Welcome back to the Year of the Lads, in which we focus on one Glasgow Lads book each month through next July. August’s book is Book 0.5, Play On (Duncan + Brodie novella).

I’m no Henry Higgins–level linguist, but I’ve always been fascinated by dialects, and just like the (eastern two-thirds of) the US, the UK has approximately a million. In addition to Glaswegian/Lowland Scots, the Glasgow Lads series features distinct regional dialects such as Orcadian (Evan)—and, in Brodie’s case, Doric, the dialect spoken in North East Scotland (Aberdeenshire, Moray, etc).

Among other phrases, Brodie says, Fit like, min? (What’s up, dude?) and calls lads and lasses loons and quines. 

Other Glaswegians often mocked Brodie’s speech, but Duncan found it charming. Something about the contrast between the harsh, guttural accent and Brodie’s soft, sweet features really did it for him. – Play On, Chapter 2

Below is an ancient (2008) Doric rap video that rules (video quality is not great, but I think it actually makes for a better effect).

(Watch on YouTube for lyrics.)

On a more scholarly note, University of Aberdeen has a video series about Doric that starts here with the history:

To be entered into this week’s giveaway and the monthly giveaway, leave a comment on this post. Do you have a favorite dialect? What word or phrase is native to your part of the country or world? Here in Bawlmer, we check our beehives in the meer before we drive danny ocean, hon!

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, 31 August*.
• THIS MONTH’S PRIZE: An autographed copy of the gargantuan 600+-page paperback anthology Men in Shorts: A Glasgow Lads Collection, which contains every Glasgow Lads short story and novella, plus a few wee extras. Open through Sunday, 31 August. 
• Pool of entrants will consist of comments on this post and on the blog version. 
• One entry per person.
• International entries welcome.

*as is last week’s post because I’m having trouble getting into my Etsy account to have swag made, and customer service seems to be AWOL. Hopefully by the first week in September all swag will be ready for winners to choose from!

The first Year of the Lads book, for the month of August, is the prequel novella Play On, starring Duncan Harris and Brodie Campbell.

The city of Glasgow is a main character of not just this book, but the entire series. To help orient readers, I’ve created an interactive Lads’ Guide to Glasgow (and beyond!) using Google My Maps.

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, so just 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. Are you a map fiend like me? Can you entertain yourself for hours fantasizing about places to go, or am I just weird? If you could instantly visit any Play On location for free, which would it be? 🤔

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, 31 August.
• THIS MONTH’S PRIZE: An autographed copy of the gargantuan 600+-page paperback anthology Men in Shorts: A Glasgow Lads Collection, which contains every Glasgow Lads short story and novella, plus a few wee extras. Open through Sunday, 31 August. 
• Pool of entrants will consist of comments on this post and on the Rainbow Regiment version. 
• One entry per person.
• International entries welcome.

“You may not know your strength yet, but I do. And I’ll be happy to show it to you. Because I’m done holding back.”

Duncan Harris is on the edge. Scandal has shredded his LGBTQ football club’s history-making season, and now the once-unflappable striker is lashing out. Only one person can make Duncan feel like himself again…

Brodie Campbell is out and proud—at least since he came to Glasgow for university—but years of bullying by schoolmates in his wee village have left their mark. Can flatmate Duncan help heal Brodie’s wounded heart?

As the two lads grow closer, Brodie can’t forget how athletes like Duncan once tortured him. When Duncan attacks an opponent who threatens Brodie, the situation escalates. Soon Brodie doesn’t feel safe anywhere—even in Duncan’s arms.

To defeat the bullies and reclaim his power to love, Brodie must find the strength to fight his own battles. And Duncan must find the strength to let him.

—

Play On features a happily ever after with no cliffhanger.