Paperback by ThunderPoint, £9.99
The first queer basher McGillivray ever met was in the mirror. From the revivalist churches of Orkney in the 1970s, to the gay bars of London and northern England in the 1990s, via the divinity school at Aberdeen, this is the story of McGillivray, a self-centred, promiscuous hypocrite, failed Church of Scotland minister, and his own worst enemy.
Determined to live life on his own terms, McGillivray’s grasp on reality slides into psychosis and a sense of his own invulnerability, resulting in a brutal attack ending life as he knows it.
Raw and uncompromising, this is a viciously funny but ultimately moving account of one man’s desire to come to terms with himself and live his life as he sees fit.
The book has been written by Orcadian Tim Morrison who writes with a sharp and uncompromising tone, that draws humour and irony from the darkest scene.
Having left Orkney, Tim attended Aberdeen University where he studied Divinity with the intention of being ordained into the Church of Scotland.
He subsequently worked in training and development in health and social care, and is now a blogger, author and active political campaigner, including being the lead applicant in the ‘Orkney Four’ case brought against Alistair Carmichael MP under the Representation of the People Act.
What’s also remarkable about Tim is that he had a long period of serious ill health, which at one point saw him hospitalised and in a coma for a month with double pneumonia.
After recuperating he began studying again and as well as writing this book, was awarded the University of the Highlands and Islands Postgraduate Student of the Year Award for 2014.
Seonaid Francis, director of ThunderPoint Publishing said: “Tim Morrison is unflinching in his portrayal of the consequences of self-indulgence, intolerance and hypocrisy, but delivers Queer Bashing with wit and charm that belies the horror of the story.”
