Spooky high schools and Glaswegian Bridget Jones: an interview with Lisa Gray

Kia ora and haere mai, welcome to the latest weekly instalment of our 9mm interview series for 2021. This author interview series has now been running for over a decade, and today marks the 224th overall edition. 

Thanks for reading over the years. I've had tonnes of fun chatting to some amazing writers and bringing their thoughts and stories to you. 

My plan is to to publish 40-50 new author interviews in the 9mm series this year. You can check out the full list of of past interviewees here. Some amazing writers.

If you've got a favourite crime writer who hasn't yet been featured, let me know in the comments or by sending me a message, and I'll look to make that happen for you. Even as things with this blog may evolve moving forward, I'll continue to interview crime writers and review crime novels.

Today I'm very pleased to welcome lifelong Glaswegian Lisa Gray to Crime Watch. Lisa is a familiar face to festival goers on the British crime writing scene, having regularly attended various events over recent years as a keen reader, books columnist for a Scottish newspaper, and aspiring writer, before breaking through with her own bestselling debut THIN AIR in 2019. 

That novel introduced heroine Jessica Shaw, a headstrong California private investigator who specialises in missing persons. She's reappeared since in BAD MEMORY and DARK HIGHWAY. It's been a rapid rise as a crime writer for Lisa, who dreamed of writing books since she was young and cut her storytelling teeth as a football journo for more than 15 years - a job that veered from freezing days at Scottish football matches to meeting icons of the game like David Beckham and Diego Maradona. 

Since the release of THIN AIR in mid 2019, Lisa has become a #1 Amazon bestseller, as well as a Washington Post and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. Lisa's tales take readers into the gritty side of California, the grime behind the Hollywood facade and glamour. "Mazey Los Angeles noir for fans of Sara Gran. I’m liking it a lot," said legendary author Ian Rankin of THIN AIR.

But for now, Lisa Gray becomes the latest crime writers to stare down the barrel of 9mm. 

9MM INTERVIEW WITH LISA GRAY

1. Who is your favorite recurring crime fiction hero/detective?

I have a bad habit of falling in love with characters in books. First it was Mark Billingham’s Tom Thorne and Jeffrey Tolliver in Karen Slaughter’s Grant County series. Then it was Jack Reacher (seriously, who doesn’t fancy Reacher?) and Harry Bosch. If I had to pick just one, I’d go for Michael Connelly’s hero, Bosch—Harry just has it all. I’d love to have a beer with him, out on his deck with that incredible view of Los Angeles, as the sun sets over the city.

2. What was the very first book you remember reading and really loving, and why?

As a teen, I was totally hooked on the Sweet Valley High series and would drag my dad around every library in Glasgow to find the ones I hadn’t read yet. I was also a big fan of the Point Horror books, especially those written by RL Stine. And I was obsessed with STRANGER WITH MY FACE by Lois Duncan. Basically, I liked anything that involved spooky things happening to American high school kids.

3. Before your debut crime novel, what else had you written (if anything) unpublished manuscripts, short stories, articles?

I was a sports reporter for around 20 years so I wrote many, many thousands of words about football that were published in newspapers in the UK and abroad. I also wrote a non-fiction sports book about Rangers FC and it was a real buzz seeing that on the shelves of book stores. Other than sports-related stuff, there were a few short stories that probably weren’t very good. My debut, THIN AIR, was my first proper attempt at writing a novel.

4. Outside of writing and writing-related activities (book events, publicity), what do you really like to do, leisure and activity-wise?

I’ve recently taken up knitting. Before you laugh, it’s actually pretty cool these days. No, seriously, it is! Jessica Jones star Krysten Ritter is an avid knitter and she’s cool, right? So far, I’ve knitted a snood, a headband and beanie hat and they’re not too bad. However, I’ve resisted the urge to force my efforts onto family and friends as Christmas and birthday gifts. For now anyway…

5. What is one thing that visitors to your hometown should do, that isn't in the tourist brochures, or perhaps they wouldn’t initially consider?

Take a wander around the city centre and see all the amazing street art as part of the Glasgow Mural Trail, then grab an outside table at one of the restaurants on Royal Exchange Square for a bite to eat and some people-watching. When it gets too chilly, head along to the Horseshoe Bar to experience a pint in a typical Glasgow pub and, if you’re feeling brave or drunk enough, have a go at the karaoke in the lounge upstairs.

6. If your life was a movie, which actor could you see playing you?

Renée Zellweger circa the first Bridget Jones movie. That opening scene of Bridget in her PJs on the couch with a glass of wine? That’s pretty much me so all Renée would have to do is work on her Glaswegian accent.

7. Of your writings, which is your favourite or a bit special to you for some particular reason, and why?

I’ll always have a soft spot for my debut, THIN AIR. It was the book that allowed me to fulfil my dream of being a published author and to write books for a living. It’s also the one that’s sold the most copies so far! Is it the best? Hopefully not as I want to keep getting better with each book.

8. What was your initial reaction, and how did you celebrate, when you were first accepted for publication? Or when you first saw your debut story in book form on a bookseller’s shelf?

A heady cocktail of joy, disbelief, excitement, relief and nerves. I celebrated with a fish supper and a fancy bottle of champagne (no supermarket own make for such a big occasion).

9. What is the strangest or most unusual experience you have had at a book signing, author event, or literary festival?

I’m still very much a newbie, and 2020 was a write-off for live events, so I haven’t done many author events yet. I did go to all the big crime writing festivals for years as a reader and, a few years back at Bloody Scotland, an author came up to me in the bar and told me how much she had enjoyed my panel earlier that evening. I tried to think what panel she was talking about and asked if she thought I was the Scottish author Caro Ramsay. “Yes!” she replied, enthusiastically. I told her I was really sorry but I wasn’t Caro Ramsay. What I should have said was: “I know, wasn’t I bloody amazing?”

Thank you Lisa, we appreciate you chatting to Crime Watch.

You can find out more about Lisa Gray and her writing here, and follow her on Twitter.