Biography courtesy Lesley McDowell
Russel D McLean was born in Fife, and moved to Dundee where he studied philosophy at the University of Dundee. His speciality was philosophy of mind, but after he discovered the difficulty of funding a PhD he fell into the disreputable company of the booktrade.
Russel's path to publication started at sixteen when he submitted his first full length novel to Virgin Publishing New Doctor Who Adventures. The novel was summarily rejected and he spent the next fourteen years perfecting his style before finally switching genres and writing dark crime fiction. His first paid credit was in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine in 2004 and his first novel, THE GOOD SON, was released in 2008. He has since been published in the US, translated into Italian, French and German, and was nominated for best first PI novel by the Private Eye Writers of America. He spent over a decade as a bookseller in Dundee and Glasgow, writing at night. Now he spends his days working as a development editor for various publishers, large and small, on a freelance basis, and his nights continuing to write fiction and screenplays. In 2018, he was part of the Write4film initiative from the Scottish Film Talent Network, which helps writers from other forms to learn about screenwriting. He is currently working on various projects intended for the screen. For two years (2014-16) he wrote a monthly crime fiction column for the Scottish Herald. And yes, he really did once share a flat with a cursed mask. |
Courtesy Thomas Pluck/Noir at the Bar NYC
|
courtesy Lesley McDowell
Have questions for Russel? (AKA FAQ)
You can always drop him a line via the website (see the top of this page) or get in touch via twitter @russeldmclean. But why not check here first to see if your question hasn't already been answered? You can even sign up to a newsletter, which won't spam up your inbox, but will come out maybe once a month or so, with news on what Russel's working on, alongside his constant recommendations for films, books, and things that caught his fancy (he remains a bookseller at heart, and wants to tell everyone about the books he loves...)
Q: Will there be another McNee book?
A: I always maintained there would be five books. I had a vague plan at the start and followed through on most of it. For now, McNee's story is done. He may return one day, however, if there's a story that suits him.
Q: What does the D stand for?
A: As I always say to people - it stands for "don't know" (afraid that's all you're going to get)
Q: What's McNee's first name?
A: In about the geekiest reference to populate any of my books (and there are many), we only ever learn the first two letters of his first name (Ja) but no more than that. This is actually a callback to a story about the Joker from Batman that was published in the late nineties, where we learned the crown prince of crime's name started with those letters, too. Oddly enough, in the Italian version of The Good Son, he does gain a first name: John.
Q: Will there ever be a movie of one of your books?
A: Maybe. Maybe not. The film industry is (If such a thing is possible) even slower than publishing in some respects. There has been interest in the McNee books in the past, and if the right offer came along... well, who knows? (If you're reading, Mr Speilberg, feel free to drop me or my agent a line...)
Q: When will Book X be published in language/territory Y?
A: In order to be published in another language, generally a publisher in that language would have to be interested. So far, The Good Son has been published in Italian, while Ed's Dead has been snapped up by French and German publishers (I'll have more info on when those two are to be published soon).
At the moment, the McNee books are not currently in print anywhere as rights with previous publishers have expired (with the possible exception of Italy).
If you are a publisher who'd like to publish my books in your country, do get in touch with my agent Allan Guthrie at The North Literary Agency to inquire about rights to the McNee novels, or my Scottish publishers Saraband for And When I Die and Ed's Dead.
Q: You're a book editor by day, aren't you? Can I hire you to edit my book?
At the moment, I work through referrals or directly with publishers. However, you can work with me through Jericho Writers, who provide editorial and mentoring services. Check out the section below the FAQs for more on some of the editorial work I have done.
Q: I'm sorry, but I borrowed your book from the library/bought it second hand - is this the same as piracy?
Definitely not. In the UK, the PLR (Public Lending Right) scheme means all authors get a share of a pot of money based on the number of loans of their books from libraries. And some second hand sales contribute to a new scheme that works similarly (this is newer, and I don't quite understand it yet, but its a great idea). Book piracy is generally done online, and is when a site offers a book for free when they do not have the right to do so. Most authors (aside from the superstars) do not make much money, and so if you use these sites, I don't get paid, and have to take more time away from writing to focus on work that does pay. And so does any author whose work you pirate. The sheer scale of these download sites compared to people who buy second hand copies is the difference. And besides, paying for a book means you're letting the author know their work matters. So, please, buy from reputable sites, borrow from libraries, or buy physical second hand copies.
Q: Are you part of a left wing fascist conspiracy to promote violence among our children?
A: No. (This was a genuine accusation thrown at me via email once)
Q: Are you really a PI? Did you lose your fiance in a car accident?
A: I have been asked these questions a few times. I'm afraid both of these incidents are unique to McNee. Any paralells between our lives are quite coincidental (although for a while we both wore the same leather jacket)
Q: Are the pubs mentioned in the McNee books real?
A: If nothing bad happens in them, then yes. The Crow and Claw - which appears in the Sam Bryson shorts - is fake. But the Phoenix bar is real, and is where I used to drink regularly. As is Mennies/The Speedwell. Beiderbeckes is a real restaurant, too.
I should also apologise to the Phoenix for putting a moose head on their wall. Its really a bull's head, as the landlord reminded me for years after the publication of The Lost Sister. If you do go the Pheonix, by the way, you should have the chili. There's a very good reason they put a ring of fire next to it on the menu (denoting the opening of Bonanza, apparently).
Q: Will you come speak at my library/festival/bookshop/living room?
A: Maybe. Get in touch amd we'll see what I can do. I have experience running workshops and events, and have worked at interviewing other writers for bookshops/festivals etc. Please do note that because of the time involved, priority will generally be give to events that involve a fee.
Q: Did you work as a bookseller in Dundee?
A: Yes, I did. Over ten years in three bookshops. I then worked in a bookshop in Newton Mearns for about nine months before writing/editing full time.
Q: Who are your writing heroes?
A: My earliest influences were probably the DIamond Brothers books by Anthony Horowitz and the Three Investigators books, which I was later disappointed to learn were not written by Alfred Hitchock. Later, I was turned onto adult crime fiction by Raymond Chandler, Lawrence Block, James Lee Burke, and James Ellroy. I love science fiction by Philip K Dick, and was a massive fan of the sadly departed Iain (M) Banks.
More recent writers who make me weep with jealousy include Megan Abbott. Laura Lippman, Reed Farrel Coleman, Ray Banks, Cathi Unsworth and the late Tom Piccirilli (who I only latterly realised had been very encouraging to my teenage self on the AOL writer's boards back in the late 90s).
Q: I want to write. Do you have any advice?
A: Read a lot. Research what you're doing. Don't think your first novel has to be published (even if it can be - you only get one chance to make a first impression, so make sure you are putting your absolute best work out there). In the same way a musician has to practice before they can play their first gig, so a writer has to develop their skills before publishing their first novel.
There are a lot of great resources out there for beginning writers. I find screenwriting books are actually very good for novel structure (Alexandra Sokoloff - a writer whose work I admire - has a very helpful book about this called Stealing Hollywood). Places like Jericho Writers may be of help in getting an outsider to look at your weaknesses. But you need to be absolutely honest with yourself about how your work measures up to your writing heroes. I wrote four novels before I understood how they worked. I know very few writers who came right out the gate with a brilliant novel. Many of them had to learn for years how storytelling works.
You can always drop him a line via the website (see the top of this page) or get in touch via twitter @russeldmclean. But why not check here first to see if your question hasn't already been answered? You can even sign up to a newsletter, which won't spam up your inbox, but will come out maybe once a month or so, with news on what Russel's working on, alongside his constant recommendations for films, books, and things that caught his fancy (he remains a bookseller at heart, and wants to tell everyone about the books he loves...)
Q: Will there be another McNee book?
A: I always maintained there would be five books. I had a vague plan at the start and followed through on most of it. For now, McNee's story is done. He may return one day, however, if there's a story that suits him.
Q: What does the D stand for?
A: As I always say to people - it stands for "don't know" (afraid that's all you're going to get)
Q: What's McNee's first name?
A: In about the geekiest reference to populate any of my books (and there are many), we only ever learn the first two letters of his first name (Ja) but no more than that. This is actually a callback to a story about the Joker from Batman that was published in the late nineties, where we learned the crown prince of crime's name started with those letters, too. Oddly enough, in the Italian version of The Good Son, he does gain a first name: John.
Q: Will there ever be a movie of one of your books?
A: Maybe. Maybe not. The film industry is (If such a thing is possible) even slower than publishing in some respects. There has been interest in the McNee books in the past, and if the right offer came along... well, who knows? (If you're reading, Mr Speilberg, feel free to drop me or my agent a line...)
Q: When will Book X be published in language/territory Y?
A: In order to be published in another language, generally a publisher in that language would have to be interested. So far, The Good Son has been published in Italian, while Ed's Dead has been snapped up by French and German publishers (I'll have more info on when those two are to be published soon).
At the moment, the McNee books are not currently in print anywhere as rights with previous publishers have expired (with the possible exception of Italy).
If you are a publisher who'd like to publish my books in your country, do get in touch with my agent Allan Guthrie at The North Literary Agency to inquire about rights to the McNee novels, or my Scottish publishers Saraband for And When I Die and Ed's Dead.
Q: You're a book editor by day, aren't you? Can I hire you to edit my book?
At the moment, I work through referrals or directly with publishers. However, you can work with me through Jericho Writers, who provide editorial and mentoring services. Check out the section below the FAQs for more on some of the editorial work I have done.
Q: I'm sorry, but I borrowed your book from the library/bought it second hand - is this the same as piracy?
Definitely not. In the UK, the PLR (Public Lending Right) scheme means all authors get a share of a pot of money based on the number of loans of their books from libraries. And some second hand sales contribute to a new scheme that works similarly (this is newer, and I don't quite understand it yet, but its a great idea). Book piracy is generally done online, and is when a site offers a book for free when they do not have the right to do so. Most authors (aside from the superstars) do not make much money, and so if you use these sites, I don't get paid, and have to take more time away from writing to focus on work that does pay. And so does any author whose work you pirate. The sheer scale of these download sites compared to people who buy second hand copies is the difference. And besides, paying for a book means you're letting the author know their work matters. So, please, buy from reputable sites, borrow from libraries, or buy physical second hand copies.
Q: Are you part of a left wing fascist conspiracy to promote violence among our children?
A: No. (This was a genuine accusation thrown at me via email once)
Q: Are you really a PI? Did you lose your fiance in a car accident?
A: I have been asked these questions a few times. I'm afraid both of these incidents are unique to McNee. Any paralells between our lives are quite coincidental (although for a while we both wore the same leather jacket)
Q: Are the pubs mentioned in the McNee books real?
A: If nothing bad happens in them, then yes. The Crow and Claw - which appears in the Sam Bryson shorts - is fake. But the Phoenix bar is real, and is where I used to drink regularly. As is Mennies/The Speedwell. Beiderbeckes is a real restaurant, too.
I should also apologise to the Phoenix for putting a moose head on their wall. Its really a bull's head, as the landlord reminded me for years after the publication of The Lost Sister. If you do go the Pheonix, by the way, you should have the chili. There's a very good reason they put a ring of fire next to it on the menu (denoting the opening of Bonanza, apparently).
Q: Will you come speak at my library/festival/bookshop/living room?
A: Maybe. Get in touch amd we'll see what I can do. I have experience running workshops and events, and have worked at interviewing other writers for bookshops/festivals etc. Please do note that because of the time involved, priority will generally be give to events that involve a fee.
Q: Did you work as a bookseller in Dundee?
A: Yes, I did. Over ten years in three bookshops. I then worked in a bookshop in Newton Mearns for about nine months before writing/editing full time.
Q: Who are your writing heroes?
A: My earliest influences were probably the DIamond Brothers books by Anthony Horowitz and the Three Investigators books, which I was later disappointed to learn were not written by Alfred Hitchock. Later, I was turned onto adult crime fiction by Raymond Chandler, Lawrence Block, James Lee Burke, and James Ellroy. I love science fiction by Philip K Dick, and was a massive fan of the sadly departed Iain (M) Banks.
More recent writers who make me weep with jealousy include Megan Abbott. Laura Lippman, Reed Farrel Coleman, Ray Banks, Cathi Unsworth and the late Tom Piccirilli (who I only latterly realised had been very encouraging to my teenage self on the AOL writer's boards back in the late 90s).
Q: I want to write. Do you have any advice?
A: Read a lot. Research what you're doing. Don't think your first novel has to be published (even if it can be - you only get one chance to make a first impression, so make sure you are putting your absolute best work out there). In the same way a musician has to practice before they can play their first gig, so a writer has to develop their skills before publishing their first novel.
There are a lot of great resources out there for beginning writers. I find screenwriting books are actually very good for novel structure (Alexandra Sokoloff - a writer whose work I admire - has a very helpful book about this called Stealing Hollywood). Places like Jericho Writers may be of help in getting an outsider to look at your weaknesses. But you need to be absolutely honest with yourself about how your work measures up to your writing heroes. I wrote four novels before I understood how they worked. I know very few writers who came right out the gate with a brilliant novel. Many of them had to learn for years how storytelling works.
