James Oswald
Why I Wrote (Write?)
” I remember, a long time ago, reading an interview with comics artist Bill Sienkewicz, where he described his awe at writers who could take a small idea and worry away at it until it became big. That struck a chord then, and has stuck with me ever since, because it’s such an eloquent summation of my approach to writing. I will take what appears to be the simplest of ideas and poke at it until it becomes something a hundred thousand words long.
On a similar theme, I am often asked where I get my ideas from. I don’t think there’s a published author out there who hasn’t been asked that question, and it speaks to a basic misunderstanding among readers (and techbro AI evangelists, but that’s another blog post) about what it is writers actually do.
For me, ideas are ten a penny. They are everywhere you look, and sometimes even launch themselves at you without your needing to look at all. The real trick is recognising them for what they are, and knowing what to do with them. A case in point: Bury Them Deep, the tenth Inspector McLean novel, sprung out of a couple of Twitter conversations that collided in my feed one day. I was simultaneously reminded of the legend of Sawney Bean – Scotland’s notorious cannibal – and the alfresco sexual pursuit that is dogging (if you don’t know, I suggest not Googling it). Serendipity, and the fact I have friends with unusual and diverse interests, put those two things together in my mind, and the seed that became the novel germinated.
Of course there was a lot more work to be done taking that pair of ideas and crafting them into a book. Many other ideas ended up being woven into the mix, old characters developed and new ones introduced. But that’s the joy of writing, for me at least; the intellectual challenge of taking something small and worrying it into something big.
For Our Sins came about in a similar way, when I read an article about disused churches being sold off or demolished, and saw a piece on TV about child abuse at the hands of Catholic priests. My brain put the two together and instantly started to extrapolate. The question ‘what if?’ is a writer’s best friend, and nothing quite beats the thrill of coming up with a satisfying answer. That’s why I’ve always written, and why I would keep writing even if nobody published my stories. The rush of creation is a heady drug.”
FOR OUR SINS the 13th in the Inspector McLean series is OUT NOW.
The partial collapse of a disused Edinburgh church reveals a dead body in the rubble, his head badly smashed by falling masonry. Soon identified as an old ex-con – Kenny Morgan – his death is put down to a heart attack and deemed non-suspicious.
Tony McLean is approached by a notorious crime lord who suggests the police should be looking into Morgan’s death more closely. Despite struggling with his recent retirement, he is reluctant to involve himself.
But when a second man is found dead in another disused church, his forehead branded with a cross, this time it is clearly murder.
There’s a killer stalking the streets of Edinburgh. Is it time for McLean to get back to doing what he does best?
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James Oswald is the author of the Sunday Times bestselling Inspector McLean series of detective mysteries. The first two of these, Natural Causes and The Book of Souls were both short-listed for the prestigious CWA Debut Dagger Award. Set in an Edinburgh not so different to the one we all know, Detective Inspector Tony McLean is the unlucky policeman who can see beneath the surface of ordinary criminal life to the dark, menacing evil that lurks beneath. James has also introduced the world to Detective Constable Constance ‘Con’ Fairchild, whose first outing was in the acclaimed No Time To Cry.
As J D Oswald, James has written a classic fantasy series, The Ballad of Sir Benfro. Inspired by the language and folklore of Wales, it follows the adventures of a young dragon, Sir Benfro, in a land where his kind have been hunted near to extinction by men. The whole series is now available in print, ebook and audio formats.
James has pursued a varied career – from Wine Merchant to International Carriage Driving Course Builder via Call Centre Operative and professional Sheep Shit Sampler (true). He moved out of the caravan when Storm Gertrude blew the Dutch barn down on top of it, and now lives in a proper house with two dogs, two cats and a long-suffering partner. He farms Highland cows by day, writes disturbing fiction by night. Visit James’ website HERE
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