Author Archives: James - Page 2
Opening Chapter “Ambush!” – Excerpt from Perfects
'Ambush' is probably the (very short) opening chapter of my novel, which will be edited professionally over the winter. I'm also thinking about re-titling the novel to avoid confusion with the original novella that it was expanded from. Ideas accepted in the comments. Ambush Pandora’s driving scared the hell out of all of us, but the simulator couldn’t lie. She was way safer and faster than any of us, even me. We didn’t buy that though, given how scary she was driving on manual, so I got Han to compare her real driving performance with the simulations. She was slightly slower and safer when we were actually in the car with her, but still faster and safer than any of us could do in the sim. So we reluctantly agreed that she should be the driver. Two Police Cars in Liverpool…
Glas Maol [Munro #8]
The large layby on the A93 just south of Glen Shee ski resort (Photo: James Kemp) Glas Maol sits close to several other Munros in the southern part of the Cairngorms National Park. Alexander and I parked in the layby just south of the Glen Shee ski resort and walked over Meall Odhar to the summit of Glas Maol and then down the back to the associated Munro top of Little Glas Maol. Including stops for lunch and to chat to a couple of students about what we could see from the top of Little Glas Maol (the North Sea amongst other things) it took us just over five hours from setting off to being back at the car. Planning for Glas Maol Planning on this one was straightforward, I'd been looking at all the Munros, tops, Corbetts and Grahams…
Tarmachan Ridge from the North [Munro #7 & two tops]
We got another day out on the hills to walk the Tarmachan Ridge from the North, taking in Beinn nan Eachan, Meall Garbh and Meall nan Tarmachan. Meall nan Tarmachan looking East from the Western part of the horseshoe shaped ridge (Photo: James Kemp) Planning Tarmachan Ridge Route onto the Tarmachan Ridge We approached Meall Garbh from the west along a fairly narrow path with a drop on either side. (Photo: James Kemp) The walk was in 100 Best Walks in Scotland, and instead of starting in the Ben Lawers car park it started on an unnamed patch of tarmac due North of the horseshoe shaped ridge. The route was to walk up the North-western end of the horseshoe, and along the ridge, taking in Beinn nan Eachan (Horses Mountain), Meall Garbh (Rough hill) and then Meall nan Tarmachan (Ptarmigan…
The King’s Peace [Write Club] [Fantasy]
Broughty Castle from the landward side. 15th century tower with late 19th century outer works. (Photo: James Kemp) The King's Peace is a standalone short story set in the same universe as the Yngvild stories, but from a different cultural perspective, that of the Dael Riatans, inspired by some local history. There's a load of world-building for this on my wiki site, as well as in my notebooks. I wrote this for Write Club, but also because it expands a bit of my universe that I'm using for a game I'm planning to run. Key character bios are King Alasdair V The Murchadh brothers Iain Alpin (commander of the King's Guard, referred to as his steward in this story) Pronounciations Many of these names are taken from Gaelic, or old Scots. So they don't necessarily sound the way you would…
Ben Lomond from Ptarmigan Ridge [Munro #6]
Yesterday Alex, Davie and I walked up the Ptarmigan Ridge and from there onto Ben Lomond. It was an interesting walk with some excellent views and a fierce wind that almost blew us onto the summit of Ben Lomond. Planning Ben Lomond Route up Ben Lomond The original plan was for an easy walk to blow the winter cobwebs away. With Ben Lomond's reputation for being so easy small kids do it that seemed an obvious reading through a few accounts of the route I found that most serious walkers go up the tourist path and back via Ptarmigan Ridge. On looking at the map I thought that maybe doing this the other way round would be good. I also discovered when reading that there's a third route up Ben Lomond, from the north face. Having seen that myself I…