Stuart MacBride

[Kell]

Stuart MacBride
Website

Books
Cold Granite
Dying Light
Broken Skin
~~***~~

I’m kind of excited about this month’s featured author, as I’ve been devouring his books as soon as they come out! These are crime thrillers with a pitch-black sense of humour running throughout that perfectly reflects the Northern mentality – well, they are set in Aberdeen, after all!

Stuart will be with us throughout October to answer any questions our members may have.

to the forum, Stuart – it’s great to have you here!

[Purple Poppy]

This is the impetus to get reading again! I still have the second and third books to read.
And folks, he is such a lovely man...takes time to talk to everyone!

[Stuart MacBride]

A lovely man eh? I fear you've been drinking, PP, but thank you.

I'll be here all month (try the shrimp), popping in and out between bouts of horrible editing and the odd event. Like the Inverness Book Festival on Wednesday and the post-Inverness Book Festival Hangover on Thursday.

Ah the joys...

[Louiseog]

right Cold Granite is next!

Who inspires you, scares you? (authorwise really)

[Purple Poppy]

Oh my goodness Stuart! I didn't realise you were already around LOL.
But it is nevertheless true. You took the time to talk to everyone individually on the day we met you. It's much appreciated.
Pp

[sooz1uk]

I first read 'Cold Granite' last year after it was chosen as a read in my reading group (The Posh Club - based in Aberdeen) and have since gone on myself to read your other two books 'Dying Light' and 'Broken Skin' and I thoroughly enjoyed reading all three of them. Was wondering if you have any plans to write more?

[Stuart MacBride]

I think the people who really inspire me are writers like R.D.Wingfield (sadly no longer with us, but he wrote the books A TOUCH OF FROST were based on), Val McDermid, Mark Billingham, and Larry Niven believe it or not.

I think I take something from every book I read, whether it's 'Jesus, I'm going to have to try harder to come even close to this...' to 'Holy **** that was bloody awful. NEVER, EVER do something that bad!'

The only person who scares me - writer or otherwise - is me. I know what actually goes on inside my head...

[Stuart MacBride]

Originally Posted by sooz1uk

Was wondering if you have any plans to write more?

Hi Sooz,

Glad you liked them! And yes, I do indeed have another one in the pipeline, no so much on the horizon as bearing down on me like a Sumo wrestler in spandex pants. I'm editing the fourth Logan McRae book at the moment and I've got about... 4, maybe 5 days more to do, then there'll be a huge chunk of typing up to do.

FLESH HOUSE (as it's going to be called) will be out in the UK in May 2008. And after that I've got a contract for another two Logan books with HarperCollins, so I'm still going to be doing this in 2010.

After that, I'm thinking about becoming a plumber.

[sooz1uk]

Thanks so much for your message Stuart. You have made my day. The message I left was the first message I had ever put on a forum and it was so nice to get a reply from you

[jenmck]

Here's a writer question. Do you plot? And do your characters talk to you?

[Inver]

Cold Granite is the only one I have read although hubby enjoyed your second too. We love the sweetie eating police boss. What made you do that? And why did you make the weather so bad?

[Stuart MacBride]

Originally Posted by jenmck

Here's a writer question. Do you plot? And do your characters talk to you?

So... do I make this **** up as I go along, and am I schizophrenic?

Hmm...

Sort of, and sometimes.

I use mind maps to get an overview of what the story's going to be about and some of the things that are going to happen. A novel takes up pretty much the whole whiteboard in my study (a short story takes a sheet of A4) and once I reach the edges of the board I sit down and start to write. I'll usually go back and replan 2 or 3 times during a book to keep up with all the little stuff that pops up while I'm writing that I didn't expect. Sometimes these are pretty major deviances from the original plot, but it's all grist to the whatnot.

As to the talking characters: some days it's easier than others, but as I'm not a complete crazy person I don't actually talk to them. I know what they're likely to say in any given situation and I write it down, simple as that. I'm not a big believer in all this 'channelling characters as if they're real people' stuff. They're not real people, I made them up. I am their GOD and they will worship me or suffer the consequences!

AAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!