Give Me The Blue M&Ms and Some Dancing Girls

First of all - huge congratulations to Russel McLean on his Shamus nomination.

How health problems inspired Paul Johnston.

You can now check if you're a beneficiary of Conan Doyle's will.

A few reviews, starting with one of Louise Welsh's play, MEMORY CELLS. Next, Rhapsody in Books reviews Ian Rankin's THE NAMING OF THE DEAD, Permanently Weird on Irvine Welsh's REHEATED CABBAGE, Musings and Wanderings enjoyed Philip Kerr's A GERMAN REQUIEM, Milo's Rambles calls Caro Ramsay's DARK WATER 'astounding' and a double-header of Peter May reviews from Cicero's Children.

More on the Wigtown Book Festival line-up with Ian Rankin and Val McDermid amongst others.

An interesting post in the Huffington Post from Otto Penzler on why PIs can't be noir.

And, finally, are writers the new rock and roll stars? Is Ian Rankin going to throw a TV out of a window? Is Allan Guthrie going to want an Iggy Pop style rider? (I particularly like page 15). And, on the back of his Shamus nomination, is Russel McLean going to go all LL Cool J and demand a bottle of baby oil and 2 dozen thornless roses? So, dear reader, what would your rider be?

I Wanna Be Sedated

This might be the last post for this week - I have a colonoscopy on Thursday and apparently I'm not allowed to drink alcohol, operate machinery or sign important documents afterwards. The ramblings of a semi-sedated person with a sore bottom would probably not make for entertaining reading...or maybe they would. Either way, I'd better stay away from the computer. I can't say it's something I'm looking forward to - it's not the camera that bothers me, it's the camera crew...

Anyway, I'm sure that comes under the heading of Too Much Information, so back to your regularly scheduled Scottish crime fiction.

First of all, here's Aly Monroe with a lovely post on the inspiration for Peter Cotton.

Karin Slaughter says there isn't a better crime writer writing today than Denise Mina. And a review of STILL MIDNIGHT from Mostly Fiction.

Crime Watch reviews ALL THE COLOURS OF THE TOWN by Liam McIlvanney, the Mystery Maven enjoyed Russel McLean's sweary THE GOOD SON, and the Scottish Sunday Herald with an excellent review of Craig Russell's THE LONG GLASGOW KISS.

The Skinny has a supplement for the new Unbound strand of the Edinburgh Book Festival (pdf document). It looks great.

The Straits Times calls Stuart MacBride's DARK BLOOD "a bleedin' great thriller."

Ian Rankin will be appearing at the Galway Arts Festival which starts on July 12th.

Margot Kinberg with an interesting and thoughtful post on sleuths and their backstories.

And, finally, Edinburgh's Saughton Prison gets an award for its library. Excellent stuff.

Summery Sunday Summary

Some of my favourite books get some excellent reviews - first of all Russel McLean's THE GOOD SON, then Sea Minor really enjoys Ray Banks' DONKEY PUNCH, and Helen Fitzgerald's MY LAST CONFESSION is pronounced to be uncomfortable, witty and warm-hearted.

The Independent visits Alexander McCall Smith, while the Sunday Star Times reviews THE DOG WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD, and Mattie Rawson enjoyed THE DOUBLE COMFORT SAFARI CLUB.

More on the Tony Black and Allan Guthrie double act.

Ian Rankin talks about books and music at the Galway Arts Festival on July 20th. And, talking of Ian Rankin, I'm not sure how old this interview is but it popped up in my google alert for Ian today.

Yet more reviews for Scottish crime fiction- Webbweaver calls Craig Robertson's RANDOM "deliciously disturbing", a reviewlet of Kate Atkinson's ONE GOOD TURN, Creative Loafing recommends Denise Mina as a great summer read, and an audiobook review of Peter May's THE RUNNER.

Lin Anderson becomes plot advisor for Brocken Spectre - a film based on the myth of the Big Grey Man of Ben McDhui, which is being made by a youth-run, non-profit, independent film company in the Scottish Highlands.

And finally, I'm a bit late with this one, and he's not Scottish, but here's an article on the demise of midlist authors, using as an example one of my favourite authors, Charlie Williams, and his brilliant Royston Blake series.

Heading North By North West

Well, it's official, I am definitely going back to Alaska in May - yippee! I have a guarantee that I am going to get to spend time with my lovely friend Mary, plus I am going to get to visit Stony River (population 65), a village that I haven't yet been to, where they want me to attend a Fine Arts Festival they are putting on, flying in the students from all the Upriver Schools. The students will take part in a number of activities and one of them this year will be writing something, with a view to publishing or performing it. I can't wait. As long as they don't expect me to paint or dance, we should be OK...

Talking of festivals, Ian Rankin is currently in India. You can follow him at the Lit Sutra Blog. Or you could follow Ian himself on Twitter. In which case you will be treated to such wonderful comments as "Postcard 2. Now in Kolkata. 26 degrees but not humid and no midges. Curries eaten: 11. Kingfishers drunk: 28. Meeting readers: priceless." Marvellous stuff. And BooksPlease has an excellent write-up of Ian's recent award from West Lothian Libraries.

Marcel Berlins in the Times rather likes Scottish crime writers Catriona MacPherson and Tony Black, and calls Tony Black "a compelling and convincing portrayer of raw emotions in a vicious milieu." Excellent. And a good review of Russel McLean's THE GOOD SON at nightsandweekends.com.

Charles Cumming talks about spying and books on YouTube.

Poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy on Glasgow's Aye Write festival.

And, finally, Douglas Lindsay is good to his readers. This isn't the first time he's posted short stories online and, apparently, it won't be the last.

Lukewarm Off The Press

A busy weekend this weekend so I am setting this post up to appear automatically on Sunday. I'm off to the ballet on Saturday to see Matthew Bourne's Dorian Gray, and then on Sunday it's the Pixies supported by great Scottish band Sons and Daughters. From the sublime to the sublime. So the news will be a tad old by the time this post appears but I hope you will forgive me for only having my finger on the pulse of a two day old corpse.

Both The Independent and Norm at Crimescraps review Philip Kerr's IF THE DEAD RISE NOT. And Norm is obviously in Philip Kerr mode.

Jay Stringer interviews the lovely Ray Banks over at Do Some Damage.


Craig Sisterson talks about Stuart MacBride. And more Stuart along with Ian Rankin and Alex Gray at the Inverness Book Festival, and here.

A couple of reviews for Val McDermid as top bloke Declan Burke reviews FEVER OF THE BONE in The Irish Times. And another in The Mail.

The List on Canongate, Cave and the future of publishing.

Chapter 10 of Alexander McCall Smith's latest Corduroy Mansions novel in the Telegraph.

Jake Kerridge in The Guardian on Ian Rankin's THE COMPLAINTS.


And finally, the Russel McLean competition will close Monday night. I have had a few (mostly wrong) entries. If you look closely I did mention that Russel is a 'fun guy'... I will draw a winner on Tuesday morning.