A Paisley author is releasing a new crime book set in Dunoon almost 30 years ago – despite never having set foot in the town.
Ron McMillian has released ‘Don’t Think Twice’ which is about a detective looking to uncover a crime mystery to clear his name after he becomes a suspect in the case of two missing teenagers.
Wordsmith Ron is originally from Paisley but now lives in Thailand after he left Scotland in the 1970s to explore the world.
He has had quite the adventure as he has visited most countries in Asia on his travels and he boasts that he can tell you anything about 15 to 20 cities throughout the continent.
However, when it comes to Dunoon, he had to rely on Google maps to get a sense of what the town looked like.
The Buddie, based in Thailand for the past 10 years, plumped for Dunoon as he wanted the story to be set in a time and place that was different from previous crime fictions that have been released.
Speaking about his book, Ron explained why he had written a story featuring a town he’s never visited.
“It fits perfectly with the character that I was writing about,” he told the Paisley Daily Express.
The character in question is Rabinder Singh, who is from India but moved to Glasgow in 1971. He also has links to Paisley and is sent out to Dunoon for a job.
But he has never been to the Cowal peninsula town before and so doesn’t know what to expect.
“Rabinder is a character who identifies Scotland as home but he really doesn’t feel like he fits in,” says Ron, “even after many years of staying in the Glasgow area.
“I wanted to base this story in 1993 because I felt that, recently, crime stories were going in a direction where it was always based around technology such as an email or phone call.
“I wanted to make it more entertaining than that so basing it in a time where mobile phones and internet weren’t as big a deal as they are now was the reason I chose that year.”
Ron has, in the past, done work for North American companies while living in Asia; helping write for magazines and newspapers from the other side of the world.
His latest release is another self-published work which aims to connect to Scotland in a different way.
He wrote the story after being “trapped” in Thailand due to the Covid pandemic – and not being able to leave because of restrictions.
This allowed him the time and space, he says, to work through his book and connect with his birth country through his writing.
Ron has only been back in Scotland a few times since he left many years ago – but still holds Paisley close to his heart as he thanks the Buddies who have helped him get to where he is today.
He added: “I owe a debt of gratitude to the Paisley Writers’ Group that, when I was back in Paisley for a few years, I attended religiously.
“Presided over by writer-in-residence Ajay Close – whom I had ‘discovered’ by way of a crime novel of hers I had purchased and read in Hong Kong – and attended by fellow Buddies whose passion is writing – the group gave me all sorts of encouragement while I was writing Yin Yang Tattoo.
“I had never been so productive as I was at that time, eager to arrive at every group meeting at the Central Library with a new chapter to share.”
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