Crowvus Book Blog

 It's true that the title of this blog does not look like anything to do with historical fiction, but the equilibrium between wildlife and humanity was not always so precarious as it is now. Finding the balance which existed at the time you're writing can be a very useful tool to setting a believable background for your writing. So here are a few mammal considerations... Wild mammals were everywhere - they still are, in fact! Whether you're writing about the middle of a city or the middle of nowhere, it should be a given that these animals will influence life. As well as the obvious and frequently maligned rats and mice, other mammals have cohabited our cities with us. Foxes have always had a partially urban existence, and the building of cities on waterways also often lead to otters and (depending on how far inland they were) seals being resident. Mankind knew how to find wild mammals  - there is a continuous development in the scientific study of our wild mammals and this...

I was warned ahead of this week that the theme of one of my blog posts would be “Share Your Shelf”. And, if I’m honest, I’ve been putting this one off because it was always destined to out me as a nerd of the highest (or should that be lowest?) order. My bedroom shelf contains very little in the way of fiction. It is largely stocked with books that have gathered more dust than an Egyptian mummy, and might one day find their way into a Museum of Nerdery. Specifically, my shelf runneth over with titles relating to either Scottish history and geography, or to seabirds. In some cases, my books are dedicated specifically to Scottish seabirds. As a boy, I was obsessed with how many pairs of Manx shearwater bred on the Isle of Rum, or how many gannets occupied the Bass Rock as opposed to St Kilda or Ailsa Craig. I was consumed by a need to visit all of the major seabird colonies around our shores. Ailsa Craig regrettably remains on my bucket list, but if you haven’t set foot on Hirta or the B...

This topic was requested for the Crowvus Youtube channel by  Judith Crow , Empress of the World and   lover of weasels. I really should have filmed/written this months ago, but seeing as today is World Animal Day, it seems like the perfect opportunity. So...let's break down why weasels are portrayed as the baddies in so many books and films! First of all, here's a disclaimer: weasels are not  always  shown up as the antagonists. One of the most fantastic Twitter accounts to follow is Celestine and the Hare where you can follow the antics of Baby Weesus and other characters. One of the main stories where weasels are presented as the bad guys is, of course, The Wind in the Willows. The weasels of the wild wood take advantage of the situation when Toad gets himself arrested. They take control of Toad's rather large house, but are eventually beaten by the 'goodies'. Judith also gets upset when watching the third Hobbit film "The Battle of the Five Armies" wh...

Virginia Crow (author of Day's Dying Glory) at Innerpeffray Library I’m not sure what it was about my last holiday that made it so special. Whether it was because it was intertwined with the Day’s Dying Glory book launch event at Innerpeffray Library, or because I needed a rest from all my responsibilities, or that it was just an amazing place to stay…I really loved last week’s holiday! The cottage was The Old Post Office on Dunalistair Estate and we had booked it from Saturday to Saturday. The road to the cottage was bumpy and bendy which, being a non-driver, I didn’t mind a bit. In fact, it seemed to add to the whole experience. Once at the cottage, I realised what an astonishing view we would have for the next 7 days. The cottage looked out across an open field, over Dunalistair Water and to Schiehallion beyond. On clear days, you could see the whole mountain which stood quite close to the cottage. Once every day, however, the mountain top would be covered by mi...