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On Thursdays, I invite my favourite writers to share the inspirations behind their work. Here’s one from the ever-lovely Cassandra Parkin. The Story: Once, a brother and sister lived with their mother and father. The sister was older than the brother and she had long hair that he loved to twirl his fingers in, and for a long time she was taller than him (and even when he finally overtook her, in his head she was still always in charge). One…

April was mostly spent travelling around events and festivals for the launch of my first novel The Gracekeepers, which was great fun! The downside is that I barely saw my family (my fiancee Annie and our gorgeous lurcher Rosie); the upside is that all those hours spent on trains meant plenty of reading time. I’ve combined both things to have Rosie help me share my top three books for the month: Under My Skin, James Dawson – A modern, subtly queer update on Point…

March was a month of non-fiction reading, as for some reason I found it hard to get into any of the novels I started. I read some great true crime, mysteries and art history, but these were the two best of the month: Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident, Donnie Eichar – A personal, insightful investigation into one of the world’s most-discussed mysteries. I’m a massive X-Files nerd (I even write a column on it!) so I…

It’s exactly one year since my debut book was published. Happy birthday, Rental Heart! It’s been quite a year. I sold my second book, wrote my third book, and finally became a full-time writer. My wee Rental Heart has done surprisingly well. It’s sold over 1,000 copies in print, won or been shortlisted for four prizes, and had some incredibly generous reviews. I’ve read from it at two launch events (both sold out and standing room only!) at Waterstones Argyle Street and…

I’m still emerging from hibernation, so reading plenty! It was tough to pick a top 3 this month, so I sneaked another in…. The Exit, Helen Fitzgerald – a grumpy teenager starts a new job at a care home and uncovers a terrible crime. Like all Fitzgerald’s books, this is hugely readable but considers serious themes. Vigilante, Shelley Harris – a stressed mother takes local crimes into her own hands. Funny, honest, and beautifully well-observed. New Fairy Tales, John Patrick…

For me, January was a month of snow, snoozing and big fat books. I finished 2014 by getting emergency back surgery (which came as a surprise to everyone, me and the doctors included). That meant that January was mostly spent on bed-rest, which was pretty boring but did mean I got a lot of reading done. Thirty books, to be exact! Usually I’d pick a top 3 every month, but I read so many wonderful books that it was too hard…