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#HistFicThursdays - Well, it's Byron, isn't it?

 As it's National Poetry Day, I thought I'd share a few thoughts on Byron. The celebrity cult of Lord Byron began while he was still alive, boomed when he died, and still continues today. He remains an object of fascination, scandal, and appeal. I've been interested in him since I first read about him in a "Famous People" encyclopaedia. It was a children's book, so it did not explore the more infamous aspects of his life. But it was enough to inspire me to delve further into research on the man and the myth - including the puzzle of the mirror . Ultimately, Byron went on to become a major inspiration for my first published book Day's Dying Glory , right down to its title. His early poems (generally my favourite ones) feature heavily in the book, and I enjoyed weaving in lines and references which Byron-fans would spot where others might not even notice them. Poets and poetry have inspired hundreds of writers. It is fascinating that language can be so power...
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John o' Groats Book Festival



What a weekend it has been! The 1st John o' Groats Book Festival has been in the pipeline for a long time, and it certainly lived up to expectations.

It started with a bang on Friday. A cartographer was launching her new set of Northern Scotland maps. Sadly, I was at work during this event but I've heard great things about it from people who were there. The cartographer's name is Val Fry and the publisher is Nicolson.

The first event I could attend was on the Friday evening when the authors were introduced, including 8 fabulous local authors who each had a 10 minute slot. It was great to see one of the organisers, Ian Leith, start the evening by showing his books.

The next author was Virginia Crow, published by Crowvus, who started her talk by showing the Day's Dying Glory book trailer which had people sitting on the edge of their seats.

Virginia Crow, author of Day's Dying Glory
It was super to hear so many local authors talk about their books, and read a passage or two. The authors included:
Dorothy Stewart (her books can be purchased here)
Meg Macleod
Sharon Pottinger
Laura Morgan
Margaret Mackay
Catherine Byrne

Please browse around the links above to look at the author's selling pages, or blogs.

I will write an individual article about the four main authors - Theresa Breslin, Christopher Brookmyre, Andrew Greig and James Hunter - throughout this week.
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