scotland...and other stuff."
"And does 'other stuff'mean any old nonsense that you get the urge to write about, even if it's total rubbish?"
"Well...yes."
"Thought so. Now, pass me another Hob-Nob and stop talking to yourself."
So, there you have it. Welcome to Badsville. Please let me know if I have missed out any Scottish authors, or authors with books set primarily in Scotland, because I know I don't have them all. There were some authors I couldn't find websites for so I've not included them. And if there's anything you'd like to see, please let me know. And if you want a Hob-Nob, just let me know that too - I'd love to hear from you.
Donna
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Criminy, that's a long list o' links. Blog long and prosper,
ReplyDeletePeter (delayed an hour by a late-arriving plane)
Looking good, Ms Broad ... and the blog isn't bad either. Best of luck with the new project, I'll be rootin' for ya ...
ReplyDeleteCheers, Dec
Good luck with this blog, Donna. I read that you are talking to yourself which is a good start and the odd body next door helps as well. Will your be covering other great Scottish writers of fiction such as Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson and Alistair Darling.
ReplyDeleteSeriously wasn't John Buchan Scottish?
All the best wishes, D. Looking forward to whatever it is you have to say, as I'm sure it will be flat-out interesting.
ReplyDeleteWelcome, Donna - I am convinced your new bloggyventure will be far more nutritious than a few pesky HobNobs.
ReplyDeleteDammit, now I have a craving for Hob Nobs and all I have is chocolate-covered digestives.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, Ms Moore, welcome to the wide and wonderful world of bloggifying! Looking forward to seeing what you have to say!
Good luck. I'll be popping in pretty regularly.
ReplyDeleteCheers all - I'm hoping to have fun and thank you for visiting. I shall try and make it interesting enough for you to come back from time to time. Norm - suggestions noted - ta muchly. Russel - emergency Hob-Nobs on way. Watch out for the helicopter
ReplyDeleteAh, this is the blog the world has been waiting for!
ReplyDeleteWelcome!
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with the blogging and I will stop in occasionally if you don't mind.
ReplyDeleteAs if I needed another daily daily blog to read! It will be daily, won't it?
ReplyDeleteWhat are Hob-Knobs??
Dorte - hardly!
ReplyDeleteDavid - mind? Mind? I shall be chuffed to little mintballs.
Bookwitch - Yes - daily. And here's the skinny (or should I say the fatty) on Hob-Nobs
http://www.nicecupofteaandasitdown.com/biscuits/previous.php3?item=12
Welcome to the blog-o-sphere! Where we all seem so much tougher than we are in real life.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the blogosphere ~ especially the crime fiction nook. Looking forward to hearing more. I've enjoyed Peter Turnbull and Ian Rankin (along with everyone else) and Scottish author Gerald Hammond (The Keith Calder mystereis among many, many others has been a friend and correspondent for two decades.
ReplyDeleteKeith - shhhhhhhh - don't let people know I'm not tough!
ReplyDeleteBish8 - thank you - I have added Gerald Hammond
Thanks to everyone who has given me suggestions - all now added.
Looks fab, dollface - great start. :D (Um... I have no Hob-Nobs either. Do you think Russel's emergency helicopter could nip a wee way south...?)
ReplyDeleteWell, I shall be logging on to this on a regular basis!
ReplyDeleteNice start Donna. How about Kate Atkinson (studied in Dundee, lives in Edinburgh)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.kateatkinson.co.uk/
I'm following you here from Crimespace and Facebook, I admit, but I swear I'm not a stalker. I mean, I live on the other side of the pond. And though my last name is German, my two grandmothers were named McKee and Scott, so genetically I write Scottish crime fiction. Sort of.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Excellent start Donna!
ReplyDeleteThere's also Pat Sweet who wrote TROUBLED WATERS a while back and AFAIK never wrote anything else. And The Sisters Whatstheirface who wrote that twee Scottish cosy I chucked at the wall after thirty pages last year
That'll be The Mulgray Twins, perhaps. Each to their own taste. I thought they were quite well written, but if you don't like cosies then you wouldnae like it :-)
ReplyDeleteHow about Ken Bruen, Donna?
www.kenbruen.com
I'm not sure MacBride or Banks count as authors. I've always thought of them as mentally ill alcoholics who happen to have been given keyboards to play with as part of their ongoing therapy.
ReplyDeleteThanks all :o)
ReplyDeleteJack - I'd like to see a certified copy of your family tree please :o)
Tim - have added Kate Atkinson - thank you. I'd love to claim Ken, but not sure he would thank me!
Jim - I looked for Pat Sweet, but can find nothing remotely resembling a web page :o(
John - LOL - I will add a special category of links
Jools - biccies incoming.
Hello Bonnie. Jetted over from Peter Rozovsky's blog and wanted to wish you the very best! And now I have a way to vicariously visit Bonnie Scotland again as I've lived in Edinburgh for nearly a year in 1985. It truly was one of the highlights of my life! The most wonderful and gregarious people! Am looking forward to revisiting, Bonnie. Petra :))
ReplyDeleteGood to see you blogging, Donna. All the best for it!
ReplyDeletePetra and cfr - thank you - and thanks for visiting :o)
ReplyDeleteVery attractive blog, interesting content, but how can you mention a body under a sheet in the garden and you helping the police with their inquiries and nothing more? We call that "one shoe dropping" over here.
ReplyDeleteLOL. Thank you. And here's the full story:
ReplyDeletehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profiles/blogs/its-a-fair-cop-guv
Oh, that explains it. Thanks. My older son had a similar experience when the tenant above him decided to off himself one day. Or perhaps he OD'd. The officers didn't say. Probably because they didn't know. But they did block the stairwell with that yellow tape. After removing the remains.
ReplyDeleteHey Donna,
ReplyDeleteGee, I got here via a couple of links off a pulp blog located in the Philippines. How weird is that! Your introductory post is fun and you write really well (oh and your photo is really nice too. Are you married? No, don't answer that, I live on the other side of the big water anyway). I like old hard-boiled crime fiction so actually your blog is about stuff that's waaay too new for me... HOWEVER... I wanted to comment on your blog title: I see you don't have The Cramps among your fave bands? Shame on you girlie! You used the title from that fave LP of theirs and didn't even mention it, LOL. Btw (maybe I would know this if I'd read thru all your posts but, well, I haven't) is crime fiction only a hobby for you or is it somehow something you do for a living, as a writer or reviewer or something?
Anyway, I'm rambling. Best of luck with the blog.
All the best
Jack J
Hi Jack,
ReplyDeleteThank you, kind sir, for your lovely comments, you rascal :o) I love the old stuff too. In fact, there's a feature on a number of blogs called Friday's Forgotten Books in which I am going to participate every 2 or 3 weeks. My most recent entry was this one:
http://bigbeatfrombadsville.blogspot.com/2009/08/fridays-forgotten-books-walk-dark.html
I have a small but perfectly formed pile of Gold Medal paperbacks and the like - Day Keene, Peter Rabe, my favourite - Richard S Prather. One of my favourites is Nightmare Alley by William Lindsay Gresham - which is way darker than the film (which I also love). The Cramps! Of COURSE they are one of my favourite bands (hence the blog title - and I saw them in the early 80s too - they were amazing) so I went and looked at my list on my profile and somehow loads of favourites have disappeared. Like you, I love punk (but mines is the UK late 70s version :o)). I see you have the Ministry on your list - I love Jesus Built My Hotrod. So I have updated my list and hope they stay there this time :o)
You HAVEN'T read through all my posts? Shame on you, sir! Just kidding - that would be torture beyond everything. I do write. My second book is coming out next year.
Anyway, thank your for stopping by and for your kind words - made my day - and I hope you will visit again. Well, if you don't you won't see my reply will you? :o)
Take care,
Donna
Hi again Donna,
ReplyDeleteWell, I might not have seen your reply if it hadn't been for the fact that you were so nice as to leave a message on my own blog, LOL. And thank you for that, Donna, I appreciate that. Don't you just hate it when people don't get back to you, LOL.
You love The Cramps! Good onya!!! I saw them too, not in 1980 but a decade later. I'm sure you've learnt the sad news of Lux Interior's passing a couple of months back. Heartbreaking!
And you love punk and you live with migraines! Gee, are you a female version of me!? Haha. Unfortunately, I've had migraines since I was five (I fell off a plastic scooter). I don't think I went on one single school excursion without getting sick :-(
Oh well, that's life.
Hey I read your 'Walk the Dark Streets' review. Good stuff. And you mentioned The Cramps in the comments section; you ARE a fan. LOL. Maybe I SHOULD drop by once in a while after all. :D
All the best
Jack
PS: Gee, you're a published writer! Wauw. Congrats! I'm afraid I haven't quite accomplished that ... altho I did publish a fanzine called 'Stay Sick!' years ago. LOL.
I just found your blog and want to say thank you ! It is really nice post thanks for sharing and just keep up the good work !
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