Just returned from our second visit to Orkney this year, this time staying in Kirkwall to go to the first Orcrime festival. I didn't get to 'Bloody Scotland' (we were on our way to Orkney for an earlier holiday) so finding out about this was an unexpected treat.
And treat it was - Ann Cleeves, whose Shetland novels I'd read three of, before moving on to the Vera Stanhope novels - The Glass Room being especially interesting and useful to me dealing as it does with a writer's conference - Lin Anderson, who I'd only discovered after booking tickets but had found the fast pace of her Rhona MacLeod, forensic scientist, novels unputdownable, and Denise Mina whose 'Garnethill' I bought in February and was so astonished and admiring of I subsequently went and bought the rest in the Maureen O'Donnell series and the first of the Paddy Meehan and Alex Morrow books too.
All were vivid and entertaining speakers, all gave insights into their writing processes and all said that they did not plot ther novels so much as let their characters dictate direction.
My husband admitted that I am not the only one to 'do it wrong.'
Sounds like a great trip. Any pics of Orkney please?
ReplyDeleteDerek, if it's general photos of Orkney you're wanting I've several albums on http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandra_eaglescliffe/.
ReplyDeleteAlternatively, the best place for festival information is https://www.facebook.com/orkneylibraryandarchive - there's interview at least with Denise Mina.
I won a copy of her latest novel so was very well pleased with that!
I looked into the cost of going to Orkney. We can do America for less. There must be better ways to get there, but I don't seem able to find them.
ReplyDeleteThousand apologies for the Meerkat voice. I've removed him. (One of the perils of not using sound on my computers. I didn't know he played all the time.)