Synopsis
Your best mate just fell off a cliff in mysterious circumstances and you were the last person to see him alive. What do you do? Well, if you're David Lindsay from Arbroath, you get the hell out of there and don't return. Not for at least fifteen years. Until Nicola Cruickshank - yes, that Nicola, the girl you always fancied but never had the guts to approach - gets in touch and asks - no, demands - that you go back for a school reunion. To the place where it happened. The place you've been running from for fifteen years. Of course you go. Not to belatedly lay your mate to rest, but because you still fancy Nicola. The thing is, if you are David Lindsay, then returning to Arbroath isn't going to lay any ghosts to rest. And when someone else takes a dive off the cliffs - an act the locals have taken to calling 'tombstoning' - while David's there, he has a choice: run away again, or finally find out why people keep dying around him...Interview
Doug Johnstone, author of Tombstoning, answers our searching questions...
1. Who or what always puts a smile on your face?
It’s an incredibly corny answer, but the sight of my one-year-old son does it every time, even if he’s bawling his eyes out, which isn’t very often, to be fair, ‘cos he’s a good-natured wee soul. The Scottish national football team winning a game also makes me smile, but that’s a much less frequent occurrence.
2. What are you reading at the moment?
I review books as part of my work as an arts journalist, so I’ve often got umpteen books on the go. This works out pretty well, because the good books you review inspire you to write better, while the bad ones make you feel good about what you’ve already written. The last great book I read was James Robertson’s The Testament of Gideon Mack [published by Penguin], an extraordinary novel about Scotland in the twenty-first century.
3. Which author do you most admire?
Plenty of them. Raymond Carver always stuck to his principles and produced an incredible body of work, simply the best short story writer I’ve ever read. There’s an American author called David Gates who has written two novels which are remarkable examinations of breakdown and both incredibly funny and moving. James Hogg and Robert Louis Stevenson are to be greatly admired for changing the landscape of Scottish literature in their own ways.
4. What’s your earliest memory?
When I was at nursery, Santa Claus turned up with a sack full of presents, and I got an Etch-a-Sketch. It was definitely the real Santa, and I was very impressed. On a similar note, I met the real Ronald McDonald at my cousin’s birthday party in Toronto on an early family holiday not long after. Seemed like a nice bloke, I have to say, despite all his bad press. It can’t be easy being Ronald McDonald.
5. What is your greatest fear?
I’m a fairly new parent, so I’m full of all the terror and fear that involves, worrying about my son’s future health, well-being and all that jazz. This has been brought into sharp focus by him very recently splitting his head open on a door, blood everywhere, rushing to A&E, and a handful of stitches to a gaping wound in his forehead. How many more years of this are there?
6. How would you like to be remembered?
Not too bothered. A decent son, husband and father would do. I want to be cremated, and have my ashes scattered in the sea. I grew up by the sea and live next to it now - the sea has shaped me as much as anything (but not anyone) else.
7. Have you ever done something you’ve really regretted?
Absolutely loads of things. One of my pet hates is when people, especially celebrities, wheel out the “I’ve no regrets” line in an interview. What kind of idiotic way to live your life is that? It’s an excuse to act like a dumb-ass and not give a toss, that’s what it is. I’m not going to say what I specifically regret, I’d be here too long. Seven years of studying physics for a start.
8. How do you spoil yourself?
I don’t buy myself stuff, I’m not one of these eejit blokes who likes gadgets or grown-up toys. A nice bit of sirloin steak and a decent red wine is probably the extent to which I spoil myself. That and always having a bottle of Laphroaig in the house.
9. What’s your favourite book?
Of course, this is impossible to answer. There are loads of favourite books, and they change depending what mood I’m in. Where I’m Calling From, the collected stories of Raymond Carver is genius from start to finish. Preston Falls by David Gates is probably the best modern novel I’ve ever read for getting under the skin of its characters. While Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a groundbreaking, classic piece of literature.
10. Who (or what) do you turn to in a crisis?
Never really had a crisis, as such, but I turn to my wife for everything in the way of advice and support, so it would be her.
11. What makes you angry?
How long have you got? Most things make me angry. Anger is more or less my default setting. The current obsession with celebrity has me baffled and furious in equal measure. Self-importance or arrogance in any form. Above all else, the pompous and delusional attitude of the English media regarding their national football team drives me apoplectic with rage every time I come across it. Which is very often.
12. What is tombstoning, and how did you come across it?
Tombstoning is jumping off a cliff into the sea for thrills. The coastguard call it that because it’s a quick way to an early grave. I first came across it in a news story in a Dundee paper, saying that some kids had been spotted doing it from Arbroath cliffs. I know those cliffs well, and I was simply astounded that anyone would even contemplate doing such a thing – Arbroath cliffs are a dangerous, deadly place, not at all a benign environment. And as for the North Sea, I wouldn’t even paddle in it, let alone jump from a hundred foot cliff into it. Those kids must be nuts.
13. Which foreign country would you most like to visit?
I’ve always fancied going to Argentina. This is fuelled entirely by football. One of my formative childhood memories is of the ‘78 World Cup in Argentina, and I’d like to go on a pilgrimage to where the Scottish team self-imploded. Also, if I could combine the trip with meeting Maradona, I’d die a happy man. As for places I’ve already been, my wife and I went to Iceland for our honeymoon, and it’s a fantastic, outlandish place. I would go back there at the drop of a hat – in fact I’m planning on partly setting a future book there, which gives me a good excuse to go back and do some “research”.
14. How do you relax?
A walk along nearby Portobello beach any time of day or night usually does the trick. Something to do with the sound of the waves and the immense size of the sea lowers the heart rate every time. In the house, aimlessly playing the guitar always helps me unwind.
15. What are you proudest of?
My son, my wife and my book.
16. Where do you write?
I used to have an office in our flat, but that’s my son’s bedroom now, and I’m relegated to the alcove in the dining room. I have a crappy desk I got free from my old work, I write on an old Mac I got free from my wife’s work, and I have some shelves I got free from a friend of my parents. Two guitars, an amp and an old noddy keyboard are also lurking nearby, in case I get the urge to write a tune.
17. Which is your favourite city and why?
Despite having many faults, Edinburgh, where I’ve lived my whole adult life, is a fantastic place. It’s beautiful, of course, and the pubs are open late. The centre is scenic in an obviously touristy way, but I always preferred the Southside and Newington areas, where there’s a bit more life. And I now live in Portobello, which is simply a fantastic part of town, close enough for quick access to the centre, but with a vibe all its own. In general I like smaller cities – Reykjavik, Amsterdam and Dublin are all great places. I don’t like big cities – London scares the bejesus out of me every time I’m there, daft country hick that I am.
18. Which is your favourite place in Scotland?
It’s all good, isn’t it? Apart from the crap bits, that is. But on the whole, Scotland is a beautiful place full of good people. I love islands. I’ve been to Arran a lot, and have some great memories of the place, while Orkney also has a very special atmosphere, full of history. I live in Portobello, Edinburgh’s seaside which no one seems to know about. There’s a large sandy beach at the bottom of our street and spectacular views over the Forth – can’t get much better than that.
19. One wish; what would it be?
Health and contentment for my loved ones. On a slightly less realistic note, how about to score the winning goal for Scotland in the World Cup final? Oh, and I wish I could play every musical instrument ever invented, rather than just the handful I can currently fumble around with.
Product details
Format : Paperback
ISBN: 9780141027579
Size : 129 x 198mm
Pages : 256
Published : 03 Aug 2006
Publisher : Penguin
Tombstoning
£7.99
Related email updates
To keep up-to-date, input your email address, and we will contact you on publication or when the author releases another book.
Please alert me via email when:
