AN INTRODUCTION FROM VAL PENNY
Please introduce yourself to our readers
Some years ago, my family was sent into shock. I was diagnosed with breast cancer, could no longer undertake my job as a university lecturer and was really very ill. I had recently remarried and moved across the country so I didn’t know many people in the area. Now added to that, during chemotherapy and radiotherapy my immune system was compromised and I couldn’t get out to meet people either. This was a challenging time not only for me, but for everybody around me.
At first, I spent time watching daytime television. Have you ever done that? It is mind-numbingly dull. Then I set to reading. I could choose my book to fit my mood and read as much or as little as I felt able to do at any one time on any given day. Then I would tell my long-suffering husband why I thought the book was good and why. Eventually one day, I think in sheer frustration, he said, “If you know so much about what makes a good book - why don't you write one!”
Great idea thinks the bold Val. And that is how the DI Wilson series was born.
Briefly introduce DI Hunter Wilson, what’s in store for him in the series (without giving away any spoilers!)?
Hunter is a decent man who is doing his best to fight crime in one of the most iconic cities in the world. He is divorced, but ready to love again. He has been promoted since the previous Chief Constable, his nemesis Sir Peter Myerscough left the service and he is trying to rebuild bridges with his children, Alison and Cameron. I hope readers will come to trust Hunter. He isn’t always right, but he does try to do the right thing and to lead his team of detectives by example in all the cases I throw at him.
Hunter is very much a team player. He plays darts in the local pub team and referees junior football matches. He drinks pints of lager, red wine and strong, good quality, black coffee. (He does like his coffee.) His car, however, is a bit of a rust bucket. He’ll have to get a new car – eventually!
Murder in Edinburgh is the first book in the series where readers will meet Hunter and his team and some of the personal and professional challenges they have to deal with. Although part of a series, each book works well as a standalone, so they don’t have to be read in order.
Why did you choose Scotland as the setting for the series?
I chose Scotland, or more specifically Edinburgh, as the setting for this series because, although I come from the West Coast of the USA, I lived in Edinburgh for more years than I am prepared to admit. I know the city well, I know its people and, because it is a relatively small city (600,000) many people know each other and the city is easy to move around. Those dynamics are amongst the things that I like to play with in my stories.
What was the most enjoyable book to write?
The book of which I am most proud has to be Murder in Edinburgh. I wrote it when I was poorly, which was a challenge. I knew nothing about the publishing industry or how to approach the professionals within it, and yet my wee book had enough individuality and interest within it to allow me to break into this strange world and share my stories with readers. However, my mother always preferred Murder in Gilmerton, the second book in the series. That will be published by Joffe in June. I will be interested to learn which book readers enjoy most.
What books are you currently reading?
I run our village book group and our book for this month is The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Stroud. I am also reading a book my husband bought me for Christmas, The Bingo Hall Detectives by Jonathan Whitelaw. I have eclectic reading tastes and am enjoying both books immensely.