Ailish Sinclair's Blog, page 41
May 30, 2022
Playing with Geography at Cullykhan Bay
I love Cullykhan Bay.
Near the village of Pennan in Aberdeenshire, it’s a place that has long been appreciated by people, so it has a rich history. To the left of the sandy and sheltered beach is an impressive promontory.
It’s been home to an Iron Age fort, now vitrified, and a medieval castle. Excavations uncovered Neolithic and Roman finds there too (see Canmore).
From the promontory you can see the Deil’s Lum (meaning devil’s chimney), a cave which is also sometimes called Hell’s Lum. It shoots sea spray with a roar during stormy weather.
It’s a place – promontory, bay and caves – that I write about quite a lot.
In THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR, Isobell, Jasper and Ian have to cross the inside of the Deil’s Lum before following a tunnel to the castle. The tunnel is fictional and so is my description of the interior of the cave, or rather it’s stolen from just around the corner.
As is my way, I have explored every tunnel and cave that is remotely accessible by land at Cullykhan. In we go…
Through to this dark and seagull filled space… and it’s this space that I made my characters traverse, after struggling across it myself, of course!
Isobell, at least, did not enjoy it:
The truth was that caves and tunnels were more fun when told of beside a fireside, in dry clothes with a full belly. The reality of them – the cold, the wet, the dripping and the echoing, and the smell of decay – was only startling. The roof looked as if a huge ogre had wielded a knife inside the cliffs, cutting and carving to his heart’s content, but the idea contained no mirth, nor even any interest. And what lay ahead in this new life of ours?
Excerpt from THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR
Staring at the entrance of the Deil’s Lum from across the divide wasn’t enough for me so I slid down the hill and climbed up into it. This is foolhardy behaviour and not recommended, but I made a short video so you can see the cave without risking life and limb!
Now I’m back in my Iron Age manuscript (see below), Cullykhan features much more heavily, and I love that too. Trying to capture the essence of the place in words, its magnificence, its beauty, and swirl all that round with the terrible things that I have happen there.
Light and dark at Cullykhan…I was honoured to appear on two wonderful websites recently: in an interview on Sue’s Musings here and on Sally Cronin’s Smorgasbord Cafe and Bookstore.
FIREFLIES AND CHOCOLATE, inspired by the kidnapped children of Aberdeen, is out now. The story follows the adventures of Elizabeth Manteith from the castle and her determined efforts to get back home. There’s love. There’s proper derring-dos on the high seas… And there’s chocolate!
THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR features three real women who were accused of witchcraft during the 1597 Aberdeen witchcraft panic. There’s also a love story.
And, coming soon… (body allowing, this year surely?!):
When Morragh speaks to another person for the very first time, she has no idea that he is an invader in her land.
What she does next constitutes a huge betrayal of her people, threatening her closest relationships and even her way of life itself.
As the conflict between the Caledonian tribes and the Roman Sons of Mars intensifies, can she use her high status in the community to lessen the coming death toll or even prevent outright war?
Set in 2nd century northern Scotland, SISTERS AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD is a story of chosen sisters, fierce warriors, divided loyalties and, ultimately, love.
Keep up with all my news by signing up to the mailing list. It’s occasional and always contains some exclusive photos.
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May 24, 2022
Small Blue Ball, Big Golden Orb: cover reveal
Tulip behind barbed wireI 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.
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.
Blossom caught in the pink bench.The sunshine. The breeze. I love it all.
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.
Before all this, before I became ill, I got here – to the golden orb – with my ‘fun project‘:
The main character in the book is neuro-diverse.
As am I.
Illness makes me open, bared and true. Pain peels back layers of politeness and hesitancy and doubt. I just say things. 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 
My books:
Set in an Aberdeenshire castle, THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR features the 1597 Aberdeen witchcraft panic, a stone circle, and a love story.
FIREFLIES AND CHOCOLATE was inspired by the 18th century kidnapped children of Aberdeen and is set in both Scotland and Colonial Pennsylvania.
Paperbacks and kindle: Amazon UK or Amazon Worldwide
“Filled with excitement and suspense…” Historical Novel Society
kofiwidget2.init("Buy me a coffee!", "#FF5F5F", "ailish");let kofiShortcode679Html = kofiwidget2.getHTML().replace('<div class=btn-container>', '<div style="float: none; text-align: left;" class=btn-container>');document.writeln(kofiShortcode679Html);The post Small Blue Ball, Big Golden Orb: cover reveal appeared first on Ailish Sinclair.
The Great Tapestry of Scotland
Originally posted in May 2014.
The Great Tapestry of Scotland is a beautiful trail through history and, at 143 metres long, the longest tapestry in the world. Its soft sewn artworks filled three large rooms of Aberdeen Art Gallery and photography was allowed. Yes. I was happy. May you be too.
Despite the earliness of my visit, the gallery was crowded; I was not quite so happy about the angle of this next pic. Lovely, lovely stone circles though:
Some of Scotland’s past is sad and terrible:
Happier happenings:
‘Fiction is to grown men what play is to the child.’ RLS
and strange ones…
There was something calm and nourishing about walking round this exhibition. Whether it was the gentle and warm art of needlework that hung everywhere in the rooms – there was also a lady demonstrating sewing techniques – or the many different styles from the 1000+ stitchers marking the constant change of the world, I don’t know. The overall feeling was reflective yet hopeful: happy.
The Tapestry is touring , mainly in Scotland at the moment but other UK and overseas venues are planned, see the website for details.
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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.
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May 23, 2022
Timeless Woodland Pictures from the Time of Lockdown
Originally posted 2020.
I am lost in writing. I am in the Iron Age. Second draft. (2022 edit: coming soon now!) Rough edges. Rough middle. Super rough ending. Full of raw emotion. Ragged with it, as am I.
I revel in timeless pictures and misty woods. And lockdown has not kept those from me. I know I am lucky in this, and hope you are all finding some beauty too.
There’s been tree felling here, so soon after Aikey. The wider world is strange and changed and the immediate world mimics it in metaphor. Whoops. This post seems to be approaching a pretentious overuse of literary devices, especially alliteration… Things may be odd, but there’s no excuse for that!
Scots Pines. Sturdy and strong. Oops.
I love the gnarly nature of the hazel trees. It could have been worse. I could have added the word ‘nutty’. But just for a moment, I am going to give in to this curious compulsion…
There have been many misty mornings. And, with that one terrible sentence, it is gone…
The gean trees (wild Scottish cherry) are blossoming.
Sunsets are wonderful. The moon is too, though it’s blurry; I’ve never taken a good photo of the moon.
I’ll be doing #CelebsForSmallBiz again tonight on Twitter. So many lovely things over there, do join me if you can, 9-10pm BST.
A woodland quote from THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR:
Stay safe. Stay well. Feel free to share any lockdown beauty you find too
The post Timeless Woodland Pictures from the Time of Lockdown appeared first on Ailish Sinclair.
April 23, 2022
Daffodils in Snow, and History Lessons
Daffodils in snowOriginally published April 2021.
At first I thought there was only a single line of daffodils in the snow. I stopped to take photos. Like I would do on any other day out. A day out just for fun. Not that there have been many of those lately.
I walked along the path and headed down the steps where I was met with this stunning bank of yellow.
A bank of daffodils at ARII couldn’t deny where I was anymore, of course. Not with the ambulances and then the familiar hospital front door. But I was just an out-patient this time. It wasn’t too bad. And I got to buy a chocolate aubergine in the food shop on the way back out!
Snowy woodland beside the hospitalReviews have started to come in for FIREFLIES AND CHOCOLATE. One, from Barb Taub, is included within a really interesting article entitled History: telling the big enough lie.
It got me thinking and led me to conclude that I was lucky not to have had history ruined for me at school.
In Primary 3 (aged 7 or 8) I was fortunate to have a deeply enthused teacher and we did a project on the Jacobites. I recall a large wall painting of the bloody battle of Culloden and the fact that we studied Tam o’ Shanter by Robert Burns at the same time, the character of the witch, ‘Cutty Sark’, sticking well in my mind.
But for history, that was it. In secondary school there was a class called ‘Social Subjects’ which was meant to cover history, modern studies and geography. Our teacher believed that colouring in maps of crop rotation covered all of these, which, I suppose, technically, it did. So, three times a week for two years, that was our lot.
A decade later another set of students would set fire to their books in that class, perhaps to alleviate the stifling boredom, or perhaps in a (successful) attempt to get rid of the teacher.
So I never came to associate history with boredom. Colouring in, yes. History, no. And historical research is something I throw myself into with great fervour.
Quote from Barb’s review:
As an American now living in Scotland, I found Fireflies and Chocolate offers a rare look at the sometimes uncomfortable history we never learned in school. Author Ailish Sinclair takes the stories of real life characters and believably intertwines them in Elizabeth’s experience, while never losing sight of her main goal: telling a roaring good story with all the romance, danger, and dawning strength of character you could ask.
Other reviews I must mention are from Liz Lloyd who published hers on release day which was so helpful, and this one on Instagram from Adeline Bronner. I do love seeing the books ‘out in the wild’ as it were!
I’m glad I picked these before the snow came!FIREFLIES AND CHOCOLATE, 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, is out now. The story follows the adventures of Elizabeth Manteith from the castle and her determined efforts to get back home. There’s love. There’s proper derring-dos on the high seas… And there’s chocolate!
And, not to be forgotten, THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR, which features the 1597 Aberdeen witchcraft panic and a love story.
Keep up with all my news by signing up to the mailing list. It’s occasional and always contains some exclusive photos.
The post Daffodils in Snow, and History Lessons appeared first on Ailish Sinclair.
April 21, 2022
The Land Girls Gate in Clochan, Moray
The Women’s Land Army Memorial in ClochanThe Land Girls Gate in Clochan is a memorial to all those that served in the Women’s Land Army during the world wars. The Army was formed in 1917, and then again in 1939 when WWII broke out. Women as young as 17 signed up for the duration of the war and took on all forms of farming and food production. The Army was eventually disbanded in 1950. There’s lots more information about the Land Girls here.
The memorial at Clochan in Moray is a joyous piece of art, paying tribute to the women who served in the Land Army throughout Scotland. Stones from various farms across the country have been incorporated into the ground around the gate. The fact that the memorial is surrounded by working farmland feels perfectly fitting too.
If you visit the Land Girls Gate on a Sunday morning, as I did, there’s a small car boot sale going on just down the road in Clochan, with pancakes and tea being served in the village hall. It’s rather lovely and feels a bit like stepping back into a simpler time.
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The Land Girls, farmland beyondMy historical novels:
Set in an Aberdeenshire castle, THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR features the 1597 Aberdeen witchcraft panic, a stone circle, and a love story.
FIREFLIES AND CHOCOLATE was inspired by the 18th century kidnapped children of Aberdeen and is set in both Scotland and Colonial Pennsylvania.
Paperbacks and kindle: Amazon UK or Amazon Worldwide
“Filled with excitement and suspense…” Historical Novel Society
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April 19, 2022
Fireflies and Chocolate, my second historical novel
Originally posted 2020.
GWL Publishing have accepted my next historical novel, FIREFLIES AND CHOCOLATE, for publication Spring 2021. I am lucky to have a publisher who is so understanding about my current health issues; all the deadlines for various edits are flexible.
The book was inspired by the 600 children who were kidnapped in Aberdeen during the 1740s and sold into indentured servitude in the American colonies. You will meet the Manteith family again, and see the castle and the stone circle, though the story doesn’t stay there long.
There’s some real historical figures again. There’s a love story again, though it’s quite different from the one in THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR. And, this time, there’s chocolate, in the form of hot chocolate 
Article in The Evening Express
See the FIREFLIES AND CHOCOLATE PAGE for full details.
I hope you’re all staying safe and well during these strange times of lockdown and isolation. I’m posting photos of #goodthings from my phone archives on Twitter and Instagram each day at the moment.
Sunset over the loch, from 2014THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR is now free to download on Kindle Unlimited here.
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April 18, 2022
The Lost City of Lenabo Woods
Originally posted 2020 during lockdown.
Just like everyone else at the moment, I am not able to gallivant around filling my phone with pictures of interesting places. However, during my daily scroll to find #goodthings to post on Instagram and Twitter, I found photos of Lenabo Woods taken in 2017. I had meant to blog about the site back then, but didn’t get round to it.
So, take my hand, virtually, hygienically, and we’ll walk through what was once the setting of Britain’s most northerly airship base.
RNAS Longside was active from 1916 to 1920. 1500 personnel were based at the station and the site boasted a swimming pool, a theatre, shops, a church and gas works. All of those buildings are long gone, but some things remain.
The above wall is thought to have been part of the officers’ mess. Memorial plaque below:
The fireplace within:
Throughout the woods, remnants of various structures are to be seen, such as these airship moorings:
Buildings swept away:
The site was known locally as RNAS Lenabo and the ships referred to as ‘Lenabo Soo’, soo being the local name for female pigs!
It’s fun to imagine the bustling community that lived at Lenabo for those four years, swimming in the pool, attending the theatre, and, of course, maintaining and operating the airships.
Well, this has been a pleasant virtual walk today (I’ll let your hand go now) and Lenabo will be a good place to explore in person again once things have calmed down.
I forgot to mention in my last post that I’ve made a Pinterest board for Fireflies and Chocolate (my next historical novel). Pinterest is a good virtual place in these times too.
Thanks to Reading is my Yoga for this beautiful #bookstagram picture and review of The Mermaid and the Bear: “While the first part put an almost constant smile on my face, the second part made me cry ugly tears.”
See the whole review here and the book is now free on Kindle Unlimited.
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!
See the publisher’s Press Release here
Keep up with all my news by signing up to the mailing list. It’s occasional and always contains some exclusive photos.
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April 11, 2022
A Tentative Tiptoe Round Duffus Castle
Duffus Castle looms, majestic and huge against the skyline as you approach. It’s imposing and impressive… dramatic too…
On the day I visited – Easter Sunday – it was busy, really busy, and the air contained a mysterious hint of sulphur. This medieval fortress of the Moray family, one of Scotland’s most beautiful motte and bailey castles, had become a giant playground for the seasonal pastime of ‘egg rolling’.
You see those white bits in the grass in the photo above that look like daisies? Not daisies. Everywhere, the ground was strewn with smashed boiled eggs, as people, both old and young, hurled them with great gusto from the top of the ramparts.
I recall rolling eggs sedately down a gentle slope on Easter Sunday when I was a child. Then, once your egg was cracked, you peeled and ate it, despite the fact that the colour from your decorating efforts had soaked through the porous shell and onto the egg white.
No one was eating their eggs at Duffus Castle. The goal was definitely to throw them as far as possible. A bit like shot put. Or tossing the caber. And you know what? It wasn’t entirely unfitting. There was something medieval and combative about it. Risk was in the air and on the ground; you could be hit by, or step on, an eggy missile at any moment.
It was quieter on the moat-side walk, though one or two eggs had somehow found their way down there too. The path offered some of the prettiest views of the castle and its walls.
I tiptoed round shells, yolks and egg whites inside the old keep too.
As I look at the photo of the fallen privy chamber below, I am actually still thinking about the eggs. Who cleans them all up? There were large mounds of them, warming in the sun, at the foot of the ramparts. I imagine the circling seagulls swoop down and help themselves once the crowds have gone. But some poor person, presumably a member of Historic Scotland‘s staff, must be stuck with the task of clearing it all away properly? I hope they get given a large chocolate egg to make up for it!
I’m off on holiday in a few days (originally posted 2019), so lots of new, probably less eggy, places should be appearing on my Twitter and Instagram feeds daily, mountainous mobile phone coverage allowing!
Sign up to the mailing list for news about my life and writing, and some exclusive photos.
Set in an Aberdeenshire castle, THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR features the 1597 Aberdeen witchcraft panic, a stone circle, and a love story.
FIREFLIES AND CHOCOLATE was inspired by the 18th century kidnapped children of Aberdeen and is set in both Scotland and Colonial Pennsylvania.
Paperbacks and kindle: Amazon UK or Amazon Worldwide
“Filled with excitement and suspense…” Historical Novel Society
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April 9, 2022
Witchcraft, Kidnapping, and the Cobbles Between
I do seem to have a habit of running up and down the medieval cobbles of Aberdeen in the name of research. Here 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.
Through 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.
The Green is mentioned in Fireflies and Chocolate (out today!):
“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 do take me places!
FIREFLIES AND CHOCOLATE, 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, is out now. The story follows the adventures of Elizabeth Manteith from the castle and her determined efforts to get back home. There’s love. There’s proper derring-dos on the high seas… And there’s chocolate!
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