PERFECT HAUNT FOR GRISLY GOINGS-ON

LOUISE WELSH believes crime writing isn’t confined to just police procedurals or whodunnits. She says the genre lends itself to different interpretations, giving authors free reign to write about anything.

And this comes across in her short story for the Bloody Scotland anthology set around Scotland’s historic buildings and landmarks.

The story starts in World War II Paris and ends up in Ayrshire at the ruins of a former abbey in Maybole.

It tells the tale of a soldier hidden from the Nazis by a French friend until he can escape back to Scotland.

Known for her post-apocalyptic Plague Times trilogy, it’s no surprise Louise’s short story is shocking, gory and strips back to that most basic of human instinct – survival at any cost.

The author, who lives in Glasgow, said Crossraguel Abbey – thought to have been built in the 12th century – was perfect for the grisly deeds she had in mind.

She added: “Crossraguel is such a beautiful structure. Monks lived there in the 1400s. It’s surrounded by countryside and the ruins are mostly intact, a sweeping staircase, the dovecot, the cloister. I don’t want to give too much away about the plot but the abbey, its history of conflict, the rumours of ghostly monks haunting the ruins was perfect for what I had in mind.”

Louise, currently Professor of Creative Writing at Glasgow University, has written eight novels including The Cutting Room and A Lovely Way to Burn.

This summer, the last in her trilogy, No Dominion, was released.

She said: “The crime genre is open to many interpretations, including moral and ethical questions. What do you do when the chips are down? How do you survive? How does society survive, or does it?” ● Louise, Doug Johnstone and ES Thomson, will discuss their chosen locations for the Bloody Scotland anthology at an event at the festival Building Plots on September 10. See bloodyscotland.com