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Catherine M. Byrne

Goodreads Author

Genre

Fiction, History, Romance

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Member Since

March 2012

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/katarina66

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Catherine Byrne always wanted to be a writer. She began at the age of eight by drawing comic strips with added dialogue and later, as a teenager, graduated to poetry. Her professional life, however, took a very different path. She first studied glass engraving with Caithness Glass where she worked for fourteen years. During that time, she also worked as a foster parent. After the birth of her youngest child, she changed direction, studying and becoming a chiropodist with her private practice. At the same time, she did all the administration work for her husband's two businesses, and this continued until the death of her husband in 2005. However, she still maintained her love of writing and has had several short stories published in women's Catherine Byrne always wanted to be a writer. She began at the age of eight by drawing comic strips with added dialogue and later, as a teenager, graduated to poetry. Her professional life, however, took a very different path. She first studied glass engraving with Caithness Glass where she worked for fourteen years. During that time, she also worked as a foster parent. After the birth of her youngest child, she changed direction, studying and becoming a chiropodist with her private practice. At the same time, she did all the administration work for her husband's two businesses, and this continued until the death of her husband in 2005. However, she still maintained her love of writing and has had several short stories published in women's magazines. Her main ambition was to write novels and she has now retired to write full time.

Born and brought up until the age of nine on the Island of Stroma, she heard many stories from her grandparents about the island life of a different generation. Her family moved to the mainland at a time when the island was being depopulated, although it took another ten years before the last family left.
An interest in geology, history and her strong ties to island life have influenced her choice of genre for her novels.

Since first attending the AGM of the Scottish Association of Writers in 1999, she has won several prizes, and commendations and has been short-listed both for short stories and chapters of her novel. In 2009, she won second prize in the general novel category for ‘Follow The Dove’ and has since written four more novels in the series, The Broken Horizon, The Road to Nowhere, Isa’s Daughter, Mary Rosie’s War and, finally, Shadows of Scartongarth. She has attended an Arvon Foundation course and a Hi-Arts writing program, receiving positive feedback on her work from both.
Her Mother's family tree inspired her first series, and her father's family inspired her second, which starts in Ireland during the Great Famine.

Catherine Byrne lives in Wick, Caithness.

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Catherine M. Byrne’s books

Average rating: 4.57 · 1,127 ratings · 51 reviews · 17 distinct works • Similar authors

	Follow the Dove 4.58 avg rating — 232 ratings — published 2011 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Broken Horizon (Raumsey series) 4.60 avg rating — 200 ratings — published 2012 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Road to Nowhere 4.57 avg rating — 200 ratings — published 2014 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Isa's Daughter 4.61 avg rating — 186 ratings — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mary Rosie's War (Raumsey series Book 5) 4.51 avg rating — 144 ratings — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Locket and a Five Taka Note by Catherine M. Byrne (Goodreads Author), Abdul Mkith 4.67 avg rating — 81 ratings — published 2017 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Song for an Eagle 4.43 avg rating — 49 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Shadows of Scartongarth (Raumsey series Book 6) 4.87 avg rating — 15 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ashes of the Green 4.56 avg rating — 9 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Gone with the Tide and other stories 3.78 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 2012 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Brothers and Sisters of Byland Crescent (The Cowgill Family Saga #1)

by Bill Kitson (Goodreads Author)

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A Long Time Dead (Misty Isle #1)

by J.M. Dalgliesh (Goodreads Author)

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Moorend Farm (Sinclair Family Saga #2)

by Gwen Kirkwood (Goodreads Author)

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Catherine Byrne has read The Road to Nowhere (Raumsey series) by Catherine M. Byrne (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 21, 2026 07:58AM · like
Catherine Byrne recommended The Broken Horizon: by the author of Follow the Dove (Raumsey series) to Brenda Sedgwick The Broken Horizon: by the author of Follow the Dove (Raumsey series) by Catherine M. Byrne (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 19, 2026 05:15AM · like
Catherine Byrne rated a book it was amazing The Broken Horizon: by the author of Follow the Dove (Raumsey series) by Catherine M. Byrne (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 19, 2026 05:14AM · like
Catherine Byrne is now following Jo Notary and SUE DAWSON
Apr 02, 2026 12:50AM
Catherine Byrne rated a book it was amazing Ashes of the Green by Catherine M. Byrne (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Catherine Byrne rated a book liked it Death Row (Alibis Collection, #1) by Freida McFadden (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Catherine Byrne started reading Brothers and Sisters of Byland Crescent (The Cowgill Family Saga #1) by Bill Kitson (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Catherine’s Quotes

“Four-legged creatures tend to make better companions than those with two, and dogs don’t hold grudges or know how to hate.”
― Alice Feeney, Rock Paper Scissors

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“Nostalgia is a dangerous drug, but I enjoy the sensation of happier memories flooding my mind.”
― Alice Feeney, Rock Paper Scissors

17 likes

“There are so many subtle ways we women subconsciously protect ourselves throughout the day; protect ourselves from shadows, from unseen predators. From cautionary tales and urban legends. So subtle, in fact, that we hardly even realize we’re doing them.”
― Stacy Willingham, A Flicker in the Dark

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