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I’m off on an adventure
Image from http://goo.gl/Wxmk9W This is a magical time of year in the Highlands. Gradually, almost imperceptibly, the hills are changing colour – from the dark greens of August to a palette of tan and copper. The first snows have already settled on the highest peaks and the nights
Blog Spotlight: self powered
Image from www.selfpowered.net self powered(Backpacking, Mountaineering, and Photography)Run by David Lintern This series of articles showcases blogs of merit and interest, usually (but not exclusively!) connected with the topics of mountaineering, Scotland, writing, and history. I discovered this blog fairly recently, after a certain article of
A cover reveal and title change for my next book
Never before have I been through so many different working titles for a project. Nothing seemed to sit quite right, from initial concepts (The Silver Glen) through to more considered and longer-lasting titles (Forbes’ Challenge or The Forbes Challenge). Part of the problem was that this book grew from a
The 2013 #Scotwinter Sweepstakes: we have some winners!
Back in August I posed the question “when will the first snows of the new Scottish winter season arrive?” and plenty of you placed your bets. Most of you thought they would arrive at some point in September, and today the question on the mind of every winter mountaineer has
An interview with Terry Abraham, mountain film-maker
This is part of a series of interviews with authors, photographers, film-makers, and other creative people who all have one thing in common: a connection with mountaineering culture. Today it is my great pleasure to welcome Terry Abraham to my blog. Terry is the creative talent behind the highly acclaimed
Visiting the Grave of Owen Glynne Jones
There comes a time in the career of an author when the seemingly impenetrable veil between reality and the imaginary worlds we write about is lifted. We are touched by the very stuff of our stories. Characters who were real enough to us in our heads become suddenly tangible human
Work draws to a close on “The Atholl Expedition”
Well, it has taken a little longer than expected, but at last I am working on the very final scenes to be included in The Atholl Expedition. This project has grown as I have written it and now it goes deeper into the characters of both Forbes and Duncan than
The quest for distraction-free writing
Beginnings I have been writing since about 1997. In those days my only point of interaction with the Web was at school, and the computer I used at home was a rickety old Macintosh SE/30 with a black and white screen (nine inches across!) and a 20MB hard disk.
Blog Spotlight: The Mountain’s Silhouette
Image from http://goo.gl/N1tVii The Mountain’s Silhouette(Backpacking and Outdoors)Run by Nick Brahmhall This series of articles showcases blogs of merit and interest, usually (but not exclusively!) connected with the topics of mountaineering, Scotland, writing, and history. Scottish mountaineering blogs come in all shapes and sizes
The best Android apps for writers (part one)
2017 note: this article is now several years old. Please don’t consider it current advice. As computers diversify and specialise, many modern writers are choosing to take advantage of the greater mobility offered by tablets and smartphones. I have already written a very popular post on how writers can