That’s the earthen floor of the medieval great hall at Drum Castle.
I love it.
So I took it!
Continue readingThings I Stole From Castles
Tag Archives: historical fiction
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:
A Fairy Scene, an Opening, and an Article
I came across this rather lovely little scene in the woods on a rainy day last week. It made me think of fairies…
Yesterday Paragraph Planet revealed the opening of The Mermaid and the Bear on their site. It’s gone now, but I took a screenshot, below. It was while walking in the same woods pictured above that the first line of the book came to me.
Women Writers, Women[‘s] Books have published my article Researching Historical Fiction: Immersing Oneself in the Past in which you can read about me setting off smoke alarms and eating primroses (yes, really) in the name of research.
Kindle Pre-order from Amazon
Waterstones Paperback Pre-order
Down the Rabbit Hole… to a Book Cover!
Walking the Witchy Ways of Aberdeen
I ran through St Nicholas Kirkyard, and down and round Correction Wynd, an old medieval lane in Aberdeen, to see this recent street art. I was due to meet people for breakfast, but determined to see the ‘Quine Shrine’ first. The reason being? That first part, on the left, honours those who were persecuted for witchcraft in Aberdeen, and one tile names a few of them, including the three women I chose to write about in The Mermaid and the Bear.
The spellings are different, because spellings weren’t set back then, not like they are today. I chose to go with the way the names are recorded in the Survey Of Scottish Witchcraft from Edinburgh University. It was there that I learned, contrary to popular belief, that only a tiny proportion of those accused were midwives or folk healers; a mere 9 of the 3837 ‘witches’ in Scotland were midwives, and only 141 had some mention of healing in their cases (see the background page of the database).
In my fictional account of these women’s lives, one of them is a midwife and healer, but this is not the reason for the accusations brought against the three quines.
Continue readingA Bookish Post
2019 got off to an exciting start for me when I signed a contract with GWL Publishing for my historical novel, The Mermaid and the Bear. It’s out in both paperback and Kindle NOW!
Universal links:
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.
Cover:
Blurb:
Isobell needs to escape. She has to. Her life depends on it.
She has a plan and it’s a well thought-out, well observed plan, to flee her privileged life in London and the cruel man who would marry her, and ruin her, and make a fresh start in Scotland.
She dreams of faery castles, surrounded by ancient woodlands and misty lochs… and maybe even romance, in the dark and haunted eyes of a mysterious Laird.
Despite the superstitious nature of the time and place, her dreams seem to be coming true, as she finds friendship and warmth, love and safety. And the chance for a new beginning…
Until the past catches up with her.
Set in the late sixteenth century, at the height of the Scottish witchcraft accusations, The Mermaid and the Bear is a story of triumph over evil, hope through adversity, faith in humankind and – above all – love.
Further insight:
- Ailish’s post Walking the Witchy Ways of Aberdeen
- Ailish’s article Researching Historical Fiction: Immersing Oneself in the Past
- The Fraserburgh Herald’s piece Fraserburgh Author Ailish to Publish New Novel
- The Press and Journal’s feature on the book and author
- Review on GoodReads
- Review on the Lost in a Good Book blog
I made a wee aesthetic for it, because: oh the fun!
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