Tag: writing

Gladstone & St Winefrede

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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!

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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!

From Fiction to History

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As we progress through 2025, it is always worthwhile to reflect on the writing journey so far, and one significant milestone for me in recent months has been the publication of The House on Devil’s Lane. This novel, which guides readers through a suspenseful narrative filled with mysterious and unsettling events on an apparently ordinary street, began as a tentative foray into the world of self-publishing. Certainly, there are things I did wrong, and different decisions I might have taken, but the reception the novel has received has exceeded my expectations in a very good way!

I’m incredibly grateful for all the readers who have taken the time to write a review. Many have praised its intricate plotting, well-developed characters, and the chilling atmosphere that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. Indeed, the overwhelming support and enthusiasm from readers have been incredibly humbling and motivating.

This year, I have stepped away from fiction for a while to embark on a new literary venture that delves into the fascinating world of historical non-fiction. I am thrilled to be working with Pen and Sword Books on my upcoming project, The Legend of Lady Godiva. This book aims to shed light on the life and legacy of one of England’s most iconic figures, the legendary Lady Godiva.

Fascinating Facts about Lady Godiva

  • Lady Godiva was the grandmother of Ealdgyth, queen consort of Welsh King Gruffydd ap Llywelyn and later King Harold of arrow-in-the-eye fame. This connection places her within the intricate web of medieval royalty and politics.
  • The story of Peeping Tom, who allegedly spied on her legendary naked ride, may have been invented as a joke by Royalist soldiers. This mischievous addition to the tale adds an interesting layer of myth and legend to her story.
  • Godiva and her husband, Leofric, once occupied a hunting lodge in Kings Bromley. Up until recently, a modest modern bungalow stood in its place, boasting beams made with the timber of that long-lost dwelling!

Of the many artworks that feature Godiva, or Godgifu (Good or God gift), this is one of my favourites. This is a preparatory sketch by illustrator Henry Hugh Armistead.

Why Lady Godiva?

You might wonder, why Lady Godiva? The story of her legendary ride through Coventry is one that has fascinated me since childhood. The blend of historical fact and myth, the themes of bravery, sacrifice, and the fight against oppression, all resonate deeply with me. I am excited to be bringing to life the ‘real’ story of Lady Godiva, a tale that is as compelling and inspiring as any fictional narrative.

Looking Ahead

The journey from fiction to history has been incredibly rewarding, and I am eager to share this new book with you all in due course. Stay tuned for more updates on its progress, and thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm for my work.

In the meantime, if you haven’t yet read The House on Devil’s Lane, I encourage you to pick up a copy and join the adventure. Starting on Saturday, Feb 15th, the ebook will be available FREE for five days only!

Thank you for being a part of this incredible journey. Your feedback and reviews mean the world to me and help fuel my passion for storytelling. Here’s to many more stories to come!

And if you would like to write some of your own, please check out my creative writing courses page to find out what’s happening!

How to live in a haunted house. Part I

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In my last post, I wrote about the setting for my new novel The House on Devil’s Lane, and how I was inspired to cross the border for the location.

The House on Devil’s Lane is available to pre-order HERE. Ebook and paperback will be released on 24/09/24

The main ‘character’ in the novel is, of course, Kat’s strange new home, and people often ask me if I have ever lived in a haunted house. Well, it all depends on what you believe ! I can confirm that I have experienced occurrences that I find hard to explain.

When I lived in Ireland, for example, we renovated a 300-year-old farmhouse in rural Limerick called Victory Hall. If any property was going to have an uncanny presence, it was going to be this one, right?! It certainly had a fascinating tale to tell. According to local legend, it had once been a parochial house, but the incumbent priest had committed a sin so grievous (I never found out what it was) that he was visited in the night by a furious mob, armed with blazing torches and pikes (hayforks). They evicted him from the house and marched him down to the river, presumably with the intent of drowning him. He survived, but lost his parish and was condemned to live out his days in a hut down by the very water that could have ended his life.

The ghost of a black-garbed man was said to pace the grounds of Victory Hall, pleading to be let back in to the house, but I never saw anything. We had to completely gut the place, and many ‘ghost’ artefacts came to light. The leather cover of a Bible, a part of a saddle, and so on, all helping to fire the imagination. On dark nights the blackness was absolute, with only a sole farmyard light flickering across the valley. Standing outside, you could hear all manner of rustlings and scratchings in the hedgerow, and even inside, the old timber would creak as it came to rest in the cool of the night. On the whole, the place had a rather peaceful air about it.

The great open fire in the kitchen was the perfect place around which to spin a yarn on a winter night, and I often wonder how many tales it had witnessed.

However, two strange things did stand out for me during our time there. Scratched into the lintel of the kitchen door were the letters WW, which I later discovered were not the priest’s initials, as I had assumed, but interlocking Vs, referring to the Virgin of Virgins. They were witchmarks, ancient graffiti calling upon the Virgin Mary for protection against evil. Were they there to keep the priest out?

Check out my fourth novel Sight Unseen to see where that idea led me! Honestly, no detail is ever wasted when a writer is around! You can find it HERE

The second thing? My youngest son, then around 3, called me over to the window one day, claiming to have seen ‘a man in a long black cloak’ crossing the yard. The house was accessible only by a driveway- one way in and one way out. No one had knocked on the door and I wasn’t expecting visitors. My scalp prickled. With two under- fours in the house, I was always on high alert. I ran outside, but there wasn’t a soul to be seen…

What had he seen? You tell me!

More tales from my current home next time! If you would like to subscribe to my mailing list please click HERE. It is quite occasional, but you can catch up on all my workshops and book news, and I also do a writing prompt in each edition. The perfect excuse to sit down with a cuppa and a notebook!

Introducing- The House on Devil’s Lane!

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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!

2022 in review!

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Time has done some funny things this year, hasn’t it? It’s sped by, and yet hung heavy at times. Perhaps we are all still in pandemic recovery. I heard it described as a collective ‘languishing’- and although I do feel like I’ve done a lot of languishing on my couch, trawling through my photos has encouraged me to relive some favourite moments…

First up, I was so lucky to have been invited to take part in the international Connect and Collaborate residency at beautiful Moniack Mhor. Not only is it the perfect place to rest, recuperate and write, it also gave me the opportunity to make friends with some amazing people from across the globe. Here is Moniack Mhor in sunset splendour and some of my co-conspirators lost in the woods! (Nadine Aisha Jassat, Gemma Rovira Ortega & Carly Brown).Not forgetting the all important glass of red wine poured by my Moniack pals after I finished the first draft of my next novel Waterbound! (Look out for more news on that in 2023)

In the summer, Angus Writers’ Circle had the chance to undertake a group residency in Arbroath Abbey’s New Scriptorium, as described in a previous post. Here is an image of my Tree Folklore Workshop, inspired by the humble Arbroath Pippin!

I was very excited to be invited by Fife Writes to deliver two creative writing workshops for Book Week Scotland. One was online and one was IN-PERSON! Myself and my lucky hat travelled to beautiful St Andrews, which was a real novelty after the lockdown years. Here I am, with said hat, at the old harbour…

There was also that fiery trip to Bloody Scotland! Again, so good to be back in-person. I think we’ve all been caught between longing to socialise and veering towards recluse-dom. I know I have, but once you’ve levered yourself from the couch you realise what you’ve been missing!

Thanks to a generous award from Creative Scotland, I was able to take part in a third residency (and I thought nothing much had happened in 2022!) in Ireland. Grateful thanks also to the lovely Noelle Harrison at Aurora Retreats for holding such a special place for us all in the Limerick countryside, somewhere close to my heart. Noelle, writing as Anya Bergman, has a stunning novel out VERY soon. Keep an eye out for The Witches of Vardo (Manilla Press). I have read an advance copy and I loved it!

The book I was working on at the Springfield Castle retreat is tentatively entitled The River Takes Her Name (suggested by my fellow retreater Petra!)

Legend has it that the ancient goddess Sionnan ate the Salmon of Wisdom, with its nine hazelnuts of truth, in order to gain all the knowledge of the world, only to drown in the river that now bears her name. In 1980s Limerick, nurse Anya Kildare has nine pieces of information which, if revealed, could alter the lives of those around her forever.

 If knowledge is power, and power might bring death, how much would you be willing to give away?

Intrigued? I’ll tell you more about that, and indeed Waterbound, my great hope for next year, in a future post, but I’ll leave you with some wonderful images of Ireland and finally, finally, Newcastle Noir, which proved a bright and warm and friendly end to the year (despite the title!)

WISHING YOU ALL THE VERY BEST FOR 2023!

Happy New Year!

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Happy New Year to you, one and all!

I love a fascinating fact, and here is one I uncovered at the end of last year. I’d been delivering a four-week Writing For Wellbeing course, and as I was scouring Yuletide folklore for some lovely writing prompts, I though why not skip ahead to the New Year and take a closer look at our old friend Janus! I remember hearing his story at school, that he’d leant his name to January, with one of his faces looking into the year just gone, the other into the coming year.

Looking from 2021 to 2022…

As a god of time and transitions, Janus didn’t have a “face for the present” because the present IS a place of transition, which is something to think about when you feel ‘stuck’, either physically or mentally. The Romans didn’t view the present as a time in and of itself – just as something of a passing place between past and future.

That really resonates with me. We are always being encouraged to be ‘fully present in the moment’, which I actually find quite difficult. My brain is always speeding ahead! But what if the ‘present’, as the Romans believed, is merely a drifting boat, bearing you gently to the next exciting destination?

May all your destinations be exciting this year! If you would like to join me for four weeks of looking at the world in a slightly different way (and writing about it!), my next Writing Just For You course begins on January 24th. Here is the programme:

WRITING JUST FOR YOU #3

Each week, we will have a chat about the theme of the week, a mini-meditation or moment of mindfulness to get you in the creative groove and 20 minutes of free writing to a themed prompt. I will also suggest an Artist’s Play Date for you to try at home.

Week 1: Ice. (24/1/22)

This week’s theme is ‘cold snap’. How do you feel when the temperature drops?!

Week 2: Light. (31/1/22)

Candlemas falls on Feb 2nd, and has many interesting customs associated with ‘bringing in the light’. How can you bring light to your own life?

Week 3: Fire (7/1/22)

‘Warming the cockles of your heart.’ This idiom derives from the belief that the heart was shaped like a cockleshell, implying it is soft on the inside with a tough shell! What makes your heart melt?

Week 4: Love (14/1/22)

February 14th is, of course, St Valentine’s Day! We’ll be looking at the folklore surrounding ‘Valentines.’

Interested? Just drop me a line and I’ll save you a place. The course fee is £55. Payment details and Zoom link will be sent the week before.

Looking forward to seeing you!

Sandra

Keeping (relatively)positive

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Previously, I’ve written about my thoughts as a writer in lockdown, when I was finding it difficult to write. My muse had obviously been scrolling through it, and decided to take pity on me, because the drive to create has returned to some degree. My fourth novel Sight Unseen has been published into a strange, sad new world. I want to take this opportunity to thank Agent Jenny, as always, and my publisher Birlinn/Polygon. Everyone there is working so hard in difficult circumstances to get those books out.

We were aided GREATLY by Kelly Lacey, Jacky Collins (AKA Dr Noir!) and a legion of fantastic bloggers and influencers who managed to get the Sight Unseen word out. If you need help with your literary endeavours, please look up Love Books Tours and Honey and Stag Literary Events. Heartfelt thanks to them all.

So, Book 2 of the Sarah Sutherland series Last Seen (set partially in India) and an outline for Book 3 (set in places  I think I’ll be able to get to) are now complete. I’m just thinking about all those shiny new books that were published this summer, sitting hopefully in bookshops nationwide, longing for readers. I also know how difficult it is to persuade ourselves to try and resume a ‘normal’ life.

With the latest new restrictions, life looks set to shrink even further. I go for a coffee with friends just once a week, but since we’re from four separate households, that looks likely to be a casualty. However, being home alone has led to some interesting observations. While I’m missing all the literary events I used to attend, I’m enjoying a break from the almost-constant anxiety of speaking in public and ‘putting myself out there’. I think this will resonate with many writers, yet when we talk about mental health, we tend to skim over this. I always tell my creative writing students that sharing your work with an audience is ‘something you’ll get used to’ because that’s what we tell ourselves, but writers are generally a shy, insecure bunch. As much as I miss the interaction with readers, this breathing space has definitely made me feel a lot calmer.

I don’t have any answers for what’s happening to us, but I’ll share with you some of the little things that are getting me through this and it might help you too:

  • That first gulp of fresh air whenever you take of your face mask
  • Sitting in my porch and pretending it’s a conservatory
  • Fairy lights/lights in bottles/tealights. In Reykjavik, they chase away the dark with lights in trees, lights on the water. My memories of Iceland are not of dark and cold, but of golden reflections.
  • Tea (always and obviously) in a favourite mug, and taken outside. It’s portable.
  • Watching the sea instead of a screen.
  • Going out for a walk just as it’s getting light.
  • Carnoustie at dawn
  • Hearty east coast dwellers who greet you with ‘Quite fresh, today!’ when we’re in the middle of a named storm.
  • Other people’s dogs. They look so happy.
  • Discovering really cool stuff in my neighbourhood.
  • Friendly fishermen, Easthaven
  • Doing yoga/meditating online (Huge thanks to the Space to BE community- I recommend)
  • Experiencing cacao (look it up, creatives, or do a course with Alchemy of Love)
  • Friends and family checking in with each other
  • Love/hate Zoom. It’s a lifeline, but wearying, and no substitute for real people in real settings.
  • Reading Nook

Wishing you joy in the little things today xx