AW Sounds interesting. What first got you into writing and why?
AJL I retired from working in the
Oil and Gas sector in 2019. I knew I needed
a new “mission” and decided to write a novel. I think of writing as a job now – albeit a job
I thoroughly enjoy.
AW You write crime fiction set
abroad. Is it all imagination or do you
do research?
AJL My books are set in the Republic
of Georgia where I lived and worked for fifteen years. All the places I “visit” in the books are real
and I’ve been to most of them so I can write from memory. I also have a good handle on Georgian culture
and get that right most of the time, although I have a couple of Georgian
friends who I check in with. It’s important
to me to make my books authentically Georgian. I still have to research other information, e.g. which weapons can be fitted with silencers.
AW Last month you took part in the
Shetland Noir Crime Festival – how did that feel? Was it a good event?
 |
| Alistair on Shetland |
AW Shetland is a lovely place and
the festival was my first visit to the island.
So, next question, Alistair. Famous
authors Roald Dahl and Dylan Thomas had a special space for writing. Do you have a writing shed of your own?
AJL Not so much a shed but a scruffy
corner in a room in our house. I can
write anywhere but that seems to be my most productive space!
AW And finally, what would your eight-year-old self think, and say about you and your
achievements today?
AJL I’m sixty-six and I think my
eight-year-old self would say, ‘Why did you leave it so late?’ But I don’t think I’d be so surprised because,
even at that early age and later, I’ve always enjoyed writing and telling
stories.
about the author …Alistair is a Scottish novelist, former ships’ captain and operations manager in the oil and gas industry. He drew on his fifteen years of living and working in the Republic of Georgia to write three novels featuring Georgian detective, Lieutenant Ramaz Donadze. His first novel, No Harm Done was shortlisted for the 2021 Bloody Scotland Debut Prize. Alistair is married with two grown children, a granddaughter and a grandson. His interests, when not writing, include travel, walking, cooking, supporting Heart of Midlothian FC, swimming in Scotland’s beautiful lochs, playing guitar (badly) and writing occasional songs for his old-guys band, The Grumps. Born in Edinburgh, he has travelled extensively but is now settled in Stirling, Scotland.
The work of professional killers, their actions appear
senseless: pointless murder and a small sum of money taken. And what of the bank itself? Georgia’s most important financial
institution, guardian of the nation’s prosperity and a major employer. Protected, powerful and too big to provoke?
Lieutenant Ramaz Donadze doesn’t think so. For him, all murder is personal. With a
growing reputation for getting the job done, his tragic past continues to haunt
and drive him; his actions compulsive, reckless and ultimately damaging to
himself and the people he holds most dear.
As the Georgian nation nervously watches war play out in a
neighbouring country, the memories of its own war with the same aggressor still
raw, Donadze must deliver his enduring promise regardless of the cost—justice
for the dead and punishment of the guilty.
You can get Alistair's book Here
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