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
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
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
In the Garnethill trilogy, people always forget that Maureen ODonnells dad was a journalist and she did art history at uni and her brother did law, but no-one ever thinks theyre middle-class – theyre just working class because they speak with accents. – Denise Mina