My father, a Hampshire boy born and bred, loved Scotland, and I remember being fascinated by the way he talked about it. He was a fiercely practical man who was rarely lyrical but who found something mystical in the country he would travel to for work from time to time.
Helen Fields
For me, it was the accent that enthralled. Then the reedy, majestic song of the bagpipes. The folklore, the history. By the time I first set foot in Scotland I was already expecting to fall madly in love. It didn’t disappoint. Robert Burns said, ‘My heart’s in the Highlands wherever I go’ and if ever a line of a poem rang true to me, it was that one.
And so it was that when I began writing, Scotland was the inevitable location for my stories. There’s a sense that the past isn’t consigned to history, that it’s still bubbling away just beneath the surface, a parallel universe sensation. Walk the streets of Edinburgh on a dark night when the pubs have long since turned out and even the party goers have tumbled into bed, and you’ll find it hard to be sure what century you’re in. Hike alone in the Highlands and you’ll be forgiven for suddenly finding the concept of time travel much more believable.
Scotland lives its history. It doesn’t put the past on the shelf only to polish for tourists and glossy brochures. And yet it knows poverty, the aftermath of wars and recession, unemployment and crime. It’s a melting pot. A country of opposites. A land where anything might happen.
In my books, Scotland is more a character than just a location. Its iconic nature means that readers already have a sense of what they’re about to read before they open the pages. From ancient landscapes and stunning architecture, to the sharp end of addiction and unloved tenements, the world-building takes care of itself.
What makes police procedurals work so well against a Scottish backdrop though, is the dry humour that’s ingrained in the culture. Understatement is a powerful tool in dramatic situations, and it’s the common thread in most Tartan Noir series. Dialogue is a joy to write. The characters pretty much walk straight off the page. It’s a country tailor-made for adjectives.
But it’s not all Braveheart and the Loch Ness monster. Scotland has dark edges. Crime fiction works well there because there’s a natural Gothic feel that extends from the cities to the farthest islands. Enough wilderness to escape the law, plenty of crumbling castles to bury bodies, small towns with secrets, cities bubbling with corruption. In its time, Scotland has seen it all.
I’m a romantic at heart, in spite of the darkness of the books I write, and Scotland is the country where I feel most inspired. I cannot grow tired of it or run out of places to write about. It gets in your blood. If I can take my readers there, even for a fleeting moment, then I’ve done something right.
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