Meanwhile, in the Scottish Garden…

sweet peas in a Scottish garden
Sweet peas

Sweet peas bloom in the morning sunshine of the Scottish garden, and the scent is, well, sweet…

moths on a thistle - Scottish garden

Moths enjoy the thistles…

badgers in a Scottish garden
Nightly visitors

And when the night comes, badgers frolic!

Earlier badger post

More Scottish gardens

TENDU: Dancing in the City

TENDU by Ailish Sinclair

He’s a damaged diva, used to getting his own way. She’s an autistic ballet girl who speaks her truth without tact. What could possibly go wrong?

Amazon UK

Amazon worldwide

⭐️ Romantic Suspense
⭐️ Age-gap Romance
⭐️ Secret Relationship
⭐️ Set in Scotland and London
⭐️ Completed series

I could feel what the characters were feeling, feel their pain; it broke my heart and then healed it and made it sing.” Amazon review

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Scottish author Ailish Sinclair
Ailish

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Sea Rocket at the Beach

sea rocket

Purple sea rocket on an overcast day. The air was warm. And still. And the flowers smelled sweet.

sea rocket

Sea rocket is edible, but I have not tried it. The leaves do look a little like regular rocket.

ocean

The sea was cold, but it was so good to be out in nature, to feel the sand sinking away beneath my feet as the waves splashed my legs.

sea and sky

And the light was beautiful.

Writing Update

Everything is going well with the next series. All major edits have been done on the first two books and I’m now working on the third, Alexander’s book, and he’s giving me some trouble. If you’ve read Fouetté, you will have met Alexander and may not be surprised by this. Poor boy. He does have rather a bizarre backstory and a lot to cope with.

Molly reviewed Fouetté recently: Throughout reading the book, I exclaimed aloud in disbelief, I laughed, I whooped, I shook with consternation, I held my breathe in anticipation, my pulse raced in excitement, I nearly wept! I felt ALL of the feelings.

See the whole review here

Fouetté, out now

About the new series

Each book follows a different student at the castle school as they go through various adventures and appear on different television shows. The main characters of A Dancer’s Journey feature in the background. In many ways this is a much gentler series of stories, though the characters are all dealing with dark issues from their pasts.

When will it be out? Time and health will tell!

A little more sea rocket:

sea rocket

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feet

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The Garden is Wild

overcast days in the garden

The garden is wild. It’s overgrown. But beautiful. I’m not sure why I take so many photos on overcast days. But I do. And here they are 🙂

bee on delphinium - the garden is wild
Bee on Wolf’s Bane
the garden is wild - Pyrenean lily
A Pyrenean Lily

The only Iris that will grow here is the wild one:

Iris

Some more contained plants to finish:

Perennial sweet pea
A Perennial Sweet Pea

A Dancer’s Journey: wild like the garden

A Dancer's Journey Series by Ailish Sinclair
  • Angsty romance
  • Lots of naughtiness!
  • A neurodivergent heroine and a Byronic hero
  • Set in London and Scotland
  • Unconventional love and a secret relationship
  • A castle, a dungeon and a stone circle

Series on Amazon UK

Series on Amazon worldwide

A Dancer's Journey series by Ailish Sinclair

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feet

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Simple Things, Happy Things

Simple things: white pointe shoes and a prayer plant.

This is a post from 2023. It’s about simple things that make me happy. Today I’m adding new white pointe shoes. And a prayer plant.

Original Simple Things Post

Recently, I’ve been sharing little bits of my life that relate to the series A Dancer’s Journey. Writing the last post of that type brought me out in a cold sweat. Literally. So today, it’s just happy, shiny things!

beach: simple things
A walk on the beach

First up is a walk on the beach. Illness often prevents such activities, so I really appreciate them when they’re possible, and they are just now.

Next: flowers.

simple things: pink purslane
Pink Purslane in the woods
simple things: a tall peony
A tall and pollen-heavy Peony
simple things: apple blossom
apple blossom

The last of the simple things is a newly tidied drawer. Actually still a messy drawer under the shoes. But I can get to my shoes easily. And I can dance.

Ballet shoes

A Dancer’s Journey: complete, shocking, unique

Tendu by Ailish Sinclair
  • Angsty romance
  • Lots of naughtiness!
  • A neurodivergent heroine and a Byronic hero
  • Set in London and Scotland
  • Unconventional love and a secret relationship
  • A castle, a dungeon and a stone circle

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 in this series; each book completes a story, but then there is more. So much more.

Series on Amazon UK

Series on Amazon worldwide

In the Press

New novel from Aberdeenshire author combines passions from Grampian Online.

Cabriole by Ailish Sinclair

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Ailish Sinclair in a tree...

Read all about little old me here

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Small Flowers and Writing Affirmations

Stripy Petunias
Daring little petunias – no writing affirmations needed for them!

I am writing again. Finally.

I didn’t need any encouragement – I’ve been champing at the bit waiting to be well enough – but I did feel a little nervous. What if my brain was rusty? What if this resulted in me writing bilge? Utter bilge. Bilge that my rusty brain thought was good?

So when YouTube suggested these writing affirmations to me, I listened. They were rather nice – empowering, even – so I’m sharing them.

Writing Affirmations

The affirmations start at 2.37 minutes in, if, like me, you want to skip the meditation/relaxation part. I listened while doing my morning mix of yoga and Pilates.

Small Flowers

a strawberry flower - writing affirmations
Red strawberry flower
purple flower - writing affirmations
A purple flower – I think it’s an Aster

A Writing-Related TikTok

A Dancer’s Journey Series – complete, shocking, unique

A Dancer's Journey series by Ailish Sinclair

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 unconventional romance and ballet set between a Scottish castle and London. There are no cliffhanger endings here; each book completes a story, but then there is more. So much more…

Series on Amazon UK

Series on Amazon worldwide

A Dancer's Journey Series by Ailish Sinclair

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Ailish Sinclair romps in the loch

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Bluebells by the Barley

bluebells and barley in the Aberdeenshire countryside
Barley and bluebells

Just bluebells. Just barley. Just beauty.

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Bluebells, just Bluebells

pink bluebelles
Pink bluebells
Bluebells in the garden

Bluebells. They seem to be everywhere this year.

In the unmowed grass:

Wild bluebells
Bells of the wild lawn

In the woods. They make blue carpets of themselves there…

Bluebells in the woods
In the woods

And, along with pink and white purslane, they line the pathways and fill the air with intoxicating sweetness.

A path of bluebells
Bluebells and pink purslane

THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR

The Mermaid and the Bear by Ailish Sinclair, and a harp

My debut novel, The Mermaid and the Bear, was published by GWL Publishing in 2019.

Amazon UK

Amazon Worldwide

Waterstones

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.
The Mermaid and the Bear by Ailish Sinclair

Further insight:

Aesthetic for The Mermaid and the Bear, Ailish Sinclair's debut novel
Mermaid aesthetic

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Ailish in the stones

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Swooning Among the Flowers

swooning pot
Swooning pot on the patio

From Vocabulary.com: To swoon is to faint, due to lack of blood to the brain. Illness, fear, stress, and even happiness can cause people to swoon.

Any bit of exertion carries such a risk for me just now, or, at least, I need to lie down after it.

swooning under the cherry blossom
Cherry blossom

But I have to walk – slowly – among the flowers. They’re just so beautiful.

swooning by the pond
Marsh marigolds

Exhaustion levels are deep this time, this flare, this recovery. So are thoughts. Realisations. Illness can bring great clarity. And that’s good. It will lead to better things, better times. I think. I hope.

swoony flowers
Flowering currant

A minuscule amount of gardening has been achieved; no swooning involved!

potting plants

A Dancer’s Journey Series

Swooning books: A Dancer's Journey series by Ailish Sinclair

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 that castle and the stone circle in these books.

There are no cliffhanger endings in this series; each book completes a story, but then there is more. So much swoony more. Read all the blurbs here

Series on Amazon UK

Series on Amazon worldwide

Book covers of A Dancer's Journey series by Ailish Sinclair: celebratory dance. Shoes ready for pointe work.

Sisters at the Edge of the World

Ethereal and spellbinding... says the Historical Novel Society of 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!

Amazon UK

Amazon Worldwide

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Ailish's feet

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Home

Just that. Nothing else. All that’s needed 🙂

home

Snowdrops in the Garden

snowdrops

The snowdrops have arrived, and with them the knowledge that spring is on the horizon.

snowdrops by a tree

They can be found nestling by old trees.

snowdrops in January

Small clumps of beauty abound in the garden. There are carpets of them in the woods, but I don’t have a recent picture. I will endeavour to take one before their short season is done.

snowdrops from above

I love the blue-grey of their stems and their perfect white blooms. Snowdrops rule the land at the moment, being the only flower, the only brightness, on the ground.

snowdrops in the woods

SO MANY FEELINGS

Cabriole received a beautiful review from Molly on Amazon and Goodreads. She does warn of spoilers at the start, so I’ll just quote a couple of her more general comments here:

I couldn’t put this book down. It was so good I didn’t even stop reading while brushing my teeth… 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.

Cabriole by Ailish Sinclair

Read the series that’s been shocking people! It’s available in paperback, kindle and on kindle unlimited.

Amazon

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…

On the flat stone of Aikey Brae Stone Circle

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Ailish among the stones

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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.

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