Anne Hamilton
Who are your favourite Scottish writers?
I could write a list; my choices ebb and flow depending on mood, and they’re eclectic even then. At the moment, I’m enjoying Olga Wojtas and Jenni Fagan, but come Bloody Scotland time, I’ll revert to crime, maybe Ian Rankin or Val McDermid. I’m always up for re-reading Muriel Spark or A.L Kennedy, and for poetry, Jackie Kay and Carol Ann Duffy. The children’s authors, Alistair Chisholm and Nadine Aisha Jassat were favourites of my son – before he ‘gave up’ (fingers crossed, it’s a teenage thing) reading books!
What is your favourite Scottish novel or short story and why?
The book I’m currently reading is always my favourite. Right now, it’s Ginger and Me by Elissa Soave, because she makes a great story out of the life of a bus driver in Uddingston. It’s an ordinary job, in an ordinary place – yet the characters, plot and setting are anything but.
What piece of writing of yours are you most proud of?
That’s like asking me to pick my favourite child but I’m going to say, my first published book, A Blonde Bengali Wife. It’s a travel memoir that is the inspiration between the Bangladesh-based charity Bhola’s Children – of which I’m still a trustee, still supporting, nearly twenty years on.
What is your 274 Miles story about?
Living whilst dying. It aims to capture those little, shared, moments that make the human spirit go on and make connections, even when the body isn’t co-operating well.
Tell us about your writing process.
Er, what process…? That’s only slightly tongue-in-cheek; I’m a self-employed, single parent, masking a chronic neurological condition, so I grab my writing time when I can and try not to agonise over how much time I don’t spend on it. As I’ve heard others say, I often do my best writing when I’m not writing; walking the dog, doodling in my notebook, sitting on the bus – daydreaming, by any other name – all help ideas and scenes come together. When I do sit down to write, I try really hard to turn my edit-to-‘perfection’ brain off, and aim for a rough draft. One of the best (and hardest) life lessons I’ve (mostly) mastered is to stop procrastinating and just get on with it.
If you have one piece of writing advice, what would it be?
If I’m allowed one tip in three parts… Primarily it’s: write, write, write. Don’t think about it, read about it, talk about it, just do it. You can’t, as they say, edit a blank page, so treat it as a job and get some words down. They’ll create more words, and you can edit them later. If you wait for inspiration, well, that’s like waiting for Christmas: a huge build-up, over in a flash, and back to waiting. And finally, don’t compare yourself to others. No, you can’t write like your author-hero, but neither can they write like you. Your unique writing voice is your superpower.
What are you working on at the moment?
Following a two-book deal from Legend Press (The Almost Truth, 2024; Letters From Elena, 2025) I’m concentrating on my as yet nameless, third novel, one that’s been sitting at 55,000 words for far too long. It’s a story about a foster family, an abandoned baby, and the lies we tell ourselves to get by. It’s not really a psychological thriller but there is a strong element of narrative suspense woven through it.
How can readers connect with you and read your work?
I mosey on around social media platforms in an amateurish kind of way, constantly on a learning curve. You can find me, as author, editor and creative writing tutor, via Linktree.