Writer Bert’s delight at Bloody Scotland debut
Stirling author Bert Mitchell is looking forward to making his debut at hometown festival Bloody Scotland.
The writer will appear at the crime festival alongside Gartocharn’s Denzil Meyrick and Kate London with the trio talking about making the switch from police officers to crime authors.
“This is the first time I have been involved with Bloody Scotland,” he told the Observer. “As a Stirling boy born and bred, it means a lot to me to be involved.
“I had hoped that I would have a new book out for the festival, but at the moment excerpts from the new books are out with publishers, it’s a waiting game for now.
“I have done a couple of events with Denzil before, we did the Osmosis tour a few years ago when we went to Kirkcaldy, St Andrews and Inverness, and have appeared at Aye Write!
“His series has gone from strength to strength, and I’m looking forward to hooking up with him again. I’m also looking forward to meeting Kate.”
From Cops to Robbers, which takes place at the Allan Park South Church at 5.30pm on Saturday September 9, will see the former cops talk about how their career experiences have affected their writing, with Bert - who writes as RJ Mitchell - speaking about his book The Shift.
With police dramas featuring heavily on television and online, Bert said that the event will allow the audience to learn about how realistic crime fiction can be.
“Anybody who reads a crime novel will not get a more realistic depiction of what it is like to be a rookie cop than The Shift. So much of the book comes from personal experience - at the time it was hellish.
“The book has been very well received, and hopefully those who have bought it will come along.”
After touring WH Smith shops across the country, Bert was nominated for the final of The People’s Book Prize - and despite not coming out on top amassed 11,000 votes from the public.
“It was a great experience, and it was fantastic to talk to Frederick Forsyth - who is a larger than life character. The ambience of the Stationer’s Hall in London was amazing, it was dripped in atmosphere. It was disappointing not to win, especially given that I had 11,000 likes on the website.
“But I would like to say a big thanks to everyone that voted for me and also to WH Smith.”
Tickets for From Cops to Robbers are on sale now at www. bloodyscotland.com/events