Norq From Ork

Back in March when lockdown began I remember thinking I might be able to do a book launch in June when things have returned to normal. Now we are in the last week of August I can’t believe how stupid I was. Life has changed so much and it’s been an enormous season of change and regeneration for me. My brain has been as busy as my body and caring for mum has been more and more demanding emotionally as well as physically, so I took some time out to recalibrate. 

Book sales have been fabulous and reviews too. I appreciate every single one of them so if you have read Salt On My Skin I would really appreciate it if you could leave a review on Amazon, Goodreads, Waterstones etc. This really helps independent authors sell books. And if I can sell books I can write more books so it’s a win win!

 

  

The pools remain closed in Scotland until end of August and our local pool will probably close until November due to funding. I love swimming outdoors but miss the pool. The water is currently the warmest it’s going to be and strangely we miss the cold water buzz that colder temperatures bring, and there’s also the dreaded jellyfish. But I continue to swim almost daily. I sometimes have to force myself out of bed to swim before work but never regret it.  Due to pool closures just about everyone is hopping into the sea and it’s often a busy little place now. We still manage to socially distance and get the all-important selfie. 

 

 

Through my ‘recalibrating’ and changed circumstances I’ve made some fabulous new connections over the internet. I was recently invited to meet and swim with Kirsteen Stewart and we ended up having the best time and conversations about all things. It resulted in three of us meeting up a second time and shooting some amazing images (even if I say so myself ;-)) where we shared talents, enthusiam and ideas. I was over the moon with the outcome, and I think this is my favourite image of all time. 

 

The heather in Orkney is looking so vibrant this year. I came up with a theory (absolutely no data to back it up so you can take it or leave to be honest) that due to less industry, theres been less pollution giving nature a fighting chance to return to what it was. Either way, I’m loving seeing the beautiful purple landscape at the moment. 

I’m often asked to sign books for people. I’ve been given handfuls of them with a list of names to sign for Christmas presents by some organised folks, and this week I was asked to sign one for a birthday present. We arranged to meet at a local shop where I signed the book balanced on my knee at our clandestine meeting. I’m always happy to sign books, and this time I was given chocolate as a thank you. What a treat! I was told I was allowed to post on social media but not until Sunday when the young lady’s birthday was. so a very happy birthday to Daisy. This one is for you. 

 

Like I said earlier, life is busy and my lovely mum is my priority meaning i can’t always keep up with weekly updates. Added to that it seems like I have sleep apnea so energy is precious. But between blogs you can find me over on Instagram where I spend a lot of my time and chat to a huge number of people. Come and say hi. 

So until the next time, take care everyone and keep washing your hands.