I am a little late with this post due to a well earned break in Angus and Fife. There is less than 2 weeks until the most important festival for Scottish Crime writers, so I thought I would discuss this somewhat on this month’s blog.
Bloody Scotland began in 2012, the brainchild of leading Scottish Crime Writers Lin Anderson and Alex Gray. They were later joined by Craig Robertson and Gordon Brown and the festival has grown year on year to become a real main stage of the festival circuit. Based in the beautiful city of Stirling, the festival is held over a weekend in September and attracts some of the biggest names in the genre.
The thing I like most about Bloody Scotland, is the general feel and mood within the surroundings. It does not have the pretentiousness of other literary festivals that I have attended and it seems that this helps the writers relax within the environment. I remember one of the first times I visited the festival, making my way to The Golden Lion and spotting Ian Rankin and Mark Billingham casually hanging around outside. Shyness prevented me from approaching, but I have no doubt they would have been most accommodating if I had been brave enough to strike up a conversation with them.
This year, I will be heading up on the Sunday to attend a few events and I am really excited to see some of my most admired writers, as well as arguably our leading criminologist, in the flesh. I also hope to get the chance to meet other authors, readers, book influencers and generally anyone who loves Scottish crime fiction. Achieving recognition in this year’s short story competition may help break some ice, but I’ll be happy to just attend and soak up the atmosphere on the day. Feel free to say hello if you see me passing.
I’m a few months into the release of my charity book, ‘Going to Firhill is Murder and Other Stories’, and so far I’ve managed to raise over £160. It’s always difficult to gauge interest in the story and number of copies one may be able to sell, but I’ve been very flattered by the feedback that the readers have given thus far. I remember one of my favourite Scottish singer songwriters (James Grant) once commenting on the sales of one of his albums as ‘Critically Acclaimed, Commercially Disastrous’. I’m not sure the book quite reaches that comment, but it would be nice to get some more funds raised for such a good cause.
Thank you if you have already bought the book and please share with others that you think may enjoy it.
Thanks again for reading this month’s blog. Going to Firhill is Murder and Other Stories is available via the options in its own tab on this website. More information on Jags for Good can be found on their socials @jagsforgood . You can also make a direct donation via my Just Giving page – https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/goingtofirhillismurder
Ross Alexander Writer 