In a past life, I’ve been a dockyard worker, student, musician, and song writer. Writing has always been in my blood and bone, from my musical days of writing lyrics and now my novels. My books encapsulate themes such as love, loss, hope, coming of age and the uncovering of secrets. They are character-driven stories set against the backdrop of Edinburgh and Greece. I never intended to, but seemingly, I write women’s contemporary fiction and since 95% of my readers are women, I suppose that’s a good fit. I identify with a physical place and the feeling of belonging; both are prominent in my writing. I want my novels to have a sense of time and place, drawing the reader into the social and cultural complexities of the characters. I want my characters to speak from the page, where the reader can identify with them, their hopes, fears, conflicts, loves and emotions. I hope the characters become like real people, where the reader wants to know what is going to happen to the characters, where is their life taking them in the story. The common denominator is, I want my novels to be about what it means to be human through our relationship with our world, our environment and with each other. Most of all, I want them to be good stories that the reader can connect with and enjoy. Visit me at my website and sign up for the occasional update about new releases and book promotions. www.dougiemchale.com Like me at Dougie @facebook.com/www.dougiemchale