Today I'm delighted to welcome
CRAIG ROBERTSON
for the Bloody Scotland blog tour
to share his BEST OF CRIME ...
... AUTHORS
Lawrence Block. Picking just one isn’t easy or fair but if I can’t also choose James Elroy, William McIlvanney, Ian Rankin or Alexandra Sokoloff, my other principal influences, then I’ll opt for Mr Block. His Bernie Rhodenbarr books in particular are masterclasses in character, location and plot. They are laugh out loud funny, stylish and compelling.
I had the pleasure of chatting with Larry last week at Bouchercon in St Petersburg and I can happily report that he’s as smart, funny and insightful in person as between the pages of his books.
... FILMS/MOVIES
LA Confidential. Movies rarely translate the feel of a book as well as this one does. It drips in sweat and shimmers in the heat of steamy summer nights as you sway to the beat of bebop and booze. Elroy’s web of corruption, cops and copulation is brought vividly to life. Trust no one, suspect everyone, watch your back and never take your eyes off the screen.
... TV DRAMAS
The Wire. I came to this this show very late, after years of everyone telling me how good it was, and it turned out they were absolutely right all along. When I finally got to it, I was completely hooked and promptly binged five seasons in as many weeks. The volatile, interconnected lives of those on both sides of the law in Baltimore are shocking, heartbreaking, funny and irresistible. The Wire contains some of my favourite characters in any form of drama, whether on the page or the screen. Bunk, Omar, McNulty, Lester, Kima, Snoop. I miss them!
... FICTIONAL KILLERS
Norman Bates. Take your pick if you want Robert Bloch’s cold, sweaty misogynist or Hitchcock’s more sympathetic - but just as deadly - movie variation. Either way this mummy’s boy is the stuff of enduring nightmares, a killer for the ages. That his name so immediately resonates nearly sixty years later is testament to his chilling creation.
... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES
John Rebus. Gruff and dour, a pint in one hand and a smoke in the other, carrying the reminders of every glove that laid him down, Rebus was the blueprint for so many that came after. Brilliantly crafted by Ian Rankin, Rebus is the first cop you’d want on your side. An old devil on the side of the angels, he’d also be my first choice to go for a beer with.
... MURDER WEAPONS
I’m struggling to think of anything unusual so I’m going to cheat and use one of my own. In my debut Random, all the crimes had to be out of the ordinary to ensure media attention. One victim had a rolled up newspaper stuffed down their throat, another was frozen to death, one had his mouth taped and nostrils glued together. My personal favourite is probably the unfortunate supermarket worker who was administered pure liquid nicotine and came to a very messy and undignified end on Till 18. My murders have probably been more mundane - but more meaningful - since then, although my new book is set to change that again.
... DEATH SCENES
The most traumatic remains the shooting of Bambi’s mother. If there was one crime, factual or fictional, that I’d like to see solved and the murderer brought to justice, it would be this. Forget Jack the Ripper, the Black Dahlia or even who really shot JFK, I want that hunter named, shamed and strapped to Old Sparky till his sideburns sizzle.
I was taken to see Bambi in a cinema that has long since been torn down when I was about five. I cried. A lot.
... BLOGS/WEBSITES
Google Maps. YouTube. Hidden Glasgow. 28 Days Later (an urban exploring site). These are some of my most used websites for research, whether it’s for finding houses, pubs, how-to advice or fun new murder sites.
... WRITING TIPS
Don’t write what you know. Write what you care about.
... WRITING SNACKS
I frequently forget to eat when I’m writing. I actually have a very bad habit of forgetting to stand, eat or go to the toilet. Subsequently, my legs don’t always work when I eventually remember to take a break or finish for the night. So, if I have to pick a writing snack, I think it might be a shiraz or a rioja.
About CRAIG ROBERTSON
Craig Robertson is a Sunday Times bestselling author, and his debut novel, Random, was shortlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger. His novel Murderabilia was longlisted for the UK’s top crime fiction awards, including Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2017 and the McIlvanney Prize 2017. During his twenty-year career with a Scottish Sunday newspaper, Craig Robertson interviewed three recent prime ministers and reported on major stories including 9/11, the Dunblane school massacre, the Omagh car bombing, and the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
Find Craig Robertson on his website, on his Facebook page and on Twitter - @CraigRobertson_
About BLOODY SCOTLAND
Bloody Scotland established itself as the leading Scottish International Crime Writing Festival in 2012 with acclaimed writers Lin Anderson and Alex Gray at the helm, then joined by Craig Robertson and Gordon Brown. Based in Stirling, Bloody Scotland has brought hundreds of crime writers new and established to the stage with always enthusiastic attendees who make the festival every bit as much as the writers do.
Priding ourselves as the literary festival where you can let down your hair and enjoy a drink at the bar with your favourite crime writer, we strive to put on entertaining as well as informative events during a weekend in September, covering a range of criminal subjects from fictional forensics, psychological thrillers, tartan noir, cosy crime and many more. With an international focus at the heart of Bloody Scotland, we are always looking to bring in crime writing talent from outside of Scotland whom you may not have heard about. You might, however, knows us for our annual Scotland vs England football cup which always draws a crowd and inevitably ends in tears for someone…
The Bloody Scotland Team 2018: Lin Anderson, Gordon Brown, Craig Robertson, Jenny Brown, Muriel Binnie, Catriona Reynolds, Bob McDevitt, Laura Jones, Abir Mukherjee, Fiona Brownlee & Tim Donald
To find out more, visit the Bloody Scotland website here and follow Bloody Scotland on Twitter - @BloodyScotland
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