Today, in Caithness, the sun is shining and the air is clear. I'm sure it will come as no surprise to anyone reading this blog that, certain weathers and certain times of the year ignite certain music in me. And, on late winter days which are filled with sunshine, I am usually to be found singing the songs of The Spinners . Inevitably, I start humming different ones of their songs (and of course adapting them to be about Orlando and Jess) as I go around doing different things. But I remember almost all the words to them. I haven't heard a lot of them in years, but they are all there, rooted in my memory. It is truly fascinating to think about how these songs have passed through history. They are part of my own nostalgia, which is why crisp sunny mornings make me incapable of ignoring the temptation to sing them, but they are part of something much bigger. There are songs amongst them which are a newer step in the folk music movement. Songs like Silver in the Stubble are amongs...
Happy New Year, Readers!
New Year (only last week) seems like an eternity ago. The reason being that we have been snowed in for almost every single one of those days. For me, this has been amazing. I love winter (it's my favourite season) and we managed to build snowmen, go sledging, and have all kinds of wintry fun and games.
Because of this, it seems like ages since I drew up a few ideas for new year resolutions. I'm not very good at sticking to my resolutions, but I'm hopeful that I might manage more than a week with this year's! They are not all to do with writing (I'm determined to get better posture, too), and they are more long-term aims and goals than anything I will slog away at all year round, but here are one or two of them...
Firstly, I want to finish writing the first draft of The Nobility of Caledon, which is Book 5 in the Caledon series. Book 3, The Strength of Caledon, will be launched in August this year, so I really need to get a move on with completing the books or the deadlines will be catching me up!
I also really want to clear my backlog of half-finished manuscripts. I currently have ten books (eight of them historical) in various states of completions which I want to try and finish before I start any new ones. At less than one a month, it just might be possible.
I'm also hoping to share some short fiction with journals or anthologies - dependent, of course, on whether or not they want them. I have an idea that I might find one or two a month to whom I can submit my writing. Depending on the uptake, however, this might not happen beyond January!
And I want to read more. At the moment, I'm reading (and enjoying) Britain's Folklore Year. So much inspiration for new tales and adventures! Last year, one of my mum's resolutions was to read every night before going to sleep, so I'm giving that a go for 2026. I also intend to review all the books I read, and I am excited to take part in the #CrowvusReadingChallenge - reading a whole range of books I might otherwise not have picked to read.
But first, I'm going to keep enjoying the snow for as long as it lasts. It is truly magical, and I hope you all get some chance to savour some seasonal weather too.
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