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
Sherlock Holmes I took time out to go and see the statue of Sherlock Holmes in Picardy Place, Edinburgh. This is in tribute to the author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who was born close to this spot on the 22nd May 1859. I think it’s a fitting tribute, as a writer, not to have a … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 122
Hill of Tarvit I shouldn’t be surprised at the number of hidden treasures located around Scotland, but again I was surprised. The estate known as Hill of Tarvit, near Cupar is a fascinating place, for both the interior collection in the mansion house and the surrounding countryside. What we see today is the product of … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 117
Limekilns If you manage to visit Culross – which I blogged about in Part 67 – it’s well worth taking the time to continue along the coast to the small village of Limekilns. It’s not on the Outlander trail as far as I’m aware so doesn’t draw in the number of tourists that Culross does. … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 102
One Hundred Having reached a hundred posts in this series, I thought I would put down some thoughts to mark this milestone. It’s not my intention to give you history lessons. All I’m doing is outlining a couple of the basic facts as background to the places I visit as you can easily google them … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 100
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
The Kill Series The only constant is change and you need to be prepared to see the positive, even if initially it may appear a negative. My publisher has decided to call it a day and wind the company up. This happens. The writing world is full of it. I like to joke that you’re … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 89
Inveraray I drove across to Loch Fyne the other week and stopped at Inveraray. Fantastic scenery along with an impressive castle. It isn’t open yet as it’s still the closed season, so I could only walk around outside and take a couple of photographs. It’s on my list to visit later in the year though. … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 88
The Fiction Factory 