This is going to be a short one. Reason: We arrived at the conference
hotel (The Stirling Highland) at 8:30AM and our room won’t be ready until 3PM.
We’re sitting in the library waiting. Well, I’m sitting; Barbara is lying on
the only sofa in the room--a red leather Chesterfield. See, I am a generous guy.
We have to thank Caroline Todd (of Charles Todd) for the
tip. We saw her as we arrived and she said that’s where she camped out on her
first day. I feel as if we’re all part
of some wonderful sorority/fraternity undergoing shared initiation rights. :)
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| View from our room. |
The conference location is terrific. It’s a converted 19th
Century school with an observatory on the roof. I’m hoping to get up there
later to take some photos, but for now the thought of making the climb—after
hiking into town to change dollars into Sterling to spend in Stirling—is too
much for me. I’m saving my energy for a quick nap so that I can catch Caro at
8:15 tonight (Friday) stun the crowds with an improvisational crime novel
formed right before our eyes in concert with with Chris Brookmyre, Kevin
Wignall, and ringmaster Hardeep Singh Kohli.
Caro's masterful ensemble quartet
If that doesn’t sound like fun. you obviously don’t know the
players. Besides, in a conference where the Green Room is the hotel bar, how
can it not be a blast!
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| Another of Caro's quartets |
By the way, the “warm up act” tonight for Caro is a duet
with Val McDermid and Peter May…not bad, huh?
As for my moment in the sun—clearly a figure of speech at
the moment—it comes on Saturday at 5:00PM, when I’m billed as one of three legal
eagles (Steve Cavanagh and Neil White are my mates, moderated by a fourth
lawyer, Craig Sisterson) on the topic of “Breaking the Law.” My guess is it’s a subject intended to
anticipate just how I’ll be motoring around this enchanting land over the next
ten days. Somehow driving from the passenger seat side always perplexes me.
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| Tourist stalking unsuspecting author |
Still, there is something magical about Scotland that always
brings me back, if not in person, in my imagination. This is my first trip to Stirling, but it
shall not be my last. It is the perfect locale for mystery writers. Steeped in history running back to the Stone
Age, with a majestic 12th Century castle looming above the modern
city’s medieval core, this one time
capital of Scotland, is steeped in history for so many great battles (think
Braveheart) as the link between the Highlands and Lowlands.
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| Not the castle, but scene of last execution in Stirling. |
And now it’s time to put my head on to the table and
sleeeeeeep.
If I wake up in time I’ll post photos. If not, zzzzzzzz.
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| Second oldest building in Sterling. |
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| Our host, Craig Robertson |
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| Craig's dinner recommendation |
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| Caro's packed house |
Jeff—Saturday
