I love these warm and gentle autumn days. The sun is hot, the trees are turning colourful and the sky is bright blue.
Mushrooms and toadstools appear.
Paths are crunchy as the trees shed their leaves.
The rodgersia is red, red, red…
And the beach feels especially golden. More beach to come in the next newsletter…
From the misty hills of ancient Scotland…
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.
“The setting is ethereal and spellbinding as our main characters walk a fine line between what has been and what is to come. A beautiful tale of ancient wonders and kindred souls.” Historical Novel Society
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My daughter and I took a little trip to London, baby! (originally posted 2014). It was a heady mix of excitement, fun, sore feet, poignant memories, ballet and food. This post is a veritable photo bomb, so continue reading only if you possess extreme picture viewing fortitude.
Covent Garden in London, baby!
Above is the bridge that joins the Royal Ballet School to the Opera House. Below is bronze of a little dancer opposite the Opera House.
We stayed in Covent Garden. We saw Bill Nighy in the street in Covent Garden. He frowned at us. We like Covent Garden.
Neal’s Yard
The Tube
The Moomin Shop
Quirky Streets
Brydges Place is the narrowest alleyway in London, measuring just 15 inches across where it comes out beside The Coliseum theatre.
This one had fun shops:
Self-indulgent memory alert
The Freed shop was one of the last places I visited before leaving London many years ago. It was to buy a pair of shoes to teach in rather than to dance in, after my body had crumbled… A much happier, sunnier day is shown below, for us if not the staff; there was an angry man in there trying to buy many pairs of shoes in sizes they didn’t have. It was all very dramatic.
Ballet Shoes
Trafalgar Square
I don’t get the blue cock (that is what it’s called) in Trafalgar Square. I’ve read the various excuses explanations for it and they don’t make sense. It’s like a blue joke in an otherwise dignified play… but it is photogenic, so my dislike is not total:
But I prefer the mermaids:
Theatre
We saw the Kings of the Dance at The Coliseum. They were phenomenal, but of course, no photos, other than this pre-show one:
The bar sold chocolate. Just thought I would mention because that impressed me. Right, high heeled boots are abandoned in favour of Bloch dance trainers (an emergency purchase) and on we go.
Shakespeare in Leicester Square. Prime London, Baby!
M&M store
Piccadilly Circus
Chinatown
Year of the Horse
The Rudest Restaurant in London (and one of the best and cheapest)
Wong Kei, formerly the ‘rudest restaurant in London’ (still quite curt and bossy to be honest), and a haunt of my youth due to the excellent and cheap food:
The jasmine tea is free and unlimited, just leave the lid of your pot open and it will be replaced.
British Museum
This iron age helmet was found in the River Thames beside Waterloo Bridge. I want one.
Naked statues in Soho Square
And finally (I promise)…
The London Eye
My camera really doesn’t do night.
Well done. One and all.
Series: A Dancer’s Journey
My dance background and love of history and spicy stories are what inspired this heady 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.
A Dancer’s Journey is available in paperback, Kindle and on Kindle Unlimited.
Enjoy a kiss on the London tube in TENDU. Romp up and down the castle stairs! Dance in a stone circle. Attend a Ceilidh in the great hall. Have your brain studied in the dungeon. All fun, I assure you. Well, not quite all…
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We’ve reached the cusp between autumn and winter. The blue loch reflects dark skies. There’s pumpkins and wind and rain and piles of leaves everywhere. Autumn is almost over.
And yet, we still have brighter days and blue skies. Sometimes.
Sisters at the Edge of the World
The main characters are fiercely bonded chosen sisters, one of them neurodivergent.
The story is set in 1st century Scotland and features the battle of Mons Graupius between the Roman invaders and the Caledonian tribes.
There’s romance, but it’s rather complicated romance this time.
The stone circle 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.
Go here to sign up for occasional emails that always include exclusive photos and news of my writing and life. They’re a bit more intimate than the blog. If you would like to hear about new books and offers, you can follow my Amazon author page.
I had hoped it might be sunny on my recent visit to Bow Fiddle Rock, a natural sea arch near Portknockie. It was. Very briefly. Between the car and the benches, the sun shone brightly for a few seconds.
Then the clouds closed over, but the place was still beautiful.
Swan Lake
I was reminded of the stunning Swan Lake photos of husband and wife Gillian Murphy and Ethan Stiefel, taken by photographer Fabrizio Ferri below. Overcast, wet weather did not stop beauty there either.
Back at Bow Fiddle Rock, I slipped and slid over recently rained-on pebbles to take my photos.
I stopped to admire red clover on my way back up the cliff. And that was beautiful too.
Sisters at the Edge of the World
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…
Go here to sign up for my occasional emails that always include some exclusive photos and news of my writing and life. If you would rather just hear about new books and offers, you can follow my Amazon author page.
From emmalolly13 on TikTok: “This series has a special place in my heart… I feel so blessed to continue reading Amalphia’s story… Her journey with love has been rough… this is such a soul-touching series.”
Newsletter
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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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Go here to sign up for my occasional emails that always include some 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.
This is just a short follow-up post to my last harvest one. Straw bales are appearing! They’re the less scenic variety, the ones for solid fuel heating, I think.
But, peering from the trees, I captured one being made.
Fireflies and Chocolate
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 proper derring-dos on the high seas… And there’s chocolate!
Go here to sign up for my occasional emails. They’re a more intimate space than the blog and always contains some exclusive photos. If you would like to hear about new books and offers, you can follow my Amazon author page.
One day the barley is there, swaying gently in the breeze. The next day it’s cut, and harvest time is here.
I love the smell of the ripe crop at this time of year, the scent, briefly intensified by cutting. I will try to get photos of the bales when they appear, but the farmer is super quick in removing them these days. They are beautiful in the landscape, though, so my ears are pricked, waiting for the sound of the baling machines…
Scotland’s all misty lochs and magical forests and perfect boyfriends, right?
When dance student Amalphia Treadwell embarks on a secret relationship with her rich, handsome teacher, she has no idea of the danger that lurks in his new school in Scotland…
Go here to sign up for my occasional emails that always include some 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.
An old carving on display in Chalmers Hospital in Banff, spied during a short and gentle medical appointment.
Finding a wych elm, and new writing inspiration, in the woods. Two gentle summer moments at once 🙂
Complete Series: A Dancer’s Journey
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…
Go here to sign up for my occasional emails that always include some 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.
