Wandering barefoot. Along the sand. At St Combs Beach.
Continue readingTag Archives: beach
Social Distancing and Kindle Unlimited
It feels like the world has changed dramatically since I last blogged at the end of February. I very much hope you are all safe and well. My pneumonia experience last year has left me with a damaged lung, so I am social distancing. Being at home. Writing. Editing. Actually getting round to cleaning the cooker!
Continue readingShare this post!
The Silvery Sands of Rosehearty Beach
I took a little stroll along Rosehearty beach. No exaggeration. It was a stroll. Recovery from pneumonia is a slow process, so the walk was slow too. It was a meander along the sands, if you will!
Continue readingShare this post!
Rocky Shores for Release Day
We’ve moved North and round the corner from the golden sands of Fraserburgh beach, and arrived at the rocky shores of Broadsea and a beautiful rock pool, the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses in the background.
But the book is out! Released! That’s all that’s really on my mind today… though I can be momentarily distracted by shells:
It’s a strange feeling this, like opening a window and letting something precious and secret fly away to where it can now be seen by anyone who wants to see it!
That’s my favourite little house at Broadsea, right beside the rugged rocky coastline.
So… deep breath…
Set in a fictional castle in Aberdeenshire, 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.
And it has a castle.
And a stone circle.
And medieval Christmas.
Out in paperback and Kindle NOW!
Universal links:
Share this post!
Sometimes the Sea Wears Wonderful Colours
A Map of Witches and some Autumn Beauty
The Map of Witches is a brand new resource from the University of Edinburgh, utilising the extensive data collected in their Survey of Scottish Witchcraft Database. See it here. It’s a visual and clickable map of over 3000 people accused of witchcraft in Scotland, and is both fascinating and terrible, as this subject always is. My three quines from THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR are included (see Isobell’s entry above) as are a disturbing Witch Pricker’s Journey and various other stories. You can choose to view a modern map or a historical one, the latter suiting it better, I think.
After peering back into the dark like that, I need to look at beauty, so here’s some from recent days:
Continue readingShare this post!
Loch Morlich, big blog, little blog
The tiny blog is this one, sent from holiday. The big blog is my guest post on the official tourism site for Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire: 10 Mystical and Magical Places in Aberdeenshire.
And Loch Morlich is in the pictures. I was there before the ducks were up today!
Keep up to date with all my news by signing up to my occasional mailing list!
Share this post!
Findlater Castle
For years I passed by the road signs for Findlater Castle on my way to other places, joking that ‘I must find that later’. I’m so glad I finally did! I’ve been a few times now and it’s always stunning.
On this day it was exceptionally warm and still for Northern Scotland which emboldened me to go a bit further down onto the ramparts than I’ve been before.
Off I went, past the gorse which was warmed by the sun and smelled all coconutty…
Share this post!
Shifting Sands and Shipwrecks
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!
Share this post!
A Walk Round Broadsea in Aberdeenshire
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.
