The net has provided a level playing field for criticism and comment - anyone and everyone is entitled to their opinion - and that is one of its grea….

History is full of blank spaces, but good stories, invariably, are not..

Historical fiction of course is particularly research-heavy. The details of everyday life are there to trip you up. Things that we take for granted, ….

Researching books gets you into nothing but trouble..

For me, writing stories set, well, wherever they're best set, is a form of cultural curiosity that is uniquely Scottish - we're famous for travelling….

It is one of the benchmarks of a culture I always think – the page at which it operates. A good way to measure it is to order a taxi and see how irat….

I had never really understood what an adventure life could be, if you followed your heart and did what you really wanted to do, which is what we must….

I always thought that bagels and lox was my soul food, but it turns out it's sushi..

Without archives many stories of real people would be lost, and along with those stories, vital clues that allow us to reflect and interpret our live….

Scotland consistently produces world-class writers..

I find it inspiring to actively choose which traditions to celebrate and also come up with new ideas for traditions of my own..

I didn't expect to love being online as much as I do. I've met some wonderful people and discovered that however arcane some of my interests that the….

Copywriters, journalists, mainstream authors, ghostwriters, bloggers and advertising creatives have as much right to think of themselves as good writ….

Research material can turn up anywhere - in a dusty old letter in an archive, a journal or some old photographs you find in a charity shop..

I jealously guard my research time and I love fully immersing myself in those dusty old books and papers. It's one of the most enjoyable parts of my ….

There is something particularly fascinating about seeing places you know in a piece of art - be that in a film, or a photograph or painting..

I'm a library user and I just don't hoard books. To me, they're for sharing..

It is through our extended family that we first learn to compromise and come to an understanding that even if we don't always agree about things we c….

The law don't like jazz clubs. No one wants anything to do with that kind of trouble..

For a novelist, the gaps in a story are as intriguing as material that still exists..

Books exist for me not as physical entities with pages and binding, but in the province of my mind..