Blogmas Day 12
As Christmas approaches, we invited some of our 2025 authors to reflect on the year that was. From personal milestones to professional triumphs, they shared their highlights, inspirations, writing wins, challenges, memorable reads and what they are looking forward to in 2026.
Here’s a snapshot of their thoughts and experiences from a remarkable year.
Thank you to Paul Goodwin, Roger Emmerson, Cindy Gray, Helen Percy, Willy Maley, Barbara Henderson, Clive Young, Clifford Thurlow, Rebecca Marr, Alex Wood and Anna Groundwater for taking part.
Paul:Without the shadow of a doubt Scotland 4 Denmark 2.
Roger: A return visit to Orkney after a gap of 22 years.
Cindy: My daughter’s wedding (complete with ceilidh) and getting my first book, Heel for Heel, published.
Helen: The highlight, of course, was the star guest appearance of a character from Skirly Crag at the book’s launch - my white horse! She loved the attention and applause and practically ran her hooves through her long flowing mane. She is so vain!
Willy: Seeing Outlander and Scotland Touchstones and Signposts into press with Luath.
Barbara: Taking To War with Wallace into schools across Scotland. Dressing kids in real chainmail never gets old!
Clive: The Scottish Languages Act. A landmark moment for Scotland’s linguistic future, and long overdue.
Clifford: The launch of We Shall Pass at Chelsea Arts Club - a long-time dream.
Rebecca: My co-author Valerie Gillies reading from our book, When The Grass Dances at our exhibition at the Pier Arts Centre.
Alex: The publication of my book, Scottish Bastards.
Anna: Talking Connecting Scotland's History at the Edinburgh Book Festival, chaired by the amazing Mairi Kidd.
Paul: Without the shadow of a doubt, Scotland 4 Denmark 2.
Roger: The constancy and wisdom of friends I've known since 1966.
Cindy: Seeing four septuagenarian dancers doing ‘The Foursome’ ending in a ‘helicopter’ – the men sweeping the women off their feet!
Helen: The tens of thousands, perhaps millions, of those who cared about a beleaguered people sufficiently to turn out in the streets in the rain, week after week, risking arrest and ‘speaking truth to power’.
Willy: Cancer conversations with others in the same boat.
Barbara: Book festivals! I was lucky enough to take part in Paisley Book Fest, St Duthac's Book Festival, Fort William Mountain Festival, the Write Highland Hoolie and the St Andrew's Book Festival in London and I love the buzz of meeting the other authors.
Clive: My first full year back in Glasgow after a long London exile. Seeing Scotland as both insider and outsider has been electric. Aren’t we lucky to live here?
Clifford: Having my novel published by Luath, an indie publisher that really cares for its writers.
Rebecca: Working with other artists, such as Frances Kelly.
Alex: My daughters both inspired me with their consistent encouragement.
Anna: My daily encounters with historical objects in the National Museum of Scotland.
Paul: Deciding to start the next book – I played for Scotland is the working title.
Roger: The publication of Scotland in 100 Buildings.
Cindy: High praise for my first book from friends and glowing reviews online.
Helen: Completing Skirly Crag: the shepherd, her dogs, the hill and the hare (and, after months of discussion and poll-taking, deciding on the title!)
Willy: Publishing 2 collections of poetry in the summer, She Wakes Me Up, and Scrap Mettle.
Barbara: Getting two Luath contracts for forthcoming books, and winning Highly Commended in the Young Quills Awards with The Boy, the Witch and the Queen of Scots.
Clive: The second edition of Unlocking Scots is out and a follow-up is already taking shape. Scots is shifting fast, and the story is far from finished.
Clifford: 39 reviews for We Shall Pass on Amazon, 30 of those with 5 stars.
Rebecca: Being published ,of course!
Alex: Completing the book.
Anna: Seeing my chapter in a festschrift for my PhD supervisor published, on objects in the museum (including the Iron Maiden).
Paul: Pressing the reset button for the Scottish Football Supporters Association by having to bring in a new Board.
Roger: Within four weeks, condensing from 40,000 to 9,000 words and making acceptable for publication in the peer-reviewed Spanish architectural journal Astrágalo my essay 'The Strange Case of the Missing Assistant'.
Cindy: Getting copyrights for photos from far-flung places worldwide.
Helen: Winning the trust and respect of a new sheepdog who arrived here at 7 months of age, never having been out of a kennel and without even a name. She’s now called ‘La’ ( she went through a phase of running round in pointless circles, going ‘La la la’ but is now becoming a serious and useful addition to the team).
Willy: Cancer.
Barbara: The bitty-ness of promoting books, writing books, editing books and doing events. As soon as you start on one task, another thing is on fire and you have to prioritise, put things down and pick them up again, and that loss of momentum is tricky. I'm getting better at it.
Clive: Frankly, the sheer volume of everything. Too many things happening at once, and all demanding attention.
Clifford: Starting a follow-up novel to We Shall Pass - much harder than I thought it would be.
Rebecca: Preparing for the exhibition Buss o Gress / Tuft of Grass.
Alex: The editing process!
Anna: Balancing my museum job with writing and promotion events.
Paul: I love the second Pat Nevin book, Football and how to survive it.
Roger: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles.
Cindy: Absent in the Spring by Mary Westmacott (pseudonym of Agatha Christie).
Helen: Two books that have ‘stayed with me’ are both South African and set against a background of rugged and harsh farming life and racial injustice: Marlene Van Niekerk Agaat and Damon Gamut The Promise.
Willy: A short and as-yet-unpublished story by Kevin Brannigan called The Giant on the Beach.
Barbara: Wrong Tracks by Susan Brownrigg - a fantastic historical adventure set during the pioneering age of steam engines.
Clive: Diving into psychogeography, that is how place shapes us, and how we, in turn, shape place. It’s changing how I think about writing Scotland.
Clifford: The Leonard Cohen biography The Man Who Saw the Angels Fall, by Christophe Lebold.
Rebecca: Common or Garden Ken Thompson - that idea that the familiar is fascinating if you care to look.
Alex: Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens, a moving coming-of-age novel that is also a murder mystery.
Anna: Angus Peter Campbell’s Donald and his Seven Cows.
Paul: The World Cup and making progress with my next book.
Roger: The continued good health and well-being of my family and, perhaps, the writing of a popular book on architecture.
Cindy: Tour of USA and Canada (partly to promote my book).
Helen: I look forward to spring and summer and autumn and even another winter…. for each season is a gift.
Willy: More reading, more writing, more life.
Barbara: Visiting my daughter in the States and the release of my next children's book... but perhaps I am not allowed to say yet...
Clive: The new language legislation opens doors but also raises hard questions. Scots and Gaelic are entering truly “interesting times.”
The new language legislation opens doors but also raises hard questions. Scots and Gaelic are entering truly “interesting times.”
Clifford: Moving away from books, genuine peace in Palestine and Ukraine, and the 'promised' end of child poverty in the UK.
Rebecca: Amy Liptrot’s book about seaweed.
Alex: Deciding on a new project to keep my brain alive.
Anna: Talking about Connecting Scotland's History at the Boswell Book Festival in May!
