Jim Gracie

Male

Dumfries & Galloway

United Kingdom

Profile Information:

Hometown:
Kilmarnock, Scotland, but now living in Sanquhar, Dumfriesshire
About Me:
A Scottish writer who has written countless travel books and articles. Since I was a kid I have enjoyed reading crime and mystery fiction, so last year I thought it was time I started writing it. No crime published as yet, though. But there's still time.

I review crime books for the Crimesquad website.
I Am A:
Reader, Writer, Critic
Books And Authors I Like:
Iain McDowall
Robert Goddard
Lawrence Block
M.C. Beaton
Val McDermid
W.D. Wingfield
Edgar Allan Poe
Catriona McPherson
George Simenon
Pierre Magnan
Henri Bosco
John Steinbeck
Mervyn Peake (the Gormenghast books)
John Sandford
Flannery O'Connor
Gayle Lynds
CJ Box
Patricia Highsmith
....I'll give up there, even though it's only a fraction of the writers I like.
Movies And TV Shows I Like:
I try not to watch too much TV (with varying degrees of success), because I am a sucker for crime series of any kind - mean-streets-of-the-big-city, retired-colonel-murdered-in-a-thatched-cottage-in-a-pretty-village, lone-man-saving-the-world,PI-with-a-drink-problem-and-an-ex-wife-who-sucked-him-dry-through-alimony. The lot, no matter how tacky, no matter how bad (...yes, I know, I know...), including

CSI
Morse
Midsumer Murders
Taggart
Breaking Bad
Frost
Miss Marple
Inspector Lynley
Waking the Dead


I am not a great movie buff, but I did enjoy watching:

Sunset Boulevard
Secret Window
Amadeus
MASH

I know I'm not being asked about my musical tastes, but it ranges from Mozart, Beethoven and Berio to the late Eva Cassidy (what a voice!), the Traveling Wilburies, Beatles and that superb jazz guitarist Martin Taylor (he bought me a drink once).

Comment Wall:

  • JackBludis

    Your avatar makes me dizzy.

    Feb 29, 2008

  • Karen from AustCrime

    Hi Jim - okay I admit I'm a bit of a fan of Taggart as well :)

    Feb 29, 2008

  • Karen from AustCrime

    Hi Jim - you'll get used to the site - I confess I just headed in and didn't leave a crumb trail :)

    Endeavour Hills isn't a million miles away from me - at least we're both on the same side of the City :)

    Mar 1, 2008

  • L. A. Starks

    Thanks. You'll like CrimeSpace. It's a good group.

    Mar 1, 2008

  • Carol Exline

    Hello, Jim. May you have lots of sun for your travels.

    Mar 5, 2008

  • Lee Lofland

    I knew your name sounded familiar! Good to see you, again.

    Mar 10, 2008

  • Brian L Porter

    Hi Jim,

    We share a love of Robert Goddard's work and seem to watch the same TV shows. I used to live up in Scotland, in Banchory, but am now back south in Yorkshire.

    BRian

    Mar 21, 2008

  • Jim Gracie

    Hi there Brian. Good to hear from you. Would this be North Yorkshire? South Yorkshire? West Yorkshire?

    For a few years I lived in Co Durham, and we used to travel down into Yorkshire regularly at weekends, visiting Harrogate, Ripon, Thirsk, Helmsley, the North Yorshire Moors and the like.

    In truth, I will read anything (except Westerns - something my late brother could never understand) but Robert Goddard is a particular favourite, especially for his plotting; and also for the fact that every book is a standalone, which makes a welcome change sometimes from a series (not that I don't like them as well).

    I've been to most places in the UK (I'm also a travel writer) and Deeside is one of my favourite spots. Now I'm living in Dumfries and Galloway in SW Scotland. It must have more writers per suqrae mile than anywhere else in the UK apart from London.

    Jim

    Mar 21, 2008

  • Brian L Porter

    Hi Jim,

    I'm in South Yorkshire, not the prettiest part fot he country, especially after living on Deeside. I lived a mere two hindred yards from the Dee when I was there, surrounded on three sides by Banchory forest, with the smell of pine trees to greet me whenever I opened my door....ah, heady happy days. I'm glad you read almost anything. Maybe one day I can entice you to try one of mine! 'A Study in Red' is selling particualrly well just now. I love Robert Goddard's books, especially Never Go Back, which was set on Deeside of course, a real favourite of mine. I have shelf full of his books, and love the way he trvels the UK for his settings, here for one book, there the next. I also admire Tess Gerritsen and Jeffery Deaver, both of whom gave me some degree of personal encouragement while I was writing 'A Study in Red'. Great people! I shall look forward to hearing more from you in the future Jim.

    Best regards

    Brian

    Mar 22, 2008

  • Brian L Porter

    That should have said "not the prettiest part of the country". Do forgive my typos there Jim.

    Mar 22, 2008

  • Jim Gracie

    Hi Brian.
    "not the prettiest part of the country", you write.

    But there are sure to be places that are as beautiful as anywhere in the UK. I'm also a travel writer, and I don't subscribe to the 'Rough Guides' and 'Lonely Planet' notion that some places aren't worth visiting. I've never been to a place yet that wasn't interesting or pretty in some way or other. Even the slag heaps and rusting winding gear of the former coal industry in Co Durham had a bleak sort of beauty. It would make a great backdrop for a crime yarn, though I am not the man to write it, as I've been away too long.

    Mar 28, 2008

  • L.J. Sellers

    Good morning Jim (is it morning in the UK?)
    Just saying Hi and good luck with your writing.

    Mar 28, 2008

  • Jim Gracie

    Hi there.

    It's afternoon here, the sun is shining (sort of) though I can see a huge bank of dark cloud from my office window which is heading this way. The daffodils are blooming in my back yard, and in a couple of hours I am heading north into the Highlands to attend my son-in-law's birthday party, which is on Saturday. I will, of course, abstain from strong drink at the party (he said, lying through his teeth) and stick to coffee.

    My daughter and son-in law-live about ten miles from Loch Ness, so I'll take my usual trip to see if I can see and photograph Nessie. I don't really believe in her, but you never know!

    Good luck with your writing as well. When I get back home I'll be buying a stack of books, incuding yours, to read. If you Google http://www.amazon.com/Spectacular-Scotland-James-Gracie/dp/0883638347 you can see one of mine that I'm particularly proud of.

    Mar 29, 2008

  • Mike Gerrard

    Ah, but do you know why we use the word toast to describe raising the glass?

    May 4, 2008

  • Jim Gracie

    It's got something to do with placing a piece of toast in or over the booze in olden times, does it not? I think I've read the derivation somewhere, but I've forgotten it. No doubt you are in a position to enlighten me.

    May 4, 2008

  • Yvonne Mason

    Welcome,
    All of your questions on Bounty Hunting will be answered beginning this week. If you don't already belong to http://www.leelofland.com/wordpress/
    stop by and join.
    A hunter is the person who goes after someone who is out of jail on bail and doesn't show up for court. A warrant is issued by the courts for failure to appear. It is up to the hunter to track them down and take them back to jail before the bonding company loses their bond money. I will be doing a blog every Monday at the above site. I will also be answering questions as well. I look forward to seeing you there.

    Jun 8, 2008

  • Jim Gracie

    Hi Summerrain! I write guidebooks and coffee table books. If you go to http://www.allbookstores.com/author/James_Gracie.html you'll see some of them there. I'm trying to move away from travel, but it's not easy, as travel forms the main part of my income.

    Glad you like M.A.S.H. and Amadeus. My ambition is to visit Salzburg one day. I nearly made it, but only got as far as Vienna, which is an amazing city.

    I'm trying to write a few short stories, and I have a police procedural on the go, set in Scotland. I also have a half-written radio play and one on Edgar Allan Poe and his time in Scotland.

    Jun 9, 2008

  • Colin Galbraith

    Hi Jim - great to meet another like-minded Scot on the forum :-)

    Nov 18, 2008

  • Maria

    Hi Jim,

    Thanks for your request. I'm not a native of Darlington, but have lived here since 1979. I know the area where your daughter and family lived. I lived in Bonnybrig in Scotland for a short time, beautiful scenery.

    I see you have several writing projects in the pot...me too, I only wish I could finish one of them. I have joined Nanowrimo this year in an effort to motivate me into completing a novel that has collected dust!

    M

    Nov 19, 2008

  • Lee Weeks

    Hi Jim
    Was born in N Devon. Have you read my books? Judging by your tastes you will like them.

    Nov 21, 2008

  • Jim Gracie

    Hi Lee.

    Nice to hear from you on this bitter cold, Scottish morning. I will go straight to Amazon and buy your books.

    My late brother lived in Hong Kong for many years before moving to Japan and teaching English as a foreign language in a city called Miyazaki. Hong Kong was a place he loved.

    Have you read any of Peter May's crime books, set in Beijing?

    My day time job is travel writer, but I have never been to the Far East. I am trying to distance myself from travel writing now, as travel no longer excites me. And when that happens, you won't excite your readers.

    Nov 21, 2008

  • Iain Rowan

    Hi Jim,

    Thanks for adding me - how come no-one's ever written that Great Peterlee Novel, I wonder...

    Cheers

    Iain

    Nov 23, 2008