Helen Forbes's Blog
February 22, 2021
Three years later ...
It's been a while. Three years, actually. Yikes. A new website, a new year, new ideas - I thought it time to start blogging again. Not that I ever really got started - three blogs at the end of 2017 was the extent of my efforts. I will try to do better from now on ...
So, what's been happening? No publishing news, I'm afraid. It's been a hard slog of writing, editing, submitting, waiting, getting impatient, and writing some more. Lockdown, and a three month period with no work, gave me a great opportunity to concentrate on my novel, Unravelling, a psychological thriller set in Inverness. Unravelling came about after a work visit to the Highland Archive Centre, where we were shown old records for Craig Dunain Hospital, the former Northern Counties District Lunatic Asylum. The records are fascinating, and I immediately felt a story coming on, although I wanted to set it in a more recent period than that covered by the records. There wasn't much available by way of more recent research. Roger Hutchinson has written a wonderful book about a patient from South Uist, Angus MacPhee, who made objects out of woven grass and other items during his long stay in Craig Dunain - The Silent Weaver is published by Birlinn Ltd. and it's well worth reading. A trip to the National Library in Edinburgh was helpful, and I chatted to people that had worked in the hospital. I do have some childhood experience of the hospital myself, from regular visits to an elderly relative. For a child, it was fascinating and terrifying, in equal measure.
Craig Dunain sits in a prominent position on a hillside on the outskirts of Inverness. The hospital closed in 2000. Following a fire in 2007, and a long period of renovation, which is still ongoing, it is now Great Glen Hall, a complex of luxury apartments and town houses. The adjacent Dunain Woods are still there, and they play a significant role in the novel. It is written in a dual time-frame. Parts I and III are set in 2016, and Part II takes place from the mid-80s to early-90s.
Incarcerated in the gloom of a Highland asylum, a young mother finds illicit love. And death. Twenty years on, two bodies are found in the adjacent forest. Can her daughter unravel the twisted truth and save her own life?
It is a tale of loss and murder and intrigue, but also one of hope. Speaking of hope, I really hope Unravelling will be published before too long. These are difficult times for writers and publishers, and I am now leaning towards the idea of independent publishing. I'm not quite there yet, but it may not be long ...
In the meantime, if you want to be kept up to date with my writing journey and decisions, please subscribe to my website at www.helenforbes.co.uk
You'll be the first to hear as soon as I have any news!
So, what's been happening? No publishing news, I'm afraid. It's been a hard slog of writing, editing, submitting, waiting, getting impatient, and writing some more. Lockdown, and a three month period with no work, gave me a great opportunity to concentrate on my novel, Unravelling, a psychological thriller set in Inverness. Unravelling came about after a work visit to the Highland Archive Centre, where we were shown old records for Craig Dunain Hospital, the former Northern Counties District Lunatic Asylum. The records are fascinating, and I immediately felt a story coming on, although I wanted to set it in a more recent period than that covered by the records. There wasn't much available by way of more recent research. Roger Hutchinson has written a wonderful book about a patient from South Uist, Angus MacPhee, who made objects out of woven grass and other items during his long stay in Craig Dunain - The Silent Weaver is published by Birlinn Ltd. and it's well worth reading. A trip to the National Library in Edinburgh was helpful, and I chatted to people that had worked in the hospital. I do have some childhood experience of the hospital myself, from regular visits to an elderly relative. For a child, it was fascinating and terrifying, in equal measure.
Craig Dunain sits in a prominent position on a hillside on the outskirts of Inverness. The hospital closed in 2000. Following a fire in 2007, and a long period of renovation, which is still ongoing, it is now Great Glen Hall, a complex of luxury apartments and town houses. The adjacent Dunain Woods are still there, and they play a significant role in the novel. It is written in a dual time-frame. Parts I and III are set in 2016, and Part II takes place from the mid-80s to early-90s.
Incarcerated in the gloom of a Highland asylum, a young mother finds illicit love. And death. Twenty years on, two bodies are found in the adjacent forest. Can her daughter unravel the twisted truth and save her own life?
It is a tale of loss and murder and intrigue, but also one of hope. Speaking of hope, I really hope Unravelling will be published before too long. These are difficult times for writers and publishers, and I am now leaning towards the idea of independent publishing. I'm not quite there yet, but it may not be long ...
In the meantime, if you want to be kept up to date with my writing journey and decisions, please subscribe to my website at www.helenforbes.co.uk
You'll be the first to hear as soon as I have any news!
December 28, 2017
Festive greetings from North Uist
Festive greetings from North Uist. Rain was forecast, so I expected to spend the morning writing and the afternoon with family. The morning plans changed when the sun showed up. I dashed for the beach, expecting a soaking before long. It didn’t happen. Instead, I walked in sunshine, no wind, no rain. It was beautiful.
Those of you that have read In the Shadow of the Hill will know that much of the book is set in South Harris, in the shadow of the hill, Ceapabhal. The hill was looking stunning today from Uist, a sprinkling of snow on the top. Hard to imagine it as the setting for the dark deeds that take place in the book. Even DS Joe Galbraith had to concede in the book that Ceapabhal ‘was low and gentle, and a mocking voice inside his head taunted him. How could he have let it become so huge in his memory?’
In the Shadow of the Hill began as a short story about two young boys living very different lives, on an unnamed island, in the shadow of a hill. It was written for a small group of Fife writers that met fortnightly in a pub in Kirkcaldy. I hadn’t written short stories since I was in school, and I was far more interested in working on my novel (a great beast of a thing, that is now two, as yet unpublished, books), but I’d just moved from North Uist to Fife, and it was time to come out of the closet and mix with other writers. The Fifers liked the story and that gave me the courage to take it to a genre night at the Edinburgh Writers’ Club where someone commented that it would make a good novel – they’d be keen to find out what happened to the two boys as they grew up.
The short story became the prologue; the boys became Joe Galbraith and Stephen MacLaren; Joe Galbraith became a policeman; In the Shadow of the Hill became a crime novel. I then had to find an island and a hill. I’ve often joked that I didn’t dare set it in North Uist in case I was disowned by my relatives and never allowed back on the island. In reality, I was familiar with South Harris from regular travel between North Uist and Stornoway. Ceapabhal and the village of Northton fitted perfectly, and it’s hard to believe now that they weren’t always the setting for the story.
I’m biased, but I like to think In the Shadow of the Hill is more than just a police procedural. There’s a strong social commentary throughout the novel, which came from my years spent as a social welfare lawyer (and there’s absolutely no truth in the rumour that I have anything against social workers ...) If there is an underlying theme, it’s the way in which the secrets of adults affect their children, and continue to do so into adulthood, with often devastating effects. This theme shows up again in Madness Lies, the sequel to In the Shadow of the Hill, and this time I dared to set some of it in North Uist.
So what am I going to do in this beautiful place for the next few days? Write beautiful words, I hope. I’m working on Breathing of the Vanished, which is mainly set in North Uist, so the timing is just right. And when those beautiful words are refusing to come, as sometimes happens, I will write other, less beautiful, words of a legal nature. They will hopefully mean something to the poor unfortunates that have to digest them.
I better get on. Wishing everyone all the best for 2018.
PS I had hoped to post some photos of Ceapabhal and North Uist, but the technical knowhow evaded me. Have a look at my Facebook author page for a few photos -
https://www.facebook.com/Helen-Forbes...
Those of you that have read In the Shadow of the Hill will know that much of the book is set in South Harris, in the shadow of the hill, Ceapabhal. The hill was looking stunning today from Uist, a sprinkling of snow on the top. Hard to imagine it as the setting for the dark deeds that take place in the book. Even DS Joe Galbraith had to concede in the book that Ceapabhal ‘was low and gentle, and a mocking voice inside his head taunted him. How could he have let it become so huge in his memory?’
In the Shadow of the Hill began as a short story about two young boys living very different lives, on an unnamed island, in the shadow of a hill. It was written for a small group of Fife writers that met fortnightly in a pub in Kirkcaldy. I hadn’t written short stories since I was in school, and I was far more interested in working on my novel (a great beast of a thing, that is now two, as yet unpublished, books), but I’d just moved from North Uist to Fife, and it was time to come out of the closet and mix with other writers. The Fifers liked the story and that gave me the courage to take it to a genre night at the Edinburgh Writers’ Club where someone commented that it would make a good novel – they’d be keen to find out what happened to the two boys as they grew up.
The short story became the prologue; the boys became Joe Galbraith and Stephen MacLaren; Joe Galbraith became a policeman; In the Shadow of the Hill became a crime novel. I then had to find an island and a hill. I’ve often joked that I didn’t dare set it in North Uist in case I was disowned by my relatives and never allowed back on the island. In reality, I was familiar with South Harris from regular travel between North Uist and Stornoway. Ceapabhal and the village of Northton fitted perfectly, and it’s hard to believe now that they weren’t always the setting for the story.
I’m biased, but I like to think In the Shadow of the Hill is more than just a police procedural. There’s a strong social commentary throughout the novel, which came from my years spent as a social welfare lawyer (and there’s absolutely no truth in the rumour that I have anything against social workers ...) If there is an underlying theme, it’s the way in which the secrets of adults affect their children, and continue to do so into adulthood, with often devastating effects. This theme shows up again in Madness Lies, the sequel to In the Shadow of the Hill, and this time I dared to set some of it in North Uist.
So what am I going to do in this beautiful place for the next few days? Write beautiful words, I hope. I’m working on Breathing of the Vanished, which is mainly set in North Uist, so the timing is just right. And when those beautiful words are refusing to come, as sometimes happens, I will write other, less beautiful, words of a legal nature. They will hopefully mean something to the poor unfortunates that have to digest them.
I better get on. Wishing everyone all the best for 2018.
PS I had hoped to post some photos of Ceapabhal and North Uist, but the technical knowhow evaded me. Have a look at my Facebook author page for a few photos -
https://www.facebook.com/Helen-Forbes...
December 8, 2017
Snow and stuff
It's cold and snowy today up here in the Scottish Highlands. Just the kind of day for staying at home and writing. I'm in that weird place between books. It's not long since Madness Lies was published, and I've recently finished Deception, a psychological thriller set in Edinburgh. Although Deception is with my agent (you've no idea how long I've longed to be able to say the words 'my agent'), and has been passed to some publishers, I'm finding it hard to let go. Maybe it's because it's the novel I've most enjoyed writing so far. I love writing, and it's rarely a chore, but there are times when I get stuck. That didn't often happen with Deception. I loved the main character and the setting, and I still have that urge to go back and read it yet again, and maybe work on it some more. So, it's hard to move on to something else, but the ideas are coming, and it won't be long before I make a start.
For now, I've gone back to my first (unpublished) novel, Breathing of the Vanished. It was written long before I turned to crime. Probably best described as contemporary fiction, it's mainly set in Edinburgh, Glasgow and North Uist. Despite the lack of crime, it's a fairly dark tale of the impact of the past upon our present choices and actions. Not just our own past, but our parents and grandparents, and beyond; times and places and people that we may never have heard of, but that are somehow etched into our subconscious and continue to influence us. Weird, eh?
It's not all darkness. There's lots of humour and love and hope. I'm remembering now just how much I enjoyed writing it too. I have some new ideas to revive and update it, and maybe one day ...
Best get on with it. I know I've not done what I said I'd do in my first blog - I haven't told you any more about the published books, In the Shadow of the Hill and Madness Lies. You're probably far more interested in those, than in an unpublished work that may never see the light of day. If so, apologies. I'll get back to them shortly. In the meantime, if you have any comments or questions, they're more than welcome.
Have a wonderful weekend, folks, with or without the snow.
For now, I've gone back to my first (unpublished) novel, Breathing of the Vanished. It was written long before I turned to crime. Probably best described as contemporary fiction, it's mainly set in Edinburgh, Glasgow and North Uist. Despite the lack of crime, it's a fairly dark tale of the impact of the past upon our present choices and actions. Not just our own past, but our parents and grandparents, and beyond; times and places and people that we may never have heard of, but that are somehow etched into our subconscious and continue to influence us. Weird, eh?
It's not all darkness. There's lots of humour and love and hope. I'm remembering now just how much I enjoyed writing it too. I have some new ideas to revive and update it, and maybe one day ...
Best get on with it. I know I've not done what I said I'd do in my first blog - I haven't told you any more about the published books, In the Shadow of the Hill and Madness Lies. You're probably far more interested in those, than in an unpublished work that may never see the light of day. If so, apologies. I'll get back to them shortly. In the meantime, if you have any comments or questions, they're more than welcome.
Have a wonderful weekend, folks, with or without the snow.
December 2, 2017
A matter of time
Hello. I've never written a blog. My writing experience consists of somewhat dry legalistic documents and reports for courts, statements of reasons, and conveyancing documents. This doesn't lend itself to the type of amusing, chatty discourse that I presume blog readers enjoy. But I've also written a few novels and short stories. Does that help? I hope so.
In this, my first (very short) blog post, I just wanted to say hello and welcome and please read my books, In the Shadow of the Hill and Madness Lies. Police procedural crime novels, both are set in Inverness and the Outer Hebrides, with minor detours to other places of interest, including Kirkcaldy and London.
I also wanted to introduce the main character, DS Joe Galbraith, a flawed and somewhat introverted thirty-something. I can hear you groan. Why is the lead detective always flawed? Well, most main characters are. Who wants to read about someone that's completely sorted? He's not a recovering alcoholic or a bent cop; just someone that struggles in his relationships with others and doubts himself more than he should. Some of the reasons for the struggle and the doubts become clear as In the Shadow of the Hill progresses, delving into Joe's family's troubled past. So you really have to read the book to find out more.
At almost every author event I've participated in, someone has asked who would play Joe Galbraith on screen. It's funny to hear how different readers see Joe, and an animated discussion usually follows. Currently, my favourites are Ben Aldridge and Luke Norris. (Not that I've been approached by anyone that wants to convert In the Shadow of the Hill to the screen, but it can only be a matter of time ...)
I'll be back soon, with more about the books, the characters, the settings, and a little about the recently completed standalone psychological thriller. Have a wonderful weekend, readers.
In this, my first (very short) blog post, I just wanted to say hello and welcome and please read my books, In the Shadow of the Hill and Madness Lies. Police procedural crime novels, both are set in Inverness and the Outer Hebrides, with minor detours to other places of interest, including Kirkcaldy and London.
I also wanted to introduce the main character, DS Joe Galbraith, a flawed and somewhat introverted thirty-something. I can hear you groan. Why is the lead detective always flawed? Well, most main characters are. Who wants to read about someone that's completely sorted? He's not a recovering alcoholic or a bent cop; just someone that struggles in his relationships with others and doubts himself more than he should. Some of the reasons for the struggle and the doubts become clear as In the Shadow of the Hill progresses, delving into Joe's family's troubled past. So you really have to read the book to find out more.
At almost every author event I've participated in, someone has asked who would play Joe Galbraith on screen. It's funny to hear how different readers see Joe, and an animated discussion usually follows. Currently, my favourites are Ben Aldridge and Luke Norris. (Not that I've been approached by anyone that wants to convert In the Shadow of the Hill to the screen, but it can only be a matter of time ...)
I'll be back soon, with more about the books, the characters, the settings, and a little about the recently completed standalone psychological thriller. Have a wonderful weekend, readers.
