We dont really go in for big family dinners, but Scottish people are famously confrontational. Its a cultural thing, so maybe we dont need to have them to clear the air. Also, traditional family food isnt as nice here so theres no payoff for traveling hundreds of miles. – Denise Mina
If you went for a job interview in a Glasgow law firm, they used to ask you what school you went to. And that was a way of finding out what religion you were. – Denise Mina
Even if people do wrong, were social animals, so what can we do about stopping them doing the same things in future? Saying people are bad or evil is just an unwillingness to engage an unwillingness to try to empathise. That sanctimonious attitude doesnt help anyone. – Denise Mina
I always wanted to work at Take A Break magazine, you know, just to inject a little bit of politics into their stories. I applied for a job there after Id done my law degree and didnt even get an interview. I only wrote Garnethill because I didnt get that job! – Denise Mina
Often the magical elements in my books are standing in for elements of the real world, the small and magical-in-their-own-right sorts of things that we take for granted and no longer pay attention to, like the bonds of friendship that entwine our own lives with those of other people and places. – Charles de Lint