Folks,
Bits and bobs and odds and sods to tell you about, so let’s crack on:

1. Edinburgh Book Festival Event next week
I’m appearing with Jens Lapidus at Charlotte Square next Friday 17th August at 8.30pm. Just finished Jens’s novel Easy Money which totally blew me away – he’s a million-selling Swedish writer, also a celebrity, a defence lawyer and (one for the ladies) annoyingly handsome. Honoured to be sharing a stage, and looking forward to this event immensely. Details of tickets etc are here.

2. Bloody Scotland event next month
I’m absolutely delighted to be appearing at the inaugural Bloody Scotland – the country’s only crime writing festival, no less. It’s all in Stirling, and my event is being billed as ‘Bad Boys’ (presumably nothing to do with the Will Smith movie) alongside the excellent Craig Robertson and Gary Moffat. It’s Saturday 15th Sept, 6.30pm, and as everyone knows, Saturday’s night’s alright for fighting, so expect extreme violence. Probably. Details here.

3. Loads more events
St Andrews, Newcastle, Glenrothes, Stirling, Edinburgh all in the pipeline. Check dates here.

4. Tombstoning and The Ossians out now
Both my first two books have been given a new lease of life as Faber ebooks. Find out what Irvine Welsh, Ian Rankin and Chris Brookmyre liked about em by clicking here.

5. Second Lives
Very proud to have a short story included in Second Lives, a joint book project between British and American writers. My story is called ‘I’m Yours To Knock Around’ and is as cheery as that sounds. Find out all about the book and the project here.

6. Elsewhere
Also thrilled to have a story, ‘Surtsey’, included in the Elsewhere project, a collaboration between the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Cargo Publishing and McSweeney’s. 50 writers with stories in four volumes of gorgeously designed booky goodness. Check out the whole thing here.

7. Smokeheads out in Germany
Those lovely people at my German publishers btb have now published Smokeheads, my first book in translation! I’m well excited. Here’s hoping it flies off the shelves over there, eh? It even has a glossary of whisky terms in the back of the book – aw, bless em. Check it out here, if you speak German.

8. Amazon #1 Bestseller Hit & Run still out there
Of course I couldn’t leave you without plugging this, could I? Click here for purchasery.

9. And announcing Gone Again
My next novel is called Gone Again and is coming out with Faber 7th March 2013. Got a rough cover, nothing final, but it’s looking amazing! I’ll be boring the teats off you about it in due course, but meantime, the blurb is already up on Amazon:

And that’ll do for now, eh? See you in Charlotte Square!

Doug x