From her Q & A with Randy Dotinga at the Christian Science Monitor:
Q: Glasgow comes across as tremendously dark and sad place in your novels set in the 1980s. The Alex Morrow novels show a more upscale Glasgow with havens for the rich, although there's still plenty of grit to go around. What's different about the city now?--Marshal Zeringue
A: Glasgow has changed hugely since I started writing, when it was like Detroit. It was the first city in Europe to regenerate itself through the arts, and there's been huge amount of regeneration.
Q: How have female detectives evolved in fiction over the past couple of decades?
A: At first, they had to act like men, carry guns and punch people – be able to beat people up and engage in fisticuffs. In the mid-1990s, their gender is talked about a lot, and they experienced prejudice.
Now you've reached the point where a woman is just a different type of detective. You're not getting information just because you're a woman; it's not your superpower anymore. It's just a fact about who you are.
Q: Alex Morrow isn't the friendliest of people. Are you attracted to people who have a bit of an attitude?
A: Alex just wants to do her job, and she's very angry.
I like...[read on]
