Author Interview

Debut novelist Dan Scottow tells Jennifer Mclaren the secrets behind his new thriller

F irst-time author Dan is still pinching himself since the publication of his psychological thriller Damaged last month.

Hailing from the East Neuk of Fife, Dan works as a graphic designer for Dundee-based DC Thomson Media and is also an artist who paints Scottish landscapes.

Damaged follows journalist Emily Blake, who is sent back to her hometown to investigate the disappearance of a young girl called Becky Clarke. She takes the assignment willingly as the case echoes the disappearance of her childhood friend Alice Abbott 25 years earlier.

What follows is an unsettling tale filled with twists as she unearths the truth behind Alice’s vanishing, unravelling the lies that have been spun over the decades.

For any aspiring author, working on an idea for a novel can be an uncertain time. Dan, who originally grew up in St Albans,

Hertfordshire, admits that for a long time he didn’t know if Damaged was any good.

“That’s the reason I didn’t send it off to any publishers,” he says. “I sat on it for the best part of nine months. I didn’t really know what to do.”

Fortunately for Dan, he is mutual friends with Scottish crime writer Caro Ramsay and she was a positive force in his journey to becoming a published author.

“I never told her I was writing a book but she got wind of it and asked to read it,” Dan goes on. “It wasn’t finished at that point and I sent her what I had done. She got back in touch to say ‘this is good’ and gave me some invaluable pointers and advice.”

Once Damaged was finally complete, Caro kept asking Dan if he had sent it away to any publishers and he eventually plucked up the courage. That’s when he heard back from Bloodhound Books.

Dan is now thrilled he took the plunge and says the inspiration for the disturbing plot came largely from his imagination – but he hopes his internet searches aren’t being monitored too closely!

“You hear news stories, mysteries and unsolved cases and there’s always a fascination for me,” he explains. “My brother works for the Metropolitan Police and I asked him a lot of stuff like how long a crime scene would be sealed off. He would ask me, ‘why does it matter – it’s fiction?’ but the thing is you need it to be believable. In the book there’s two very distinct time frames – 1992 and present day – a lot of time has elapsed. The main character is a child at the beginning and an adult in the bulk of the story and it’s quite interesting to explore how she felt back then, and processed an event that follows her through life.

“It’s very much a theme of the book how one major event in somebody’s past can shape so many people’s lives.”

It’s clear Dan is delighted people are finally able to read Damaged: “I used to fold pieces of paper and write books, then I would show them to my mum and dad,” he smiles.

“As someone who has always wanted to write a book and entertain people, it’s so humbling to know people are getting it, enjoying it and recommending it to friends.

“It has honestly been a lifelong dream. Not many people can say that they’ve had a lifelong dream come true.”

● Damaged by Dan Scottow is published by Bloodhound Books, £8.99.