Category: Uncategorized

• November 12, 2021

  Coming Soon…

  In 2020, I published my first novel, Castles of Steel and Thunder, a tale of faeries and folklore inspired by the legends of Caithness. The book went on to become a bestseller across several Amazon categories, and following a successful paperback release, proved popular with readers from Caithness and further afield. But the story didn’t…
• October 17, 2021

  Stories and Solastalgia – The Aftermath of Writing About The North Coast 500, Park-Ups, Potholes and Poo

  This summer, I wrote a piece about living on the popular ‘North Coast 500’ route through the lens of my own experience as a resident of Caithness. Entitled ‘Poo, Potholes and Park-Ups – Why Highlanders are Tired of Scotland’s North Coast 500 Route,’ the article was probably more even-handed than the alliterated headline might suggest.…
• August 12, 2021

  Poo, Potholes and Park-Ups – Why Highlanders Are Tired of Scotland’s North Coast 500 Route

  Last year, I wrote an article on the ‘summer of discontent’ on Scotland’s ‘North Coast 500’ road trip. As a resident on the route here in Caithness, I spent a lot of time writing about responsible travel and repeating the phrase ‘let’s hope things improve.’ A summer of littering, outdoor toileting and inconsiderate ‘wild camping’…
• July 13, 2021

  Spring and Early Summer Reading – I Am An Island, Where The Crawdads Sing, Wintering & True North

  It’s been some time since I shared a reading post on the blog, the result of a slowing-down of my motivation for putting finger to keyboard and sending words out into the blogosphere. In the background, I’ve been absorbing the words of other authors, and it’s rare for a day to pass without me picking…
• May 13, 2021

  On Mental Health Awareness Week, Caithness and Caring

  Here in the UK, it’s Mental Health Awareness Week, an initiative hosted by the Mental Health Foundation to focus attention on mental health issues across the nation. This year the theme for the event is nature, with a focus on the supportive role the natural world can play in boosting mental health. The theme appears…
• April 22, 2021

  Tread Lightly, Travel Politely

  As travel restrictions ease across Scotland, many people in the North Highlands are feeling nervous about the resumption of tourism. 2020 was a challenging year here in the far north, and memories of irresponsible camping, inconsiderate motorhome parking, and the litter and human waste left by a minority of visitors will be difficult to erase.…
• March 25, 2021

  Castles of Steel and Thunder Author Q&A

  I was recently asked to answer some questions on my experience of novel-writing by a creative writing student from the University of the Highlands and Islands. Of course, I was happy to oblige – and thought I would share the interview here for anyone who would like to find out more. Read on for tips…
• March 21, 2021

  No Wilderness: Reshaping The Way We Talk About Far North Places

  Exactly a year ago, on the Sunday before the UK entered lockdown, I was out walking with my son here in Caithness when a man pulled over in his car and rolled down the driver’s side window. He asked us where he could find a place to eat and have a cup of coffee. The…
• March 17, 2021

  Promoting Your Self-Published Book in a Pandemic

  If, like me, you self-published your first novel during the pandemic, you might be wondering how on earth to go about promoting it. With bookshops – and indeed most places – still shut due to lockdown, it may not feel like the ideal time to be attracting new readers to your book. Thankfully, there are…
• February 7, 2021

  Lockdown and January Reading (*contains gifted item)

  One positive of these last few months in lockdown (and I think we really do have to seek out the good now and then, don’t we?) has been the chance to devote more time to reading. Reading can be such an escape from the realities of our current situation (even if, like me, you occasionally…