The Culsh Earth House is an Iron Age souterrain near Tarland in Aberdeenshire. Built about 2000 years ago, at the time of Roman occupation in parts of Scotland, this particular earth house is beautifully intact and safe to enter.
You have to crouch or crawl to get in, though, the entrance being very low.
The ceiling gets higher as you progress, and you can finally stand up in the curved end of the passageway.
It’s dry and cool in the earth house, so the theory that these places were used for food storage may be correct. They would also be good for hiding in during times of conflict, and there’s room for a good few people in there. The smallness of the entrance would make it relatively easy to cover.
Or, of course, there could have been a spiritual or ritualistic use.
You certainly head into the light as you, crouching again, leave.
I loved the Culsh Earth House, resembling as it does, the time and some of the settings of Sisters at the Edge of the World. Short video below:
An Iron Age souterrain, rather like some of the settings in SISTERS AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD. From the misty hills of ancient Scotland emerges a tale of love, betrayal, and the fight for freedom. Join Morragh in SISTERS AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD for an unforgettable journey. Set in the 1st century, the story includes the battle of Mons Graupius between the Romans and the Caledonian tribes. There’s a neurodivergent main character and some rather complicated romance! #prehistory#booktok
From the misty hills of ancient Scotland emerges a tale of love, betrayal, and the fight for freedom. Join Morragh in SISTERS AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD for an unforgettable journey.
Set in 1st century Scotland, the novel includes the battle of Mons Graupius between the Romans and the Caledonian tribes. There’s a neurodivergent main character and some rather complicated romance.
Well, WordPress prompt, when I was fifteen, I took over my ballet teacher’s school for a few months before going to college.
Despite being far too young for such a responsibility, I loved it, and it paid for all the dancewear and equipment I needed for my studies.
In my second year of dance school, I got a job in a shop in Covent Garden. It was a very nice shop. I had more money. No more choosing between food and decent pointe shoes.
But here is where things go a bit darker than the WordPress prompt probably intended. I knew really, that working both Saturday and Sunday, after a hard week of dance training, was a bit foolhardy. My sensible friend, Suzette, who would have counselled against this, had returned to Mauritius. More about Suzette and dance training here
So, I became exhausted. There was dance injury after dance injury. I developed a chest infection that lasted five months.
The shop sacked me for being ill. This left me even more vulnerable than I had already been, at seventeen, alone in London.
There was a violent predator.
There was an incident from which I was lucky to escape with my life.
Fast forward to the present, skipping several other jobs…
And my writing is influenced by my past. This is most evident in my contemporary work. There is a dark event in TENDU, the first book of A Dancer’s Journey, that I knew how to write because of my own experience. Not that it’s exactly the same, of course. In fact, it’s quite different. Fiction has to be more dramatic than reality, and more interesting. Far more interesting…
And have an infinitely more exciting setting…
These books have dark moments, but they are actually quite fun, overall, I think. And naughty. Like life, if you’re lucky!
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…
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Everything about Burghead Well is mysterious. It’s not known who built it, or when, or why.
One definite fact: Burghead Well is huge
It’s much bigger than a plain water source needs to be. The chamber, carved out of solid rock, is five metres wide. The pool is 1 metre deep and fed by an underground spring.
It could have been part of Burghead Pictish Fort (probably built in the 5th century CE), or it could have come before or after the fort. That’s how little is known.
Today, the well sits behind a locked door in the middle of the village of Burghead. I peered through the bars of that door:
It was too intriguing not to walk back up the hill to the Visitor Centre to obtain the key…
Descending the steps
So, twenty minutes later, I descended the steps to the well. It was a bright and sunny day. And then it wasn’t. As soon as I stepped onto the original rock-hewn steps, everything felt dark and sinister. I stopped, wanting to turn and run back up to the light. And then I made myself go on, as I really wanted to see what it was like in the well chamber.
I’ve visited various underground places over the years – caves and barrows – but none of them have ever felt anything like this to me.
The mysterious well at Burghead. Exact date of origin unknown. It may predate or postdate the 4th to 6th century Pictish fort. Exact use unknown, but probably more than just water collection. It was really creepy down on the original steps! Blog coming soon. #pictishsites#wells#ancientwells#prehistory#scotlandtravel
There are various theories as to the original use of the well. It could have been an early site of Christian baptism, a Pagan shrine to water deities, or a place of ritual execution. Maybe archaeologists will uncover answers one day but, for now, Burghead Well remains mysterious.
Set in 1st century Scotland, and featuring the cliffs and caves of Cullykhan Bay, 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!
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.
The Battle of Auldearn took place on the 9th of May, 1645 as part of the wider Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It was fought between a Scottish Covenanter army who were aligned with the English Parliament, and the Royalist forces of Charles the 1st. The Royalists won the battle despite being hugely outnumbered 4000 to 1500.
It was a long and bloody day, and the fighting took place over quite a large area around and actually in the village of Auldearn right between the houses.
A view of Garlic Hill, one of the battle sites, from under my umbrella:
I’ve been researching the battle as part of my wider research about Isobel Gowdie; it took place 17 years before her famous confessions. What a horrific and traumatic event it must have been for the people of Auldearn, and not one that anyone who lived through it would ever forget.
Liking to immerse myself in the history, places and times that I write about, I stayed in the friendly and relaxed 1645 Inn in Auldearn. It’s situated right on the edge of the battle field, and I had strange and disturbed dreams about the battle at night. Will this make the novel more strange and disturbed? Quite possibly.
The Boath Doocot
The 17th century Boath Doocot (dovecot) is a good place to overlook the battle field. The doocot itself would not have been there at the time of the battle, but the old motte that it stands on certainly was. It dates from the 12th century and was the site of a medieval castle called the Old Castle of Eren, the source of the name Auldearn.
Pigeons coming in to land:
Dead Man’s Wood
I wanted to find Dead Man’s wood. Sometimes just referred to as the ‘Dead Wood’, this is a tiny woodland that is said to be the burial site of the slain Covenanters from the Battle of Auldearn. Several map apps on the go, I travelled the roads round Auldearn looking for it. And there, in the middle of a ploughed field (so I did not cross) I found it.
There were poppies growing nearby. Storms have had their way with the wood, and most of the older trees have blown down. Elderflowers bloom on the site.
It’s said that people who were executed on Gallows Hill were sometimes buried in Dead Man’s Wood too, so it is possible that this might be the final resting place of Isobel Gowdie herself. There are no actual trial records for Isobel and her accomplice Janet Breadheid, and though one was granted, it had caveats, so the fate of the two women is unknown.
An iris grows beside the battlefield today… and on with draft two I go.
The Mermaid and the Bear (a novel about a different Isobell)
Lost in ancient woodlands and caught up in whispers of witchcraft, Isobell must navigate danger to reclaim her life. Can she find her happily ever after?
From the misty hills of ancient Scotland emerges a tale of love, betrayal, and the fight for freedom. Join Morragh in SISTERS AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD for an unforgettable journey.
Set in 1st century Scotland, the novel includes the battle of Mons Graupius between the Romans and the Caledonian tribes. There’s a neurodivergent main character and some rather complicated romance.
I love Loanhead of Daviot Stone Circle. Really love it. I know I’ve talked about how Aikey Brae is my favourite, and that is true. But this one comes in a close second. It’s another circle that I’ve been visiting for decades, often starting a day out with a quick walk round the stones.
A Wee Castle in the Woods
The approach is through woodland, and I like the wee castle that has appeared in recent years.
The path then leads up the hill and out to the stones.
Loanhead of Daviot Stone Circle
It’s a happy feeling circle, this one. They all have their own distinct atmosphere. Of course, maybe it’s just my own response to these places that I’m feeling. But then, isn’t everything that? A bit, at least. I once felt so happy at Daviot that I danced around in my bare feet and broke a toe on a hidden stone in the grass.
It always seems to be sunny there when I visit.
I picked up a fallen oak leaf from the adjacent ring of small stones that was used as a cremation cemetery in the distant past. The leaf is on my desk now as I write.
Daviot has been quite well excavated, with many cremation burials found (see the Historic Environment Scotland site). And there is, or was, a second circle across the valley. Only the large recumbent and flankers remain now. You can just make them out below, by the densest part of the tree line. You should be able to click the image to see a larger version.
We hold hands as we walk down and then up the short grassy valley that lies between the two circles. The stones we arrive at are overgrown with all manner of plant life. There are healing herbs that I recognise, wee flowers too, and spiny stems that look rather forbidding. Keep out, they say. Stay away. Leave the stones in peace.
And from Terry Tyler: “It’s a fabulous story, a real page-turner and so well written. It made me think about the passage and circle of time, of the constancy of the land on which we live and the transient nature of human life. Loved it.”
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…
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…
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.”
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.
Originally posted May 2022 in the midst of an autoimmune flare-up.
Small Blue Ball
I am a small blue ball of pain.
Curled up.
Can’t eat. Can’t sleep. Can’t write.
Life on hold.
Wondering what went wrong. Why I am here again.
A pause by the bluebell woods on the way back from hospital. A biopsy may provide answers to the mystery of me and my strange body, who knows?
The flowers smell sweet. I breathe them in.
Pink
An easing comes. A moving on from the small blue ball. A sort of ‘pinkening’. Lilac flowers are taken in from the garden, and I sit in a delicately scented cloud of beauty.
Then, a few steps, and I am outside.
It is glorious. Painful still, but better. I can envision being well again.
The sunshine. The breeze. I love it all.
Blossom caught in the pink bench.
Writing
Thoughts of writing come. I left my poor characters in the middle of the battle of Mons Graupius between the Romans and the Caledonian tribes. War. A situation far worse than my own. I must release them from it soon.
Cover Reveal
Before all this, before I became ill again, a cover was designed. My own photos of stones from Aikey Brae Stone Circle were used.
The main character in the book is neurodivergent.
As am I.
Illness makes me open, bared and true. Pain peels back layers of politeness and hesitancy and doubt. I just say things. And, I just am.
I still hope for a summer release, a later one obviously, maybe early autumn. My body will have its say in the matter. But it will come…
Update: Sisters at the Edge of the World came out in September 2022
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!
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.
Bessie had shown me the great hall, a huge room that put one in mind of a church. Sunlight fell through twelve windows, making narrow shapes on the earthen floor of that place…
I did rather fill up my writer’s swag bag at Drum.
Below is a beautiful bedpost…
Chapter 34:
“It’s beautiful, Thomas,” I said, walking into the room and running my hands up and down the dark smooth wood of the bedposts which were swirled with infinite oak leaves.
I don’t have a good picture of the dungeon there, though I pilfered that too. It’s a terrible place with a narrow stairway leading down, down, down into the dank. However, bats were roosting in it the last couple of times I visited the castle, and they’re a protected species so it was absolutely forbidden to disturb them. Which was quite a relief really…
Here is a pictorial quote from the book:
And into the swagbag goes…
A forest view from a high window at Crathes Castle
From Chapter 38:
I sat up on my seat by the three thin windows and watched the first golden shafts of morning light creep over the tops of the trees in the forest.
A Secret Stairway
From beautiful Craigievar I took the secret stairway that runs from top to bottom of the castle, strictly no photos allowed inside…
From Chapter 28:
We were in another passage, small and stony and grey, and after a short way it led to a narrow stairwell that was not lit by torches and sconces like the big one, but dark and shadowy and hidden. Secret. Indeed safe. For now.
The Laird’s Lug
Castle Fraser gave me its triangular peep-hole and ‘Laird’s Lug’.
From Chapter 28:
I told the Laird, and he took his turn at the peephole and gave the scene a long assessing look. “It is a pity there is so much noise tonight; we could have made out their words otherwise, the walls of the lug are thinned in places and shaped to augment speech made in the hall.”
I think that’s enough of my rampant thievery for one post – there may be others – so I’ll leave you with this review of the book from Terry Tyler, a brilliant writer herself. Actually – I can’t help myself – I’ll just steal a quote from that too:
Ailish Sinclair’s portrayal of 16th century, wild rural Scotland is quite magical. On one recent evening I was curled up in bed, head on cushions and lights dimmed, and I found that I was revelling in every description of the countryside, the day-to-day life at the castle (particularly the Christmas revellry; this made me long to be in the book myself!), the suggestion of ancient spirituality, and the hopes and dreams of the characters. Suddenly I realised that I’d gone from thinking ‘yes, this is a pleasant enough, easy-read’ to ‘I’m loving this’.
And here’s a wee picture of my author copies, or castle swag bags, if you will. Buy your own here on Amazon in paperback or on Kindle.
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 heady 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.
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.
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
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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 do. I write romps. I can’t seem to help myself. I try to write a thriller: romp. A sweet romance? Nope. That quickly went dark and rompy.
When THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR was on submission, one publisher told me they felt they were reading ‘a medieval romp’ and that they were looking for something more serious. It was a fair comment, though I assume they didn’t reach the witchcraft accusations of the story. That press has since gone out of business, so it was a lucky escape for me.
The latest of the romps is OUT TODAY!
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.
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.
There are no cliffhanger endings in this series; each book completes a story, but then there is more. So much more.
“This book has so much representation in its characters with autism, dyslexia, medical issues and LGBTQ+ characters…” Emma-Louise on Goodreads and TikTok
“Knowing there are two more books in the series made it easier to accept that the tale was coming to an end. It can be so hard to finish a book when you are loving the story so much.” Molly on Amazon.com
“So there we have it: mad experiments, paranormal powers, exciting dance sequences and lots and lots of sex. And did I mention the mystical forces in the old stone circle?” Tom Williams on his blog, author of the James Burke historical novels.
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.
