A great few days in this beautiful spot last week. I was fortunate to be in the top ten for the Fish Publishing International Short Story Competition, judged by Sarah Hall, author of ‘Burntcoat’. I had to read from my chosen story ‘The Gypsy Gambler’ to a crowd of about…

This was a breakthrough moment for me. ‘Gutter’ is one of Scotland’s most prestigious literary publications. ‘What Love Survives’ became the title of the short story collection published on Amazon, mostly because I liked the ambiguity of the title.

This was my second submission to Glasgow University’s Association for Scottish Literature, which is the principal forum for poetry and short fiction in Scotland. It was an impossible dream but it happened for ‘The Sawmillers’.

This is a story with some autobiographical elements. I did work in Campbell, Hope & King’s Brewery on Chambers Street in Edinburgh. ‘Wee Tam’ did exist and his daughter was adopted by Roy Rogers (unlikely as that might appear). In this story I’m trying to capture the streets and characters…