It Seemed To Him A Very Edinburgh

I Started Writing Novels While An Undergraduate Student, In An Attempt To Make Sense Of The City Of Edinburgh, Using A Detective As My Protagonist. Each Book Hopefully Adds Another Piece To The Jigsaw That Is Modern Scotland, Asking Questions About The Nation's Politics, Economy, Psyche And History ... And Perhaps Pointing Towards Its Possible Future.

Was It All Inevitable, John?" Reeve Was Pushing His Fingers Across The Floor Of The Cell, Seated On His Haunches. I Was Lying On The Mattress. Yes," I Said. "i Think It Was. Certainly, It's Written That Way. The End Of The Book Is There Before The Beginning's Hardly Started.

I'm Often Asked How I Write Books, But I Don't Think My Approach Is Suitable For Everyone. If I Walked Into A Creative Writing Class, All I Could Say To Them Was 'i Tend To Make It Up As I Go Along.' I'm Not Sure That's Brilliant Advice.

Witches Never Existed, Except In People’s Minds. All There Was In The Olden Days Was Women And Some Men Who Believed In Herbal Cures And In Folklore And In The Wish To Fly. Witches? We’re All Witches In One Way Or Another. Witches Was The Invention Of Mankind, Son. We’re All Witches Beneath The Skin.

I Used To Think That: Whenever I Heard That Someone Had Taken 10 Years To Write A Novel, I'd Think It Must Be A Big, Serious Book. Now I Think, 'no - It Took You One Year To Write, And Nine Years To Sit Around Eating Kit Kats.