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.
Just like everyone else at the moment (originally posted 2020 during lockdown), I am not able to gallivant around filling my phone with pictures of interesting places. However, during my daily scroll to find #goodthings to post on Instagram and Twitter, I found photos of Lenabo Woods taken in 2017. I had meant to blog about the site back then, but didn’t get round to it.
So, take my hand, virtually, and we’ll walk through what was once the setting of Britain’s most northerly airship base.
Lenabo Woods
The Lost City
RNAS Longside was active from 1916 to 1920. 1500 personnel were based at the station and the site boasted a swimming pool, a theatre, shops, a church and gas works. All of those buildings are long gone, but some things remain.
The above wall is thought to have been part of the officers’ mess.
Memorial plaque below:
The fireplace within:
Throughout the woods, remnants of various structures are to be seen, such as these airship moorings:
Buildings swept away:
Lenabo Soo
The site was known locally as RNAS Lenabo and the ships referred to as ‘Lenabo Soo’, soo being the local name for female pigs!
It’s fun to imagine the bustling community that lived at Lenabo for those four years, swimming in the pool, attending the theatre, and, of course, maintaining and operating the airships.
Well, this has been a pleasant virtual walk today (I’ll let your hand go now) and Lenabo will be a good place to explore in person again once things have calmed down.
Thanks to Reading is my Yoga for this beautiful #bookstagram picture and review of THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR: “While the first part put an almost constant smile on my face, the second part made me cry ugly tears.”
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.
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.
Today we have beautiful Strichen lake for my wee road to winter journey or blog series as it has become. And yes, it is called a lake, not a loch, which is a little unusual for up here.
Reflections on the lake.
The swans make it a little balletic. For me, anyway.
Tendu is out, and Cabriole is almost here (November 24th)!
And the third title, Fouetté, releases in December. Phew! These aren’t just the naughtiest books I’ve ever written, they’re the longest, being about 50% longer than my historical titles.
I’m trying to keep up with the reviews that keep popping up in unexpected places. Mick_the_knife had this to say on Threads: “My Kindle is fully charged and waiting to welcome Cabriole with open arms. Tendu was a romp and a roller coaster and it possibly contributed to my sleep deprivation for a couple of weeks!”
They’re in paperback too. Nice big chunks of books.
TENDU: 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…
And then on into CABRIOLE: After a traumatic year at the castle, Amalphia Treadwell travels back to London to start her professional life, putting dark and difficult things firmly behind her. Or so she believes…
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 special offers, you can follow my Amazon author page.
I took that picture standing in my bunny pyjamas on the castle lawn with three kids, three dogs and a budgie. There was no fire or disaster, just a malfunctioning alarm, or maybe it was the ghost. Yes, let’s blame it on ghosts, ghouls and phantoms; I’m sure they were responsible for continually setting off the motion sensors in the middle of the night during my winter sojourn. But that was summer, Brodie Castle was busy with visitors and altogether less creepy. I stayed in the property manager’s flat several times that year, looking after things for her, most efficiently as you can see.
I am fortunate to live in a place that has so many of these large historic buildings dotted about the countryside. Castles take us out of where we are; some transport us into the decadent, usually bygone, lives of rich families, while others encourage imagination to run amok in the ruins.
Tolquhon
My earliest castle related memory is of ruinous, rambling Tolquhon:
For me it is synonymous with life getting a little bit better. Childhood took an upturn after the birth of my brother; gone were the silent Sundays when my parents read the papers and my sister and I had to be very, very quiet in our room. We went places. Fun things happened, and Tolquhon was one of them.
I do like the bee boles or skeps:
Drum
Later, with my own children, just about every castle in Northern Scotland was explored. We ran around the roof of the medieval tower of Drum (safer than it looks):
We admired the beautiful gardens at Ballindalloch, before being greeted by Lady Macpherson-Grant and her extended family, including a new grandchild in a pram, in the entrance hall.
New Slains Castle
The scariest of the castles has to be Slains Castle, built to look Gothic, now ruined. It’s very dangerous out there on the cliffs – someone once fell to their death – so I don’t really advise visiting. It inspired Bram Stoker to write Dracula, and there are plans to turn it into a theme hotel. And, umm, I don’t always heed my own advice:
Great sea views:
In summary: castles, they’re great.
Get out there. Visit them (the safe ones). They’re so very different from our homes (unless you live in a castle), entirely dissimilar to modern office buildings, television screens and city streets. They can be cold and damp and ancient. Sometimes they’re lavish and royal. They smell of the past. They hold stories in their old walls and can unlock them in us.
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.”
Set in 1st century Scotland (so, no castle, but there is an Iron Age round house), 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 witches’ brooms of this post are actually deformities in trees, often caused by a fungus. I rather like them, both their appearance and their name, probably because of interests like this. However, none are to be found on the gnarly, wizened hazel trees by the loch.
We have to venture deeper into the wood, and gaze up at the high branches of the birches, for that.
Witches’ Brooms
There they are!
They are often mistaken for nests.
Witches’ Knickers
No witches’ knickers today. And that’s good, as those are just plastic bags caught in trees or on fences, and not photogenic at all.
“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.”
Isobell needs to escape. She has to. Her life depends on it.
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.
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.
Deer Abbey in Aberdeenshire is a beautiful sprawling ruin. It’s a peaceful place to visit. Reflective. A place to peer through old doorways into the past.
Into the kitchen…
The Man Trap
If I look back into my own past, I see myself in quite a state, just about to go into hospital and become monstrous. I am better this year. Better than that anyway. Able to go out and about to places other than my doctor’s surgery.
Which brings me to the man trap:
Man trap!
You would definitely need some medical intervention after stepping in that! It’s a hideous contraption that was designed to catch poachers, widely used in the 19th century by local Lairds. It’s not known how it came to be at Deer Abbey.
From one of the informational plaques, the man trap in use:
Ouch!
History of the Abbey
For 340 years, the Abbey housed a Cistercian community. The monks of Deer wore white robes and no underwear, a brave choice given Aberdeenshire’s low temperatures and the strong gales of winter.
Cloisters
After the reformation the building became the property of the Keith family. Mrs Keith dreamed of angry monks coming to destroy her home, Dunnottar Castle. And more recently, there have been sightings of a ghostly monk on the main road outside the Abbey. Maybe the old Cistercians do not rest easy yet.
A boundary of yews.
Remaining Beauty
I love the ancient trees of the Abbey grounds. And the pink hue of the crumbling walls. The hillside beyond is satisfyingly timeless, and probably offers quite a similar view to the one that the white robed monks looked out on.
An Autistic Dancer, a Byronic Hero and an Obsessive Scientist
Read my series A Dancer’s Journey. There’s ballet. There’s lots of naughtiness. And there’s peril!
Enjoy a kiss on the London tube in the first book, 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…
And there’s also this slightly strange little post about what the characters of A Dancer’s Journey get up to when I take a rare day off from writing.
Newsletter, Updates and ARCs
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.
The seals were shown to me by a direct descendant of Lord Pitsligo while I was researching FIREFLIES. I got to hold them and turn them on their hinges, which was wonderfully informative and exciting. It was great to connect to the time of the book like that too.
The Book
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!
I wandered through the woods to the 18th century Duff House Mausoleum.
It’s about a mile away from majestic Duff House, which is now an art gallery, and about two miles from the Bridge of Alvah. When I was a child, the house was in quite a rough state. Furniture was covered in sheets, paint was peeling off the walls, and spooky music floated up from the lower levels.
I loved it.
I still do.
Duff House
The Mausoleum
Round the back…
The effigy of a knight is not Robert the Bruce as once purported by the Earl who built the mausoleum. The skulls, crossbones and wheat are quite common on older graves in Aberdeenshire.
Below: the interior of the mausoleum.
The River Deveron
During autumn in Scotland the days seem to be either golden or grey, sunny or dreich. It didn’t get properly light at all on this day, but autumn added its gold regardless.
Dickensian Dog Graves
I came upon an old dog grave in the lower parts of Wrack Wood. The dogs had lovely Dickensian sounding names.
Grey and golden, the colours of the day:
Chosen Sisters, Romans and Romance
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. The book features a neurodivergent main character and some rather complicated romance.
Tiger Hill is the largest sand dune at Fraserburgh beach. There are different theories as to how it got its name. One is that it looks a little like a crouched tiger. The other involves actual tigers. It’s said that four fighting tigers were used to ward off Viking invaders in the past, and that the animals were then buried where the dune is now.
Whatever the truth, Tiger Hill is beautiful.
Sunrise
Yesterday’s sunrise was beautiful too. It lit up the town.
I loved the pinks and blues of the sky.
TENDU Aesthetic
The Wee Writing Lassie made this TikTik for TENDU, capturing many elements of the story:
Check out my new post “The 8 1/2 Overly Pretentious Questions for Ailish Sinclair: The Second Question” weewritinglassie.home.blog/2023/10/21/the… #WritingCommmunity#authorlife#ballet#dancer
An Autistic Dancer, a Byronic Hero and an Obsessive Scientist
Read my series A Dancer’s Journey. There’s ballet. There’s lots of naughtiness. And there’s peril!
Enjoy a kiss on the London tube in the first book, 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…
And there’s also this slightly strange little post about what the characters of A Dancer’s Journey get up to when I take a rare day off from writing.
Chosen Sisters, Romans and Romance
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.
Sign up to the mailing list for news about my life and writing, and exclusive photos. If you would like to hear about new books and offers, you can follow my Amazon author page.
