Embedded Files
J. L. Durnie was born and raised in Ayrshire before moving to Argyll aged thirteen. After school, he left behind the fearsome midges of the west coast as soon as he was able.
He left university at the end of first year and had a brief sojourn as a DJ in a nightclub which catered (largely) to US Navy personnel. This meant he spent as much of his time assisting the bouncers as he did choosing records.
After rejecting a derisory offer from a lower league Scottish football club, and realising he could be better paid for the more physical aspects of his DJ work, he applied to both the British Army (Royal Highland Fusiliers) and London's Metropolitan Police.
Like one of the characters in his second book 'Skins', he realised that he would have enjoyed the order of the Army but not the obedience. The police gave him the former, without too much of the latter. He fulfilled a number of roles in the Met and they provide the inside knowledge of the actual events that drive the narratives of his novels.
Returning to Scotland after twenty years, he settled - with his wife, Jill - in Perthshire, where they still live. Whenever possible, though, they sneak away to their seaside home on the Argyll coast (armed with midge repellent).
When he's not writing, you can find him at Rugby Park -home of Kilmarnock Football Club; on a golf course; travelling; or listening to a variety of Scottish bands including Biffy Clyro; Skerryvore; Del Amitri; Hue & Cry; and Roddy Hart (who, with or without the Lonesome Fire, should be much more famous!).
He now pays the bills teaching History and English (and loves it!) but still thinks policing is the best job in the world. Nevertheless, he is incredibly thankful that none of his three sons followed him into 'The Job'.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse