Early morning in the forest. Will it rain? Or will the sun shine? The answer to both these questions in Scotland is usually: yes. There may also be hail, thunder, mist and gales. All in the same day.
Substack
I’m over there now if you want to join me. My newsletter will be coming from there now rather than costing the arms and legs demanded by my old provider. I’m still learning about the platform, finding it to be a mix of social media (notes and followers) and blogging (articles and subscribers) with a friendlier algorithm than many other places at the moment.
I’ve been working my way through the newsletter archives to put all those posts up on Substack, with some added retrospective edits, soon; it’s a bit of a journey! I’ll also be transferring some of the more personal posts from this blog, that are currently set to private, and putting them there after a bit of a rewrite.
So, in brief: there’s not a great deal there yet, but it’s on the way.
From the misty hills of ancient Scotland emerges a tale of love, betrayal, and the fight for freedom. Join Morragh in SISTERS AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD for an unforgettable journey.
Set in the 1st century, the story includes the battle of Mons Graupius between the Romans and the Caledonian tribes. There’s a neurodivergent main character and some rather complicated romance!
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2019 continues to be an exciting year for me on the bookish front! My contemporary novel, TENDU, is to be published by (redacted – ooh, like a name in an Epstein file… but not really; the crime of slowness in publishing is actually quite easy to understand, and also forgivable).
Some aspects of the story:
It’s a tale of unconventional love, dance and obsession.
Much of the book is set in Scotland.
There’s a stone circle and a castle.
The central relationship is deeply tempestuous.
Ballet!
Dark and terrible happenings!
Hot chocolate and cake. Depending on era, you can’t always include chocolate in historical writing and, given all that I put them through, my characters both need and deserve it. So there’s lots of chocolate in this contemporary title. LOTS.
And there’ll obviously have to be lots at my desk too 🙂
Tendu Update
The series came out in the end!
When dance student Amalphia Treadwell embarks on a secret relationship with her rich, handsome new teacher, she has no idea of the danger that lurks in his school in Scotland…
“POV: You thought it was just another ballet book… then it emotionally body-slammed you in pointe shoes. Slow burn, enemies to lovers, fate, and a Scottish setting that delivered.”See this TikTok review here
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This post about Byronic heroes was written back in 2022 when I was very ill but still editing Tendu, a book that some people have since found to be just as shocking as the antics of the dancer Sergei Polunin, mentioned below. All three books in that ‘diabolical’ series are out now. They are not pink-and-fluffy ballet books, and the blurbs have always refuted that idea 😀
Original Byronic Heroes Post
I’m still deep in the TENDU manuscript, though the end of this edit approaches, and I’ll soon be returning to SISTERS (later note – Sisters at the Edge of the World is also out now).
Between chapters, I’m watching things like this:
Bad Boys
Sergei Polunin, known as the bad boy of ballet, was born in Ukraine, as was my own ballet bad boy from TENDU. There ends the similarity, though. The fictional character of Aleks is not based on Polunin, or anyone else.
Byronic Heroes
Unlike the mainly perfect men from MERMAID and FIREFLIES, Aleks is a Byronic hero. What’s that, you ask?
A Byronic hero is a type of fictional character who is a moody, brooding rebel, often one haunted by a dark secret from his past. The term describes the type of main character found in many fictional works by Lord Byron, who is said to have had this type of personality.
I love Byronic heroes. I love reading them. And I love writing them. He is very naughty, though, and I will have to punish him for the rest of his life. Oh, the FUN!
I was recently featured over on Instagram in a Fast Facts type interview. Read about my obsessions, fears and atrociously bad singing here.
A Dancer’s Journey Series
Scotland’s all misty lochs and magical forests and perfect boyfriends, right?
When dance student Amalphia Treadwell embarks on a secret relationship with her charismatic new teacher, she has no idea of the danger that lurks in his school in Scotland…
My dance background and love of history and spicy stories are what inspired this wild mix of contemporary romance and ballet set in a castle. Readers of my historical fiction will recognise the castle and stone circle that feature in these books.
There are no cliffhanger endings in this series; each book completes a story, but then there is more. So much more. Read all the blurbs here
There’s also this strange little post about what the characters of A Dancer’s Journey get up to when I’m away from the keyboard.
Historicals
Set in 1st century Scotland, my latest novel, SISTERS AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD, includes the battle of Mons Graupius between the Romans and the Caledonian tribes. There’s a neurodivergent main character and some rather complicated romance.
Set in a castle, THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR features the Scottish witchcraft accusations and a love story.
FIREFLIES AND CHOCOLATE was inspired by the 18th century kidnapped children of Aberdeen and is set in both Scotland and Colonial Pennsylvania.
Go here to sign up for my occasional emails that always include exclusive photos and news of my writing and life. If you would like to hear about new books and offers, you can follow my Amazon author page.
Tomnaverie Recumbent Stone Circle is rather an unusual site. Thought to date from 2500 BC, this circle suffered great damage due to 20th century quarrying, but was put back together during an archaeological excavation in 1999.
The mound that the stones stand on was formed by a build up of residues, including human bones, from the site’s previous use as a place of cremation.
The Circle of Stones at Tomnaverie
I always love that first glimpse of standing stones in the landscape.
Lady’s bedstraw, harebells, ox-eye daisies and yarrow grow all around the stones.
The recumbent stone and flankers frame Lochnagar when you stand in the middle of the circle. I visited on an overcast and misty day, so the mountain was not visible.
The mist added to the timeless atmosphere of the place.
Through the stone gateway, along a path and past a field we go now, to a somewhat less timeless place.
Tomnaverie Nuclear Bunker
This bunker was built for the Royal Observer Corps in 1959 to monitor potential nuclear strikes during the Cold War.
People, many recruited and trained locally, stayed here until the Royal Observer Corps was officially stood down in 1991.
Picture from the informational sign by the bunker
I found myself drawing parallels with the nearby Culsh Earth House: people going underground at times of conflict, separated by millennia but in close proximity to each other geographically.
And, above it all, the flowers grow on.
All my books feature standing stones
Set in 1st century Scotland, SISTERS AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD includes the battle of Mons Graupius between the Romans and the Caledonian tribes. The book features a neurodivergent main character and some rather complicated romance!
Taking place mainly in a castle, THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR blends an often overlooked period of history, the Scottish witchcraft accusations, in particular the 1597 Aberdeen witchcraft panic, with a love story.
FIREFLIES AND CHOCOLATE was inspired by the kidnapped children and young people of Aberdeen. The story follows the adventures of Elizabeth Manteith from the castle and her determined efforts to get back home. There’s love. There’s derring-dos on the high seas… And there’s chocolate!
When dance student Amalphia Treadwell embarks on a secret relationship with her charismatic new teacher, she has no idea of the danger that lurks in his school in Scotland…
The Performance: sometimes going home for Christmas is just one huge performance…
When Ariel returns home from dance college, her mother expects her to perform the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy in a pink, sequined tutu in front of many, many party guests. Ariel adjusts the costume and choreography to expose dark truths about her life, but, as it turns out, this is not the biggest performance of the night…
New Books and Special Offers
If you would like to hear about new books and special offers, you can follow my Amazon author page.
More officially known as the Merchant’s House, this lovely building’s date of origin is a little uncertain. The other houses in the row were all built in 1575, but the Pink House has this declaration on its wall:
A mistake may have been made.
But, oh: a turret!
The Interior
I passed through bedrooms with beautiful wallpaper and entered the courtyard garden.
The owner of the house told me about the historically authentic paint, made with ox blood, and she also pointed out the books in that higher window to the right.
The Book Nook
Much as I wanted to just stay there in the nook – or perhaps even live in it – there were other places to explore.
Door to the loft and turret room:
In the turret:
Loft:
Robert Burns is said to have slept in the loft while working as an excise man in Banff. It was the only place in the house that felt a little creepy.
I did miss a few rooms. Though the owner assured me I could explore everywhere, I was aware that her family were having breakfast in the kitchen, and it just felt too intrusive to go through there.
The house as seen through the gate of the medieval graveyard across the street:
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Small update, July 2026: a year on, and my Isobel Gowdie novel is in its third draft… It’s strange and dark, and I’m loving it. And the mural has had a colourful wee glow-up (above), as seen on my last visit to Auldearn.
Original post from June 2025
I shall go into a hare, With sorrow and syt and meickle care; And I shall go in the Devil’s name, Ay while I come home again.
The quote is part of the extraordinary witchcraft confessions of Isobel Gowdie from 1662. She confessed to shape-shifting, flying, and various activities involving the devil, and it’s said that she offered this information without torture.
There’s no record of torture, just as there’s no record of Isobel’s execution, but, of course, this doesn’t mean these events didn’t happen.
Mural of Isobel Gowdie
It was wonderful to meet artist Helen Wright when my research took me to Auldearn. She has created a beautiful mural depicting the life of Isobel. In the panel above, it is theorised that Isobel may have earned money telling stories to children, an occupation that was available to local women at the time. The tone and narrative of the confessions do suggest she was a gifted storyteller.
The Battle of Auldearn
The battle of Auldearn between the Covenanters and Royalists took place in 1645. There were still troops at Auldearn in 1647, the year when Isobel claimed she had carnal relations with the devil. This part of the confession is lurid and detailed, and, to me, it seems to be some sort of trauma response.
It was great to meet the artist today. From Isobel’s confession (apparently obtained without the usual t0rt*re): I shall go into a hare, With sorrow and sych and meickle care; And I shall go in the D€vil’s name, Ay while I come home again. #history#art#mural#witchcraft#womensart#authorlife#research
You’d think the old kirk where Isobel set some of the meetings with the devil and others would feel creepy and dark. It was atmospheric, yes, but it seemed welcoming somehow. I wanted to stay inside it as if someone had ushered me in and offered me tea.
Interior of the kirk:
So that’s where my writing research has led me… and there’s LOTS of reading to do.
My debut novel involved such research too, and another Isobell…
Set in a fictional castle in Aberdeenshire, Ailish Sinclair’s debut novel, THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR, blends an often overlooked period of history, the Scottish witchcraft accusations, in particular the 1597 Aberdeen witchcraft panic, with a love story.
Published by GWL Publishing, the book is out in paperback and Kindle now.
The Performance: sometimes going home for Christmas is just one huge performance…
When Ariel returns home from dance college, her mother expects her to perform the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy in a pink, sequined tutu in front of many, many party guests. Ariel adjusts the costume and choreography to expose dark truths about her life, but, as it turns out, this is not the biggest performance of the night…
New Books and Special Offers
If you would like to hear about new books and special offers, you can follow my Amazon author page.
Migvie Kirk, near Tarland in Aberdeenshire, is misleadingly unimposing when you first see it. The present structure, now deconsecrated, dates from 1777, though there was an older medieval church there from at least the 12th century.
That was as much as I knew about the Kirk when I visited the kirkyard to see the Pictish stone, so what transpired was all rather delightful.
The Migvie Stone
This is a class II Pictish stone thought to date from the 8th century. This class of stone has a cruxifix on one side and traditional Pictish symbols on the other, unlike earlier stones which just display the older Pictish designs. Another good example is the Maiden Stone near Inverurie.
The cross is clearly visible on the Migvie Stone, but the other side is very worn and lichen covered, so I struggled to make out the images.
But all was about to be made clear…
Migvie Kirk
I’m nosy about old buildings. I push doors to see if they’re open, and this one was. It showed pitch-black darkness inside though, and having just encountered the same at the Culsh Earth House, I reached for my torch.
I stepped inside, and then there was light.
Motion sensors had activated lights and revealed a wonderful space which is now used for quiet contemplation and also as an arts venue. The interior of the door is carved with the symbols from the stone outside. The cross has loops as if it’s hanging on a necklace. Most unusual!
The landowner, along with local craftsmen and artists, renovated the derelict Kirk, after a battle with the council who had lost the original plans, and the work completed in 2001.
There’s a second Pictish stone inside:
Fragments are embedded in the walls too. I liked these Pictish feet:
The artwork and inscriptions are made up of a mixture of Christian writings, Pictish symbology and biblical passages written in both English and Ogham.
At one point, when all was still, the lights blinked off and everything went pitch black again.
Moving about soon summoned the light.
I intend a return to Migvie. I missed a cup-marked stone in the kirkyard and also an inscription of words from William Penn.
Fireflies and Chocolate is set in both Aberdeenshire and Pennsylvania
Torn out of an isolated life in a Scottish castle, Elizabeth embarks on a determined quest to return home. Exhilarating adventures unfold on the high seas, love blossoms, and the chocolate, purchased in Benjamin Franklin’s printing shop, is delicious!
FIREFLIES AND CHOCOLATE was inspired by the 600 children and young people who were kidnapped from Aberdeen during the 1740s and sold into indentured servitude in the American Colonies. The story follows the adventures of Elizabeth Manteith from the castle and her determined efforts to get back home. There’s love. There’s derring-dos on the high seas… and there’s chocolate!
The Culsh Earth House is an Iron Age souterrain near Tarland in Aberdeenshire. Built about 2000 years ago, at the time of Roman occupation in parts of Scotland, this particular earth house is beautifully intact and safe to enter.
You have to crouch or crawl to get in, though, the entrance being very low.
The ceiling gets higher as you progress, and you can finally stand up in the curved end of the passageway.
It’s dry and cool in the earth house, so the theory that these places were used for food storage may be correct. They would also be good for hiding in during times of conflict, and there’s room for a good few people in there. The smallness of the entrance would make it relatively easy to cover.
Or, of course, there could have been a spiritual or ritualistic use.
You certainly head into the light as you, crouching again, leave.
I loved the Culsh Earth House, resembling as it does, the time and some of the settings of Sisters at the Edge of the World. Short video below:
An Iron Age souterrain, rather like some of the settings in SISTERS AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD. From the misty hills of ancient Scotland emerges a tale of love, betrayal, and the fight for freedom. Join Morragh in SISTERS AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD for an unforgettable journey. Set in the 1st century, the story includes the battle of Mons Graupius between the Romans and the Caledonian tribes. There’s a neurodivergent main character and some rather complicated romance! #prehistory#booktok
From the misty hills of ancient Scotland emerges a tale of love, betrayal, and the fight for freedom. Join Morragh in SISTERS AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD for an unforgettable journey.
Set in 1st century Scotland, the novel includes the battle of Mons Graupius between the Romans and the Caledonian tribes. There’s a neurodivergent main character and some rather complicated romance.
The caves of New Aberdour are beautiful. I’ve written about the beach before, but I thought the caves deserved their own post.
I lay on the sand for a while, sheltered by small dunes and grasses, near to the cave with the low ceiling. This is situated on the nearest shore to the car park, the broad shore. I think the cave is just called ‘cave one’. Sand martins darted about, worried for their rock-face nests.
I took a little walk round to the next bay to see another cave, the ‘light cave’.
There are more. I clambered in to the dark cave:
entrance to the dark cave (very close to the light one)View out to sea from the dark cave
If the tide is out, you can proceed onwards through the dark cave and clamber over the rocks to the right (be careful: they can be slippy) and make your way across to the boat shore where there is a beautiful sea arch.
On this day I walked up over the cliff to the bay instead.
Back round on the broad shore, the low tide revealed its rock pools.
The entrance of the light cave:
I stared out to sea once more through the rock of the light cave.
Sisters at the Edge of the World
Novel Highlights Roman History of Scotland
Having explored 16th century witch trials in THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR and 18th century child kidnappings in FIREFLIES AND CHOCOLATE, author Ailish Sinclair has now travelled far back in time to the Iron Age and the Roman invasion of Scotland.
From the provocative opening scene to the later dramatic and devastating events of the story, SISTERS AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD is a book that will continually surprise, delight, and sometimes shock the reader. The novel features the beautiful hill of Bennachie, and the stone circles of Aberdeenshire along with the cliffs and caves of Cullykhan Bay.
Aspects of the book
The main characters are fiercely bonded chosen sisters, one of them neurodivergent.
The story is set in the 1st century CE and features the battle of Mons Graupius between the Romans and the Caledonian tribes.
There’s romance, but it’s rather complicated romance this time.
The stone circle from Ailish’s previous books is still there in all its glory.
The castle is not, obviously, but there is a great round house where it will be one day. And a wee hoosie in the woods.
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Post from 2022. That was a beautiful pink sunrise a few weeks ago over a local doocot. Before I got ill. And spoonie time started. Again. Sigh.
Having revelled my way through the beauty of winter, celebrating the fact I was staying so well, I have been struck down once more. But I’ve been a lot worse. And I’m not in hospital, so that’s good. And, as my appearance here today shows, the medication is starting to kick in.
Spoonie Days
I have managed to keep up my writing schedule. My first spoon of the day goes on that. There’s quite a good explanation of the term spoonie here. Basically, spoons represent the energy you have for tasks and activities each day. And with chronic illness, the spoons can be very limited.
A Dancer’s Journey Series
These books are long, and involved. They’re rather a Magnum Opus at over 100,000 words each. They’re all at different stages of the editing/proofing process. I’m so enjoying working with all the editing feedback and bringing them together into something strange, intense and, hopefully, beautiful. So they will still be out this year. I will not stop till they’re done. Update: Amazon!
But that’s my blogging spoon spent. For today. I’ll leave you with the scene that greets me most mornings at the moment… I’m not sure what happened to spring!
My Books
SISTERS AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD opens on a snowy winter solstice in 1st century Scotland. The main character is neurodivergent, and has been non-verbal until that first scene of the book.
If you like castles, Scotland, history, witches, stone circles and Christmas done medieval-style, you might like THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR. There’s also a love story.
FIREFLIES AND CHOCOLATE was inspired by the kidnapped children of 18th century Aberdeen, and is set in both Scotland and Colonial Pennsylvania.
They’re all available in paperback, kindle and on kindle unlimited.
Go here to sign up for occasional emails that always include some exclusive photos and news of my writing and life. They’re a more intimate space than the blog. If you would rather just hear about new books and offers, you can follow my Amazon author page.
