writing Archives - Ailish Sinclair

February 27, 2021March 1, 2021

Scottish Historical Fiction from Aberdeenshire

I write Scottish historical fiction, often set in the area of Scotland where I live, Aberdeenshire. I also take a LOT of photos, as is evidenced throughout the blog.

Keep up with all my news by signing up to the mailing list. It’s occasional and always contains some exclusive photos.

The Mermaid and the Bear

My debut novel was published by GWL Publishing in October 2019, and is available in paperback and on Kindle.

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 6 chapters of medieval Christmas.
And there’s a love story.

See The Mermaid and the Bear page for full details including blurb and quotes and links to reviews.

Fireflies and Chocolate

My second novel, also published by GWL Publishing, is out on April 1st 2021 and will be available in paperback and on Kindle.

Amazon (kindle pre-order)

Waterstones (paperback pre-order)

Barnes and Noble (soon)

Goodreads

Aspects of the book:

Set in both Aberdeenshire and Colonial Pennsylvania.
It includes the Aberdeen child kidnappings of the 1740s.
There’s derring-dos on the high seas.
There’s chocolate!
And there’s love.

See the Fireflies and Chocolate page for full details including blurb and quotes and links to reviews.

Further insight into my writing and research:

My article on Women Writers, Women’s Books: Researching Historical Fiction: Immersing Oneself in the Past
From the Press and Journal: New book by Fraserburgh author highlights horrific extent of witch trials in Scotland
My post Walking the Witchy Ways of Aberdeen
From the Evening Express: Historical novel focusing on kidnapping of Aberdeen children to be published
My post Some Eighteenth Century Letter Seals
My piece 10 Mystical and Magical Sites in Aberdeenshire on the official tourism site for Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.

Scottish Historical Fiction by Ailish Sinclair

February 20, 2021February 27, 2021

Some Eighteenth Century Letter Seals

Those are the letter seals of Lord Pitsligo, a man I have written about before:

when I visited his castle
when I searched for his cave
and then on The Witch, The Weird and the Wonderful blog where I talked more fully about his life.

His forward thinking ways inspired aspects of the Laird in THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR and a similar set of letter seals feature in FIREFLIES AND CHOCOLATE.

Excerpt from FIREFLIES AND CHOCOLATE featuring letter seals.

The seals were shown to me by a direct descendant of Lord Pitsligo. I got to hold them and turn them on their hinges, which was wonderfully informative (and exciting!).

FIREFLIES AND CHOCOLATE will be out on April 1st!

Amazon (kindle pre-order)

Waterstones (paperback pre-order)

And it now has a blurb:

Fireflies and Chocolate by Ailish Sinclair, out April 2021

Elizabeth craves adventure… excitement… love…

For now though, she has to settle for a trip from her family’s castle, to the port in Aberdeen, where her father has promised she’ll be permitted to buy a horse… all of her own.

Little does she suspect this simple journey will change her life, forever. And as she dreams of riding her new mount through the forests and glens of the Manteith estate, she can have no idea that she might never see them again.

For what lies ahead is danger, unimagined… and the fearful realities of kidnap and slavery.

But even when everything seems lost, most especially the chance of ever getting home again, Elizabeth finds friendship, comfort… and that much prized love, just where she least expected it.

Set in the mid eighteenth century, Fireflies and Chocolate is a story of strength, courage and tolerance, in a time filled with far too many prejudices.

It’s all getting a bit too exciting for me again… I need a nice calming walk in the woods below the witch’s brooms (growth abnormalities caused by a fungus in the trees)!

Set in a fictional castle in Aberdeenshire, Ailish Sinclair’s debut novel, THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR, features an often overlooked event in history, the 1597 Aberdeen witchcraft panic, and a love story.

February 10, 2021February 28, 2021

A Tree, Fox Tracks, and Proofreading

Just a small post. It’s been snowing. Quite a lot. Above are fox tracks in the woods. Below, an oak leaf.

I’ve been proofreading Fireflies and Chocolate (out April 1st 2021! Amazon – kindle pre-order and Waterstones – paperback pre-order), desperately seeking any errors, making tiny tweaks. Last chance to change anything. Last chance to get it right before it goes back to the publisher. It’s a little bit scary, this final stage of writing a novel.

So, I hold my face up to the sun, follow the fox tracks and hope all will be well.

January 27, 2021February 27, 2021

Along the Snowy Paths… to a Cover Reveal!

Last time I had a cover reveal we journeyed down a rabbit hole to find it… but I haven’t been anywhere exciting like that lately, so we’ll have to stick closer to home, starting on the snowy track into the woods.

Reaching the end of the track, we nip up this narrow path:

Here we are on the loch-side walk now, sunshine to our left.

Wait! What’s that? Something’s moving in the woods, running and leaping through the trees…

The Mermaid and the Bear by Ailish Sinclair in the snow by deer tracks

No, that’s not it. That’s the first book (out now!) and some foot prints left by a deer. We need to retrace our steps, I think…

And yes – finally we come to it – the cover reveal for FIREFLIES AND CHOCOLATE, out April 1st 2021!

Fireflies and Chocolate by Ailish Sinclair, out 2021

Amazon (kindle pre-order)

Waterstones (paperback pre-order)

The cup featured on the cover is an actual chocolate cup from the 1740s when the book is set. Inspired by the 600 children and young people who were kidnapped from Aberdeen and sold into indentured servitude in the American Colonies, the story follows the adventures of Elizabeth Manteith and her determined efforts to get back home. There’s love. There’s proper derring-dos on the high seas (as opposed to my previous metaphorical ones)! And there’s chocolate…

Keep up with all my news by signing up to the mailing list. It’s occasional and always contains some exclusive photos.

December 23, 2020January 1, 2021

Walking on Balmedie Beach in my Slippers

I crossed the boardwalk slowly, being careful not to catch my slippers in the gaps between wood. My foot is a lot better, though I still can’t wear proper shoes or put my heel right down on the ground, but I was determined to walk on the beach. So, on the way home from a hospital visit, I stopped at Balmedie.

October 27, 2020February 15, 2021

On Monsters: being one, writing one…

witch, not quite a monster — Arriving at a Halloween party in the past…

I don’t need a Halloween costume this year. I already look like a monster. The medication I’m on to stop my body killing me (condition lamented here) has made my face swell up. Like a moon. It is a well documented side effect actually referred to as ‘moonface’. The same drug is also causing insomnia so I have massive eye bags that extend to what feels like halfway down my face. There’s quite a lot of bandage action across my body too, which adds an air of mummification fun to the whole ensemble.

May 8, 2020May 8, 2020

Timeless Woodland Pictures from the Time of Lockdown

Misty woods during lockdown in Scotland.

I am lost in writing. I am in the Iron Age. Second draft. Rough edges. Rough middle. Super rough ending. Full of raw emotion. Ragged with it, as am I.

February 25, 2020February 27, 2020

Aikey Brae: the North Wind Doth Blow

Aikey Brae Recumbent Stone Circle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland

The dense block of pine trees that partially encircled the stones on Aikey Brae has been felled, leaving the site feeling like a windswept wasteland.

I knew it had happened but it was still a shock when I visited the circle at the weekend.

August 4, 2013January 31, 2021

A Day Out, A Day Off

Tolquhon Castle: a good place for a day out

Every so often I take a day off from writing. Not because I want to. I resist and avoid and cling to my desk in a desperate fashion. Friends persuade and entice me outside… and it is always good, always nourishing and refreshing. There’s a planned outing later this week and I can just picture my characters’ reactions when they realise I’m not there at the keyboard…

Justin notices first. He looks up, listens and checks again. “She’s gone out!”

Every character, from the main protagonist to the young police officer who only gets mentioned once, sags with relief. They go back to bed and sleep in till lunchtime. Later they shuffle downstairs to get tea and food and sit in silence in the dining hall.

People who usually snipe and gripe at each other pass the sugar without word. Two of them exchange a wry smile, for without my omniscient presence to keep them busy they can sense what’s coming, not the details, but the shadow of ‘something bad’ ahead, something they would avoid if they could. But like my day out, it cannot be avoided; it has to happen.

They head to bed early, exhausted by the hours of doing nothing, tired from the rest and relaxation.

No arguments. No sex. No laughter.

How boring! These people need me! Maybe I shouldn’t go out after all…

***

Keep up with all my news by signing up to the mailing list. It’s occasional and always contains some exclusive photos.

Set in a fictional castle in Aberdeenshire, Ailish Sinclair’s debut novel, 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.