From delivering pizzas to presidential praise
One of the stars of Bloody Scotland has gone from being a pizza delivery driver to getting the presidential seal of approval – from Bill Clinton!
Gavin Bell – writing as Mason Cross – has carved out a career as an author and sent a copy of his debut novel The Killing Season to the former president of the United States of America, and was given a real surprise when he received a letter of thanks.
The letter from the 42nd president of the USA said: “Thank you for your nice note and for sending me a copy of The Killing Season – it looks terrific, and I can’t wait to read it! All my best wishes for continued success.”
And it was a bit of a surprise for the University of Stirling graduate. Gavin, who lives near Cambuslang, said: “I had a few spare proof copies and I couldn’t really sell them at events, so I sent a few out to people I knew liked thrillers.
“No one had got back to me, until I got a call at work from my wife, telling me Bill Clinton had written back. It was a really nice surprise especially as he’s got plenty of other things to do. I’ve no idea if he will read it, but it still came as a nice surprise.”
The author will be appearing at Bloody Scotland on Sunday September 13, where he will appear alongside fellow hotshots Simon Kernick, Tom Wood and GJ Brown to discuss the art of the thriller at the Stirling Highland Hotel (11.45am).
Gavin’s second novel, The Samaritan, is being released in printed form next month, but it has already been distributed in electronic form.
He explained: “Nowadays, they tend to bring out the e-version ahead of the printed one
“This is a new technique I’ve noticed recently. I assume it’s a good way of getting advance sales data to gauge print run, and pick up some early reviews. It’s a bit like getting radio airplay ahead of the album release, maybe.
“If you can’t wait for the real book version to be published on July 16, you can get The Samaritan on your Kindle right now, or as an Audible download.”
Meanwhile, Gavin has just put the finishing touches to his third book. He added: “It’s actually been pretty difficult. I sent it off to my agent, who really liked it, but has had a few notes for me.
“I’m planning to send it off to my publisher, Orion, this week. They always come back with copy edits - but it’s just about there. This one just seems to have taken a bit longer than the first two. It’s definitely been more challenging.”