Three things

In the last week I’ve done three things I’d never expected to do in my life. Two of them I enjoyed immensely, one of them went against every fibre of my soul. On Thursday, I was Maid-Of-Honor at my friend’s civil partnership wedding. It was a beautiful day, overflowing with love, and best of all […]

That old saw magic

It’s that time of year again where a young man finds himself carrying a piano up and down the old streets of Auld Reekie in search of some punters to weird out with the aid of his saw wielding sidekick. In short, the Edinburgh Fringe is nearly upon us and, as has become the custom […]

My Sweet Lord

Last time I felt like this was a little over ten and a half years ago. Some friends and I went to see Masters Of Reality at the Garage in Glasgow and, before the band came on, Chris Goss opened the set with a solo acoustic rendition of My Sweet Lord. Because George Harrison had […]

The recent reading

So I’ve been busy, so I missed the May reading update. Not that there was a *heck of a lot* to report. Anyway, June has now slipped by as well, so I may as well roll it all up in one post. I managed two novels over the last couple of months, and both were […]

Euro 2012 Final

Proof, if it were needed, that the TTA Press sweepstake finalists, Jim Steel and Chris Murdoch, congregated in a West End pub to duke it out during the final of Euro 2012. The occasion was a rematch of the World Cup Final of two years ago and, sadly for Jim (whose team were Holland on […]

Words and Music

Found myself in Edinburgh last night for a bit of a special books and music event in neat little bookshop that was new to me called Pulp Fiction. The shop itself, carrying a well chosen selection of crime and SF/Fantasy books, is well worth a visit. Its high-stacked shelves remind me of the old Murder […]

Busyness and business

Bit of a hiatus here, but they happen from time to time, usually when I’m too busy to blog. And such is definitely the way right now. Remember a few months ago I made a list of all the creative stuff I’ve got going on at the moment? Well most of them are competing to […]

That time again

This week sees the start of the Euro 2012 football tournament and yet again I’ve been put in charge of the TTA Press sweepstake. Loyal readers of this blog will remember that last time round (for the World Cup) we invited a local cabaret celebrity to make the draw. Well, this time we went one […]

Stag & Dagger as a stream of consciousness, because that’s how it felt (in a good way)

So, there’s a plan, and the plan sees me and SiMurnie in the basement of The Captain’s (what no “Rest” now?) at 2pm of the first sunny afternoon since nineteen canteen but it doesn’t matter because Stag & Dagger festival openers, Michael Anguish, kick things off with a grit-and-diesely set with closer, The Rope, crawling around our […]

Other Worlds Other Dimensions

I’ve been asked by the Scottish Writers Centre to take part in a discussion event at the CCA next week entitled: Other World Other Dimensions. Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Paranormal. Do they have a place in Literature? I have to admit that I find that last part a little provocative–I wonder if the panel will agree on […]