Have you ever made a decision, and then in the middle of the night sat up in a hot sweat as you realise you might have made a terrible mistake, and it’s too late to take it back? Let me explain my moment of madness. Moira Forsyth is an author of five novels and currently Read More
“Sometimes the thoughts I could conjure up when my eyes were closed would frighten even me.” The word “fallow” refers to an area of uncultivated land: unseeded, empty, dormant. This proves a fitting title for Shand’s engrossing thriller. The novel reads likes a perverse retelling of stories like John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, or Read More
(This is a lightly edited transcript of the interview; to view the whole interview, please click image above) Cynthia Rogerson: I’m Cynthia Rogerson. I write novels and short stories. I’m from California and live in the Highlands. I’ve been there for a long, long time. Probably almost thirty-five years. Kirsty Gunn: And Cynthia’s here today to Read More
Moira Forsyth’s The Treacle Well is a novel which encapsulates the very essence of human nature when tragedy befalls. Penned with a remarkable understanding of emotion, this non-linear piece of prose mixes together the ingredients of realism and pathos to drive forward a fascinating and compelling plot. Through a series of lapses in time, the Read More
The author, Nils Schou, a television writer and novelist from Copenhagan, engaged in correspondence with J.D. Salinger, and this was the inspiration for his distinctly Danish feeling novel Salinger’s Letters. The book follows Dan Moller, a writer and trained dentist. Moller has suffered from depression since childhood, a condition that has shaped and defined Read More
A debut novel which illustrates the tribulations and triumphs of raising an autistic child, Truestory by Catherine Simpson is simultaneously captivating, poignant and vivid. Living on a remote farm, Alice is forced to deal with Sam, her autistic son, Duncan, an emotionally estranged husband whose ventures plunge the family into chaos, and Larry, a travelling Read More
A Petrol Scented Spring by Ajay Close is a brilliant work of fiction that has a multitude of layers and is set in various different timeframes from the early 1900s onwards. Based on true facts she has gathered, Close has written about an unconventional love triangle featuring two very unconventional women. These women, whom the Read More
Moira Forsyth, Editorial Director at Sandstone Press talks to Gail Low about the history of the press, independent publishing, publishing in Scotland, submitting manuscripts and more. This edited transcript and interview, recorded 11 November 2015 at the University of Dundee, is part of a joint enterprise by MLitt in Writing Practice and Study programme there Read More
A debut draped in drama and dark family secrets, Sarah Armstrong’s The Insect Rosary is far more exciting than the simple cover would suggest. The novel is set in Northern Ireland, in 1982, at the time of The Troubles. Although the historical significance contributes to the unsettling tone of the novel, this is a mere Read More
“When I was crazy and the winds of the world blew in my head, I lived in the basement of our old house, Drum Tower.” For me, the first line of a book has always held a certain fascination. It is here that the writer offers the reader the first indication of the journey upon Read More