Mina, cheerful as ever

I must say I love reading interviews with Glasgow-based crime writer Denise Mina because she always sounds like she’s having so much fun with them (which doesn’t contradict my own impressions of her when we met a couple of years ago in Harrogate.) This new one at the Glasgow Herald is no exception as she talks about her new book, THE FIELD OF BLOOD, where crime writers are on the pecking order and where they should be, and how dangerous it is to try to get people to talk trash:

Mina did a joint event with Liza Marklund in Edinburgh recently and was struck by the Swede’s model looks and unabashed brilliance.
“She’s incredibly beautiful and keeps saying ‘I’m the No 1 seller in
Sweden’. I’m thinking, we’re Scottish, you can’t say things like that!”
Then I went to an event in Denmark and met the No 2 Swedish woman.
Journalists always try to get her to say ‘Marklund is a f***ing
arrogant cow’, but the No 2 just said: ‘Yeah, she’s No 1, she’s
fantastic – and a great mother as well’.

Mina also reveals that when she was on the judging committee of the Creasey Dagger a few years ago, they had to convince Canongate to enter Louise Welsh’s THE CUTTING ROOM into the competition because they “didn’t consider her to be a crime writer.” Good thing, for Welsh won:

It’s annoying because Louise is great fun, but she doesn’t get invited to enough crime fiction parties.

If only publishers realized the parties are really where it’s at….