Despite being called purple gromwell, this flower is clearly bright blue.
It’s a wonderfully medieval name, though, gromwell, isn’t it? I recall mention of the plant in the Cadfael series – books and TV show (affiliate links) – where its presence helps in a murder investigation. Perhaps if I grow enough gromwell in my garden, I can also solve mysteries and fight crime. It comes in a white variety, so I’m on the lookout for that.
Growing nearby, and undeniably purple, is a small rhododendron.
Fireflies and Chocolate
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 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.
This ivy-leaved toadflax is growing in a drain at Broadsea just now. It’s a tough little plant, preferring to make its home in rocky, stony places. It was introduced to Britain as a garden flower hundreds of years ago, and was first recorded in the wild in 1640.
This lovely toadflax was spread all along the back garden wall of one house I lived in, and I was sad to leave it behind when I moved. These flower posts are becoming rather nostalgic!
The Mermaid and the Bear
Isobell needs to escape. She has to. Her life depends on it.
Set in a fictional castle in Aberdeenshire, Ailish’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.
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.
They’re everywhere through the woods, and all over the garden too. Beautiful bluebells. Blue, pink, and sometimes even white. Their heady aroma fills the air as they herald the arrival of summer.
My Latest Series
Meet Ariel and her classmates, Bubbles and Alexander, along with a whole cast of vibrant characters, as they experience love, life and adventure at the most prestigious dance school in Scotland.
Each book in this coming-of-age series delves into the personal struggles and heartfelt romances of a different student over the course of a school year. As the spotlight shifts its focus within the old walls of the castle, there are television shows to be made and dark truths to be faced.
Join these young dancers as they whirl through their challenges, forge unbreakable bonds, and discover the power within themselves. Are you ready to travel to Northern Scotland, step into the castle school and dance through the deep dark of the dungeon?
Latest review: I’ve just finished Alexander, the last instalment of the whole sequence. What a ride! Great characters, plenty of good storylines and a magical setting. Highly recommended! On Instagram.
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.
Hawthorn, according to folklore, is the most likely tree to be inhabited by fairies or the Wee Folk… It flowers in May, mainly in hedgerows and wild places. The scent of hawthorn is wild too, earthy and spicy, calling to mind rites of spring and naughty pixies. It feels like that to me anyway 🙂
A Dancer’s Journey Series by Ailish Sinclair 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. She’s soon dealing with her boyfriend’s beautiful and obsessive ex, the sinister research taking place at the castle school and her own ever-evolving relationship issues. Amalphia works hard to be the best dancer she can be, but as tension builds within the old walls of the castle, she begins to wonder if she will ever escape the deep dark of the dungeon… #booktok#balletbooks#romanticsuspense#contemporaryromance#bookboyfriendsdoitbetter
TENDU: Dancing in the Castle – book 1 of A Dancer’s Journey
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.
She’s soon dealing with her boyfriend’s beautiful and obsessive ex, the sinister research taking place at the castle school and her own ever-evolving relationship issues.
Amalphia works hard to be the best dancer she can be, but as tension builds within the old walls of the castle, she begins to wonder if she will ever escape the deep dark of the dungeon…
Dark, witty, sexy and fun, Tendu is a seductive story of love, dance and obsession. Get your copy today.
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.
Apple blossom has such a sweet and delicate scent. It was my Grandmother’s favourite flower, and it always makes me feel happy when it blooms. This particular tree produces small yellow fruits that are waxy and intensely fragrant.
Today’s apple blossom is the first in a series of tiny flower-based blog posts. I’ll do them daily for a while.
Historical Fiction
Video
I write unconventional romance and historical fiction, often set in Aberdeenshire, the area of Scotland where I live. My historical novels combine little-known dark events with love stories. There are witches, bears and Romans to be found in them, detailed here.
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.
Below is a post from this time last year when I was wrestling with those tricksy ballet terms. TENDU is finally out, the release of the more notorious title draws near, and I’m busy with the next series. So, despite autoimmunity being flared, I’m happy.
Notoriety included… out November 24th
Writing Ballet Terms: October 2022
I took a little walk on St Combs beach. It was beautiful and blustery and entirely free from ballet terms. I needed to get away from them for a bit. There’s too many in TENDU, and in the current edit, I am removing, changing or explaining them so as not to confuse the reader. It’s not the most fun. It feels a little like dumbing down, though I know it’s not really. I just have to be less technically specific, and more generally descriptive. I’d much rather be working on all the relationship nuances, but of course, I am doing that too.
The Beach
It was great to just stand and stare across the ocean and breathe in all that fresh sea air.
I made a little TikTok of the sea too, if you would like to hear the waves and see the movement.
So goodbye port de bras and grand jeté. Arabesque penchée, I have tried to save (describe) you:
We worked on arabesque penchée. Standing on one leg, the other high behind, fingertips almost touching the floor, the world seemed to stand still around me in a perfect moment of balance and extension.
But back to the beach. Away from the ballet terms. And breathe.
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.
TENDU: Dancing in the Castle
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…
Dark, witty, steamy and fun, Tendu is a compelling and seductive story of love, dance and obsession.
Keep up to date with all my news by signing up to the mailing list. It’s 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.
Dunnottar Castle sits high on the cliffs near Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire. It’s scenic and sprawling and, though peaceful now, it boasts a turbulent history.
Great Hall
History of Dunnottar Castle
Dunnottar was attacked by Vikings in the ninth century, and captured by William Wallace in 1297. Kings and queens loved to visit: Mary Queen of Scots, James VI, and at one point during my own visit, I was standing in the bedroom of Charles II.
The Old Smithy
Ghosts!
Though I didn’t meet them, there’s said to be a lassie in a green plaid searching for her lost Pictish children, a young deer hound, and a Scandinavian military gentleman who likes to stare out to sea.
I understand the need to stare across the ocean. The seascape at Dunnottar is mesmerising.
Seeing across the sea…
The elevated position of the castle means you can see across miles and miles of silvery sea. The window below is located in the Whigs’ Vault that held imprisoned Covenanters in 1685. It’s a dark and terrible place. I had to reach out to the air and the sky and the light.
A dark window
Views, views, everywhere…
Sea and cliffs
But it’s time to go. It’s time to walk back up the many, many steps that seemed so inconsequential on the way down…
Dunnottar
For more information on the wonderfully atmospheric Dunnottar Castle visit the official site.
My Historical Novels
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 fictional 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!
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.
Looking back on this post from a year ago. Reflecting on the past twelve months. Determining to stay well now. To not burn myself out again. In a year’s time I want to be writing about dancing around doing pointe work and getting books out and visiting castles and other lovely places. Maybe I’ll even wear a red leotard. Probably not to visit a castle. But, you never know… 😀
Back to the original post:
Would a strappy red leotard distract the eye from my puffer-fish face or accentuate it? The many thin straps of the garment crisscrossed my back in a pleasing design. It was different. It was daring. I wore it.
The above quote is from TENDU, the first book of A Dancer’s Journey, a romantic-suspense series. The main character, Amalphia, has just been through some relationship turmoil, again, and is returning to class after injury caused by an inappropriate level of pointe work. The red leotard gets her into a surprising amount of trouble.
Her injury came from being asked to perform every exercise in class en pointe. This is something that I took from my own life.
Memories of Pointe Work
One week at college, our usual morning-class teacher – the late great Imogen Claire – was absent and a substitute put in place. This new teacher decided I needed to be stretched and pushed and had me do everything en pointe. Just me. Nobody else. This singling-out drew a few nasty looks from the other dancers. But really, there was nothing to be jealous about.
Because it really was everything. Every bend. Every jump. I love jumping en pointe. I still do it sometimes. But as a training method in morning class, this excessive pointe work made no sense. It removed the benefit of many of the exercises, and I limped off to the other lessons of the day improperly warmed-up.
After two days of this, my feet were sore. After a week, they were a mess. But then Imogen returned with her no-nonsense approach to teaching and ballet, and I healed.
Imogen looks through her glasses in disapproval (Rocky Horror Picture Show 1975). Christopher Biggins, to the left there, once said very insightful things to me while judging my annual assessment at college.
There was no need for extra pointe work as we were blessed with a specialist teacher for that. At first I was surprised to learn that the class was taught by a man, but Gary Harris was a true expert on the subject, performing all the steps en pointe himself in his soft trainers at the front of the studio.
So, dance-school memories indulged, it’s time to head back into the next manuscripts. There’s a connected series coming…
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.
Newsletter
Sign up to the mailing list for news about my life and writing, and some exclusive photos. If you would rather just hear about new books and offers, you can follow my Amazon author page.
Sisters at the Edge of the World
When Morragh speaks to another person for the very first time, she has no idea that he is an invader in her land…
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!
I prance up the pirate steps, and I dance down the other side.
Pirate Steps
Folklore tells us that pirates and smugglers were not permitted to pass through the gates of a kirkyard, but they were allowed to attend church, hence the special stairway.
These particular steps are located in the surrounding wall of St. Mary’s Chapel in Rattray, Aberdeenshire. The chapel is one of the oldest structures still standing in the area, and it’s rather beautiful.
I ran up and down similar steps at Kildaton on Islay but, sadly, I do not have any photos of them.
Rattray steps and gate:
TikTok Fun
In other news, my current medication is keeping me up at night. It’s rather like living in several different time zones at once. I’ve been amusing myself by playing on TikTok and YouTube.
Naughty Contemporary Fiction
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 dark 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.
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
Historical Fiction
These novels combine little-known dark events with love stories and a hint of magic.
Sign up to the mailing list for news about my life and writing, and some exclusive photos. If you would like to hear about new books and offers, you can follow my Amazon author page.
You can now go up on the roof of the newly done-up Aberdeen Art Gallery. It’s quite nice up there among the green domes of the city. That’s the theatre straight ahead and Union Terrace Gardens (also going through the process of change) to the left.
Arriving on the roof of Aberdeen Art Gallery
I was relieved to arrive up on the roof during my recent visit. I’d displayed distinctly codger-like tendencies until then. Where were the old marble stairs? Why were there new plastic-covered ones instead? How was that an improvement? And what about the fountain and the thing that used to be in the middle of it?
Works of Art
‘The thing’ was on the roof, and I was glad to see it.
Oval Form – Trezion Dame Barbara Hepworth
There were other old favourites throughout the gallery too, and photography was allowed everywhere.
Penelope, her milkshake bringing all the boys to the yard:
Penelope and the Suitors John William Waterhouse
A lit-up love poem:
For You Tracey Emin
Then there was a buttery, a local delicacy, a sort of salty, fatty squashed roll. Unfortunately, I did not note the name of the artist.
The Kirk of St Nicholas could be seen from the roof of the gallery. I do seem to see it wherever I go in the city.
I wandered down to the kirkyard before leaving Aberdeen. The grass had obviously not been cut all season, giving the place an unkempt and uncared-for feel. There was a poppy, though. And that was beautiful.
People accused of witchcraft were imprisoned in the old steeple of that kirk long ago, as mentioned in THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR.
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.
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.
