AUTHOR ON OVERNIGHT SUCCESS,
Since then, the acclaimed crime writer has penned another bestseller – Accident On The A35 – and has been living it up at book festivals around the world where smitten fans treat him like a demi-god.
But despite his literary success and fame, Graeme, 51, admits he still finds it hard turning down the chance to earn a few quid decorating folks’ living rooms and kitchens.
The author, whose 2016 Booker shortlister has sold more than 170,000 hard copies and been translated into 20 languages, said: “Every writer will tell you that you can’t live by book alone and, before the Booker madness took hold, I financed my career and paid the bills by doing a spot of painting and decorating.
“I found it extremely satisfying as it provided the perfect balance to writing. It gave me a sense of achievement and meant that, when I sat down at a laptop, I felt refreshed.
“I’m still taking calls from people wanting me to paint their living room and now, even though I don’t need the money and don’t have the time, the Scot in me hates turning down the chance of £ 500 for a couple of days’ graft. I just hate saying no to work. It fair sticks in my craw.”
He added: “My one ambition in life was to write a book and get it published so, when my first novel The Disappearance Of Adele Bedeau came out, I told my girlfriend I could die happy now.
“Since then, I’ve had to keep recalibrating my ambitions. After the Booker shortlisting, it all went a bit crazy. I can finally write full- time whereas, before, the idea of reaching the tax threshold was an unattainable dream.”
Graeme, who grew up in Kilmarnock, admits he is still in shock at the global success of His Bloody Project, which is told through the memoir of 17- year- old crofter Roddy Macrae, which he wrote while awaiting trial in Inverness in 1869 for three brutal murders.
He said: “At first I thought it was bizarre that a book set in a village in the Highlands in 1869 would have such a worldwide appeal but I’ve since discovered people have been relating it to their own history.
“A Chinese journalist told me it reminded her of the oppressive atmosphere of the cultural revolution, while a Russian writer told me it reminded him of the