This weekend it was my Mum's birthday, so we took a trip to surprise her. Last time I surprised my Mum for her birthday she burst into tears and said "This reminds me of the time your Granddad arrived with a lorry load of horse manure." This time, she just cried. Result.
My parents live in a complex with a lot of other...ahem...people of a certain age (most of whom, apparently, are dangerous when in possession of a mobility scooter, if these signs are to be believed. All of them knew about my visit as my Dad had told everyone except my Mum. One of them stopped me in the hallway to chat. The conversation, as is its wont, turned to crime fiction (it turns out he's an Ian Rankin fan). "Are you the lady who writes books?" he said.
"Well, yes, I suppose I am," said I.
"I'd love to read it," said my new friend.
"Weeeeeeell, there's a lot of swearing in it."
"I don't mind."
So I went into my parents' flat. "I need to get your copy of OLD DOGS to give to Brian."
"What?!" shrieked my mother. "You can't do that." She jumped off the chair (and with her dodgy knees too) and barged past me. "Brian, you can't read our Donna's book."
"Why not?"
"It's full of bad language. You think she's a nice girl, but she's not." She did, however, have an alternative solution. She went back inside and brought out GO TO HELENA HANDBASKET. "Here, take this one. It's weird, but there's less swearing."
Errrrr...thanks Mum.
Ian Rankin doesn't understand his first book.
An interview with Kate Atkinson. And a couple of reviews of STARTED EARLY, TOOK MY DOG.
More on the fight to save Conan Doyle's home.
If you're in Brighton on 20 November, you can go and see Louise Welsh.
The Coast Reporter has an article on Grant McKenzie.
William McIlvanney is taking a break from crime to write a book about Sean Connery.
KansasCity.com on Alexander McCall Smith's CORDUROY MANSIONS, The Musings Of A Dreamer on Iain Banks' THE WASP FACTORY, and Reading For The Joy Of It reviews Quintin Jardine's BLOOD RED.
And, finally, apparently, Scotland has more book festivals than anywhere else in the world. Yay for us!
Donna - You're such a good daughter : ). And thanks, as always, for this roundup of news. I always like these reminders of what's going on in the crime fiction world, bad language or no ; ).
ReplyDeleteDonna,
ReplyDeleteCongrats on OLD DOGS. Was able to find an indie bookstore, not far from my house that I can get it from. The reviews look great and I'm looking forward to reading it!
Thank you Margot - can you try and persuade my mum of that!
ReplyDeleteSean - thank you. It's out in the US any time now (should be some time in August).
I won´t take any bullshit, but I find it very hard to resist a load of Glaswegian horse shit.
ReplyDeleteThe Senior Cat would absolutely love a load pf that stuff for his birthday!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to reading the book!
Dorte - ba-boom tissssch :o)
ReplyDeleteCatdownunder - I wouldn't fancy the job of wrapping it in birthday paper. And I hope you enjoy it (the book, not the horse manure) :o)
Happy Birthday Mrs. Moore! Sorry it reminded you about a lorry of horse manure, but good result, Donna! :-)
ReplyDeleteI do think those mobility scooters can run into people and cause damage! Oh Donna, wouldn't this be a great plot point for further Old Dogs adventures! :-) Wonder what is in that carry bag on that scooter? Is it wrapped? And why they look like they are racing! :-) Sorry, OLD DOGS has created a very odd mindset at times, here in the cornfields. :-)
Loved the story of your Mum not letting your book be given away because of bad language. There were some great words in that book! I've really enlarged my vocabulary! I don't have the Glaswegian accent, but I do use the words, sometimes! And Mrs. Moore, Donna's writing portrays those people so well, Donna isn't swearing, those characters are, and it fits their personas. :-) Very well. :-) Donna, please have OLD DOGS recorded, unabridged, in true accents of Glasgow and other places where the characters were from, and available to buy! I'd love hearing it! Well, I guess one purchaser doesn't an audio contract make...sigh.
Great photo, Moores, and again Happy BDay, Mrs. Moore--a bit late, but well meant!
Bobbie
Bobbie - I'm laughing thinking of you using Glaswegian slang where you live! Maybe in that lovely little restaurant on the square, or the fancy gift shop, or the bank :o)
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