Tag: fiction

What happens in Cumbernauld…

Leave a comment

Put over a hundred writers in a hotel for a weekend and what do you get? A wonderful opportunity to greet old friends, meet new ones and generally be around your tribe with the same vibe. Yes, it’s that time of year again- my annual jaunt to the Scottish Association of Writers’ Conference at the Westerwood Hotel in Cumbernauld.

Some members of Angus Writers’ Circle (on their best behaviour!)

I actually booked an extra night with my chums, as a way of winding down and separating the world of work and family from the ‘serious’ mission of the weekend- to confirm who we are as writers, because sometimes it all gets a bit lost in the mists of modern living!

I took some spare minutes to edit my current manuscript The Back of Beyond and generally unpack my case and drift from bar to lounge before it was time for registration. Each year we get a lovely tote bag as a memento of our weekend, and of course there is the book shop, because you cannot have too many books! There’s also the traditional room party…I was mortified at the amount of gins-in-a-tin that graced my bin the next day…

There’s no party like an AWC room parteee!

The weekend is packed with competitions, workshops and opportunities to talk about everything writing related. Our speakers and adjudicators were amazing, my favourites being the lovely Marion Todd (author of the Clare Mackay series), talented writer and academic Conner McAleese and the wonderful playwright John Binnie. I would definitely recommend Caroline Logan’s workshop- who knew making worldbuilding maps with rice could be so much fun?!

We members of Angus Writers’ Circle acquitted ourselves well with a total of 14 placed competition entries and two trophies- well done to all. We are quite competitive (and quite argumentative) especially when it comes to the Big Conference Quiz! I was absolutely chuffed to win the Dorothy Dunbar Rosebowl for Poetry (adjudicated by Alison Chisholm) with my poem ‘Not Black and White’, a tribute to the magpies in my garden. Here are a few lines from it:

At night their peculiar cant frightens me.

They speak together in strange tongues,

planning murder by moonlight.

So, it’s all over for another year. Time to start saving for 2027. If you would like to find out more about SAW and the conference, click here. You can join as an individual member and take part in some of the competitions and maybe even attend the conference next year. Writing is a lonely business, so it helps to have friends in the right places!

Gladstone & St Winefrede

Leave a comment

Gladstone’s Library in Wales has always been on my writerly radar. Who wouldn’t want to sleep in a place of books, right?! Just for clarity, rooms are provided, but the actual reading rooms are open to residents all day and after hours, giving you full access not only to a range of historic tomes, but unlimited inspiration between the stacks. Each nook and cranny houses a wee desk for your writing endeavours, and a cannily placed notice will ‘bag’ your chosen spot overnight. Consistency is key to writing- I immediately settle into my work when I know where I’ll be sitting. Must be muscle memory!

The current building, raised in 1902 by public subscription and designed by John Douglas, is the home of Sir William Gladstone’s unique archival collection. In the 1880s, after retiring from politics, Gladstone began transferring his collection to a purpose-built corrugated -iron library in Hawarden village. Scholars would stay in a hostel attached to the library.

The reading rooms are delightfully silent and creaky all at the same time, and the building itself is beautifully designed. I particularly loved the lounge with its roaring stoves and leather couches you can just sink into after a day hunched over the laptop. I was very lucky to be in the company of my buddies Dawn Geddes, Elizabeth Frattaroli and Gillian Duff, wonderful writers all, and the best companions I could have wished for. We ate amazing food (shout-out to Food for Thought and the cafes and pubs of Hawarden) wandered the streets, wrote words and gossiped a lot (quietly, of course…it’s a library. Sssh!) and generally soaked up the atmosphere. After delivering The Legend of Lady Godiva to my publisher the week before, I let myself sink back into my folk horror novel The Back of Beyond. It was like spending time with an old (but rather mysterious) friend.

On the way home, we visited St Winefride’s Well (Welsh: Ffynnon Wenffrewi) a holy well and national shrine located in the town of Holywell in Flintshire, Wales. The patron saint of the well, St Winefride, was a 7th-century Catholic martyr who according to legend was decapitated by a lustful prince and then miraculously restored to life. The well is said to have sprung up at the spot where her head hit the ground. This story is first recorded in the 12th century, and since then St Winefride’s Well has been a popular pilgrimage destination, known for its healing waters. Given my novel is about a sacred well with exactly the opposite effect, it was an interesting visit for me!

If you ever get a chance to visit Gladstone’s Library, go! Society of Authors members receive a discount, which really helps a lot and it was a privilege to be allowed access to such an amazing collection.

From Glen to Page: A thrilling time at the Mills!

2 Comments

This past week, I had the incredible opportunity to participate in the From Glen to Page panel at Thrills at the Mills, part of the newly established Dundee Book Festival. The panel brought together a rich tapestry of voices from across the literary landscape, all united by a shared love for storytelling and the folklore of Scotland’s glens and rugged terrains.

My fellow authors were Lyndsey Croal, whose new collection of reimagined folktales Dark Crescent (Luna Press) is out now and Erin Farley, local historian, folklorist and storyteller, whose book Angus Folk Tales (Scottish Storytelling Centre) is a must-read for anyone keen to immerse themselves in the county’s rich oral tradition. We were beautifully shepherded in our discussion by the lovely Morag Hannah, part of writing duo MK Hardy. Look out for their new novel The Needfire (Solaris). I heard a little preview during the Cymera Festival and I promise you, it’s spellbinding!

Thrills in the Mills encapsulated the festival’s ethos perfectly—an inventive exploration of genre fiction and literature that engages audiences in a lively dialogue. Our own discussion revolved around how nature, history, and traditional tales have influenced our decisions as writers and how elements of our oldest stories still have relevance today. It was fascinating to hear diverse perspectives, and the audience was so engaged, the atmosphere beneath the dome of Mills Observatory was positively electric!

I have to say I felt a little rusty- it has been so long since I’ve been included in a panel of this sort. The book world is full of peaks and troughs and since the pandemic all has not been plain sailing for many authors. Lockdown did however allow me to focus on my off-writing career as a facilitator of various courses and workshops and it is always a huge pleasure to meet in person writers I’ve encountered during that time, including Lyndsey, and to see them embarking on their own publishing journey. I also briefly met author Rebecca Brown before her own event and her super novel The Song of the Stag (Ringwood Publishing)  will be next on my reading list!

Thank you so much if you managed to get along to any of the events. Let’s hope the Dundee Book Festival will become a regular fixture and introduce lots more talented local writers to a wider audience!

P.S. We spoke about Fenella – Erin told her story so beautifully. If you’ve never met this amazing Pictish warrior woman, do read my book The Unmaking of Ellie Rook which was inspired by her actions. My current book The House on Devil’s Lane is also available and looking for some love!

Introducing- The House on Devil’s Lane!

1 Comment

At LAST I have some exciting book news!

My fifth psychological thriller The House on Devil’s Lane (S. L. Ireland) will be released on September 24th as a Kindle ebook and as a paperback. I do believe the ebook is now available to preorder on Amazon and will appear silently and mysteriously on your kindle on publication day if you buy HERE.

Okay, that’s the hard sell out of the way! I just wanted to write a little bit about the process and ideas behind the book. It has been said (and not by me, it was The Sunday Post, actually!) that I write about difficult things with sensitivity and realism, and while novels are essentially a means of entertainment, and an enjoyable diversion, I do like to include some timely and troubling topics. With The Unmaking of Ellie Rook, for example (novel no.3) the underlying theme was one of coercive control and the emotional damage it does.

So, true to form, The House on Devil’s Lane has some very compelling characters with pressing problems and harrowing secrets. How they act when the chips are down…well, that’s where the fiction comes in! Hopefully, you will be with main character Kat every step of the way as she negotiates her new life in a new home while juggling the demands of new motherhood. It’s hard feeling alone and isolated in a new place, but is Kat ever really alone? I’ll let you decide, dear Reader…

Where did the idea come from? I will tell all in a series of blog posts, but first, the setting. As much as a love Scotland, I wanted to step over the border for a wee change, and the idea for this book came to me while I was visiting my brother in County Durham. He lives in a village which consists essentially of a single road with, as fate would have it, an empty house at the end, and behind it, the most amazingly eerie wood….

More next week!

New Course for Summer 2023!

Leave a comment

 WORLDBUILDING WITH FOLKLORE

Fantasy, folk horror and mythology-inspired stories never get old!

Whether you’re an experienced writer, or just taking your first steps in fiction, this course is sure to be a fascinating springboard for whatever genre you plan to explore. The richness of our folk heritage- stories, ballads, rituals and customs- lends itself to constant re-imaginings.

Join me on a mission to create wild, imaginative settings and compelling characters inspired by our age-old lore and landscape.

    Thursdays evenings, 6.30- 8pm from 17th August 2023.

    Course will run online (Zoom), with 8 weekly 90 minute sessions, plus email support and optional single 1-to-1 online mentoring session (60 mins) to discuss your project.

    Each week, we will explore key elements of our folk narratives and the landscapes that have inspired them. There will be writing prompts and exercises aimed at helping you create the fictional world of your own story in convincing detail.

    Week 1 Introduction

    Week 2 Light versus Dark.

    Week 3 Custom and ritual.

    Week 4 Holy Grail(s).

    Week 5: Liminal landscapes- caves, cliffs and waterfalls.

    Week 6:  Criminal seascapes- Pirates and Smugglers.

    Week 7 Creatures & Characters

    Week 8 Designing your fictional world.

    Fee: £80 (£95 with 1 to 1 mentoring session). Payable by BACS, details on booking.

    More info and to reserve your place: sandrairelandauthor@yahoo.co.uk