There’s been sunshine in the birch woods. Well, obviously there’s been sunshine everywhere, but it’s still so low that it doesn’t hit the garden much. It’s in the wild woods that it warms your face and makes long shadows between the trees.
Blue Skies in the Birch Woods
There’s even been clear skies.
I love the gold and blue colours of winter. Green is muted for now, just waiting for the spring.
Ariel: Dancing on TV
Torn from a life where she never fitted in, Ariel quickly becomes the focus of a reality TV show. Can she rise above a lifetime of pain and embrace the possibilities of fame and love that beckon to her?
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
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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.
She’s soon dealing with her boyfriend’s obsessive ex, the strange 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 dank dark of the dungeon…
Dark, witty, sexy and fun, Tendu is a compelling and seductive story of unconventional love, dance and obsession.
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 special offers, you can follow my Amazon author page.
“Told in first-person, all from Morragh’s perspective, be prepared to experience everything as she does. From her awakening out of muteness, to her embracing of her role as the spiritual leader of their tribe and eventually to her transition to the next stage. I will admit the final chapters had me emotional.” See the whole review here.
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Newsletter
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It’s getting brighter. I feel it already. Or maybe I only think I can. For how much lighter can it really be, so few days after the Solstice? (Post written December 2022)
It’s quiet too, in this between time, during this lull of activity in the world.
I notice things that I wouldn’t normally notice. Below is the part of SISTERS AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD that has been most highlighted by kindle readers.
We are all that big. And we all change the world every day as we go about making choices, taking action, sitting still and most of all: by adding more love into the places around us.
That’s what I want in 2023. More love in the world. More happiness. More peace.
It may not be quite correct to call Fyvie Loch a loch. It’s a man-made body of water, and the family from the nearby castle always called it a lake. It is, however, usually referred to as a loch now. And it’s beautiful. No debate there.
The colours of winter suit it well.
There are many magnificent old trees round the loch.
I love them.
Gnarly:
Peering through the branches…
And between the trees…
We’ll be heading through that gate to Christmas in the castle soon. There will be music and history and baubles. And maybe even a wee ghost…
Contemporary Fiction
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?
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.
The Rocking Stones of Auchmaliddie, situated near the village of New Deer in Aberdeenshire, are thought to be the remnants of a recumbent stone circle. Only the large recumbent and one flanker remain. They are made of white quartz which lights up under the moon and sparkles in the sunlight. What an impressive circle it would have been when whole! Most recumbent circles in the Grampian region are aligned to moon cycles so moonlight quite possibly featured in their use.
They are still beautiful, I think. Even in driving hail, as they were when I visited recently.
The quartz.
The black line there is comprised of straw bales wrapped in plastic. The stones are located at the edge of a field.
Folklore of the Rocking Stones
Local folklore suggests that the stones, also known as the Muckle (huge) Stanes of Auchmaliddie, were once placed on top of one another. It is said that if a person were to stand on them and tell a lie, the top stone would tip.
A Stone Circle, Destroyed
The rocking stones have fared better than the stone circle that stood on the hill, just a mile or so away, at the other side of the village. In the 18th century it was smashed up and used in the foundations of the new manse. Bad luck is said to befall anyone who lives on the surrounding lands. The nearby farm is called Standing Stones. Below is the hillside where the circle would have been, Culsh Monument to the right.
Quote from interview: My next historical novel explores the relationship between two chosen sisters who flee abuse together as young children. They are as close as two people can be and I am still working on conveying that closeness and the deep understanding that exists between these young women as they negotiate their own romantic liaisons with men, both approved and unapproved by their community, and as their Bronze Age society marches into war. (Now published. See SISTERS AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD).
Or maybe my books, all of which feature a stone circle:
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!
The main character, autistic dancer Amalphia, won’t tell you that things are a bit dark in her world. She’s rather an unreliable narrator at the start of the book. But the story soon moves. In fact, it travels around quite a bit.
Out the door we go! Photo taken at Fyvie Castle
From the blurb
Leaving your boyfriend for a career on the stage is easy, right?
Back in London, and newly single, Amalphia moves into a seven-figure apartment and walks into a job with a top ballet company. Despite these advantages, she soon encounters new pain and a dark far deeper than that of the dungeon.
I took the next photo the last time I walked through Chinatown in London. Cakes like this don’t actually feature in the novel, but I think they express lightness and fun. There is plenty of that in the tale too.
Cakes in Chinatown
Excerpt
Justin and Amalphia meet in Chinatown at one point. Quote slightly edited to avoid a spoiler:
“Phi, keep going,” urged Justin. “You can’t say something like that and go quiet.”
Between large mouthfuls of food, I detailed the time in New York, the following week… and the present: the horrible, sticky, itchy present.
“I’m a bit shocked,” he admitted. “It’s a lot to take in.”
From Molly on Amazon.com: I laughed out loud many times! I cackled twice. I cursed at characters in my head a few times. It’s truly one of the best books I’ve ever read and made me feel SO MANY FEELINGS.
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.”
“I stop now to properly observe and feel the gentle pink shade of the water. I try to breathe it in, to let it take me. All calm. All calm. But pink is not what I sense in the dwelling beyond the water. There’s no calm to be found there at all.”
About SISTERS
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.
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.
She’s soon dealing with her boyfriend’s obsessive ex, the strange 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 dank dark of the dungeon…
Dark, witty, sexy and fun, Tendu is a compelling and seductive story of love, dance and obsession.
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 special offers, you can follow my Amazon author page.
Nacreous clouds have been appearing over Scotland in the last few weeks. They’re quite stunning, but my phone camera is really not up to the job of capturing the mother-of-pearl beauty of them.
This was my first attempt last week:
Nacreous clouds
But then on Christmas Eve, this happened in the sky:
I would like to say that I ran through the woods to see the clouds, but it wouldn’t be true. It was getting dark, and falling over can bring on an autoimmune flare-up, so I walked. Carefully and briskly.
And there they were.
The clouds were actually more pink than orange.
The ‘big camera’ has had its battery charged and is awaiting another show!
My dance background and love of history and spicy stories are what inspired this dark mix of contemporary romance and ballet. Readers of my historical fiction will recognise the castle and stone circle that feature in these books.
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…
There are no cliffhanger endings here; each book completes a story, but then there is more. So much more.
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 special offers, you can follow my Amazon author page.
It casts its light onto the track as we head home to hot chocolate and the fire.
Snow day!
Sisters at the Edge of the World
I went in to Sisters recently to update the back matter. It made me cry again…
New review from Molly on Goodreads: A beautiful tale of sisterhood, family, motherhood, love, war, romance and ancient traditions. I was completely lost (in a good way!) in the world Ailish Sinclair created. Her skills with historical fiction are astounding. The story moved in a way that was reminiscent of music. There was a rhythm to it that makes sense when you learn the author was/is a dancer.
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 special offers, you can follow my Amazon author page.
