A writer’s place

I saw myself described today as a “Scottish writer, most of whose work is set in Scotland.”

Now that’s nice, but it’s not accurate. Sure, I’ve written a lot of material set back home, especially the earlier stuff like the WATCHERS series or the MIDNIGHT EYE books. But in recent years I’ve been writing away from home more than not – all of the Holmes and Carnacki stuff in London for example, or North America in general for THE INVASION, THE VALLEY, CRUSTACEANS and more.

Maybe it should be “a Scottish writer, most of whose work is set in places where he’s lived over the years.”

Since coming to Newfoundland I’ve based the last half of THE SKIN GAME here, and also the three most recent novels I’ve written for DarkFuse, with a fourth underway.

I will always go back to Scotland of course, like I did most recently in novellas in TORMENTOR, PENTACLE and THE HOUSE ON THE MOOR, but for the longer work, maybe I’m now something else.

“a Scottish writer, most of whose work is set in Newfoundland.”