Highland Writer. Now writing SFF as Taylor Duncan.
@highlandwriter.bsky.social
Writer. Highlander. Runrig, Peat & Diesel fan. Occasionally grumpy but always cheered by cat pics/fun stuff.
Reposted by Highland Writer. Now writing SFF as Taylor Duncan.
LIMITED-TIME OFFER!
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Get 2 free audiobooks!
Promo code: SWITCH
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#audiobooksarebooks #nairnbooks #nairnbookshop #indiebookshop #independentbookshop #bookrecs #ʙᴏᴏᴋsʙᴏᴏᴋsʙᴏᴏᴋs
libro.fm/nairnbooksho...
Get 2 free audiobooks!
Promo code: SWITCH
@libro.fm
#audiobooksarebooks #nairnbooks #nairnbookshop #indiebookshop #independentbookshop #bookrecs #ʙᴏᴏᴋsʙᴏᴏᴋsʙᴏᴏᴋs
November 13, 2025 at 12:15 PM
LIMITED-TIME OFFER!
libro.fm/nairnbooksho...
Get 2 free audiobooks!
Promo code: SWITCH
@libro.fm
#audiobooksarebooks #nairnbooks #nairnbookshop #indiebookshop #independentbookshop #bookrecs #ʙᴏᴏᴋsʙᴏᴏᴋsʙᴏᴏᴋs
libro.fm/nairnbooksho...
Get 2 free audiobooks!
Promo code: SWITCH
@libro.fm
#audiobooksarebooks #nairnbooks #nairnbookshop #indiebookshop #independentbookshop #bookrecs #ʙᴏᴏᴋsʙᴏᴏᴋsʙᴏᴏᴋs
Reposted by Highland Writer. Now writing SFF as Taylor Duncan.
Thrown out of his family for a crime he didn’t commit, Gil becomes model and muse to the great Pieter Bruegel. But in Bruegel's world politics, art and religion are explosively combined and soon love and vocation are also at war
My new novel The Bruegel Boy is published today! buff.ly/vbnyB0Y
My new novel The Bruegel Boy is published today! buff.ly/vbnyB0Y
November 6, 2025 at 11:45 PM
Thrown out of his family for a crime he didn’t commit, Gil becomes model and muse to the great Pieter Bruegel. But in Bruegel's world politics, art and religion are explosively combined and soon love and vocation are also at war
My new novel The Bruegel Boy is published today! buff.ly/vbnyB0Y
My new novel The Bruegel Boy is published today! buff.ly/vbnyB0Y
Reposted by Highland Writer. Now writing SFF as Taylor Duncan.
The Book of Secrets, winner of the Gold Dagger for best crime novel of 2025, is 99p on kindle for a limited time.
Sorcery, mystery, sisterhood. Based on a real poisoning case from 17th century Rome.
www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Secrets...
Sorcery, mystery, sisterhood. Based on a real poisoning case from 17th century Rome.
www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Secrets...
November 2, 2025 at 4:06 PM
The Book of Secrets, winner of the Gold Dagger for best crime novel of 2025, is 99p on kindle for a limited time.
Sorcery, mystery, sisterhood. Based on a real poisoning case from 17th century Rome.
www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Secrets...
Sorcery, mystery, sisterhood. Based on a real poisoning case from 17th century Rome.
www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Secrets...
Eek!
October 30, 2025 at 10:23 PM
Eek!
Reposted by Highland Writer. Now writing SFF as Taylor Duncan.
Bruegel was drawing. ‘Mind you, I sometimes think that all you’d actually see would be Icarus’s heel, and a ship gone past without even seeing him, and a ploughman.’ He reached for the small book he kept for notes.
The Bruegel Boy: 6 Nov @hollandhousebooks.bsky.social buff.ly/Jpm9R0g
The Bruegel Boy: 6 Nov @hollandhousebooks.bsky.social buff.ly/Jpm9R0g
October 30, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Bruegel was drawing. ‘Mind you, I sometimes think that all you’d actually see would be Icarus’s heel, and a ship gone past without even seeing him, and a ploughman.’ He reached for the small book he kept for notes.
The Bruegel Boy: 6 Nov @hollandhousebooks.bsky.social buff.ly/Jpm9R0g
The Bruegel Boy: 6 Nov @hollandhousebooks.bsky.social buff.ly/Jpm9R0g
Reposted by Highland Writer. Now writing SFF as Taylor Duncan.
‘Useful phrases for the murder mystery writer abroad’ (my cartoon for this week’s Guardian Books)
July 7, 2025 at 3:20 PM
‘Useful phrases for the murder mystery writer abroad’ (my cartoon for this week’s Guardian Books)
Reposted by Highland Writer. Now writing SFF as Taylor Duncan.
'One friend was advised to retire a series because the average rating slipped below 4.2 stars. Every keyboard-licking troll who fires off a volley of one-star ratings for their own strange & probably sad reasons, has the power to affect a writer’s career”
www.thebookseller.com/news/authors...
www.thebookseller.com/news/authors...
Authors hit by bad reviews on Goodreads before review copies are even circulated
Authors are being hit by negative reviews on Goodreads before review copies are even circulated, with the review site allegedly failing to remove reviews.
www.thebookseller.com
June 24, 2025 at 11:54 AM
'One friend was advised to retire a series because the average rating slipped below 4.2 stars. Every keyboard-licking troll who fires off a volley of one-star ratings for their own strange & probably sad reasons, has the power to affect a writer’s career”
www.thebookseller.com/news/authors...
www.thebookseller.com/news/authors...
Reposted by Highland Writer. Now writing SFF as Taylor Duncan.
Brand new for everyone: the pick of the Itch of Writing Ask Me Anything chats. This one includes herding subplots, rewriting in third person, and knowing when you’re finished. buff.ly/RRLMcIu or search this itch of writing substack
June 20, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Brand new for everyone: the pick of the Itch of Writing Ask Me Anything chats. This one includes herding subplots, rewriting in third person, and knowing when you’re finished. buff.ly/RRLMcIu or search this itch of writing substack
Reposted by Highland Writer. Now writing SFF as Taylor Duncan.
'A story which is full of over-explaining will make perfectly good sense, but it will feel very ploddy, even lifeless - and it’ll almost certainly be longer than it needs to be'
buff.ly/jcTAfcw
buff.ly/jcTAfcw
June 8, 2025 at 5:12 PM
'A story which is full of over-explaining will make perfectly good sense, but it will feel very ploddy, even lifeless - and it’ll almost certainly be longer than it needs to be'
buff.ly/jcTAfcw
buff.ly/jcTAfcw
Seen on the other place:
June 5, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Seen on the other place:
Seen on the other place:
May 4, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Seen on the other place:
Seen on FB:
April 24, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Seen on FB:
Reposted by Highland Writer. Now writing SFF as Taylor Duncan.
What the heck, Starbucks?? There can be no justification for these crimes against coffee. None.
April 15, 2025 at 4:48 PM
What the heck, Starbucks?? There can be no justification for these crimes against coffee. None.
A ‘memory’ post that came up in Facebook: incredible to think how much has changed:
April 10, 2025 at 3:24 PM
A ‘memory’ post that came up in Facebook: incredible to think how much has changed:
Reposted by Highland Writer. Now writing SFF as Taylor Duncan.
Newest!
So, my big Monday news is that my new novel, The Bruegel Boy, will be published in November by @hollandhousebooks.bsky.social
I’m beyond excited! More here, with an extract and link to pre-order: www.emmadarwin.com/writingindex...
I’m beyond excited! More here, with an extract and link to pre-order: www.emmadarwin.com/writingindex...
April 7, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Newest!
From Twitter:
April 6, 2025 at 1:25 PM
From Twitter:
Reposted by Highland Writer. Now writing SFF as Taylor Duncan.
Just finished the new @sirbenfro.bsky.social Inspector McLean book, and it's another great entry in the series. If you like the idea of a Scottish Police procedural with a supernatural edge, I can't recommend these books highly enough a.co/d/iFqsVI0
The Rest Is Death
The Rest Is Death eBook : Oswald, James: Amazon.ca: Books
a.co
April 4, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Just finished the new @sirbenfro.bsky.social Inspector McLean book, and it's another great entry in the series. If you like the idea of a Scottish Police procedural with a supernatural edge, I can't recommend these books highly enough a.co/d/iFqsVI0
Seen on the Other Place:
March 31, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Seen on the Other Place:
Reposted by Highland Writer. Now writing SFF as Taylor Duncan.
Stumbled on this series by chance after recovering from a vicious migraine, and can’t recommend it highly enough. Marinelli is brilliantly horrifying in a deranged, Olivier as Richard III kind of way:
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
Mussolini: Son of the Century review – a brilliantly performed portrait of a pathetic monster
Joe Wright’s portrayal of the rise of a ridiculous loser features a magnificently disgusting take on the titular fascist and is packed with lavish visuals – even if it does drag a tad
www.theguardian.com
March 25, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Stumbled on this series by chance after recovering from a vicious migraine, and can’t recommend it highly enough. Marinelli is brilliantly horrifying in a deranged, Olivier as Richard III kind of way:
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
Hmm. I suspect we can’t really put the genie back in the bottle. And rather than stupidity, I’d say ignorance. But if we really want to address this, I’d say we need to ensure that ignorance isn’t rewarded, and learning and achievement becomes properly valued again.
To slightly mangle a Charles Bukowski quote, we’ve shifted from a world comprised of intelligent people full of doubt, to a world of stupid people full of confidence www.heraldscotland.com/politics/vie...
Stupidity is our biggest growth industry, but can we save the young?
We’ve shifted from a world comprised of intelligent people full of doubt, to a world of stupid people full of confidence.
www.heraldscotland.com
March 20, 2025 at 8:49 AM
Hmm. I suspect we can’t really put the genie back in the bottle. And rather than stupidity, I’d say ignorance. But if we really want to address this, I’d say we need to ensure that ignorance isn’t rewarded, and learning and achievement becomes properly valued again.
Wise words from Emma, as always. And yes, I am definitely struggling right now with a bad case of ‘what’s the point’?
ICYM: Woke up this morning and find yourself in the writing-life blues? New public post on This Itch of Writing: ten things to try, whether your blues are caused by writing-specific difficulties, or personal or global grimness. buff.ly/jZixLx5
March 15, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Wise words from Emma, as always. And yes, I am definitely struggling right now with a bad case of ‘what’s the point’?
Fascinating thread - are we becoming a ‘tl:dr’ species?
NEW 🧵 Is human intelligence starting to decline?
Recent results from major international tests show that the average person’s capacity to process information, use reasoning and solve novel problems has been falling since around the mid 2010s
What should we make of this?
www.ft.com/content/a801...
Recent results from major international tests show that the average person’s capacity to process information, use reasoning and solve novel problems has been falling since around the mid 2010s
What should we make of this?
www.ft.com/content/a801...
March 15, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Fascinating thread - are we becoming a ‘tl:dr’ species?
Reposted by Highland Writer. Now writing SFF as Taylor Duncan.
