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Lucy Lloyd's debut novel Russian Doll got off to a flying start last night at Blackwell's branch in the South Bridge opposite Edinburgh University's Old Quad. In a very informal discussion before a healthy audience, the Scotsman's Jane Bradley skilfully steered the author towards opening new light on many of the book's aspects.
Set in an imaginary post-independence Scotland experiencing a soft Russian invasion, the central character of Russian Doll is Anna Aitken, a producer for the newly-created Scottish Broadcasting Corporation. As a former BBC radio producer herself, Lucy Lloyd admitted that she drew on past experience for her descriptions of the internal workings of broadcast media. She also admitted that she admired Anna for her spikiness, but that she wished she had more of her courage. With her husband sitting in the front row, she neatly ducked the question from the audience on whether she herself would have found the male lead character attractive!
Lucy gave a couple of readings, and afterwards there were many questions from the audience. That the audience had enjoyed their evening was even clearer when it became apparent that most of the "books for sale" had gone in no time. Perhaps it also helped that there was some free Vesperis vodka to try (the Russian link) both before and after the event!
Lucy Lloyd's Russian Doll is priced £9.99, from Blackwell's or any other good bookshop, or from our own website.
Set in an imaginary post-independence Scotland experiencing a soft Russian invasion, the central character of Russian Doll is Anna Aitken, a producer for the newly-created Scottish Broadcasting Corporation. As a former BBC radio producer herself, Lucy Lloyd admitted that she drew on past experience for her descriptions of the internal workings of broadcast media. She also admitted that she admired Anna for her spikiness, but that she wished she had more of her courage. With her husband sitting in the front row, she neatly ducked the question from the audience on whether she herself would have found the male lead character attractive!
Lucy gave a couple of readings, and afterwards there were many questions from the audience. That the audience had enjoyed their evening was even clearer when it became apparent that most of the "books for sale" had gone in no time. Perhaps it also helped that there was some free Vesperis vodka to try (the Russian link) both before and after the event!
Lucy Lloyd's Russian Doll is priced £9.99, from Blackwell's or any other good bookshop, or from our own website.
