Skye MacKinnon's Blog, page 10

Hiking to Loch Lomond

I currently have a friend staying with me, so we're doing quite a few day trips to explore the area. Yesterday, we took advantage of a bit of sunshine and warmth to walk from Helensburgh, where I live, to Balloch at the shores of Loch Lomond. This is the first stage of both the Three Lochs Way (although in the opposite direction) and the John Muir Way.

It was the perfect day for it and we had some amazing views! The first bit was an ascent from Helensburgh through birch woodland and along cute little burns (streams). Once we got out of the forest, we had the most amazing views of both the Firth of Clyde and, a bit later, Loch Lomond. The highest point was Gouk Hill, where we found a large tree decorated with Christmas ornaments - quite amusing.

There were some interesting shaped hills and crests, and we later read that this was due to the Highland Boundary Fault, a major fault zone that traverses Scotland from west to east. It separates two distinctly different physiographic and geological terrains: the Highlands from the Lowlands.

Soon after, during the descent, we got lost... and stumbled through a dense conifer forest, very wet grassland and made our way through giant ferns (and the occasional nettle) until we finally found a forest road. By then, we were coverd in grass seeds, pine needles and spiderwebs. Still, it was great fun navigating the forest and feeling a bit like explorers in unfamiliar territory.

We did some geocaching on the way as well, being newly converted geocache hunters. Sadly, we had forgotten to take a pen so never managed to sign the caches we found. Probably a good reason to do this hike again.

Our destination was Balloch on the South end of Loch Lomond, the largest freshwater lake in Scotland. There, we went into the aquarium (and saw otters, one of my favourite animals!), which was a little smaller than we'd expected, but still a great place to visit.

We took the bus back to Helensburgh, which only took something like fifteen minutes - slight difference to the four or so hours the walk took us... but our views were a lot better than those from the bus!

Click through the gallery below to see what we saw ;)

New release: Realms and Rebels

It's finally here, the Realms and Rebels box set! After months of planning, writing and marketing, it feels a little surreal that the book is now waiting for me on my ereader. Twenty-two stories are ready to be read, full of dragons, vampires and even hellhounds!

Our main aim, besides making readers such as yourselves very happy, is becoming a USA Today bestselling box set. To do that, we need to get a certain amounts of sales not only on Amazon, but also on iTunes, Nook and Kobo. So, if you want to support us, please get yourself a copy - the price will go up soon. 

We'll be celebrating all week on Facebook, so be sure to join our official Party Room!
Get your copy ​The story I've got in this box set is Hell's Calling, co-written with the lovely Bea Paige (check out her books! She's amazing!). It's a retelling of Dante's Inferno, except that our heroine isn't a lovesick old poet, but a sassy young woman who will do anything to rescue her little sister from the depths of hell. On the way, she meets an angel, a hellhound and a werewolf, all of which have been incredibly fun to write.

Now available: Mars Diaries Box Set

All three Mars Diaries episodes in one box set! Travel to Mars and fight for survival in this thrilling sci-fi reverse harem series, based on the Six Swans fairy tale.

Contains Alone, Hidden, Found and the EXCLUSIVE short story Rain (set on Earth during the events of the first three books).
Amazon iTunes Nook kobo Google play

New pre-order: Guardian's Dragon

Step into the besieged world of the dragon shifters, where nothing is at it seems and everything is at stake. A reverse harem that's set in the Winter Princess world but which can be read as a standalone.

***Blurb***
Alastair never wanted to kill the Winter Princess, but he had no choice. Now he is getting ready to spend the rest of his life in a prison cell...

Ada and her three husbands have just been promoted to the Queen's Guard, but there is no time to celebrate. The Realm is in uproar and she needs to interrogate the dragon shifter assassin. But he's deranged and no matter what she does, all he keeps saying is that Ada is his mate - just the mutterings of a madman or could he be right?

When a new threat appears on the horizon, Guardians and dragons have to come together to fight - and Alastair, Ada and her husbands might just be the key to that new union.

The Mars Diaries are going wide

From today, all three instalments of my popular Mars Diaries - Alone, Hidden, Found - are available at all major retailers including iTunes, Nook, Kobo and Google Play.

Grab your copy of Alone today for only 99c!
Read Alone

A walk above Helensburgh

Last week, I took advantage of the amazing weather and went for a little explore high up above Helensburgh. It's a beautiful little walk that I'll be sure to do again in the future. I'm sure the forest is going to look great in autumn...

Alone is FREE for a few days only

This weekend, you can get my sci-fi romance Alone for free! This is the first book in the popular Mars Diaries, a fairy tale retelling set on - you guessed it - Mars.

Blurb:
It all started with a headache.
Next came the cramps.
Then, the pain. Cries and wails filled the station.
The bloody cough killed most of them.
The others succumbed to the fever.
And then, silence.
I’m the only one left.
My name is Louise and I’m the only human on Mars.
read alone for free

New home, new life

Last week, I moved to Helensburgh on the West coast of Scotland, to be close to the sea and in a smaller place than the big(ish) city of Edinburgh.

I'm still in the process of unpacking, organising furniture and generally settling in, but I wanted to share a few pictures of my beautiful new home.

Leaving the puddle and entering the ocean...

The Seven Wardens series is now available on all major retailers! After some recent problems with Amazon/Kindle Unlimited, Laura and I have decided to not stay with Amazon exclusively, but to also put our books on other retailers. That means we can't stay in Kindle Unlimited any longer, but we hope the advantage of reaching new readers on other platforms outweighs that disadvantage.

Get your copy of From the Deeps here:

New release: Winter Queen

I've got a new release: Winter Queen, the third book in the Daughter of Winter series.

Demigoddess Wyn has had to deal with a lot in the first two books of the Daughter of Winter series: trying to control her magic, meeting four sexy Guardians, taking on duties in her mother's Royal Palace. But the real tests are yet to come...

War is on the Realm's doorstep, people are dying and Wyn needs to find allies to stand against the darkness. It doesn't help that she's grieving and that her magic isn't working as it's supposed to...

This book is quite a bit darker and more emotional than the previous two, and my beta readers have reported but tears and hysterical laughter. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as they did!

This was supposed to be the final book in the series, but it didn't quite work out that way. My characters wanted more, so there will be a forth book: Winter Goddess, out in July (or sooner, if I can manage it).
Read Winter Queen