Helensburgh Book Festival is this weekend, 27th & 28th March. Here's a look at the Saturday (check my earlier post for Friday) We will have What's Hot, Pitch Perfect, Crime Writing Workshop with Michael J Malone...contd

This is out in August! Writers and reviewers, my dearies, if you fancy an ARC drop me a line- they are heading out shortly! Preorder it if you like cool books about swords and ships and monsters and guilt and arcane archipelagos and betrayal and hope and disaster and fate amzn.eu/d/08ibViSi

I've updated the Upcoming Books page again. Run along and see if there are any pre-orders to tempt you! - Michael bertsbooks.co.uk/2020/09/03/u...

Line up for the Friday, 27th March, for our Helensburgh Book Festival: D.V. Bishop at The Hill House, then at the Helensburgh Community Hub, Len Pennie and later, Alistair Moffat. #bookfestivalsuk #Helensburgh #lomond

Not long to go until Reading Minds - Helensburgh Book Festival, taking place Friday 27th - Saturday 28th March. We have a fantastic line up of talented authors taking part in the festival. For more info on events & to book tickets, click below: linktr.ee/HelensburghB... #bookfestivalsuk

My reading wrap-up fir January & February (excluding graphic novels - in) separate posts. A fairly good mix but I would have liked to have got a non-fiction book in & more poetry. #books

I've been on quite a kick of reading graphic novels of late with 12 read so far in 2026. Most have been on my shelf a while & I thought I'd finally read them to see which ones I wanted to progress with. Also, I wanted to read the ones I had before buying more. #graphicnovels #comics #books

The Reading Minds - Helensburgh Book Festival programme is now live. We have a great line-up of talented authors coming along. I'm glad to be part of the team, which organises this event and look forward to it each year. I'll be posting more over the next few weeks. #helensburgh #ukbookfestivals

Absolutely loving my recent purchases from @rowynnellis.bsky.social The artwork in Welsh Monsters & Mythical Beasts is absolutely stunning, as are the 2 bookmarks I purchased along with it. I also really appreciated the gorgeous thank you note - on the back of the black & white illustration card.

Not even half way through the 1st month of 2026 & I have my 2nd 5⭐️ read - Seven Legendary Monsters by Clara Elena García. This is a collection of insightful and impactful poems that held me gripped from start to finish. It is also an enlightening glimpse into Guaraní mythology. #poetry #books

How I'm spending my Saturday night - in bed early with a damn good cocktail & an equally damn book, The Terror by Dan Simmons. Such a wild child I am 😄 If anyone's interested in my cocktail it's Satryna Blanco Tequila with cactus liqueur over ice & topped up with orange juice. #booklover

I'm entering this competition and you can too! wn.nr/VVK7xcg

Not even 10 days into the New Year and I already have my first 5⭐️ read of 2026 - Lightfall: The Girl & the Galdurian by Tim Probert. #childrensbooks #graphicnovels #Lightfall

First poem of the year inspired by first photo taken in 2026:

July is Disability Pride Month, so here are some non-fiction books by disabled authors and/or about living with disability. #DisabilityPrideMonth

Electric Dreams: On Sex Robots & the Failed Promises of Capitalism by Heather Parry 4⭐️ This was a really thought-provoking read that starts with the topic of Sex Robots but delves so much deeper into issues such as sexuality, colonialism, misogyny, regressive feminism, capitalism & more. 1/ #books

Not long back from a fab @hburghbookfest.bsky.social event promoting Liam McIlvanney's new book with fellow crime writer Neil Broadfoot. It was great to get their insight into writing crime fiction. I picked up each of their books, The Good Father & No Quarter Given, which they both signed for me.

5⭐️ Read Some Body Like Me by Lucy Lapinska is a beautifully written story about identity, love & the definition of being alive. With great skill, Lapinska merges sci-fi with romance to create an emotional & impactful novel. I loved this book & it will be a permanent addition to my bookshelf. #books

A few Science-fiction & Speculative fiction books I put together for the Helensburgh Community Hub to celebrate & show our support for Pride month. If you have any other recommendations for fantasy LGBTQIA+ books, please fire away. 🏳️‍🌈 #pridemonth

Second batch of bookmarks made for celebrating Pride month 🏳️‍🌈 at the Book Nook in the @helensburghcommunityhub If you missed picking one up earlier in the month, I should be dropping these off on Saturday. Designed & made by me. #pridemonth

A few Young Adult books I put together for Helensburgh Community Hub to celebrate & show our support for Pride month. If you have any other recommendations for fantasy LGBTQIA+ books, please fire away. 🏳️‍🌈 #Pride2025

I probably shouldn't be allowed in charity shops as it seems I have no self (or is it shelf 😄) control. Anyway, today I picked Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel, The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Shaw, End of the World & Hard-Boiled Wonderland by Murakami and finally, The Beholders by Hester Musson.

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson is a fast-paced sci-fi thriller that grabbed my attention from the start & kept me hooked. Amongst the action, we delves into important themes such as identity & belonging as we follow the story & struggles of Cara, a traverser of worlds. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #books

A few fantasy books I put together for Helensburgh Community Hub to celebrate & show our support for Pride month. If you have any other recommendations for fantasy LGBTQIA+ books, please fire away. 🏳️‍🌈 #pride2025

On at the Helensburgh Community Hub - everyone is welcome to come along to enjoy our events & show their support for our LGBTQIA+ Community. #Helensburgh #argyllandbute #Pride2025 #lomond #PrideScotland

That's the Book Nook at the Helensburgh Community Hub sorted for Pride month 🏳️‍🌈 We want everyone to feel welcome. I found a great resource explaining terms from York LGBT Forum, which we've displayed to help educate people. Amnesty International also provided resources & bunting.

✨️Dark Crescent Giveaway! ✨️ Two copies 1 here/ 1 on IG - just repost for a chance to win + bonus entry if you comment a favourite Scottish folklore thing! Signed book comes with a real hagstone, art card, kelpie sticker, bookmark & stickers ft. folklore lino designs by me! Ends 1st June! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿📚🌙

Very apt reading for sitting along the seafront on the West Coast of Scotland - 'Scottish Folk Tales of Coast and Sea' by Tom Muir 🌊🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 #scottishbooks

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due - an easy 5⭐️ read. A beautifully written, heart-wrenching and engaging poignant historical fiction with supernatural elements. In short I loved this book and would highly recommend it. #books

🚨Pop-up event announcement! We’re delighted to announce that crime writers @liammcilvanney.bsky.social and @nlbro.bsky.social will be joining us at Helensburgh Community Hub on 4th July to discuss Liam’s new novel The Good Father Tickets are available to buy here: www.skiddle.com/whats-on/Gla...

Too true, I always 'need' another book 😊

I've been having a run of great books lately, with the most recent being Crow Moon by Suzy Aspley - 5⭐️ This was an enthralling crime fiction with a hint of the dark and supernatural. Would highly recommend to those who enjoy crime fiction or stories with supernatural/folkloric vibes. #books

The Monsters We Deserve by Marcus Sedgwick 5⭐️ I borrowed this book from the library on a whim & I'm so glad I did, I absolutely loved it. This book won't be for everyone, but it is definitely for me. (So much so that I've bought myself my own copy.) #books

The poem came to me as I was typing on my laptop... #poetry

New book arrived today - a Waterstones signed edition of The Buffalo Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones. Going to read this before the author's (online) appearance at the Cymera Festival.

– Seamus Heaney, born #OnThisDay in 1939, in Personal Helicon from Eleven Poems.

Got myself in the local paper in connection with the @hburghbookfest.bsky.social It was a fantastic event & I'm very much looking forward to start planning for next year's festival. #Helensburgh #bookfestival

Spring has definitely sprung. The pond at the local park was teeming with tadpoles & the odd newt popped up for a snack. Had to get my camera out & take a few snaps.

Decided to pick up SF Caledonia & an issue of Shoreline of Infinity to read & examine more short stories between returning back to writing some of my own. #shortstories #sciencefiction #scottishwriters #fantasyfiction #speculativefiction

Back to the theatre, this time for An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley at the King's Theatre. #theatre #glasgow

Did I write poem inspired by building an IKEA desk this week? Yes, yes I did. Did it also come to me at 11 o'clock at night whilst I was trying to sleep? Yep, because that's how my brain works apparently 😄 #poetry

Rather nice evening, so got my phone out to take some shots. Here's one of them. 📷 #Helensburgh #photography

I was enjoying the Helensburgh Book Festival so much I forgot to take actual photos of the event so here's a wee pic of the merch & some books by some of the authors involved. 1/

Had the greatest time at @hburghbookfest.bsky.social this weekend. Came second in a literary quiz where I was on a team with a dog, had a packed event, sold all my books, met so many wonderful people and ate so many biscuits. An incredible literary festival. Can’t wait to come back.

Had such a lovely day @hburghbookfest.bsky.social today. What a smashing community event with loads of great people, panels, readers, writers and bookworms. Fab chat with Valentina, and the pitching panel was so much fun too. Thanks for inviting me to be part of an weekend by the Clyde. 📚💫🖤

Had such an incredible time at @hburghbookfest.bsky.social at the weekend. One of the best going, it's wonderful. ❤️

My first ever adult-book event and I had an absolute blast. Thanks hugely to everyone who came to and asked questions at the event with me and @saderotica.bsky.social, to @caileansteed.bsky.social for chairing and to @hburghbookfest.bsky.social for organising. I cannot wait for the next one! 🩵🤖

My wee haul after my first day of the @hburghbookfest.bsky.social A great day, finished off with a fantastic workshop with the talented Tendai L. Huchu. #Helensburgh

Just finished reading Perfume by Patrick Süskind. I'll be honest, I'm not entirely sure what I think about it. It's a very strange book, that's for certain and it was definitely interesting. It will most likely waft around my mind like some lingering scent for a while to come.