Happy New Year to One and All

To all my friends, family, readers and followers I want to send you all my best wishes for 2019. I hope you enjoy happiness, health and wealth, as well as success in everything you do.





But for me, it's time to take stock because that’s another year gone. They seem to whiz past so quickly now. I’m dashed if I know where the time has gone and what I’ve done with it.

As I recall I made some resolutions last New Year. So how did I do?

Well, I suppose you could say the first one was a bit mixed because I did publish Death of a Doxy this past year, but it was in March and not January which is what I had resolved to do. So, half marks for that. Full marks for publishing the book but a half mark deducted for not getting it out on time.

The second resolution was kept because I did plan the next book in the Dundee Crime Series. However, I lost my mojo about 20,000 words in because another idea pushed its way to the front of my mind and I started to work on a completely different book which was burning to be born. So, no top marks there either.

The third one was to write faster. I’m afraid that resolution was a dismal failure. It never got off the ground. Maybe it’s just as well because I’m a bit of a perfectionist and I know I wouldn’t be pleased with a rushed job.

So, it’s time to make some resolutions for 2019

Resolution 1 – Work hard writing the new book and publish it in 2019. This one is the first book of a completely new mystery series. The series will be labelled the Suffragette Mysteries and is set earlier in the century in 1908 but, although the book is progressing well, it doesn’t actually have a title yet. I’m sure inspiration will strike before I write "The End".

Resolution 2 – Return to my partly written book 4 in the Dundee Crime Series and finish it. Is it too much to hope for that I will be able to publish this one in 2019 as well?

Resolution 3 – Try my best to write faster, set goals and brush up my work ethic. However, I must not let that get in the way of the quality of the finished book. That wouldn’t be fair to my readers.

And, once again, I won’t make a resolution to market and promote better because, as you already know, that goes against the grain. Once again I will think myself lucky if my lovely readers spread the word, provided they enjoy reading my books. After all, a writer is nothing without readers.

So, I'll raise a glass to you and wish you a Happy New Year.

Chris Longmuir

Website

Amazon Author page

Kirsty Campbell Investigates

An invitation especially for you just in case you missed the invitations I sent out over the last few weeks. I wouldn’t want you to miss out on the book launch of my new Kirsty Campbell mystery, Death of a Doxy.

In this new mystery, Kirsty, Dundee’s first policewoman, is up to her eyes in a new investigation and is convinced her boss, DI Jamie Brewster, has got it all wrong.

Lily, one of Big Aggie’s girls in her house of pleasure, is savagely murdered and Big Aggie is found covered in blood beside the body. It seems an open and shut case but Kirsty is not so sure. Unable to get Brewster to listen to her reservations she sets out to uncover Lily’s secrets which she is sure will lead her to the killer. But this killer will do anything to avoid detection and Kirsty finds herself in danger where her life is at stake. Will she come through unscathed this time? I’m not telling!

I’ll be talking about the book in more depth at the launch and introduce you to Kirsty who is both feisty and vulnerable in equal measures. She is an unusual and interesting main character and I’m sure there will be many more adventures for her in Dundee.

Look what I found at Waterstones

 If you are anywhere in the vicinity on Thursday evening do pop in and say hello to me.

Chris Longmuir

PS: If you like the sound of Kirsty you can buy the book at:

Waterstones

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Chris’s Website

Chris’s Amazon Author Page

Happy New Year and what happened to last year’s resolutions

Well, that’s another year in and it seems to have whizzed by, it doesn’t seem like yesterday I was making my New Year resolutions and I bet you’re wondering whether I managed to keep them. So here goes:

2017 resolutions – how did I do?

First resolution – Publish my nonfiction book “Nuts & Bolts of Self-Publishing” before the end of January – I almost made it because I published it on 6th February 2017. I was only 6 days out. And I’m really pleased at how well it’s done and that a lot of people have found it useful.

Second resolution – Finish writing my next Kirsty Campbell mystery, “Bloody Murder” – Woop, woop. I finished it just before Christmas although I still have all the revision and editing to do, but I’ve made a start. The only thing is, it’s got a new title. I thought “Bloody Murder” was too modern for a historical murder mystery, so I’ve retitled it “Death of a Doxy”.

Third resolution – Promote and market my books more! Well, that was a nonstarter because I’m rubbish at the ‘Buy my book’ spiel. But then, I’m happy to be rubbish at that because I write mainly for the pleasure of writing and pleasing my readers.

So that’s last year’s resolutions out of the way. What about this year?

Resolutions for 2018:

Resolution 1 – Work hard on the revision and editing of “Death of a Doxy” and publish it before the end of January. Should be a piece of cake provided I don’t take too much time off to eat or sleep.

Resolution 2 – Plan my next book which will be another of the Dundee Crime Series. Problem is I haven’t got a scooby about the plot or anything else, apart from the fact I’ve promised our fabulous Angus library staff to place a body in one of their libraries. And thank you Lesley Matthews for offering yourself up as the body.

Resolution 3 – Write faster because that is what my readers want.

Please note, I haven’t made a resolution to do any marketing or promotion because it goes against the grain. I will just count myself lucky if all the readers who enjoy my books, spread the word.

Happy New Year everybody.

Chris Longmuir

Website

Amazon author page

Scottish Authors Infiltrate Crimefest

Another year and another Crimefest, and no matter where I turned this year I kept bumping into Scottish authors. They were all over the place. You can’t keep a good Scot down!

So, this year I’m not going to write about all the various panels and what a good time I had. I’m just going to entertain you with a rogues gallery of the writers who weren’t fast enough to escape from me. So, here goes, in surname alphabetical order:

Lucy Cameron

Lucy Cameron. It was great to see Lucy on a panel this year after many years of attendance as a spectator. Lucy has just published her debut novel Night is Watching and I have it on my reading list. I talked to her before she took part in her first panel Nightmares and Trauma and she admitted to shaking in her shoes. But she put up a brilliant performance and I’m sure by her second debut authors’ panel she would have been in her stride.

Mason Cross

Mason Cross. I often meet Mason at CWA (Crime Writer Association) lunches so it’s always a pleasure to see him take part in these events. His Cat and Mouse: Playing with your readers on Friday, was a delight.

Doug Johnstone

Doug Johnstone. Author, journalist, and musician appeared early in the programme on Thursday, talking about the dark side of human nature in the panel What are you hiding?

Michael Malone

Michael Malone. It’s always good to catch up with Michael whom I’ve known for many years and it’s great to observe his success as an author who now has eight books to his name. I read his most recent one A Suitable Lie and it was a cracker, joining the relatively new domestic noir category of crime fiction.

Wullie McIntyre

Wullie McIntyre, who currently writes as W. S. McIntyre. I’d never met Wullie before although I’d brushed shoulders with him on Facebook, and I hadn’t realised he was a criminal defence lawyer. You would expect someone in this career to be somewhat formal but his presentation was humorous and it led me to start reading one of his books Present Tense, and I must say that although it is quite definitely crime fiction, I haven’t stopped laughing since page one.

Caro Ramsay

Caro Ramsay. Another author I’ve known for a long time and count as a friend, floated past me a couple of times with the promise from both of us that we’d meet up. But it didn’t happen, we both seemed to be spiralling in different directions. Next time, I’ll nail her to the floor.

Anne Randall

Anne Randall. I haven’t known Anne quite as long. I’m not sure whether it was last year or the year before we met. But she’s a lovely person and generated enough interest on her author panel, when she spoke about her books and writing, for me to download her first book Riven to my Kindle. I’ve made a mental note to myself that I must read this one ASAP.

Of course, I was also there having a whale of a time and, naturally, I’ve already paid my deposit for next year.

 

Chris Longmuir

Chris Longmuir

https://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk/

Amazon:   Author page

Christmas is acoming

Where has the year gone? Christmas is almost here and it only seems yesterday we were basking in the summer sun, and I could have sworn it was no time at all when we ate last year’s Christmas dinner.

But the Christmas cards are thumping through the door, the Christmas tree is up – not mine, my son and daughter-in-law’s tree. Christmas lights twinkle merrily outside several doors in our street and I’m trying hard to get into the festive mood.

Oh, my cards, calendars, and parcels are posted. The paper for the Christmas day presents is looked out, maybe I should wrap them tonight. The pre-Christmas lunches have come and gone. But, there’s something missing! Yes, you’ve guessed it. My husband passed away eleven years ago and, as well as being a joyous time, Christmas is also a sad time, and the house feels empty.

But he wouldn’t have wanted me to be sad, so I do what I usually do, give myself a shake and count my blessings.

I have a wonderful family and I’ll be eating Christmas dinner with my son and daughter-in-law at their house, as well as New Year’s Day dinner. My granddaughter is brilliant. she looks out for me and shares her life with me. I’ve had a successful year. I now have seven books published and another two incubating. My new book Devil’s Porridge has been well received and readers seem to like it.

I’m feeling better already.

Happy Christmas everyone, and I hope you get lots of goodies, particularly books in your Christmas stocking.

Chris Longmuir

My website: https://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk/

Amazon author page UK

Amazon author page US

Christmas Offer: And you don’t have to kill to get it

http://katherinehayton.com/Thriller/

I think there must be a blue moon at the moment, because I never, I repeat never, do free offers. But I have one for you this Christmas. It’s free copy of the first book in the Dundee Crime Series, Night Watcher, but the offer only lasts until the 18th so you’ll have to be quick. Click the link to get Night Watcher http://katherinehayton.com/Thriller/ Nearly forgot to say there are other thrillers there as well and they're all free.

Happy Christmas everyone, and I hope you get lots of goodies, particularly books in your Christmas stocking.

Chris Longmuir

My website: https://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk/

Amazon author page UK

Amazon author page US

Tarting up Night Watcher

Night Watcher was not my first book, but it was the first one I published on Kindle as an ebook. Initially, I did what we are not supposed to do, I designed my own cover. You see, publishing to Kindle was a new venture for me and I had no idea how it would work out. I might not even sell a single book.

However, to my astonishment, it sold quite well, and before long I decided to invest in a professional cover, and I found the amazing Cathy Helms of Avalon Graphics. I was pleased with that cover, but as I went on to publish more books in the Dundee Crime Series, there was a subtle change in the covers I commissioned. The covers of the later books were moodier, and darker, to suit the kind of stories I tell. Night Watcher no longer fitted the mould and stood out as different from the others. The image was still all right, but the fonts had changed and there was a substantial difference to the overall look.

 

Dundee Crime Series

This difference niggled at me for a while, and then I decided to commission a completely new cover. The theme would be much the same, but the fonts and layout would be tailored to fit in with the other covers in the series.

  

Cathy Helms worked her magic again and produced a stunning cover as well as a poster for the series which I could use on the web. I hope you like the result.

Chris Longmuir

http://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk/

http://chrislongmuir.blogspot.co.uk/

Amazon UK

Amazon.com

Ebooks – Time to Take Stock

Chris Longmuir at the launch of  Dead Wood
The International Book Prize winner, 2009

Every author who publishes eBooks is fascinated by sales figures.

 
It’s easy to check sales figures on Amazon’s Kindle publishing platform so the newly published author may be unable to resist the urge to keep checking, and may visit the reports section of the site several times a day, noting with glee every single download of their book. However, with the publication of more books, plus the development of a more blasé attitude, these visits lessen, tapering to once a day, then maybe once a week, finally ending up at once a month, in order to check the sales figures for that specific month. I don’t think I’ll ever get too blasé to omit the monthly check.
 
Of course, many authors juggle their prices and offer promotions, and it’s a good idea to keep checking whether these have resulted in additional sales. For me, it’s too much effort to go down this route, and although I did try it a couple of times, I discovered it made no difference at all to my sales figures. So I reckon I won’t be doing any more juggling, or going down the promotional road again. I am wondering, however, whether the VAT (Value Added Tax) increase from 3% to 20% will have an effect on sales because it will push up the price of all eBooks.
 
It is of value, though, to run an annual check to see which of your eBooks has performed best. So, given it’s December, the last month of the year, I thought I would have a quick tally to see how my eBooks were doing. So here are the results:-
 
My top best-selling eBooks
 

1.  Night Watcher

2.  Dead Wood (rounded up because it’s only been on sale for 7 months)

3.  Missing Believed Dead

4.  The Death Game

5.  Ghost Train (short stories)

6.  Crime Fiction and the Indie Contribution

 

7. A Salt Splashed Cradle

8.  Obsession (short stories)

 
In terms of author earnings the list would look the same with the exception of 5, 6 and 7. Number 6, my non fiction book Crime Fiction and the Indie Contribution, which sold less than half the number of copies compared to Ghost Train, earned approximately four times more than Ghost Train, and A Salt Splashed Cradle, my historical saga earned three times more. Therefore my two lowest earners are my two cheapest books, no wonder I refer to them as loss leaders. In fact, when I think about it, the profit from the sale of either of these books wouldn't even be enough to cover the cost of getting into the toilets at Edinburgh Station.
 
Compiling these figures was interesting for me, from the point of view that my Dundee Crime Series is selling better than the other books, which indicates to me that series are popular. The first book of the series, Night Watcher, is consistently selling far more than the others, even my International Dundee Prize winning book, Dead Wood. But I suppose that only indicates that readers like to read book one of a series first.
 
The other interesting thing is that my two loss leaders, selling at 0.99c/77p, are at the bottom of the leader board, and the $4.99/£3.00 books are doing far better (NB: the UK price will rise after 1st Jan due to VAT increases)
 

The Winner is

 

Beat the price rise by downloading now

 

Note: From 1st January 2015 the VAT (Value Added Tax) charged on ebooks will increase from 3% to 20%. I won’t get anything extra, but the government will!

 

Chris Longmuir

 

 

 

http://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk/

 Amazon

Amazon Author Page

 

Amazon UK

 
Amazon.com
 
Apple iBooks

ITunes Book Page UK

iTunes Book Page US

 

 

 

Ooh! I Feel Wicked



Wicked - The Musical

The reason I feel wicked is because I’ve just had a fabulous afternoon at the Edinburgh Playhouse Theatre, watching Wicked. The musical was one of the most entertaining I’ve seen for some time, and the storyline was ingenious, revealing a different take on the Wicked Witch of the West featured in L. Frank Baum’s Wizard of Oz. Oh, and I really connected with the Wicked Witch of the West, more than I did with Glinda. So, after watching the show, if you had a choice of being wicked or good, what would you choose?



My granddaughter loved the show

To take it further, if I gave you the choice of which character you would want to play in one of my books, what would you choose? When I left my last job to concentrate on being a full time writer, I did a survey of everyone in the department. And, because I worked in a senior position in a Local Authority, that was a lot of people. Without fail, everyone said they would rather be the villain than the hero. And I must admit that in most visual shows, such as films or television, the baddies do seem to have the roles with more depth to them.

But how easy is it to write from the villain’s point of view? And how many villains are truly bad? In fact, if you go to see Wicked, you’ll find out that the heroine is the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda, the Good Witch, is far from being perfect.

As a crime writer, who writes in a multi-viewpoint style, I often have to get inside the villain’s head, and into their skin. It’s the only way characters come alive. So, it can be quite an uncomfortable experience. However, no character is totally bad, and even good characters have their flaws.

Let me tell you about Tony, a really bad guy who has a large role in Dead Wood, Book 2 of the Dundee Crime Series. He’s a Mr Big, who runs his own little crime empire in the Scottish city of Dundee. You wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of Tony, and he does some vicious things. One of his operations is the night club, Teasers, and he is not averse to taking advantage of the pole dancers who work there (that’s putting it politely). I won’t go into all the the things he gets up to because I wouldn’t want to spoil the book for you.

 
However, Tony has his good side as well. Despite his activities with his pole dancers, he regards these as simply diversions, and in his mind is loyal to his wife. He has a strong sense of family, and has a strong protective streak as far as they are concerned, therefore the anguish he feels when his daughter is murdered, is palpable.
 
I must admit I have a soft spot for Tony. But that’s maybe because I’m wicked!
 

Chris Longmuir

 

 

http://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk/

 

Amazon

Amazon Author Page
 
Amazon UK

Amazon.com

Apple iBooks

ITunes Book Page UK
 

iTunes Book Page US

 

Have a Look at my November Sale Bargains

In my last post I told you about Awesome Indies new website http://awesomeindies.net/ and the sale they were running to launch it. Well the bad news is that their sale is now finished. But the good news is that I have decided to keep my two sale books available for the rest of November.

These books have never been discounted before – ever. So, they are genuine bargains. Let me tell you about them.

The two books I decided to reduce are Night Watcher and A Salt Splashed Cradle, and they’ve both been reduced from $4.99/£3.03 down to $2.99/£1.92.

Night Watcher is the first book in my Dundee Crime Series, featuring DS Bill Murphy. The whole series is very popular, and DS Murphy has quite a following. Night Watcher is a story of two stalkers, both with the same target, Nicole, who is rather partial to male company and is not too concerned about whose husband she steals. I’ve already said there were two stalkers – there is the woman with revenge on her mind playing mind games, and then there is the deranged and dangerous Night Watcher. But who kills Nicole? Read it and find out. Link for Night Watcher.

Here are a couple of reviews of Night Watcher:

Night watcher is the sort of novel that keeps the reader glued to its pages, frantically guessing as the plot takes numerous twists and turns. – Alex Gray, Crime Writer

This is a complex and very well crafted tale, beautifully put together -full of a sense of foreboding, and full of menace. – Catherine Czerkawska

A Salt Splashed Cradle is different. It is not my usual crime story. It is a historical saga set in 1830s Scotland in an east coast fishing village which does not welcome newcomers in their midst. This story reflects the living conditions and the morals of the ordinary fishing folk of that time. It starts when Jimmie Watt brings his new bride home to his horrified parents. This is because fishermen are expected to marry within their own community, and Belle is an incomer from the town across the water. Belle, an emotionally damaged and beautiful girl, struggles to find acceptance in the village but she is fighting a losing battle, and when Jimmie leaves the fishing village to sail to the Arctic with a whaling ship, she becomes increasingly isolated. With Jimmie gone, Belle falls for the charms of Lachlan, the Laird’s son and embarks on a tempestuous affair with him. When Jimmie returns she struggles with her feelings for him and for Lachlan. The women in the village now regard Belle as a Jezebel who will tempt their men away. A mood of hysteria engulfs them and they turn against Belle, in an attempt to force her out of the village. What will Belle do? And will she survive? Read it to find out.

Link for A Salt Splashed Cradle

Here are some reviews of A Salt Splashed Cradle:

There is some beautiful poetic writing and the complex life of the heroine, Belle, had me gripped from the beginning. Some of the loveliest writing is in the whaling sequences -one can feel the cold - and among the whalers she creates some outstanding characters – Eileen Ramsay, novelist

Chris Longmuir's books so far have been mysterious, suspenseful stories concerned with some of the darker depths of human nature. So it's surprising to learn that this latest is a romance. But fans won't be disappointed. Yes, it's a romance but the murkier motives and actions are still in evidence – Bill Kirton, crime writer

A Salt-Splashed Cradle drips with historical accuracy, and even the scenes aboard a whaling ship seem to have been recounted directly from an 1800's whaler, almost as if Chris Longmuir boarded those ships and chopped them free from the arctic ice herself – Tim Greaton

Why did I decide to keep these two books on offer? Well, that’s easy, I wanted to reward my faithful followers and readers, as well as trying to tempt some new readers into my gang. Why not try one or other of the books, or both if you feel so inclined. And don’t forget to tell me what you think of them.

 Chris Longmuir

http://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk/

Amazon Author Page

Amazon UK

Amazon.com

Awesome Indies

Anchors Away – Awesome Indies Website is Live

In my last post I told you all about the brand new website that has been designed for Awesome Indies, but of course the links only took you to the original site because the new one was scheduled for today, Saturday 1st November. Scroll down if you want to read my previous post.Here is the link for the new website http://awesomeindies.net/

Well, today is the day, the website is live, and all those delicious book bargains are on offer. There are 74 books in the sale, I know because I counted them. And there are loads to choose from, in a variety of different genres. Oh, and before I forget, there is a competition for you with the prize being a Kindle Paperwhite ereader. Here is the link to the competition page – Awesome Indies Welcome Page.

However, don’t miss my books. I have two in the sale. And these books have never been discounted before – ever. So, they are genuine bargains. Let me tell you about them.

I decided to put Night Watcher and A Salt Splashed Cradle in the sale to celebrate the launch of the new website. They’ve both been reduced from $4.99/£3.03 down to $2.99/£1.92.

Night Watcher is the first book in my Dundee Crime Series, featuring DS Bill Murphy, and it’s been very popular, as well as the rest of the series. It’s a story of two stalkers, both with the same target, Nicole, who is rather partial to male company and is not too concerned about whose husband she steals. I’ve already said there were two stalkers – there is the woman with revenge on her mind playing mind games, and then there is the deranged and dangerous Night Watcher. But who kills Nicole? Read it and find out. Link for Night Watcher.

Here are a couple of reviews of Night Watcher:

Night watcher is the sort of novel that keeps the reader glued to its pages, frantically guessing as the plot takes numerous twists and turns. – Alex Gray, Crime Writer

This is a complex and very well crafted tale, beautifully put together -full of a sense of foreboding, and full of menace. – Catherine Czerkawska

A Salt Splashed Cradle is different. It is not my usual crime story. It is a historical saga set in 1830s Scotland in an east coast fishing village which does not welcome newcomers in their midst. This story reflects the living conditions and the morals of the ordinary fishing folk of that time. It starts when Jimmie Watt brings his new bride home to his horrified parents. This is because fishermen are expected to marry within their own community, and Belle is an incomer from the town across the water. Belle, an emotionally damaged and beautiful girl, struggles to find acceptance in the village but she is fighting a losing battle, and when Jimmie leaves the fishing village to sail to the Arctic with a whaling ship, she becomes increasingly isolated. With Jimmie gone, Belle falls for the charms of Lachlan, the Laird’s son and embarks on a tempestuous affair with him. When Jimmie returns she struggles with her feelings for him and for Lachlan. The women in the village now regard Belle as a Jezebel who will tempt their men away. A mood of hysteria engulfs them and they turn against Belle, in an attempt to force her out of the village. What will Belle do? And will she survive? Read it to find out. Link for A Salt Splashed Cradle

Here are some reviews of A Salt Splashed Cradle:

There is some beautiful poetic writing and the complex life of the heroine, Belle, had me gripped from the beginning. Some of the loveliest writing is in the whaling sequences -one can feel the cold - and among the whalers she creates some outstanding characters – Eileen Ramsay, novelist

Chris Longmuir's books so far have been mysterious, suspenseful stories concerned with some of the darker depths of human nature. So it's surprising to learn that this latest is a romance. But fans won't be disappointed. Yes, it's a romance but the murkier motives and actions are still in evidence – Bill Kirton, crime writer

A Salt-Splashed Cradle drips with historical accuracy, and even the scenes aboard a whaling ship seem to have been recounted directly from an 1800's whaler, almost as if Chris Longmuir boarded those ships and chopped them free from the arctic ice herself – Tim Greaton

There are many more books in the sale and I hope you’ll visit the sale page to sample some of them. Have fun reading.

Here is the link to the sale page http://awesomeindies.net/bookstore/on-sale/

Chris Longmuir

http://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk/

Amazon Author Page

Amazon UK

Amazon.com

Awesome Indies

Dundee Literary Book Trail

Hang out the flags, blow up the balloons, I think I might have arrived! I’ve made my mark on the literary map. Well, it’s a comparatively small literary map. But I’m right there on it.

The map I’m talking about is the map for the Dundee Literary Trail. Have a look at this description on STV Dundee, with the header Dundee’s first literary trail could be a best-seller idea.

 

Map of Dundee Literary Trail - I'm location 29

The literary trail is a map that plots locations and buildings mentioned in books set in Dundee. The walk covers 15 miles of the city and has 48 stops enroute. But because of the distance it is divided into 3 parts. So those on the walk can choose which one they want to do. The Eastern walk, the Western one, or the Central one. I chose the Central walk because that is the one that features me.

  

Walkers meeting outside the Wellgate Library

Apparently 20 local authors contributed to the map, and I’m one of them. Some of the others include my good friends, Eileen Ramsay, and Russell McLean. Others included were Alexander McGregor, who wrote The Law Killers, Mae Stewart, Chae Strathie and others too numerous to mention. Some of the more famous names on the trail were Agatha Christie, George Orwell, and Jacqueline Wilson. My apologies for not mentioning everybody but with 48 stops, that means more than 48 authors and there just isn’t room.

The STV article did ask if Dundee was the most literary city in Scotland, and I certainly hope it’s up there among the front runners because that’s where I set most of my novels.

 

Witches Blood to commemorate the last witch burned in Dundee

Walkers heading for Dundee Sheriff Court

Anyway, I joined the literary walk for the central area. We met outside the Wellgate Library and commenced our walk down to the city centre where we took in the scene of Grizzel Jaffray’s burning as the last witch in Dundee, and was featured in The Curewife, Claire-Marie Watson’s Dundee International Prize winning book as well as William Blain’s classic novel Witches Blood. Further down the High Street we stopped to admire Desperate Dan and Minnie the Minx from the DC Thomson popular comics the Beano and the Dandy. Then on to The Howff, the historical cemetery which is the scene of many a nasty Dundee murder including some I have committed myself – on paper I may add, unless I give you the wrong impression. Various other sites were visited including Dundee Sheriff Court, and even the Deep Sea fish and chip shop where some of my characters buy their fish suppers. 

The Howff Cemetery where a grisly murder in The Death Game takes place

The Deep Sea Restaurant where DS Bill Murphy buys his fish and chips

We took in Scott’s ship The Discovery, walked along the riverside where Macgonagall is commemorated on the paving stones, traversed Magdalen Green, and up the hill to the George Orwell Pub for a welcome drink before the organisers departed for Walk 3 of the day. One of them was wearing a mileometer and informed us that the walks had covered 14 miles. I was glad I’d only taken part in the second walk, and on enquiring how many miles the central walk had covered, I was told almost 5 miles. No wonder I was feeling knackered.

I left the group at that point, wished them well with walk three, and dragged myself back to my car, which I reckoned added another mile onto the walk I’d already done. The price of fame does not come cheap!

Chris Longmuir

http://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk/

Amazon Author Page

Amazon UK

Amazon.com