Date Published: 16th August 2019
It is mid August in Edinburgh and Sandy (Alexander) has already appeared in two Fringe shows, one afternoon-tea at the rather lovely Waldorf Astoria hotel and three events at Edinburgh International Book Festival – all within the last week! This is our busiest month of the year but also one of the most enjoyable. Edinburgh in Scotland is home territory and Sandy likes nothing more than meeting his readers and entertaining them with cheerful conversation, infectious laughter and music from friends – and giving an update on the goings-on of favourite characters. On Friday he appeared on stage with Stig Abell, editor of The Times Literary Supplement, author Kit De Waal and the BBC’s Joe Haddow. Together they discussed a new project running with the BBC and to which they have all contributed – The Novels that Shaped our World. To mark the 300th anniversary of Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, widely considered to be the first English language novel, a new BBC television series (coming this autumn) will explore the novels that have shaped our world. In the Edinburgh International Book Festival event, BBC Radio 2’s Book Club asked those on the stage and those in the audience to discuss their favourite and most influential novels with some interesting revelations!
On Saturday he delighted young readers as he explored the world of the School Ship Tobermory and gave an insight into the adventures of Ben, Fee and their intrepid friends as they sail the Hebridean waters in the new book, The Secret of the Dark Waterfall. Some brave young fans took to the stage from the audience to take part in acting and competitions.
This Tuesday he caught up with old friend Jamie Jauncey to bring readers up to date with his writing. New books in the Scotland Street series (The Peppermint Tea Chronicles) and No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series (To The Land of Long Lost Friends) were revealed along with a look at two books from earlier this year – the first in a news series, The Department of Sensitive Crimes, featuring Ulf Varg. This takes Scandinavian Noir and turns it into… Scandinavian Blanc (with a much lower body count!); and The Second Worst Restaurant in France where food writer Paul Stewart travels to a village in France in an effort to find the peace required to finish a new book. Of course peace is not what follows!
On Wednesday, the audience had a real treat in the form of music at the beginning and in the middle of the event from Lachlan Maclean on the accordion and Angus MacPherson on the pipes. Sandy was in conversation with the unflappable Rosemary Goring who took the musical interludes, a short clip from a film and a discussion about a book not yet published (Pianos and Flowers) all in her stride and STILL managed to chat through the books just out. Much laughter rippled through the tented theatre in another sell-out performance.
There is one performance still to go at Edinburgh International Book Festival – next Wednesday, 21 August 2019. It is sold out but keep in touch with the festival for any last minute spaces which might come up.