Back to your regularly scheduled Scottish crime fiction

First week of my Masters Degree this week. It's been really good, although I may not be reading for fun any time soon. Everyone on the course is really friendly. It was also my first week of tutoring a new creative writing class. I was nervous, but it turned out to be loads of fun (for me, at least...)

The mystery of Edinburgh's wonderful paper sculptures has been solved...but no-one's telling us who it is yet.

The Crime Time Cafe review's Russel McLean's THE LOST SISTER and sympathises with Russel about his missing L. And Oline Cogdill at the Sun Sentinel reviews Val McDermid's TRICK OF THE DARK.

And Val talks about the influence of Elinor M Brent Dyer's Chalet School books. And here's the link to the actual programme, which is excellent. I loved those books. I also loved Enid Blyton's Mallory Towers boarding school books. My Mum was very upset when I told her I wanted to go to boarding school and change my name to Wilhelmina. However, she finally worked out it was because I rather liked the idea of midnight feasts. Looking back, I am very glad my family were too poor to send me to boarding school. I still like midnight feasts though.

The Belfast Telegraph interviews Ian Rankin.

Dan Heap talks to Tony Black, Lin Anderson and Caro Ramsay about why Glasgow and Edinburgh are such great settings for crime fiction.

Get the benefit of Iain Banks' experience at a creative writing course. Or you could catch him at this event in Edinburgh next Wednesday.

The Dinner Detectives Book Club features M C Beaton.

Helen Fitzgerald - joint Queen of Scotland - with a heap of good news.

The always brilliant Douglas Lindsay on to tweet or not to tweet.

And, finally, happy birthday to the wonderful Glasgow Women's Library - 20 years old this week, and the place where I'm lucky enough to be doing my placement. It's the friendliest place imaginable, full of joy and excitement and I love being there.