One Book, One Scotland is celebrating the life of John Buchan this year, and particularly The Thirty-Nine Steps. If you haven’t read it, I urge you to do so – it won’t take long as it’s a ripping yarn and while some of its sentiments may be a little out of date, its pace and unrelenting action are bang up to date – think The Bourne Ultimatum, but with more tweed.

Anyway, I’ve been invited to Bishopbriggs Library as part of this to talk about my own book, Out of A Clear Sky, which I hope is every bit as gripping to the reader. I’m particularly glad to be asked because it gave me a nudge to re-read the book and I found that, having moved to Dumfries and Galloway two years ago, I’m now living quite close to the very hills where Richard Hannay escaped his pursuers and unmasked a vast conspiracy.  So far, I’ve not been pursued by homicidal Germans or had to climb out of any train windows, but I have found the countryside can be almost as empty and lonely as it was before the First World War.

If you’re in Glasgow or its environs on Thursday 13th May, I hope to see you there. More details here