I ventured up and into the wonderful city of Edinburgh last night. It was a very wet and cold dreich night, I arrived far too early which allowed me the treat of walking around the treasure trove that is the Blackwells bookstore.  I was there to hear Alex Nye talk about her book For My Sins.  There was an array of Authors at the event to hear Alex Nye speak. Amongst them were Mark Leggatt, Kirkland Ciccone, Roy Gill, Annemarie Allan with the upcoming star Esme and many more. I spotted my fellow blogger The Bookwitch but I was too shy to say hello.

We all took our seats and the magic of evening began.  We were introduced to Alex Nye by Clare Cain from Fledgling Press, along with Annabel who was in full costume as Mary herself.

Alex Nye is an engaging speaker and very compelling to listen too. The windows were rattling and it felt like Mary Queen Of Scots spirit was in the room with us. If she was, I would like to think she would be incredibly proud of Alex Nye and the voice that she has given her. With a wee dog barking out loud in the Edinburgh, Alex was quick to tell us it was Gideon, Mary’s little dog. All these things, the windows and barking made very atmospheric, to say the least.

The story behind the novel is just as fascinating. With Alex having the inspiration for the book back in 1989 as she sat in her tiny Edinburgh bedsit with turret windows. The hours of research she did back then, walking in Mary’s footsteps and learning about her in great depth.  The book wasn’t meant to be back then and Alex put it under the bed. Life took over and with kids and going back to London. Mary’s tale was put on pause. After venturing back up to Scotland to a cottage in Sherriffmuir during a very snowy period, Alex had the inspiration for her children’s book “Chill”.  Having found great success with her children’s book, you could imagine her publishers delight when Alex brought up the idea of the Mary Queen of Scot’s book she had written back in the 80’s.  A copy was found, dusted off and tweaked and at last we have For My Sins. Thank goodness it has found the light. It sounds thrilling and emotional.

HUGE thanks to Ann Landmann for organising the event at Blackwells. To Alex Nye, Claire Cain and Mary (Annabell) for allowing me to be part of the occasion.

 

The Book ~ For My Sins 

The year is 1586, and Mary Stuart is sitting in an English prison cell at the end of her life, stitching her tapestries, haunted by the ghosts of her past – including John Knox, Bothwell, her half-brother Moray, and Darnley, the husband she was accused of conspiring to murder.Darnley’s murder became a mystery crime which remains unsolved to this day. Only Mary can tell the true version of events, whilst quietly stitching her braid and entertaining the ghosts of her past.She has been Elizabeth’s reluctant ‘guest’ for eighteen years, but she still has her supporters, most notably a young nobleman called Anthony Babington. As her needle weaves in and out of the fine linen, she plots for Elizabeth’s downfall. Her life before this was marked by murder, conspiracy and intrigue in the dark Scottish courts of Renaissance Europe and for Mary it is not over yet. She confides in her servants, secrets which remain untold.

 

You can buy your copy here ~Amazon UK

 

Here are some photos from The Mary Queen Of Scots Visitor Centre in Jedburgh that I took last summer.