Hey mashheads,

I got a bit of welcome news this week. I'm going to be reading an extract from our novel at the Ness Book Fest. This is a pretty awesome book festival held in Inverness, Scotland. Which suits the Highland setting and atmosphere of THE MASH HOUSE perfectly.

I'm no stranger to a book festival reading. Back in the foggy past, I was part of the Margins Festival, a short-lived but fun event in Glasgow. Then, in 2012 I was picked to read as part of the Story Shop line-up at the Ediburgh International Book Festival. This attracted probably the biggest crowd I've ever read to. I performed a short story called 'Next Goal Wins', about two boys out playing football in their street.

About a month or so later, I took part in the Pitch Perfect event at the first ever Bloody Scotland, a crime and horror festival held in Stirling. I pitched a novel to a panel of literary agents. The novel was called 'Interviews with a Murderous Lesbian Cannibal'; surprisingly, it never did get picked up.

And that was probably the last time I gave a reading of my work. It's been a long time. So it's going to be nice to have a nibble at that block of cheese again. I'm only doing a three minute slot, in support of the writer Lucy Foley, at the launch event.

Tickets and details are available here. If you're in the area, please do come along.

Many cheers,

Alan x