Playing by Ear, the loooooong-awaited fifth and final novel in the Glasgow Lads series, is now on sale in ebook form at several online shops, with a paperback version coming soon.
Playing by Ear, Glasgow Lads Novel #5
The final book in the red-hot M/M romance series set in Scotland!
Peregrine Hull is losing his sight. But he’s adapting, even thriving in his work as a journalist…and a cam model. When he meets a gifted Glasgow street musician who not only accepts but embraces his secret sexy side gig, Perry’s life seems to be falling into place.
Jamie Guthrie is losing his mask. A decade ago, he fled his family of rich, ruthless gangsters to survive on his own. Content to (barely) make ends meet as a busker, he avoids any spotlight that could expose his identity. No one has ever known the real him—or wanted to—until Perry.
When Jamie’s family reaches out in their hour of need, will he risk everything to look after his dangerous, dying father? How long before Perry’s inquiring mind discovers the truth?
To find the happiness they deserve, Perry and Jamie must learn to see each other—and love each other—for who they are.
Fall in love one last time with the Glasgow Lads series, following the LGBTQ football/soccer teammates as they find their happily-ever-afters!
Note: Playing by Ear, like all the Glasgow Lads novels, can be read as a stand-alone, as it features a new couple, a happy ending, and no cliffhangers.
Peregrine Hull is losing his sight. But he’s adapting, even thriving in his work as a journalist…and a cam model. When he meets a gifted Glasgow street musician who not only accepts but embraces his secret sexy side gig, Perry’s life seems to be falling into place.
Jamie Guthrie is losing his mask. A decade ago, he fled his family of rich, ruthless gangsters to survive on his own. Content to (barely) make ends meet as a busker, he avoids any spotlight that could expose his identity. No one has ever known the real him—or wanted to—until Perry.
When Jamie’s family reaches out in their hour of need, will he risk everything to look after his dangerous, dying father? How long before Perry’s inquiring mind discovers the truth?
To find the happiness they deserve, Perry and Jamie must learn to see each other—and love each other—for who they are.
Fall in love one last time with the Glasgow Lads series, following the LGBTQ football/soccer teammates as they find their happily-ever-afters!
Note: Playing by Ear, like all the Glasgow Lads novels, can be read as a stand-alone, as it features a new couple, a happy ending, and no cliffhangers.
The long-awaited fifth and final (sob!) Glasgow Lads novel, Playing by Ear, will be out Tuesday, September 29!
Peregrine Hull is losing his sight. But he’s adapting, even thriving in his work as a journalist…and a cam model. When he meets a gifted Glasgow street musician who not only accepts but embraces his secret sexy side gig, Perry’s life seems to be falling into place.
Jamie Guthrie is losing his mask. A decade ago, he fled his family of rich, ruthless gangsters to survive on his own. Content to (barely) make ends meet as a busker, he avoids any spotlight that could expose his identity. No one has ever known the real him—or wanted to—until Perry.
When Jamie’s family reaches out in their hour of need, will he risk everything to look after his dangerous, dying father? How long before Perry’s inquiring mind discovers the truth?
To find the happiness they deserve, Perry and Jamie must learn to see each other—and love each other—for who they are.
Fall in love one last time with the Glasgow Lads series, following the LGBTQ football/soccer teammates as they find their happily-ever-afters!
Note: Playing by Ear, like all the Glasgow Lads novels, can be read as a stand-alone, as it features a new couple, a happy ending, and no cliffhangers.
Preorder links coming soon! Playing by Ear will be available at many different stores, including Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple, Smashwords, Bookshop.org, and many more.
The fourth and fifth Year of the Lads books, for the month of November, are Play It Safe and Playing With Fire. We’re doubling up this month and next to accommodate the series’ holiday books.
This week is all about Play It Safe, Fergus and John’s happier-ever-after short story!
Quick aside: I’ve expanded the interactiveLads’ Guide to Glasgow (and beyond!) to include the three new locations we meet in Play It Safe: Kelvin Walkway, the Barras market, and the real-life sauna I semi-based Club 212 on. 🔥
Now for the main feature:
Fergus’s hide-and-seek search for John downstairs in the “men’s leisure centre” was a blend of the 12 Labours of Hercules and Orpheus’s descent into Hades to retrieve his beloved Eurydice. Fergus meets an overbearing man with a “mane of ginger-blond hair” (Nemean Lion) and later a “muscular man with a long, dark mustache that ended in a pair of upturned points” (Erymanthean Boar). And then there’s the Cretan Bull and the 9-Headed Hydra:
The lights on the lower level were dimmer and redder, and the tranquilizing chillout music had switched to a throbbing dubstep that shook Fergus’s bones. As he stepped into a foyer that branched into two corridors, he realized this level even smelled different—of earth and sweat and…
Sex.
“Can I help you?” asked a deep voice.
In a shadowy alcove to Fergus’s right, another young man in a Club 212 polo shirt sat on a stool before a small podium, looking like a restaurant maître d’. Unlike the harmlessly cute front-desk clerk, this guy was beefy as a Highland bull, his frame filling the alcove and his hand dwarfing the pen he held poised above a clipboard.
“We’ve got an opening for a sugar scrub in five minutes.” The man gestured to the door behind him marked Massage Suite. “Only thirty quid on a Tuesday.”
“No…thank you.” Fergus considered asking the giant if he’d seen John, but that would be cheating.
“Steam sauna’s through there.” The man extended one sausage-thick finger toward the hallway to Fergus’s left.
Ah. That seemed a likely place to find John, given his love of hot water.
Fergus thanked the attendant, then hurried down the hall. Like the dry sauna upstairs, the steam room had a glass door, but a thick fog cloaked the interior. Swallowing his nerves, Fergus opened the door and entered.
When the steam parted, he stopped short. What the—
Intellectually, he knew that this…creature consisted of more than one body. Its shifting limbs varied in length and skin tone. The sounds from its throats varied in pitch and volume. The hair on its eight (nine?) heads varied in color, length, and location.
But at first glance it seemed all one continuous form, writhing upon splayed white towels like a dying deer in a snowbank.
“Don’t just stand there, ya big ginger beauty,” slurred a voice to his left. “Come and join us.”
I’ll let you figure out the rest (not all Labours included)!
To be entered into this week’s giveaway and the monthly giveaway, leave a comment on this post. Tell me your favorite myth or your favorite use of mythology in a modern setting.
GIVEAWAY DETAILS:
Comments from all weekly posts will be automatically entered to win the monthly prize.
THIS WEEK’S PRIZE: a free ebook of mine, winner’s choice. Open through Wednesday 11 November.
THIS MONTH’S PRIZE: An autographed copy of the Playing With Fire paperback. Open through Sunday, 30 November.
Pool of entrants will consist of comments on this post, the Rainbow Regiment post, and replies to my newsletter.
One entry per person per weekly drawing.
International entries welcome
“Fancy a game of hide and seek?”
After living together for three months, Fergus Taylor and John Burns have come to love each other’s quirks, and the bond between them is starting to look permanent. But when John wants to take things to the next level, Fergus balks, haunted by the betrayals in his own past.
John knows if he’s not careful, he could lose Fergus. If only he weren’t so bad at being careful.
To overcome his fears, Fergus must embark on an epic journey, a journey that will test his faith, his trust, and his ability to keep a cool head in a hot, hot place.
A must-read for Glasgow Lads fans—and for new readers, a short ’n’ sweet intro to this Scottish gay-romance series!
Note: “Play It Safe” features the heroes of Playing for Keeps, but like all Glasgow Lads books, it may be read as a stand-alone story.
Welcome back to coverage of our third Year of the Lads book, Playing to Win, featuring those mad lads Colin MacDuff and (Lord) Andrew Sunderland.
DID YOU KNOW? 👀
Subscribers to my newsletter can now read a “development diary” I kept during the creation of Playing to Win, from Day 1 of Draft 1 through the rewriting phase to final copyedits. It’s a jaw-droppingly unfiltered look at the process of creating a novel. The only change I made was to assign real-life people nicknames to protect their privacy. I put the diary together years ago and then totally forgot to make the download link available.🫢
Invaluable insights into craft (“This could be a really beautiful scene, if I could only find good words”)
Abandoned nutball ideas (“Maybe Liam gets in with some gangsters who can look into the death of Robert’s dad and get revenge for him”)
Thoughtful self-criticism (“The writing [in this scene] is SO BAD. I hope I don’t die before revising this book, or people might see I wrote a phrase like “suddenly Colin felt his pleasure surge to a whole new level, streaking higher like a jet in the sky” (as opposed to what, a jet on the ground? OMG I am laughing so hard I am literally crying).”)
Get the development diary here. If you’re already subscribed to my newsletter, the process to get this diary is the same. Don’t worry, you won’t be “double-subscribed” unless you use a new email address.
And now…our main feature:
For Year of the Lads I considered doing a Best Pet poll, but after a moment’s thought, it was clear there’d be only two serious contenders: Evan’s rescued pregnant stray cat, Trent (Playing in the Dark), and today’s subject…fanfare 🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺
✨LADY GRETCHEN, BUTT-ER OF HEADS, GNASHER OF TEETH, CONQUISTADORA OF CARROTS ✨
Gretchen, even more than most Shetland ponies, is strong-willed and stubborn. She truly DNGAF, which makes her an excellent match for Lord Andrew, since the force of his personality can overcome most mortal beings.
In this excerpt from Chapter 12, Andrew is grooming her during one of his regular visits home to Dunleven Castle. In the back of his mind, he’s working out why Colin ditched him after their night of passion in Edinburgh.
One beta reader said this was the first scene where they didn’t hate Andrew! 😎
[Gretchen] grunted as [Andrew] transitioned from her back to her hindquarters, and he remembered to curry in smaller circles to avoid scraping her scars. As he progressed, his left hand found the dark slashes in the white landscape of her rump, marking each one to protect it from the comb.
As always, he had to swallow the rage he still felt toward her former owner. The little shit, who by now was probably a council leader or a commodities trader, had whipped her mercilessly for her slowness in pulling a cart. Once she was given over to the Scottish SPCA, her beauty and spirit had attracted many adopters, but her mercurial nature proved too much for them. Five families in a row had adopted her, then returned her to the SPCA. She was too stubborn for riding and carting, too unpredictable for therapy work. But Andrew, only six at the time, had loved her from Moment One.
So he’d set aside his desire for a flashy cart pony and settled for a pet. He’d spent hours with her every day that summer, simply keeping her company. He’d read to her, first sitting outside the stall, then, when the trainer thought it safe, inside the stall on this very footstool. He’d begun with Black Beauty, but thought the abuse sections might upset her, so he’d chucked it and moved on to Marguerite Henry’s Misty of Chincoteague, then Walter Farley’s Black Stallion series. Stories of special horses who’d overcome outrageous odds because one human loved them for their flaws, not in spite of them.
After a month of Gretchen ignoring him, Andrew had gone crying to his mum. She’d told him that what the pony needed first and foremost was stability. To know that no matter what, she would have a home here forever. No matter what, they wouldn’t send her away. They wouldn’t reject her.
His fingers stilled on the longest scar of all, a thin black line at the point of Gretchen’s hip. Oh. How could he be so stupid?
Ding! Ding! Ding! Gretchen unwittingly gives Andrew a clue in the mystery of Colin MacDuff. To be entered into this week’s giveaway and the monthly giveaway, leave a comment on this post. Who’s your favorite fictional animal?
I’m going initially with a classic, Snoopy from the Peanuts comic strip. He almost doesn’t feel like an animal, because we see his very human thoughts and whims. When I was a little kid, Snoopy was my imaginary friend, and we had all sorts of adventures. (This was before actual living children moved into the neighborhood to occupy my time.)
In terms of “real” fictional animals, it would have to be the Black, the title character from The Black Stallion series mentioned above. I think I read every book in the series, and I just discovered there are newer books written by Steven Farley! 🎉
GIVEAWAY DETAILS:
Comments from all weekly posts will be automatically entered to win the monthly prize.
THIS WEEK’S PRIZE: a free ebook of mine, winner’s choice. Open through Sunday, 2 November.
THIS MONTH’S PRIZE: An autographed copy of the Playing to Win paperback. Open through Sunday, 2 November.
Pool of entrants will consist of comments on this post, the blog version, and replies to my newsletter.
One entry per person per weekly drawing.
International entries welcome
—
“He is the one thing in this world you cannot afford.”
Colin MacDuff has nothing. Growing up in a Glasgow slum, he learned never to trust, never to cry—and never EVER to be at the mercy of anyone, especially rich men. So how did he end up half-naked at a rave with Scotland’s hottest young aristocrat?
Lord Andrew Sunderland has everything. From ancestral castle to posh prep school, he’s spent his life wrapping others around his wee finger. With a social circle full of celebrities and politicians, nothing can stop Andrew’s rise to the top. Nothing, that is, save his desire for a dirt-poor, wolf-eyed footballer whose scars and tattoos tell unbearable tales.
Colin and Andrew come from different worlds, believe in different worlds, want different worlds. Yet every time they touch, all worlds fall away.
Set amid the fiery Scottish-independence struggle, this searing gay romance tells the story of two men who must lose everything to win each other’s hearts.
—
Playing to Win can be read as a stand-alone and has happily ever after with no cliffhanger.
Welcome back to coverage of our third Year of the Lads book, Playing to Win, starring those wild-eyed enemies-to-lovers Colin MacDuff and (Lord) Andrew Sunderland.
Quick aside: There’s an official Playing to Win soundtrack!
Warning: Soundtrack may cause dancing, crying, and dreams of revolution.
And now the main feature:
Playing to Win takes place amid the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, an issue that polarized society across Scotland and beyond. Colin was a passionate supporter for the pro-independence Yes movement; while Lord Andrew, whose aristocratic family could lose money and prestige in an independent Scotland, campaigned for No by way of snarky tweets.
The two lads are from opposite worlds and perspectives to begin with, and this issue brings an extra dollop of (delicious) conflict to their relationship. 🔥
“Talking of explanations, what’s the story behind your tattoos?”
Colin stopped chewing, and a shutter seemed to fall over his eyes. Then he set down his sandwich and stretched his left arm across the table. “This is a unicorn.”
“I can see that.” Andrew examined the black-line, almost tribal-esque design, which included only the beast’s head, neck, and chest. Its mouth was open, and its flying mane resembled flames. “It’s rather angry-looking. Is it meant to represent a rebellious Scotland?” The United Kingdom coat of arms famously featured the lion of England wearing a crown, whilst the unicorn, symbolizing Scotland, was in chains.
“Very good. Especially cos this unicorn’s chain is broken.”
Andrew reached out and traced the links, which continued up and over Colin’s forearm, into the forest of fine, dark hair. “But those chains serve a purpose. Unicorns are savage beasts. Without their shackles, who knows what havoc they could wreak?”
“I guess we’ll see about that next month, won’t we?” Colin asked with a wink. It was the first time he’d referred to the Scottish independence referendum, even obliquely. Andrew tensed. Normally he relished political arguments, but today, with this man, he wanted to forget the world.
Colin’s left-arm unicorn tattoo. Fun fact: You can see the rest of it on Playing to Win‘s front cover!
Later in the story, they hold a strip-debate of the independence referendum, with some unexpected results. 🔥😈
Andrew dreads referendum day, knowing that no matter the outcome, someone he loves will be destroyed. Sure enough, when the vote tallies start to be announced the night of 18 September, Colin’s heart shatters. Independence was more than a political issue for him. He’d pinned his every hope for the future on it, and for the first time in his life, he had felt something like hope, had believed a “skint lad fae the Drum” like him could make a difference. On the soundtrack, Passenger sings what Colin feels:
God knows I failed, but he knows that I’ve tried. I long for something that’s safe and warm But all I have is all that is gone. I’m as helpless and as hopeless as a feather on the Clyde.
If you want to know more about what it was like to be there, I found an interesting link in my notes about that day, night, and immediate aftermath. This blog post was written by a young woman from New Zealand who was studying in Scotland at the time. Since she was a resident, she was able to vote and campaign in the referendum.
These days, emotionally crushing political results are common, when it feels like the whole world is at stake on every election or referendum. I had many readers tell me that the Playing to Win scenes on indyref night—as each constituency result was another kick in Colin’s gut—brought back memories of 2016, a year when the UK and the US shocked, well, everyone, including themselves.
—
To be entered into this week’s giveaway and the monthly giveaway, leave a comment on this post. What’s your favorite fictional example of two people who start on opposite sides and become friends/allies/lovers?
We’re currently rewatching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (actually watching more than rewatching, since we originally saw only the first 4 seasons and forgot most of what we did see). I love a good cop/criminal friendship, so I relished the relationship arc of stick-in-the-mud security chief Odo and contraband smuggler Quark. Complete moral opposites, they are already enemies when the show begins. But having such a formidable foe makes each character better at what they do, and that grudging respect eventually turns into a friendship they will neither admit nor abandon, no matter the risk to their lives.
GIVEAWAY DETAILS:
Comments from all weekly posts will be automatically entered to win the monthly prize.
THIS WEEK’S PRIZE: a free ebook of mine, winner’s choice. Open through Sunday, 26 October.
THIS MONTH’S PRIZE: An autographed copy of the Playing to Win paperback. Open through Sunday, 2 November.
Pool of entrants will consist of comments on this post, the blog version, and replies to my newsletter.
One entry per person per weekly drawing.
International entries welcome.
—
“He is the one thing in this world you cannot afford.”
Colin MacDuff has nothing. Growing up in a Glasgow slum, he learned never to trust, never to cry—and never EVER to be at the mercy of anyone, especially rich men. So how did he end up half-naked at a rave with Scotland’s hottest young aristocrat?
Lord Andrew Sunderland has everything. From ancestral castle to posh prep school, he’s spent his life wrapping others around his wee finger. With a social circle full of celebrities and politicians, nothing can stop Andrew’s rise to the top. Nothing, that is, save his desire for a dirt-poor, wolf-eyed footballer whose scars and tattoos tell unbearable tales.
Colin and Andrew come from different worlds, believe in different worlds, want different worlds. Yet every time they touch, all worlds fall away.
Set amid the fiery Scottish-independence struggle, this searing gay romance tells the story of two men who must lose everything to win each other’s hearts.
—
Playing to Win can be read as a stand-alone and has happily ever after with no cliffhanger.
The third Year of the Lads book, for the month of October, is the second novel, Playing to Win, starring many readers’ favorite couple, our own wee drama queens Colin MacDuff and Lord Andrew Sunderland (“It’s only a courtesy title”).
I’ve expanded the interactive Lads’ Guide to Glasgow (and beyond!) to include Playing to Win locations, including Colin’s Drumchapel tower block, Andrew’s ancestral castle—as well as their myriad travel spots like Edinburgh, Lower Manhattan, and the Aegean Sea.
Click on each location in the list* for more information, and in most cases, photos. For most locations, you can then click “View in Google Maps” for a satellite view, more photos, etc.
*For some reason, the embedded map doesn’t show the list of places, so follow this link for the full experience.
I’ll add to the map with each book as it comes round on the calendar.
To be entered into this week’s giveaway and the monthly giveaway, leave a comment on this post. What place you’ve traveled to has knocked your socks off the way New York City stunned Colin? For me, it was the Grand Canyon. No photos or descriptions could prepare me for the awe.
GIVEAWAY DETAILS:
Comments from all weekly posts will be automatically entered to win the monthly prize.
THIS WEEK’S PRIZE: a free ebook of mine, winner’s choice. Open through Sunday, 19 October.
THIS MONTH’S PRIZE: An autographed copy of the Playing to Win paperback. Open through Sunday, 2 November.
Pool of entrants will consist of comments on this post, the blog version, and replies to my newsletter.
One entry per person per weekly drawing.
International entries welcome.
—
“He is the one thing in this world you cannot afford.”
Colin MacDuff has nothing. Growing up in a Glasgow slum, he learned never to trust, never to cry—and never EVER to be at the mercy of anyone, especially rich men. So how did he end up half-naked at a rave with Scotland’s hottest young aristocrat?
Lord Andrew Sunderland has everything. From ancestral castle to posh prep school, he’s spent his life wrapping others around his wee finger. With a social circle full of celebrities and politicians, nothing can stop Andrew’s rise to the top. Nothing, that is, save his desire for a dirt-poor, wolf-eyed footballer whose scars and tattoos tell unbearable tales.
Colin and Andrew come from different worlds, believe in different worlds, want different worlds. Yet every time they touch, all worlds fall away.
Set amid the fiery Scottish-independence struggle, this searing gay romance tells the story of two men who must lose everything to win each other’s hearts.
—
Playing to Win can be read as a stand-alone and has happily ever after with no cliffhanger.
Though I had one “playalong while writing” playlist for 1987 and 2004, I created separate 2021 Joel and 2021 Daniel playlists. I would listen to Joel’s playlist when I was writing his scenes and Daniel’s when I was writing his.
At the time, I split them simply because of the sheer volume of albums. But looking back, I think it helped create and reinforce the sense of their physical separation. These weren’t albums they were listening to together (I can’t see Joel listening to Demi Lovato any more than I can see Daniel listening to Fred again..). These were albums that gave each of them strength in their isolation. (The one artist they shared was, of course, Taylor Swift.)
No Time for Love Like Now by Michael Stipe and Big Red Machine (a Joel song): Oh, man, this song just embodies that hope-tinged desolation of the pandemic. Joel tells Daniel about the song in their first Zoom call.
Your voice is echoing love, love, love, love, love I hear it far, far away And I am waiting for you Whatever waiting means in this new place I am waiting for you.
Dim by SYML (a Joel song): This is about Joel losing his mom. Grab a box of tissues when you listen.
Though you had to go, I won't forget your light. The world got a little more dim tonight.
John Cusack by Olivia Wendel (a Daniel song). Is there an artist you feel like only you know? I wish I could remember who first told me about Wendel so I could thank them. She’s amazing. The song title is a reference to the movie Serendipity, where two people meet briefly and form an instant connection only to accidentally lose each other (this was before the internet as we know it).
The Last Man on Earth by Wolf Alice (a Joel song): This is apparently about the arrogance of humans always seeing themselves in other people’s texts, especially songs. In Chapter 26, Joel and Daniel use Taylor Swift songs to shine a light on their own lives and their shared experiences, but they weren’t all written to be universal.
Vitamins by Cassia (a Daniel song): A simple, sweet song about long-distance relationships.
I Need You by Jon Batiste (a Joel song): This was one of several albums I discovered via this Guardian article on making joyful music during the pandemic. Whenever you’re feeling down, check out this video:
In My Arms by Lou Barlow (a Daniel song): Their reunion. ‘Nuf said.
Now (Forever Momentary Space) by Black Monument Ensemble (a Joel song): This group I found through Part Two of the Guardian article mentioned above on hopeful music in the pandemic. I love the whole album, but I had to include this song not just because Joel and Daniel created a forever momentary space but because of the cicadas singing their little timbals out in the background. 💚
Invisible String by Taylor Swift: In a way, this is the theme song for the entire book. When Daniel says this is the song that most makes him think of Joel, Joel is stunned and a little scared.
Did Daniel think they were soulmates? The whole concept was so depressing—what if that predestined love-of-your-life got hit by a bus or eaten by a crocodile before you could ever meet? Would you be doomed to a life of misery or at least vague dissatisfaction?
Maybe Joel was looking at it the wrong way. “We are where we are,” Daniel had just said. “We are who we are.” But if he believed in that ‘Invisible String’ song, he was saying something bigger. He was saying that who they were now was who they were meant to be, that their journeys had brought them to this place at this time and made them ready for each other.
Which meant the actual existence of soulmates wasn’t the fucking point.
Or, as Taylor puts it:
Hell was the journey, but it brought me heaven.
In the book there are oblique references to invisible strings, once in 1987 and again in 2004. If you find them, you win a prize! And that prize is satisfaction.
Heavy Focus by Adrienne Lenker (a Daniel song): Lenker uses the metaphor of photography to portray the exquisite terror that comes with an intense connection. There’s a bit that reminds me of the end of Part One:
Shaky like the first dance Shaky like the first time Our palms met in the clam sweat
Pow by The Go! Team: SUCH a fun song. I put it on my “Wake the F*** Up” playlist, which is caffeine for my ears. It’s the favorite song of Hailey, Daniel’s daughter and thus his ringtone for her, because he’s an adorkable dad.
Telepath by Manchester Orchestra (a Daniel song): Okay, THIS is actually also the (other) theme song for the book. The song and its video tell of a love in three parts, through the couple’s life (and, in the video’s case, the death of one). The final verse hits me particularly hard as an older person still deeply in love who often can’t believe that her usually foolish self was wise enough to choose the right companion on life’s journey. I cannot sing it all the way through without happy-pain crying.
In my mind you are the road I chose to travel Might as well have been the very last thing I decide Half the time I'm lost, afraid that you're just borrowed Don't matter much to me, man, I'm not afraid to die. Baby, are you with me? Do you forgive me? You're the one I wanted, one I want when I am old. ...When I'm falling
*wipes tears*
Meant For Me by Angelique Kidjo: Just a fucking joy.
I don't care if you're rich or poor From Milano or from LA, I don't care about your DNA All I know is you're meant for me. I don't care if your money goes, I don't care if your beauty fades. All I know is we'll be okay. All I know is you're meant for me.
Welcome back to the Year of the Lads, in which we focus on one Glasgow Lads book each month through next July. September’s book is Book 1, Playing for Keeps (Fergus and John novel).
One of our main characters, John Burns, has just begun a summer internship with New Shores, a fictional organization providing legal and financial aid to people seeking asylum in the UK, specifically those fleeing homophobic regimes.
This storyline was originally inspired by the 2014 BAFTA-award-winning BBC film Glasgow Girls. The drama is based on real-life teens whose schoolmate, a refugee from Kosovo, was taken with her mother in a dawn raid and put into a detention facility. The girls campaigned not only to have their friend released, but (successfully, in Scotland) to end surprise raids and incarceration of asylum-seeking minors.
Here’s part of a Playing for Keeps scene in which an asylum seeker tells her story to the Warriors football club, who are raising funds for New Shores through a charity friendly match. (Content advisory: discussion of homophobic violence)
“I left Uganda five years ago,” Beatrice said, “when my girlfriend was murdered.”
Fergus’s murmur of sympathy was echoed by the rest of the Warriors, gathered on the training pitch to hear the asylum seeker’s story. It was one thing to understand persecution in the abstract, but to hear it in a victim’s voice made it all too real.
John’s mate Brodie, another New Shores volunteer, sat at the other end of the bench from Beatrice, providing support but letting her have the stage. “Who murdered her?” Brodie asked gently.
“It was a lot of people. They came to her house in the middle of the night.” Beatrice took a deep breath and pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose. “I was there. Nantale—my girlfriend—she woke me in time to push me out the back door. She told me to run.”
John tensed beside Fergus, his throat rippling in a hard swallow. Clearly he’d heard this story before—if not from Beatrice, then from others like her. Fergus wondered how he could remain such a blithe optimist when he was bombarded with daily evidence of inhumanity.
Beatrice continued. “I recognized a few voices in the mob. Neighbors, people we thought were our friends—even members of her family.”
The players’ murmurs grew louder. “Her own family wanted her dead?” Katie asked in an astonished near-whisper.
“Nantale had shamed them by refusing an arranged marriage. We weren’t open about our relationship—almost no one is out in Uganda—but one of her coworkers reported us.” She looked at John. “It’s the law now, I hear. Anyone can go to prison for not reporting homosexuals.”
“Aye.” John turned to speak to the team. “Governments like the one who enacted that law in Uganda are gaining strength in Africa—and all over the world. Places like Iran, Brunei, and of course we’re all familiar with the mess in Russia.” The team gave a collective grumble of assent. “Their leaders win votes by blaming their economic problems on the ‘moral degradation of Western influences,’ especially LGBTQ rights.”
“What if you don’t get asylum?” Robert asked Beatrice. “What’ll happen if the UK sends you home?”
“I’d go to prison.” She folded her hands on her lap, where Fergus saw them tremble. “But because I’ve refused to stay quiet about my experience, I’m now a notorious homosexual. It’s likely I would be murdered in custody while the law looks the other way. So in fact, sending me back to Uganda would be a death sentence.”
She paused to let that declaration sink in. On Fergus’s other side, Heather was rubbing her own arms as if chilled, despite the warm, humid evening air. Her own father was a Sudanese immigrant, so between racism and transphobia, the keeper dealt with a double dose of prejudice. Right now, though, she was no doubt feeling lucky to be born Scottish.
Brodie’s boyfriend, Warriors striker Duncan Harris, asked the next question. “Then how could our government send you home? It seems a crime against humanity to even consider it.”
Colin snorted. “UK government knows fuck-all about humanity.”
“I guess what I’m asking is,” Duncan said, “how do they decide who to let stay and who to send home? And how can you make sure you stay?”
“It’s a long, intimidating process,” Beatrice replied. “That’s where New Shores helps. I signed in with them before going to the Home Office’s reporting center to apply for asylum. So when the border officers detained me, someone on the outside knew where I was and fought to get me released. John and Brodie’s boss, Gillian, helped me find a solicitor for my asylum hearing, one who actually knew what he was doing.” Beatrice reached over and squeezed Brodie’s arm. “If it weren’t for New Shores, I think I would be back in Uganda right now. I would be dead.”
Fergus spoke up. “Do you ever miss home?”
She gave a gentle laugh. “You all keep using this word ‘home’ to mean Uganda, but it no longer deserves that honor. Home isn’t home when you cannot be who you are, when you are surrounded by hate.” She met each of the Warriors’ eyes. “Better to make a new home. Only then can you find peace.”
As you may remember, Playing for Keeps centers on the bitter Catholic-Protestant sectarian divide in Glasgow. It’s one of the uglier aspects of the city. But the loud support which Glaswegians showed asylum seekers—and continue to show them—proves that Glasgow is also full of compassion and righteousness. The moral complexity and diversity of its people offer a million potential stories. I feel lucky to have written a few of them. 💙
To be entered into this week’s giveaway and the monthly giveaway, leave a comment on this post. Have you read or seen an inspiring story of people working together to help those in need? We could all use some uplifting tales right now. ❤️
GIVEAWAY DETAILS:
Comments from all weekly posts will be automatically entered to win the monthly prize.
THIS WEEK’S PRIZE: autographed bookplate plus your choice of one other swag item (collection coming pronto). Open through Sunday, October 5. (August weekly winners will be drawn once I get the swag together to choose from in the next week or so. Finishing Playing By Ear took longer than I thought! 😬)
THIS MONTH’S PRIZE: An autographed copy of the Playing For Keeps paperback. Open through Sunday, October 5.
Pool of entrants will consist of comments on this post and on the blog version.
Welcome back to the Year of the Lads, in which we focus on one Glasgow Lads book each month through next July. September’s book is Book 1, Playing for Keeps (Fergus and John novel).
One of our main characters, Fergus Taylor, is an architect with an intriguing hobby: salvage art, in which discarded items are recycled into beautiful, one-of-a-kind works.
This excerpt shows John exploring Fergus’s works (not a euphemism):
F.T. 07-2013F.T. 07-2013
Standing on a chair in Fergus’s kitchen, John gave a low whistle of awe at the initials etched upon the artwork’s metal mounting board. Then he rehung it among its three companions on the wall above the cupboards.
In a striking series of quirky metallic pieces, four trees represented the year’s seasons. The summer tree he’d just been examining featured branches made of strips of green copper that reminded John of his mum’s antique flower pots. Rusted springs comprised the autumn tree’s branches, and the winter tree was made of sterling-silver fork tines.
The spring tree, which must have taken days to assemble, consisted of tiny brown and green glass shards forming the bark and buds. In the glint of the ceiling light, it looked freshly rain-drenched.
Judging by the initials, Fergus had made all these with his own hands.
John found more examples of Fergus’s salvage art in the living room. On the three-level corner shelf—which was itself formed from pieces of driftwood and old piping—sat a menagerie of animals made of scrap wood, metal, and glass. On the wall was a tarnished-silver art deco clock that seemed originally designed to sit on a shelf. And then there was the coffee table made from a refurbished wooden door, with the knob still attached, shined to brass perfection.
Fergus had looked past the surface of all this rubbish and seen something beautiful. What does he see when he looks at me? John wondered. Am I the opposite—rubbish beneath an illusory surface?
This is one of my favorite things about Fergus, and it became part of the book by sheer serendipity: I learned about salvage art via a random magazine picked up in a hospital waiting room. Like most people, I usually spend those interminable moments scrolling on my phone, but for some reason that day I decided instead to open my mind to new things. And the muses rewarded me greatly! ✨
I found an interesting old Scrivener comment in the scene of their first date:
In school, Fergus had enjoyed studying history until he’d discovered that every “fact” was open to interpretation.
My 2015 thoughts, mostly verbatim apart from typos:
He’s an artist, but even his art is a way of imposing order on the universe. Because if you think about it, art isn’t just freedom and wild creativity. It’s also about structure and balance and making order from chaos. Think of his color wheel, or his 4 Seasons trees. They’re systematic, they’re a set of things. And that’s part of their beauty.
My Salvage Art Pinterest board includes a piece or two that inspired Fergus’s art, but most of them I made up in my head then found art to show you that sort of matched it. Then I added several more that I just thought were pure cool. 😎
To be entered into this week’s giveaway and the monthly giveaway, leave a comment on this post with a description or picture of your favorite work of art, salvage or not. If you’re stumped, go to the Salvage Art link above, fall down a Pinterest rabbit hole, and show me your favorite find!
GIVEAWAY DETAILS:
Comments from all weekly posts will be automatically entered to win the monthly prize.
THIS WEEK’S PRIZE: autographed bookplate plus your choice of one other swag item (collection coming pronto). Open through Wednesday, October 1. (August weekly winners will be drawn once I get the swag together to choose from in the next week or so. Finishing Playing By Ear took longer than I thought! 😬)
THIS MONTH’S PRIZE: An autographed copy of the Playing For Keeps paperback. Open through Tuesday, 30 September.
Pool of entrants will consist of comments on this post and on the blog version.
