Well, this year so far has been a bit of a whirlwind. Two new books have come out in quick succession – Scottish Folk & Fairy Tales for Children and Peekaboo Coo.

Scottish Folk & Fairy Tales was a great project to do, involving lots of research into traditional Scottish tales. I’ve picked 14 stories to re-tell for an audience aged 6-10 which, given the nature of some Scottish folk tales, was not the easiest thing to do (more on that in a future post!). I was in two minds as to whether or not to include some stories like the Cannibal Sawney Bean, but when I took the book for an early reading with some Primary 4s, they told me they enjoyed these gruesome tales the most!

For much younger children, Peekaboo Coo is a project very close to my heart as it’s the first book to be published by SmitKit Publishing, an exciting new imprint that I’m thrilled to run alongside my business partner! It’s been an absolute joy taking the book from an initial (very excited) discussion over a cup of tea about a good idea, to presenting the fabulously talented Karen MacAllister with the spread designs for her to bring to life, to arranging the production and printing and – finally – seeing the books arrive in our distributor’s warehouse. It’s been a big hit, so we are delighted!

Meanwhile, I have also been exercising a new skill editing and designing a book for an older audience, Scotland: A Journey in Pictures. I’m really pleased with how this book has turned out and it’ll be hitting shelves in October 2025.

There are a few more new things in the pipeline, so watch this space…

Rachel