Inverness writer's book tells the stories of others
I’m telling you, from where I am sitting right now, this is no joke! Two book launches in close proximity to one another may sound like the bells of success, but it is a tricky place to be. I feel that I have only just exhausted the goodwill of friends before bombarding them with another flurry of book news. Another unboxing video for the social media stream, another zoom book launch invite. Thankfully, my pals are a long-suffering lot.
It’s probably just as well that Scottish by Inclination, my new book out this week, is a very different book from the kind I usually write. Part memoir, it also features profiles of 30 other EU immigrants to Scotland who have made their mark here. It is released on the fifth anniversary of the Brexit referendum, and just days before the controversial deadline for settled status applications at the end of the month. It feels topical all right, and yet the writing process for this book rekindled a love of something utterly timeless, mundane and underrated: the humble interview.
In my experience, interviews are usually conducted in a hurry, often by email. A quick copy-and-paste and a tidy-up, and out it goes into tomorrow’s edition of whichever publication we’re talking. For Scottish by Inclination, I had set myself the task of connecting with a ‘new’ Scot from every single one of the European Union member states. Someone who had made a positive difference in their community – someone worth celebrating, be they famous or not. There was no shortage.
These interviews could last from 15 minutes, sticking rigidly to the key questions, to almost two hours in the case of one or two with whom I particularly hit it off.
What an utter privilege to amplify these voices! What a responsibility to condense an informal chat putting the world to rights into a page or two about the essence of that person’s experience of Scotland.
I developed a new, deep respect for the immigrant experience – after three decades in Scotland I had almost forgotten I was a foreigner – a respect for the resilience and spirit of these people who, like me, were Scots by inclination.
The Cypriot who coached some of Scotland’s national volleyball teams while working as a librarian. The artists from Portugal, Estonia, Luxembourg and Latvia, shaping the arts scene in Scotland. The German GP working along the Sutherland and Caithness coast. The Irish, Romanian, Croatian and Italian academics inspiring excellence in Scotland’s universities, the Finnish entrepreneur running one of Scotland’s most successful companies. The list seemed endless: musicians, politicians, physiotherapists, scientists, environmentalists, inventors, bloggers, brewers, agents and activists.
And above all: people! People with stories to tell. Their experiences as European immigrants here echoed my own in part, but were utterly unique in character. I found myself fascinated by them, drawn to them all. I am yet to meet many of them in person, but they have trusted me with their stories and I can only hope that I have done them justice.
Look out for: In a Veil of Mist by Donald S Murray: A poisoned breeze blows across the waves...
Operation Cauldron, 1952: Top-secret germ warfare experiments on monkeys and guinea pigs are taking place aboard a vessel moored off the Isle of Lewis. Local villagers Jessie and Duncan encounter strange sights on the deserted beach nearby and suspect the worst. And one government scientist wrestles with his own inner anguish over the testing, even if he believes extreme deterrent weapons are needed. When a noxious cloud of plague bacteria is released into the path of a passing trawler, disaster threatens. Will a deadly pandemic be inevitable?
I can’t wait to read this book which was the Times Book of the Month in best historical fiction in March of this year.
