Gail Anthea Brown ·

Finding Meaning in Challenging Times – My 2023 Review

By: Gail Anthea Brown December 31, 2023December 31, 2023

Dogs, Grief, Health & Lifestyle, Reflections, UncategorizedCaithness, Dog, Hungarian Vizsla, Scottish Highlands, Scottish Writers, Vizsla, Year in Review2 Comments

As 2023 draws to a close, I find myself looking back on the lessons another year has offered. Looking back often comes more naturally to me than looking forwards – in reaching back, I find meaning that enables me to find myself anew. In previous years, I have chosen words like growth and curiosity to…

My Favourite Books of 2023

By: Gail Anthea Brown December 21, 2023December 21, 2023

Reading Lately, UncategorizedBook Reviews, Caithness, Dogs, Scottish HighlandsLeave a Comment

Towards the end of December, I like to share my favourite books from the year preceding. In the past, I’ve kept track of the number of books I’ve read, but in 2023, in common with a few other things, that practice has been lost. Suffice to say, I’ve read a lot of books, a mix…

What Dogs Teach Us About Living – And Dying

By: Gail Anthea Brown November 19, 2023November 20, 2023

Dogs, ReflectionsDog, Hungarian Vizsla, Puppy, Scottish Writers13 Comments

‘I’m so sorry, it’s bad news.’ It was the outcome every dog owner dreads, a call from the vet informing us our beloved Hungarian Vizsla Brody had cancer. The scan Brody had undergone that morning had revealed a large tumour, and quite suddenly, there was nothing left for our eleven-year-old boy but time. As I…

Beginnings – Ice and Rain

By: Gail Anthea Brown January 21, 2023January 22, 2024

Opinion, Reflections, UncategorizedCaithness, Home, Rural memoir, Scottish Author, Scottish Blogs, Scottish Highlands, Scottish Writers4 Comments

January, the month for setting goals and intentions. The new year brings opportunity – thoughts, ideas, plans. I’ve always struggled with new year resolutions, of committing myself to targets that feel contrived and anchored to a sense of scarcity. Resolutions seem to involve giving up on things or pledging to do things I don’t enjoy.…

Castle at sunset in in winter, Caithness

Writing, Life and Joining Up the Dots – My 2022 Review

By: Gail Anthea Brown December 21, 2022December 21, 2022

Author, Author Business, Reflections, Uncategorized, Writing and BloggingBooks, Books set in Scotland, Books to Read, Caithness, Scottish Author, Scottish Highlands, Scottish Writers, Writing Plans4 Comments

Back in January, I posted about my writing plans for the year (generally, I find, a good way to engender some sort of personal accountability around intentions). December feels like a good time to revisit some of those intentions – if only to remind myself that I’ve probably achieved more than I might think. 2022…

My Ten Favourite Books of 2022

By: Gail Anthea Brown November 30, 2022December 4, 2022

Author, Reading Lately, Uncategorized, Writing and BloggingBook Reviews, Books, Books to Read, Caithness, Reading, Scotland2 Comments

Towards the end of each year, I tend to write a round-up of my ten favourite books from the twelve or so months preceding. However, 2022 has been a different sort of year for me in terms of blogging – a new job and changing domestic arrangements have meant that many of my old blogging…

Lost Solace: Tourism, Social Media and Our Shifting Sense of Place in the North Highlands

By: Gail Anthea Brown August 28, 2022May 9, 2023

UncategorizedCaithness, NC500 Problems, Neil M. Gunn, North Coast 500, Opinions, Reflections, Responsible Tourism, Scotland, Scottish Highlands, Scottish Tourism, Social Media, Sustainable Tourism24 Comments

Earlier this summer, my husband and I made an evening visit to the harbour at Dunbeath on our way back to Caithness after a day of appointments. In the preceding days, I had been reading Neil M. Gunn’s Highland River and wanted to reacquaint myself with the information boards on Gunn – who was born…

Pieces of Sky and Stone Author Q&A

By: Gail Anthea Brown July 26, 2022July 26, 2022

Author, Author Business, UncategorizedBooks set in Caithness, Books set in Scotland, Books to Read, Caithness, Motivation for Writers, Scottish Author, Scottish Folklore, Scottish Highlands, Scottish Writers, Writer Mindset, Writing TipsLeave a Comment

In 2021, Isla, a student of creative writing at the University of the Highlands and Islands, asked me to share my experiences of writing my first novel Castles of Steel and Thunder in this author interview. I’m happy to say that Isla also seemed to enjoy the follow-up book, Pieces of Sky and Stone, and…

Winter sunrise over sea, Caithness, 2021

On Coping With Rejection As A Writer

By: Gail Anthea Brown July 14, 2022July 14, 2022

Author, Author Business, Opinion, Uncategorized, Writing and BloggingScottish Author, Scottish Blogs, Scottish Writers, Writer Mindset, Writing Tips4 Comments

One of the surest things about writing, or indeed any kind of creative pursuit, is the experience of rejection. Offering work up for any kind of scrutiny, be it through books, competition entries, submissions to agents or publishers – all of it entails the risk of someone saying ‘no’. Rejection isn’t as clear-cut as the…

Finn and Friends at John O'Groats Cover Image

Launching Finn and Friends, A Collection of Verse and Stories

By: Gail Anthea Brown June 15, 2022June 16, 2022

Author, Uncategorized, Writing and BloggingBooks, Books Change Lives, Books set in Caithness, Books set in Scotland, Books to Read, Caithness, John O'Groats, Kids Books, Reading, Scotland, Scottish Author, Scottish Highlands, Scottish Writers3 Comments

Earlier this month, myself and fellow writers Andrea Wotherspoon, Ian Leith and Charlotte Platt launched new book Finn and Friends at John O’Groats – A Collection of Verse and Stories. The launch marked the culmination of almost a year’s worth of work, which started with us meeting at John O’Groats to discuss how three new…

Gail Anthea Brown

Scotland’s Year of Stories, Wick Voices, and Our Cultural Landscape

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Poo, Potholes and Park-Ups – Why Highlanders Are Tired of Scotland’s North Coast 500 Route

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Where Stories Come From: Caithness Lore and Legend

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The North Coast 500 and the Summer of Discontent

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Caithness and Coorie – Embracing the Seasons in The UK’s Most Northerly Mainland County

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Lighting Candles and Other Notes on Happiness

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Finding Meaning in Challenging Times – My 2023 Review

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My Favourite Books of 2023

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What Dogs Teach Us About Living – And Dying

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Beginnings – Ice and Rain

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Writing, Life and Joining Up the Dots – My 2022 Review

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My Ten Favourite Books of 2022

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Pieces of Sky and Stone Author Q&A

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On Coping With Rejection As A Writer

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Launching Finn and Friends, A Collection of Verse and Stories

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