My Life of Crime by Anne Randall author of the Ross and Wheeler novels set in Glasgow

 Anne Randall grew up in the east end of Glasgow and is the author of the gritty, prize-winning Wheeler and Ross series set in her hometown. Her first novel RIVEN (written as A. J. McCreanor) won first prize at the Wells Festival of Literature in 2011.

Anne has also had poems and short stories published in various anthologies.

Anne previously worked as a cadet nurse, flower-seller, civil servant and English teacher before retraining as a psychotherapist. She now works in private practice in Glastonbury, Somerset, where she lives with her husband, furniture designer/maker Don Storey, their two pesky rescued cats and an inherited and remarkably handsome collie dog.

Outside of writing, Anne enjoys walking and listening to music. And, of course, reading.





You can connect with Anne here:

website: http://annerandall.co.uk
Twitter: @annerandall01
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annerandall01

Two books that influenced Anne:

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

I first read this when I was sixteen and I loved it. It was unlike anything I’d read up to that point in my life. Holden Caulfield is the archetypical outsider.  A teenager with contempt for those he sees as phonies.   I think we all feel a little of this, especially when younger – raging at the adult world around us.

The Cutting Room by Louise Welsh

I found this totally engrossing. I read it when it first came out and subsequently had the good fortune to have Louise (and Allan Guthrie) as tutors on an Arvon retreat in 2008. I still have my signed copy of The Cutting Room, with Louise’s comment, ‘Really enjoyed reading your work this week, keep at it!’ I took her advice and by 2011 had secured a publishing deal.

Two songs that influenced Anne:

Sonny Rollins   -   St. Thomas from Saxophone Colossus

I listen to a lot of instrumental jazz when I’m writing.  As an author, I immerse myself in words. I love listening to song lyrics that tell stories. However, when working I find this distracting so tunes like this help inspire me.

Coincidentally, Kat Wheeler, my lead detective shares my love of jazz!

The Bathers  - Thrive from Kelvingrove Baby

I first saw The Bathers at the Tron Theatre, Glasgow in 1997 which is when the album, Kelvingrove Baby was released. I went with my husband who was a big fan.  I could pick just about any track from this album, but Thrive, the opening track sets the tone.

Two films that influenced Anne:

Fargo

Fargo is such an iconic film.   The Coen Brothers really nailed it with this one.  It also resonated for me, as I spent time working in Saint Paul, Minnesota, one of the twin cities where part of the film is set.  Steve Buscemi is fantastic, as is Frances McDormand.

Scrooge

An annual Christmas Day treat for us!  Albert Finney is wonderful as Scrooge in this great Dickens tale.

Two People that influenced Anne's life :

Maya Angelou

When I first read Maya Angelou’s poems, as a young woman, they spoke to me of courage and strength.  Her incredible talent and intellect meant that she could write about what it means to be human, with great compassion, intellect and objectivity.

J.D. Fergusson

J. D. Fergusson was one of the Scottish Colourists and the University of Stirling has some gorgeous paintings in their collection. I first became interested in art at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. I’d get the number 64 bus from the terminus at Auchenshuggle, where I grew up and about fifty minutes later it would deliver me right outside ‘The Kelvingrove’.  Over the years, I’ve spent many hours sitting in the peace of the gallery looking at Fergusson’s work. I made DI Kat Wheeler a fan of both Fergusson’s work and jazz music, (Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins and Horace Silver) - much easier to keep control of the references that way. Both Wheeler and I would love to own an original sketch by Fergusson. In the meantime, prints will have to suffice.  Every time I go back to Glasgow, I make sure I visit the Kelvingrove. A friend once said about a gallery ‘I want to live there!’ That’s the way I feel about the Kelvingrove.

Blurb - Deceived

Available here

Secrets.
What secrets are hidden at the heart of family life?
Deceit.
The lies we tell ourselves are often more dangerous than the truth.

When forty-one-year-old Sarah Price is reported missing after having arranged a date with a man she met on the internet, her son is distraught.

Meanwhile, Glasgow based Detective Inspectors Kat Wheeler and Steven Ross attend the scene of a murder. Michael O'Donnell, a widower and devoted stay-at-home dad to his daughter, Paula, has been brutally killed. And Paula, who is vulnerable and dependent on daily medication, is missing.

As Wheeler and Ross race to find Michael's killer and Paula's abductor, they are drawn into a tangled web of deceit. Soon they come to realise that the killer is watching them. And is always one step ahead...