If you went for a job interview in a Glasgow law firm, they used to ask you what school you went to. And that was a way of finding out what religion you were. Denise Mina findfirmglasgow Change image and share on social
There are a lot of bottlenecks to getting published. Publishers are only one of them. Having the time is another one. Feeling entitled is another one. Denise Mina bottleneckentitlefelt Change image and share on social
I'm not much of a plotter. I start off with an inciting incident, and in classic crime fiction what happens is that all the action flows from that incident. It's very comfy when it all ties up and feels like a complete universe, but my stuff doesn't always work that way. Denise Mina actionclassiccomfy share on social
We don't really go in for big family dinners, but Scottish people are famously confrontational. It's a cultural thing, so maybe we don't need to have them to clear the air. Also, traditional family food isn't as nice here so there's no payoff for traveling hundreds of miles. Denise Mina airbigclear share on social
People are interested in crime fiction when they're quite distanced from crime. People in Darfur are not reading murder mysteries. Denise Mina crimedarfurdistance Change image and share on social
To have a very strong opinion all the time is corrosive to a person's intellect. It becomes your default position. Denise Mina corrosivedefaultintellect Change image and share on social
In my heart I'm just a lucky waitress. Denise Mina heartluckywaitress Change image and share on social
It's all chaos and the house is occasionally filthy but I get to stand at the school gates. Writers are so lucky to have that flexibility. Denise Mina chaosfilthyflexibility Change image and share on social
My family were great story-tellers. My mum was one of 12 and they were all fighting to tell stories. You have to tell a good tale or no one is going to listen. You have to make it entertaining and interesting. That's how I learned to tell stories. Denise Mina entertainfamilyfight share on social
