Queen Mary’s Bath House Scotland never fails to amaze me with its many historical treasures tucked or hidden away in the most unexpected of places. In Edinburgh, Queen Mary’s Bath House is one of these buildings which has survived the almost inevitable destruction of the surrounding area that comes from modernisation. If you ever make … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 99
Dunfermline Abbey and Palace One of the great things about living in Scotland is, no matter where you stay, you are never far from an exciting and impressive site, steeped in tradition and history. It’s often remarked that many of us don’t appreciate what is on our own doorsteps, and for folk living in Central, … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 98
Linlithgow Palace In Part 90 of this blog series, I noted I often have the impression I’m following in the footsteps of Mary Queen of Scots. In keeping with this I decided to take a trip out to Linlithgow Palace, which is in fact the birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots. It is a bit … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 97
Writing Update July 2024 I blogged last time I was writing two thousand words a day in order to complete draft one and was two weeks in. I kept up this routine and finished the first draft of the next novel in the Kill series. I also mentioned it was called The Kill Flag and … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 96
Writing Update June 2024 After a number of stops and starts with various projects including a follow-up novella to EVA, a second book featuring my yet to be published detective series set in a dystopian Edinburgh and then a new novel dealing with Artificial Intelligence, I found myself with the publisher of my cybercrime novel … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 95
CODI Edinburgh Fringe 2024 I’m appearing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this August with a new show called ‘Is AI for real?’ I suppose I could have revamped the show from last year and take the pressure of myself, but I decided to write a brand new one. AI or Artificial Intelligence is a bandwagon … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 94
House of the Binns The House of the Binns has been the family home of the Dalyells for the last 400 years. Set in magnificent Scottish countryside outside Linlithgow, it provides a great view of the River Forth from the grounds. You can see Blackness castle from there and across the water Limekilns and Culross … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 93
Denmark and Sweden I took a trip to Copenhagen in Denmark. I loved the city. I stayed in the middle, just five minutes from the train station. I’ve never seen so many bikes. Luckily it’s a very flat city, in stark contrast to Edinburgh which is built on seven hills. No surprise I visited the … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 92
Wallace Monument Dominating the skyline, it’s hard to imagine a more fitting place for The National Wallace Monument. Built in honour of the Scottish warrior, Sir William Wallace, this 220ft structure was designed by Scottish architect John Thomas Rochead and took eight years to build. The foundation stone was laid on Monday the 24th June … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 91
Alloa Tower I managed to make some time to visit Alloa Tower, which according to the records, is mentioned for the first time in 1495. It occupies the ancestral seat of the Erskine family, then later the Earls of Mar and Kellie, and it is the largest surviving example of a medieval fortified keep in … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 90
The Fiction Factory 