If you’ve ever met or heard award-winning author Catriona McPherson, you’ll be able to “hear” her voice and humor in the following interview. Catriona discusses her latest book, Scot & Soda, her life and career. Thank you, Catriona.
Catriona, Would you introduce
yourself to readers?
yourself to readers?
Certainly. I’m fifty three
(although when did that happen?) and
I’ve been a full-time writer for fourteen years. I was a part-time writer for
five years before that and, back in the mists of time, I was once a linguistics
professor. I’m Scottish and I lived there until 2010 when I immigrated with my
husband, who’s a professor at the University of California. What else? Cats.
Baking. Yard sales. Ohhhh, it’s wild life.
(although when did that happen?) and
I’ve been a full-time writer for fourteen years. I was a part-time writer for
five years before that and, back in the mists of time, I was once a linguistics
professor. I’m Scottish and I lived there until 2010 when I immigrated with my
husband, who’s a professor at the University of California. What else? Cats.
Baking. Yard sales. Ohhhh, it’s wild life.
Would you introduce Lexy
Campbell?
Campbell?
She’s also Scottish and she
also followed a man to California. But he was a pillock and so now she’s divorced.
She’s a marriage guidance therapist – a thing I could never do; I couldn’t
leave the space for people to work things out on their own. I’d want to say
“Loser! Dump him.” or “Pull the other one, sunshine. I didn’t just fall off the
turnip truck.” Mind you, Lexy’s therapeutic style isn’t a million miles from
that.
also followed a man to California. But he was a pillock and so now she’s divorced.
She’s a marriage guidance therapist – a thing I could never do; I couldn’t
leave the space for people to work things out on their own. I’d want to say
“Loser! Dump him.” or “Pull the other one, sunshine. I didn’t just fall off the
turnip truck.” Mind you, Lexy’s therapeutic style isn’t a million miles from
that.
Tell us about Scot &
Soda, without spoilers.
Soda, without spoilers.
It opens at the
Halloween-cum-house-warmer she’s hosting on her houseboat. Her fridge is titchy
so she put the beer in the slough tied to a rope. As she hauls it up again –
thinking it’s puzzlingly heavy – she congratulates herself on being done with
corpses, cops and clues. Guess what happens next. Go on, guess.
Halloween-cum-house-warmer she’s hosting on her houseboat. Her fridge is titchy
so she put the beer in the slough tied to a rope. As she hauls it up again –
thinking it’s puzzlingly heavy – she congratulates herself on being done with
corpses, cops and clues. Guess what happens next. Go on, guess.
So by chapter two, Lexy and
her pals are on the case again. That’s Todd and Roger, a pair of doctors, Kathi
and Noleen, the Last Ditch Motel owners, Della and Diego, permanent motel
residents. I was so happy to get back to them again!
her pals are on the case again. That’s Todd and Roger, a pair of doctors, Kathi
and Noleen, the Last Ditch Motel owners, Della and Diego, permanent motel
residents. I was so happy to get back to them again!
How many of Lexy’s
experiences (not the bodies) are based on your experiences as a transplant to
the United States?
experiences (not the bodies) are based on your experiences as a transplant to
the United States?
Ha. Yes, it’s all completely
autobiographical (except that none of it actually happened). I gave Lexy a name – Leagsaidh – that’s even
harder to spell and/or pronounce than mine, after five years of having people
say “Katrina? Really? Why’s there an “o” in it?” (The answer is because Scots
Gaelic got all the vowels they didn’t need for Polish.)
autobiographical (except that none of it actually happened). I gave Lexy a name – Leagsaidh – that’s even
harder to spell and/or pronounce than mine, after five years of having people
say “Katrina? Really? Why’s there an “o” in it?” (The answer is because Scots
Gaelic got all the vowels they didn’t need for Polish.)
In the first book Lexy
stumbled around making ten mistakes a day, just like me: Why won’t the petrol
come out of the nozzle? (Because you have to pay for it first.); Why is that
mouse so angry? (Because it’s a gopher); How in the name all that’s holy did
gummy bears ever catch on? (No clue.) These days, in real life and in the new
book too, the Scot doesn’t make such enormous clangers quite so often.
stumbled around making ten mistakes a day, just like me: Why won’t the petrol
come out of the nozzle? (Because you have to pay for it first.); Why is that
mouse so angry? (Because it’s a gopher); How in the name all that’s holy did
gummy bears ever catch on? (No clue.) These days, in real life and in the new
book too, the Scot doesn’t make such enormous clangers quite so often.
What do you miss the most
about Scotland?
about Scotland?
Oof. Well, for a start, I go
back every year so I’ve got no business claiming to miss anything. Imagine
those early emigrants who left on a ship, waving a hanky, knowing that was it. But
in the eleventh months between visits, I miss food you can’t get here. Pork
pies, fresh herrings, Cumberland sausages, haggis, Bramley apples, Persian
pomegranates . . .
back every year so I’ve got no business claiming to miss anything. Imagine
those early emigrants who left on a ship, waving a hanky, knowing that was it. But
in the eleventh months between visits, I miss food you can’t get here. Pork
pies, fresh herrings, Cumberland sausages, haggis, Bramley apples, Persian
pomegranates . . .
What do you love the most
about the United States?
about the United States?
Food you can only get here!
Russet potatoes, local oranges, mission figs, nachos Mexicanos carnitas,
persimmons, the glut of avocados that makes guac a good lunch-time standby. And
the post office; I adore the USPS.
Russet potatoes, local oranges, mission figs, nachos Mexicanos carnitas,
persimmons, the glut of avocados that makes guac a good lunch-time standby. And
the post office; I adore the USPS.
Everyone takes a different
path to publication. How did you become a published author?
path to publication. How did you become a published author?
I was a miserable and rubbish
linguistics professor. And I was on a weekly commute from home, paying rent in
a distant city. Also, JK Rowling was writing Harry Potter in that Edinburgh
coffeeshop, Oprah was in full sail, and every woman between thirty and sixty
was in a book club. Suddenly, writing didn’t seem like the pipe dream I had
been hiding my whole life. It felt possible. So I resigned and sat down to find
out if I could do it. That first book went in a drawer after forty rejections,
but the next one got published and got shortlisted for the Ellis Peters
historical dagger (the UK Edgars, more or less). I’m still writing the historical series that
began with that book.
linguistics professor. And I was on a weekly commute from home, paying rent in
a distant city. Also, JK Rowling was writing Harry Potter in that Edinburgh
coffeeshop, Oprah was in full sail, and every woman between thirty and sixty
was in a book club. Suddenly, writing didn’t seem like the pipe dream I had
been hiding my whole life. It felt possible. So I resigned and sat down to find
out if I could do it. That first book went in a drawer after forty rejections,
but the next one got published and got shortlisted for the Ellis Peters
historical dagger (the UK Edgars, more or less). I’m still writing the historical series that
began with that book.
If you had to recommend 5
books to a person so they could get a feel for your reading taste, what 5 would
you pick?
books to a person so they could get a feel for your reading taste, what 5 would
you pick?
What a great question. I’m
stealing it to ask Cathy Ace when I do her toastmaster interview at Left Coast
Crime in Vancouver next month. I’ll credit you.
stealing it to ask Cathy Ace when I do her toastmaster interview at Left Coast
Crime in Vancouver next month. I’ll credit you.
Okay.
5. Kate Atkinson Case Histories
4. Margery Allingham The Tiger in The Smoke (or The Beckoning Lady)
3. Angie Thomas The Hate You Give
2. Dorothy Whipple The Priory (or High Wages (this is hard))
1. Stephen King Lisey’s Story
Even though we might not
recognize some of the titles, what books were your favorites as a child?
recognize some of the titles, what books were your favorites as a child?
Enid Blyton’s Mallory Towers
series and St Clare’s series (both about boarding schools). There were two
novels about ponies that I read over and over again, even though I’ve never
cared a whit about ponies. They were Wish
For A Pony by Monica Edwards and Prince
Among Ponies by Josephine Pullein
Thompson. Six books about ballet, starting with Ballet for Drina by Jean Estoril (even though I couldn’t have cared
less about ballet either). But I also
read and re-read Charlotte’s Web, The Funny Guy, and Roald Dahl. A friend
brought back Are You There God, It’s Me
Margaret from the US and it blew us all away.
series and St Clare’s series (both about boarding schools). There were two
novels about ponies that I read over and over again, even though I’ve never
cared a whit about ponies. They were Wish
For A Pony by Monica Edwards and Prince
Among Ponies by Josephine Pullein
Thompson. Six books about ballet, starting with Ballet for Drina by Jean Estoril (even though I couldn’t have cared
less about ballet either). But I also
read and re-read Charlotte’s Web, The Funny Guy, and Roald Dahl. A friend
brought back Are You There God, It’s Me
Margaret from the US and it blew us all away.
Cat, I’m a librarian, and I
usually ask the same question at the end. Tell me a story about you and a
library or librarian. However, I don’t know how similar libraries are in the
U.S. to ones in Scotland. If you’d rather tell us about a Scottish library,
please do.
usually ask the same question at the end. Tell me a story about you and a
library or librarian. However, I don’t know how similar libraries are in the
U.S. to ones in Scotland. If you’d rather tell us about a Scottish library,
please do.
This is another great
question. I am a lifelong fan of libraries. My mum worked in our local public
library and I worked in the library system in university holidays. Here’s my
favourite thing about libraries in my whole life. When we immigrated, Neil and
me, he was on the international expert visa (the Austin Powers visa, I call it)
and I was on the spouse visa (or the chattel visa, we could say). Until we got
our greencards, I wasn’t allowed a bank account of my own, or a credit card. I
wasn’t allowed to work. I wasn’t even allowed to volunteer. BUT – I was allowed
to join Yolo (yes, really) County Library. That library card was my first
official proof of existence here in the US. I treasured it. When my greencard
came through and I was allowed to work,
the first public speaking event I did was in my local library, to say thank
you.
question. I am a lifelong fan of libraries. My mum worked in our local public
library and I worked in the library system in university holidays. Here’s my
favourite thing about libraries in my whole life. When we immigrated, Neil and
me, he was on the international expert visa (the Austin Powers visa, I call it)
and I was on the spouse visa (or the chattel visa, we could say). Until we got
our greencards, I wasn’t allowed a bank account of my own, or a credit card. I
wasn’t allowed to work. I wasn’t even allowed to volunteer. BUT – I was allowed
to join Yolo (yes, really) County Library. That library card was my first
official proof of existence here in the US. I treasured it. When my greencard
came through and I was allowed to work,
the first public speaking event I did was in my local library, to say thank
you.
******
And, thank you, Catriona!
SCOT & SODA
Midnight Ink – April 8, 2019
Paperback: $15.99, Kindle $11.99
ISBN: 978-0738754123
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Catriona McPherson was born in South Queensferry,
Scotland and lived there until 2010 before
immigrating to Davis, California. A former academic
linguist, she is now a full-time fiction writer of the
multi-award-winning and best-selling Dandy Gilver
detective stories, set in Scotland in the 1920s.
Catriona also writes a strand of award-winning
contemporary standalone novels including Edgar-
finalist The Day She Died and Mary Higgins Clark
finalists The Child Garden and Quiet Neighbors, just
to name a few. Much like her own life, McPherson’s
Scot Free and Scot & Soda follows amateur sleuth
Lexy Campbell from Scotland to California in her
newest cozy-style mystery series.
The author is also a proud member of Sister in
Crime, Mystery Writers of America, The
Crimewriters’ Association and The Society of
Authors.
When not writing, Catriona enjoys reading, gardening, cooking and baking, cycling in Davis and
running through walnut orchards. She’s already visit 27 states in the United States and has been
practicing an extreme form of Scotch thrift, from eating homegrown food to dumpster diving and
skip-surfing for major appliances.
AWARDS AND HONORS
-
The Reek of Red Herrings – 2017 Agatha Award Winner for Best Historical Novel
-
Quiet Neighbors – 2017 Mary Higgins Clark Awards Shortlist
-
Quiet Neighbors – 2017 IPPY Bronze Medal
- The Reek of Red Herrings – 2017 Bruce Alexander Memorial Lefty Winner for Best Historical Mystery
CONNECT WITH CATRIONA
Web: CatrionaMcPherson.com
Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/Catriona-McPherson
Twitter: @CatrionaMcP
Goodreads: http://tinyurl.com/AuthorCatrionaMcPherson
Great interview! Thanks.
It was only while watching Jackie Weaver's character in SECRET CITY that I realized that "Catriona" was pronounced "Katrina."
PS – Edinburgh is one of my favorite cities.
It seems that whatever is in your blog for the day I find a book to add to my list. Thanks. I added Scot Free to my library list today!
Don't you like Catriona's reasoning with vowels, Jeff, for the pronunciation? I have a friend in Edinburgh. Maybe next May or September.
Gram, You couldn't have written anything that would start my day off any better. Thank you!
Thank you so very much for having me, Lesa. And for the great questions. Reading this has started off publication day with a smile on my face. (As my poor little book goes out into the cold hard world all alone . . .) Cx
Awww. Bought Scot & Soda for the library here, 4 copies on order, and it appears on OverDrive today as "New in ebooks, which I bought, too. Librarians will always have your back. https://evpl.overdrive.com/
Thank you, Cat, for a fun interview!