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Alanna Knight - Author
Alanna's award winning work includes crime, gothic & historical novels. She lives in Edinburgh and was a Guide."Edinburgh inspires me to write, every day I walk from my home into history, Royal Mile, Holyrood, Kirk o' Fields (Now the University)."
I knew Child's Garden from childhood, but it was my son Chris aged 11 wanting help on a literature project who introduced me to RLS, especially as he wrote Treasure Island in Braemar only 40 miles from where we lived in Aberdeen. I was hooked, read everything by him and about him. He became my inspiration as a young writer and then an actor friend John Cairney asked me to write a play - The Private Life of RLS and I just went on from there...
Stevenson was a marvelous human being with 'a genius for friendship'; born out of his time, well ahead of Victorian morals and values.
Well, I've done it. 'The Gowrie Conspiracy' an unsolved brutal murder in the time of James the Sixth, published by Allison & Busby. And in the 1970s, the World's End Murders in Edinburgh's Royal Mile - also still baffles the police.
The Clearances which devastated the Highlands, with its consequent mass emigration and from which the land seems never to have recovered.
A hard choice out of 57 published books. At random The Passionate Kindness (the love story of RLS and Fanny Osborne), and any of Inspector Faro, Rose McQuinn or Tam Eildor would give them a flavour of the three series.
Edinburgh - Every day I walk from my home into history, the Royal Mile, Holyrood, Kirk o' Fields (now the University). And the reason I write about Victorian Edinburgh is that I know it so well, having walked the paths and touched the stones for 20 years with RLS.
Inspector Faro - how he would revel in the new found knowledge of forensics and DNA to solve baffling crimes where he had only observation, deduction - and sometimes only footprints!
As a rather lonely only child, I enjoyed every chance of new companions and I loved the challenge of working towards badges (although I didn't get very many - and my cookery was almost a challenge for the Fire Brigade!)
A difficult choice, I could name about ten close friends all equally loved! And a lot of excellent cooks and housewives among them - luxury achievements for a busy writer.
At a rough guess, the Bible. There's everything within, great stories, great faith and hope and inspiration.
Shakespeare - did he write all the plays!
To find out more about Alanna please see her website
