A Bookish Post

Posted on January 9, 2019 by ailish

2019 got off to an exciting start for me when I signed a contract with GWL Publishing for my historical novel, The Mermaid and the Bear. It’s out in both paperback and Kindle NOW!

Universal links:

Kindle

Paperback

Aspects of the book:

It’s mainly set in a fictional castle in Aberdeenshire.
It incorporates the 1597 Aberdeen witchcraft panic.
There’s a stone circle.
There’s 16th century Christmas.
And there’s a love story.

Cover:

Blurb:

Isobell needs to escape. She has to. Her life depends on it.

She has a plan and it’s a well thought-out, well observed plan, to flee her privileged life in London and the cruel man who would marry her, and ruin her, and make a fresh start in Scotland.

She dreams of faery castles, surrounded by ancient woodlands and misty lochs… and maybe even romance, in the dark and haunted eyes of a mysterious Laird.

Despite the superstitious nature of the time and place, her dreams seem to be coming true, as she finds friendship and warmth, love and safety. And the chance for a new beginning…

Until the past catches up with her.

Set in the late sixteenth century, at the height of the Scottish witchcraft accusations, The Mermaid and the Bear is a story of triumph over evil, hope through adversity, faith in humankind and – above all – love.

Further insight:

Ailish’s post Walking the Witchy Ways of Aberdeen
Ailish’s article Researching Historical Fiction: Immersing Oneself in the Past
The Fraserburgh Herald’s piece Fraserburgh Author Ailish to Publish New Novel
The Press and Journal’s feature on the book and author
Review on GoodReads
Review on Terry Tyler Book Reviews

I made a wee aesthetic for it, because: oh the fun!

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Walking in the Moonlight

Posted on November 2, 2018 by ailish

Above: a scene from a walk in the moonlight, because I so appreciate being able to go on walks now that I can’t wait for daylight!

It’s been a strange summer. I spent much of it being ill, properly ‘can’t do anything, go anywhere, just have to sit still‘ ill. I feel changed by it. I have such huge appreciation for the good in my world now: the wonderful people I share my life with, the amazing place I live.

Seriously, there was no better place to lie around being ill than in my garden. Bats and giant dragonflies kept coming out of the pond and trees to peer at me. Tall trees rustled protectively around me. And the sun shone and shone this summer, didn’t it?

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Shifting Sands and Shipwrecks

Posted on October 16, 2017 by ailish

There’s been a lot of barefoot walking along beaches this summer, with friends, with family, much of it between St Combs and Scotstown. And that’s where there do be many shipwrecks to see! Aye, aye, me hearties! Prepare yersels for the photos!

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A Walk Round Broadsea in Aberdeenshire

Posted on April 28, 2017 by ailish

Broadsea is the older part of Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire, having been the site of a Pictish settlement and later a fishing community. It still feels distinctly different from the surrounding town, more like a small village, and is a great place for a walk!

From Fraserburgh, we’re heading down Broadsea Road, past all the wee hoosies, right to the end.

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Going Coastal

Posted on August 14, 2016 by ailish

Sky. Sea. Sand. It’s been a summer of these. Even on dull days it’s been warm and walks on the beach, beautiful. But I’m donning the tour guide hat again and we’re heading along the Aberdeenshire coast, starting up North and working our way round the corner and down.

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Gight Castle and the Hagberry Pot

Posted on April 23, 2016 by ailish

Gight Castle may be one of the lesser known castles of Aberdeenshire but it has a rich, if somewhat bleak, history with many of its owners dying prematurely. Built in the 15th century by the Gordon family, it was the ancestral home of Lord Byron. A ghostly piper is said to haunt the ruins. The nearby Hagberry Pot in the River Ythan is said to be bottomless and full of treasure!

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Walking with the Quines

Posted on January 22, 2016 by ailish

Quine is the Doric word for girl. The Quines (or Super Quines as we have become recently) are a group of women that met on Twitter. I can’t recall the exact ways in which we all first started chatting, though these has been much hilarity from the start. I follow many local people as well as those who share various interests, and there’s a mix of that among The Quines. Last year some of us met up in person, out in the wider world, and we hope to meet our more distant living Quine one day too.

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an t-Eilean Dubh (The Black Isle)

Posted on November 10, 2015 by ailish

The Black Isle is a peninsula near Inverness in The Highlands of Scotland. The towns and villages of the ‘Isle’ boast many excellent museums, hotels and shops, there’s castles too, making a quick drive over the Kessock Bridge well worthwhile. Dismantled oil rigs can be seen on the Cromarty Firth side, as can dolphins sometimes.

Inland there are older places, prettier places. We took a wrong turn while searching for The Clootie Well, an ancient, possibly Celtic, shrine and then spent some time wandering among trees.

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A Little Autumn Love

Posted on October 11, 2015 by ailish

Golden mornings follow bright sunrises and the low sun does things to the sky:

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three circles

Posted on June 13, 2015 by ailish

On our last visit to Drum Castle it was raining, so on the way to explore circles, we took a walk through the gardens. They were filled with the bright sights and scents of summer, the castle peeking round corners and through trees everywhere we went.

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