Val McDermid has been dubbed the Queen of “ Tartan noir “ with her many series of crime novels, breaking ground as she did with Lindsay Gordon, the first openly-lesbian detective some 20 years ago.In this conversation with writer Rosie Garland for Brighton’s The Coast is Queer literary weekend online, she reveals how she works, why she writes the way she does and gives aspiring writers some very good pointers to help them develop.The conversation is definitely an inspiring insight into the creative process of this prolific writer, who’s sold 17 million books.Val traces her interest back to a visit to the play The Changeling at Dundee Rep when she was 13/14.