Ailish Sinclair's Blog, page 11
November 13, 2024
The Road to Winter
Originally posted November 2023. We’re firmly on that road to winter now. There’s been no frost or snow, but it’s coming.
I went out. Briefly. I took some pictures. Quickly. My current illness/medication situation is still preventing sleep and making me a bit hyperactive, and I thought I might attempt some daily blogging this week. So, there will be some seasonal Scottish photos being shared over the next few days.
First Review of Cabriole
Cabriole, the second book in the Dancer’s Journey series, is out now. This is the notorious one, the one that a publisher wanted me to change. To be fair, they did assure me that it wasn’t because they were bigoted or prudish, but because it had to have set tropes to fit their romance line. But still, I have wondered how people would react to this more unusual story.
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.”
See you a little further down the road to winter soon!
Newsletter, Updates and ARCsGo 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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November 1, 2024
Some Dance Research in the Dungeon
In TENDU (out now) some rather strange dance research takes place in the dungeon studio of the castle. Much has changed in the story that I first conceived thirteen years ago, but that part has stayed more or less the same.
Childhood MemoriesMy late father was a research scientist, and I grew up hearing about how scientific studies can be heavily influenced by those that finance them and how they can be geared to lead to desired results. They can sometimes be unscientific. And unethical. It was all very interesting, and it stuck with me.
I should note that Amalphia’s parents are not based on my parents. Lynn and James Treadwell (very minor characters) are an example of the narcissist/enabler dysfunction as described in the book Toxic Parents.
Photo: David Hofmann on Unsplash – Simone (an antagonist in TENDU) vibes here…Dance Research and TherapyI do four grand pliés in fourth and fifth position every morning while I wait for the kettle to boil for tea. It feels like a strong way to start the day. I find it calming and grounding. And I need that just now, with a book release so close. For several years, due to illness, my legs were too weak to manage this exercise, so it’s joyous as well as beneficial.
The benefits of dance for conditions such as dementia and Parkinson’s disease are becoming quite well known, of course, and it’s dancers’ brains that get studied in my books. They have been studied quite a bit in the real world too. Examples below:
The Dancing Brain: Structural and Functional Signatures of Expert Dance TrainingStudy finds dancers capable of true multi-taskingHuman see, human do: Ballet dancers’ brains reveal the art of imitationStructural neuroplasticity in the sensorimotor network of professional female ballet dancersThe fictional research I created is a bit different from these very serious studies. It had to have some instant and dramatic effects to be interesting as part of a novel. Different characters will believe different things about those effects over the series, and I hope it’s entertaining to read!
About the booksMy 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.
A Dancer’s Journey is available in paperback and Kindle and on Kindle Unlimited.
Series on Amazon UK
Series on Amazon worldwide
Dance and Despair: Writing What You Know on Women Writers, Women[‘s] Books.
NewsletterKeep 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.
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Read all about little old me here!
Writer’s Tip JarThe post Some Dance Research in the Dungeon appeared first on Ailish Sinclair.
October 25, 2024
A Week of Woodland Walks
I’ve been breathing in beauty on recent woodland walks. Mild weather is extending and enriching the colour palette of the season here in Scotland.
There have been storms, but it’s still bright and leafy out there.
Sometimes the sky is grey. Sometimes the trees are silver and gold.
Sunshine blasts through, highlighting the brilliant bronze shades of the leaves, and I slow my stride. I stop, overwhelmed and delighted all at once. It’s almost too much. Nature is audacious and bold and completely glorious.
Humbled and blessed, I take a deep breath and walk on.
More Woodland WalksAutumn leaves and a Lack of Words The Lost City of Lenabo Woods Turn Left for Tyrebagger Stone CircleThe Mermaid and the Bear
If you like castles, Scotland, history, witches, stone circles and Christmas done medieval-style, you might like THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR. There’s also a love story.
Paperback and kindle on Amazon
View full book detail page here
“A delight from end to end.” Undiscovered Scotland
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NewsletterGo 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.
Writer’s Tip JarThe post A Week of Woodland Walks appeared first on Ailish Sinclair.
October 24, 2024
Accused Scottish Witches and Autumn Gold
Accused Scottish WitchesThe Map of Accused Scottish Witches is a wonderful resource from the University of Edinburgh, utilising the extensive data collected in their Survey of Scottish Witchcraft Database. See it here.
It’s a clickable map of over 3000 people accused of witchcraft in Scotland. It’s 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.
The map and database were extremely useful to me when researching and writing about this subject.
The Beauty of AutumnAfter peering into the dark, I need to look at beauty, so here’s some golden autumnal goodness:
The gold of the harvest.
Pink shimmering rockpools at New Aberdour beach.
A dark cave, blue reflected within.
And the path up to St Drostan’s well, shining in the golden sunlight:
NewsletterKeep up to date with all my news, witchy and otherwise, 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.
Contemporary Fiction
Scotland’s all misty lochs and magical forests and perfect boyfriends, right?
When dance student Amalphia Treadwell embarks on a secret relationship with her rich, handsome teacher, she has no idea of the danger that lurks in his school in Scotland…
Series on Amazon UK
Series on Amazon worldwide
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.
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
Historical Fiction
These novels combine little-known dark events with love stories and a hint of magic.
SISTERS AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD: ancient battle, neurodiversity and forbidden romance.THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR: witchcraft, a stone circle, a castle and six chapters of medieval Christmas.FIREFLIES AND CHOCOLATE: kidnapping, romance, friendship and chocolate.“Ethereal and spellbinding….” Historical Novel Society
Writer’s Tip JarThe post Accused Scottish Witches and Autumn Gold appeared first on Ailish Sinclair.
October 23, 2024
Duff House Woods and Mausoleum
I wandered through the woods to the 18th century Duff House Mausoleum.
It’s about a mile away from majestic Duff House, which is now an art gallery, and about two miles from the Bridge of Alvah. When I was a child, the house was in quite a rough state. Furniture was covered in sheets, paint was peeling off the walls, and spooky music floated up from the lower levels.
I loved it.
I still do.
Duff House
The Mausoleum
Round the back…
The effigy of a knight is not Robert the Bruce as once purported by the Earl who built the mausoleum. The skulls, crossbones and wheat are quite common on older graves in Aberdeenshire.
Below: the interior of the mausoleum.
The River DeveronDuring autumn in Scotland the days seem to be either golden or grey, sunny or dreich. It didn’t get properly light at all on this day, but autumn added its gold regardless.
Dickensian Dog GravesI came upon an old dog grave in the lower parts of Wrack Wood. The dogs had lovely Dickensian sounding names.
Grey and golden, the colours of the day:
Chosen Sisters, Romans and Romance
Set in 1st century Scotland, my latest novel, 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.
“Ethereal and spellbinding….” Historical Novel Society
See the press release here
Read the article Roman Aberdeenshire features in author’s new book from Grampian Online.
An Autistic Dancer and a Byronic Hero
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?
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
New novel from Aberdeenshire author combines passions from Grampian Online.
About Page
AilishSee the About Page here
NewsletterGo here to sign up for occasional emails that always include some exclusive photos and news of my writing and life. If you would like to hear about new books and offers, you can follow my Amazon author page.
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October 19, 2024
Witchcraft, Kidnapping, and the Cobbles of Aberdeen
I do seem to have a habit of running up and down the medieval cobbles, or ‘cassies’, of Aberdeen in the name of research.
Correction WyndHere I am again, travelling down Correction Wynd, site of the 17th century House of Correction. But it’s not the old poorhouse/jail that I’m investigating. Not today anyway…
I pass St Nicholas Kirk, where people accused of witchcraft were held in the 16th century.
It’s time to move on from that now.
On from THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR.
Researching and writing those times have led me to another.
Over the cobbles I go, glancing up at the modern city above.
Over the Cobbles to the GreenThrough the beam of light and into the, also rather modern seeming, Green.
The kidnapped children of Aberdeen were held here in the 1740s. In a barn.
Passers by sometimes heard music coming from the place as the kidnappers tried to keep the children entertained.
These events inspired my novel Fireflies and Chocolate, and the Green is specifically mentioned:
The Tolbooth
“Another barn,” notes Peter, when we are ushered into a large ramshackle wooden building. Again we find a space to sit together, among the others. Again, we are on the floor, this time an earthen one. No chairs are provided for the likes of us anywhere now it seems. “I was kept in a barn in Aberdeen,” he tells me. “Down at the Green.”
I ken the Green. I used to think it was a nice place to walk through, a space between buildings, like a city version of a forest glade.
The children were also kept in the Tolbooth at times. There are tales of desperate parents trying to break down the door to get to them. Peter Williamson, who appears in the above quote, would be held there again in later life as punishment for his book, in which he accused the town magistrates of involvement in the kidnappings. You can read a large print version in the Tolbooth museum today beside a life size cut out of Peter!
He’s not the main character in Fireflies and Chocolate, though. That’s Elizabeth Manteith, who is entirely fictional. But I love her. In their press release about the book the publisher describes her like this:
Fiery and forthright, Elizabeth isn’t someone to be argued with. She knows her own mind, and isn’t afraid to speak it. Through her experiences, the reader sees her grow from a girl, into a woman with a powerful voice… a woman of her time, but very much of ours too.
Those dark cobbles of Aberdeen do take me places!
The BookTorn out of her isolated life in a Scottish castle, Elizabeth embarks on a determined quest to return home. Exhilarating adventures unfold on the high seas, love blossoms, and the chocolate, purchased in Ben Franklin’s printing shop, is delicious!
FIREFLIES AND CHOCOLATE was inspired by the 600 children and young people who were kidnapped from Aberdeen during the 1740s and sold into indentured servitude in the American Colonies.
“Filled with excitement and suspense…” Historical Novel Society Editor’s Pick
About Page
See my About Page
NewsletterGo 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.
Writer’s Tip JarThe post Witchcraft, Kidnapping, and the Cobbles of Aberdeen appeared first on Ailish Sinclair.
October 11, 2024
Autumn, I love you!
Autumn, I love you. Really, I do.
I love your gold. I love your blue.
Your leafy lanes. And red berries.
I love your great banks of colour and darkening skies.
You’re the in-between, the relaxation from summer to winter, the slowing of the year. And, did I mention that I love you, autumn?
Contemporary Fiction
Leaving your boyfriend to pursue a career on the stage is easy, right?
Back in London, and newly single, Amalphia moves into a seven-figure apartment and walks into a job with a top ballet company. Despite these advantages, she soon encounters new pain and a dark far deeper than that of the dungeon.
As dark and witty as its predecessor, the second instalment of A Dancer’s Journey is a sensual story of love, dance and self-discovery.
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.”
Historical Fiction
When Elizabeth is torn out of her isolated life in a Scottish castle, she embarks on a determined quest to return home. Exhilarating adventures unfold on the high seas, love blossoms, and the chocolate, purchased in Benjamin Franklin’s printing shop, is delicious!
FIREFLIES AND CHOCOLATE was inspired by the 600 children and young people who were kidnapped from Aberdeen during the 1740s and sold into indentured servitude in the American Colonies.
“Filled with excitement and suspense…” Historical Novel Society Editor’s Pick
About Page
See my About Page
NewsletterGo 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.
Writer’s Tip JarThe post Autumn, I love you! appeared first on Ailish Sinclair.
October 9, 2024
My Witchy Debut Novel, Published 2019
2019 got off to an exciting start for me when I signed a contract with GWL Publishing for my witchy debut novel, The Mermaid and the Bear.
It’s out in both paperback and Kindle NOW!
Aspects of the book:It’s mainly set in a 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:
A witchy debut novel: THE MERMAID AND THE BEARBlurb: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:My post Walking the Witchy Ways of AberdeenMy article Researching Historical Fiction: Immersing Oneself in the PastThe Press and Journal’s feature on the book and authorReview on Undiscovered Scotland: A delight from end to end. Review from Tonya Ulynn Brown: Yes, it is written in one of my favorite time periods, and yes it takes place in one of my favorite places in all the world, but when you combine that with the almost poetic style of Sinclair’s writing—sigh!Review on Terry Tyler Book Reviews: Suddenly I realised that I’d gone from thinking ‘yes, this is a pleasant enough, easy-read’ to ‘I’m loving this’.A Witchy Halloween Article
Should we really have fun at Halloween when the north-east led the great execution of witches?
This is an excellent piece from @NeilDrysdale in which I cite the case of Bessie Thom, a real woman who features in THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR: Bessie, quite possibly, went into the North Sea before being committed to the flames during a very public execution.
AestheticI made a wee aesthetic for the book, because: oh the fun!
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NewsletterGo 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.
Writer’s Tip JarThe post My Witchy Debut Novel, Published 2019 appeared first on Ailish Sinclair.
October 8, 2024
Aberdeenshire Shipwrecks in the Sand
Looking for those shipwrecks…The search for Aberdeenshire shipwrecks begins by walking barefoot along the sands between St Combs and Scotstown. There are many wrecks to be seen here.
Aye, aye, me hearties! Prepare yersels for the photos…
Aberdeenshire Shipwrecks
I don’t know the name or date of this first wreck. It’s wooden and relatively small and sometimes entirely covered by the shifting sands that it, no doubt, fell victim to. It’s well bedecked with seaweed.
Close by is a large metallic boat. It’s usually more submerged than this. I *think* it’s the HMS Erne. She ran aground in 1915 and broke her back.
We get to go right up to it.
Barnacles
And touch the barnacles.
And wonder if that’s a treasure chest…
The Excelsior of LaurwigA bit further on, between Rattray Head and Scotstown, lies a much more well documented ship: the Excelsior of Laurwig, a Norwegian barque that was wrecked in 1881. It’s one of the most impressive Aberdeenshire shipwrecks.
Not a ShipwreckThere is another, somewhat different, wreck on this bit of coastline, sometimes to be seen wedged into the sand:
Cruden BayNow, let’s head to Cruden Bay and see if we can find any more shipwrecks.
Trip, trap, trip. trap, across the bridge. To find…
Is it a wreck? I’m not sure. It may be part of a defense from WW2. It’s not very boat-shaped…
But it’s a great beach on which to finish our walk.
An Autistic Dancer, a Byronic Hero and an Obsessive ScientistRead my series A Dancer’s Journey. There’s ballet. There’s lots of naughtiness. And there’s peril!
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?
Series on Amazon
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.”
Chosen Sisters, Romans and Romance
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.
“Ethereal and spellbinding….” Historical Novel Society
Review 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.“
Read the article Roman Aberdeenshire features in author’s new book from Grampian Online.
Witchcraft and a Handsome Laird
If you like castles, Scotland, history, witches, stone circles and Christmas done medieval-style, you might like THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR. There’s also a love story.
Review from Tonya Ulynn Brown: “Before I go any further, I just have to say, this is one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read…“
From the Press and Journal: New book by Fraserburgh author highlights horrific extent of witch trials in Scotland
Kidnapping, Slavery and Friendship
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!
“Filled with excitement and suspense…” Historical Novel Society Editor’s Pick
Newsletter, Updates and ARCsGo 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.
About Page
See my About Page
Writer’s Tip JarThe post Aberdeenshire Shipwrecks in the Sand appeared first on Ailish Sinclair.
October 3, 2024
Loanhead of Daviot Stone Circle
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 WoodsThe 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.
As is my way (see the older post Things I Stole from Castles), I took these two circles and put them in SISTERS AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD.
Quote from the bookWe 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.
ReviewsReviews are coming in for Sisters.
“Ethereal and spellbinding…” Historical Novel Society
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…
Read the article Aberdeenshire in Roman times takes centre stage in author’s latest book from AberdeenLive.
An Autistic Dancer, a Byronic Hero and an Obsessive ScientistRead 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…
Series on Amazon
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.”
About Page
See my About Page
Newsletter, Updates and ARCsGo 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.
Writer’s Tip JarThe post Loanhead of Daviot Stone Circle appeared first on Ailish Sinclair.
