THESE BUDDING AUTHORS
Stephen works with Edinburgh-based law firm Terra Firma.
Writing a glossary of legal terms taught him not to waste words.
The Crown Agent is set in 1829 and tells the story of Mungo
Lyon, a young doctor recruited by the
Crown to investigate a mysterious murder and shipwreck off the coast of Scotland that leads to the West Indies.
The lawyer, who lives in Edinburgh but grew up in Port Glasgow, won a short story competition and decided to turn it into a historical yarn.
He said: “For the first time, it dawned on me I really could do this. It kickstarted The
Crown Agent, its spymaster Dr
Mungo Lyon and the Burke and
Hare scandal that changed his life.
“There were hours of research, particularly on early 19th-century
At home with her first baby, Deborah needed to do something before her brain melted so she bought a writing magazine, joined an online forum and produced some short stories. Her novel, Hold Your Tongue, about a female cop hunting an Aberdeen serial killer, started off as 200 words prompted by the adjective “sharp”.
Deborah said: “The thing that came to mind, and refused to leave, was ‘tongue so sharp’.
Scotland and Jamaica. It included Campbeltown’s whisky distilleries, canal journeys between Edinburgh and Glasgow, the sugar trade, sailing across the Atlantic and even Greenock’s pottery industry.
“The book took about 18 months but the real skill is editing rather than writing the early drafts. I had to be ruthless.
“We have an unrivalled tradition for storytellers, from Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson and John Buchan to Alistair MacLean and George MacDonald Fraser. They all have the ability to enthral and draw you into a thrilling world of the imagination.
“I’m currently working on the second book in the Dr Lyon series, which sees the spymaster travel to far-flung parts of the British empire.
“I really enjoy the research and bringing that world to younger
readers.”