A Reluctant Spy wins the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize

So... yesterday was kind of wild.

I had a fantastic first day at Bloody Scotland, including the Debut Prize panel with my fellow shortlisters at the Stirling Central Library. Here we are right afterwards at the signing table.

I'm so glad I got the chance to meet all of these amazing writers and be nominated alongside them. It was an absolute honour and our panel together was loads of fun.

Then we all headed to the Golden Lion for a reception and the Bloody Scotland Prize Ceremony. Being piped into the (sweltering) ballroom of the hotel was an incredible moment, as was sitting alongside the other shortlisters in the front row under the lights, feeling incredibly nervous.

And, well... after a rundown of each book, Alex Gray said my name. And A RELUCTANT SPY won its second major award.

Again I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience as I walked up to the stage to be interviewed by Bryan Burnett. I just about managed to muddle through the questions and thank the people I wanted to thank. My wife Valerie was in the front row, my editor Toby a few rows behind her and a huge number of my friends in the Scottish writing scene were in the room, so it felt amazing to be able to acknowledge everything they've done to support me and my work.

Then I sat back down, terrified about dropping the (very spiky and made of glass) Debut Prize trophy.

And my agent sibling and very good friend Tariq Ashkanani won the McIlvanney Prize!

Then we went down to the street and took part in the 'Day of The Deid' parade down to the Albert Halls, which was utterly surreal, walking alongside the Provost and Sir Ian Rankin.

Lots more to come, but it's Day 2 of Bloody Scotland and I have a panel to go to in half an hour. And I haven't had breakfast yet.

Thank you to everyone who has bought the book, talked about it and made all of this possible. It's an absolutely stunning way to start my Bloody Scotland weekend.