Blether, Banter and Books

Book Week Scotland (BWS) is an annual celebration of books and reading that takes place across the country and I love it both as a reader and a writer.

This year’s theme was ‘blether’ to encourage people of all ages and walks of life to come together in libraries, schools, community venues and workplaces to share and enjoy books and reading. For me, it meant clocking up 259 miles to get to 6 very different events.

To kick off BWS, I was lucky to get the chance to meet readers at Fallin Library on the outskirts of Stirling. I’m sure the warm welcome by Linda, the librarian, not to mention the home baking and tea enticed the audience to venture out on a bitterly cold afternoon to attend the event. I’d guess that the average age of the audience was 78 and blether was the perfect fit for this group who loved the banter.

I had a quick turnaround for an outfit change (Fallin Library was very warm – need I say more!) before I made my way to Grangemouth Library where I hosted Falkirk Libraries Writing Rammy prize giving event. It was a real pleasure to meet such a talented group of writers and an absolute privilege to hear them read out their winning poems and short stories. Very inspiring!

On Tuesday night I could relax as I was in the audience rather than on the stage. This BWS event was organised by In Motion Theatre, a Scottish-based theatre company who worked with 15 writers to create a 10-minute play inspired by their favourite book. I was there to support my writing pal, Alison Gray, whose piece was called Selkie Story inspired by Scottish Folk and Fairy Tales by Theresa Breslin. It was an interesting evening as all five plays were very different and had the potential to be developed into longer pieces.

​Another day, another BWS event and Wednesday found me travelling to the Stirling Campus of Forth Valley College. I was there to hear Kerry Hudson talk about her memoir, Lowborn describing the challenges she faced growing up in poverty. I’ve read all of Kerry books and it was lovely to meet her in person. I’ve got huge respect for Kerry sharing her traumatic story and feel it’s a ‘must read’ for anyone working with children. It’s not an easy read but a very worthwhile one.

​On Thursday, I headed east to visit Broughton High School in Edinburgh to work with Higher English pupils on their creative writing. I really enjoy working with groups to help them express themselves in words and hopefully the pupils I met will build on the ideas and tips from the session to develop their writing in school and beyond.

That night, I attended the final BWS event for me which was held in Wishaw Library where I went to hear Melanie Reid discuss her memoir, The World I Fell Out Of. I’m ashamed to admit that until reading Melanie’s book I’d never really considered how someone paralysed by a spinal injury manages to cope on a daily basis. It really made me stop and think about how lucky I am to be able-bodied and I’d challenge anyone to read it and not be moved and inspired by her story.

So, it was a busy week for me zig zagging across central Scotland and I thoroughly enjoyed every event. As a reader, I got to meet 2 authors I admire, I saw 5 short plays and as a writer I got to meet readers and new writers of the future. What’s not to love about a week where it’s all about books and reading?

Did you attend any BWS events?

 

Ready, Aim, and Fire at Your Target Reader!

We all have different tastes and not every book will appeal to every reader. So, when marketing your book, it’s crucial to identify the demographic of people who are most likely to show interest in your writing. That makes perfect sense.

But here’s the thing, it’s a true saying, never assume – it makes an ASS out of U and ME. This was at the forefront of my mind yesterday when I entered a room of OAPS at a sheltered housing complex. I had been invited to deliver a presentation, readings and Q and A for the Off the Page Book Festival organised by Stirling Libraries. My event was part of their outreach work taking the author to the readers, particularly if the readers are housebound. The age range represented was far higher than the characters in my novels. But I reminded myself that all of the women present had an understanding of the themes of motherhood explored in Buy Buy Baby. These were women who been there, done that.

And there was no need to worry that just because Talk of the Toun is set in 1985 and the main character is 17 that it wouldn’t appeal to them. They all remembered the 80s and the melodrama of their own teenage years. I had nothing to fear, the audience might not fit the marketing ideal of my target reader but they lapped up the nostalgia and banter like warm milk. The themes featured in both of my books are universal if you’ve ever loved and lost, no matter what the setting or era. In my writing, it’s the flawed characters that shine a light on human nature and that meant I had nods of acknowledgement throughout my readings.

During the Q and A, we discussed the stereotypes that sweet old ladies wouldn’t be the most obvious readers of gritty crime fiction. Two of the women are huge fans of the Bloody Scotland book festival and the more blood and guts make a better read for them! I am reading The Essex Serpent by Sarah Parry at the moment and although it’s set in the 19th century, friendship and love are timeless themes.

We are all different, and yet on many levels, we are all the same.

Do you limit yourself to only reading one genre? Or do you have eclectic reading tastes?