Books
A magical collection of 36 short stories
The garden is an oasis, a pocket of nature in our busy modern lives, full of plants, animals, insects – and a fair bit of magic. And it’s somewhere that, just behind that rock, or underneath a flower, there could be something magical or mystical: a fairy, an elf or a talking bee. Folk Tales…
Read MoreWhy Scottish style is an international trendsetter
As a nation, Scotland has had an impeccable sense of haute couture through the ages. How Scotland Dressed The World is author Lynne Coleman’s love letter to the nation that gives us the blueprint for international style, as she explores the country’s rich cultural impact on the modern world. Lynne knows her stuff, as an…
Read MoreA gripping read will chill you to the bones
Just five pages in, writer Helen Grant’s prose sets the heart racing. She depicts a claustrophobic’s worst nightmare, fromwhich point the reader is constantly on edge. Protagonist Fen Munro has moved to erthshire with her fiancé to escape London’s rat-race, only to find they are being watched by a figure dressed in lavender. Barr Dubh,…
Read MoreThe deserted streets of pandemic Edinburgh
The hour of exercise granted to us at the height of the pandemic was food for the soul. It inspired many things – not least this beautiful book, dedicated to Montgomery’s father, George. Taking to the capital’s deserted city streets, this is an amalgamation of eerie photographs, capturing everything from the iconic Dean Bridge to…
Read MoreAn exposive thriller that’s close to the bone
You just know when a book has been penned by a knowledgeable hand. Simon Conway’s own experiences as a former British Army officer (clearing landmines and successfully campaigning to achieve an international ban on cluster bombs) ooze from these pages. The conviction with which he writes of terrorism is bonechilling. MI6 are on a mission…
Read MoreA book that’s a pure and simple joy to read
Wordsmiths rejoice, Fifty Words For Snow is as simple and as brilliant as you might hope. Nancy Campbell, a poet, writer and Arctic traveller from the Borders, teaches us of snow in its many forms across the globe. Many of these words and phrases shall now be used at every given opportunity: ‘hagelslag’, meaning ‘hail…
Read MoreSam Heughan’s delight at Audie Award nomination
Actor star Sam Heughan has told Scottish Field of his delight at being nominated for a top audio industry award. The Audio Publishers Association’s finalists for the 2022 Audie Awards programme was recently revealed, celebrating the best titles in audio publishing and spoken-word entertainment, honouring a varied group of actors, musicians and politicians, ahead of…
Read MoreStories of Scotland wanted for the Book Festival
The Edinburgh International Book Festival has announced a new project gathering and creating stories from and for people across the country in response to Scotland’s Year of Stories 2022. The year will spotlight, celebrate and promote the wealth of stories inspired by, written, or created in Scotland. Scotland’s Stories Now is a mass participatory project…
Read MoreFictional work based on two real Scotswomen
What You Call Free is a piece of historical fiction. This novel is loosely based on the lives of two women, Helen Alexander and Jonet Gothskirk (who was forced to wear a ‘sackcloth’ or ‘gown of repentance’ as punishment for adultery during the period of the Covenanters). After falling pregnant, 18-year-old Jonet seeks refuge among…
Read MoreA thrilling mystery in a fictional Scots village
The Purified is the second of C F Peterson’s high-octane thrillers set in the fictional village of Duncul. Eamon Ansgar (the hero of the first novel, ‘Errant Blood’) has found happiness in marriage, but community life is shaken by a brutal murder and he finds himself helping the local police force to investigate (an entirely…
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