St Monans Next stop on my journey down the East Neuk was St Monans, a small fishing village with a population of approximately 1100. I noted in part 110 of this blog that Scotland did have windmills, and the one at St Monans which was used to power the salt industry has survived. During the … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 135
Pittenweem Next stop on my trip around the East Neuk was the fishing village of Pittenweem. I had visited Anstruther before so due to time decided to keep driving after leaving Crail and make a stop at Pittenweem. This location is very well known for its August arts festival. Local residents open their houses to … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 134
Crail Due to taking a break from writing at the end of the year I didn’t finish up my posts about the East Neuk, so I’m now playing catch-up. The next stop on the journey down the East Coast of Scotland from St Andrews was Crail, a small, historic fishing village, with a population of … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 133
2024 It’s been an odd year. I worked on a couple of novels and blogged a good deal and by the end of November I took a break from putting words down on the page. The publisher I was with shut up shop and the rights to The Kill Chain reverted back to me so … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 132
St Andrews I decided to take in part of the East Coast of Scotland and opted to begin in St Andrews before heading down the coast and around what is known here as the East Neuk. I visited St Andrews on countless occasions, but always look forward to it. There is nothing to compare with … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 131
National Gallery Revisited I noted in Part 81 that a favourite haunt of mine is the National Gallery in Edinburgh. I visited again, choosing to spend time among the European art. I only have so much time over lunch, so didn’t make the Scottish section. However, I did make sure to go upstairs and marvel … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 130
500 Subscribers When I logged onto WordPress this morning, a popup appeared alerting me to the fact five hundred people have now subscribed to this blog. I didn’t imagine making that milestone and I’m so grateful to everyone who has taken the time to have these random posts delivered to their in-box. Thank you. This … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 129
Writing Update October 2024 Ove the last couple of months I’ve been catching up on my blogging. There was a bit of a backlog, and given the number of places I visit, it’s been a challenge keeping my blog up to date. This push to document what I’ve been up to has meant that little … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 128
Cold War Scotland The National Museum of Scotland is running a free exhibition until the end of January next year called Cold War Scotland. This provides a fascinating insight to a recent aspect of Scottish history and it’s important that it’s documented and understood. The term Cold War describes the political situation after the end … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 127
Alloa Tower Revisited I blogged about Alloa Tower in Part 90 of this series. The tower wasn’t open that day, but I managed to go back and take advantage of the Open Doors Day. It’s been awhile since I was last inside the tower, and I was pleased to see how well the restoration work … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 126
The Fiction Factory 