Graham Dalton

 A comment in Roger's The Guardian of the Seas, that the French purpose in marrying the Dauphine to the Scots princess, Mary (Queen of Scots) was to acquire Scotland as a province, like Aquitaine, made me wonder where the Auld Alliance between the countries came from. The ancient trading partners of the Scots were Ireland and Scandinavia, mimicking the routes of the Vikings. In fact the Orkneys and Shetlands had been part of the Norwegian Kingdom. Moving on in history, after 1066, in King David's time, after spending time at the English court, courtesy of their king, knights from Normandy were invited to Scotland to replace recalcitrant Scottish nobles, the Bruces and Balliols being among the Normans. These nobles were sometimes those at odds with the king of the English but had land in France and were reluctant to have it in his hands. Their allegiance was therefore to France and its attempts to put the King of England in his place. When France was at war with England, it was ...

I'm busy with the first book in the Scottish series with the protagonist Fergus Findlay. It was in ebook form but, after I've rewritten it, I want to make it a paperback like Bubbles in the Cauldron. I have some ideas for the final and third book in the series and as that will include the Caledonian Canal, I will buy the Cameron book about the Caledonian Canal from Birlinn Publishing. I want to contact Birlinn anyway to make a proposal for the series as they seem from what I've been able to research they are the right home for the whole series and for one or two other things I have in mind, like something on the Jacobites that includes the navy. I like the feel of the idea as it is among the bens and glens and on the sea as well; all places where the wind blows and storms blow up and there is a surprise at every turning. I already have two episodes sourced but need a real story line to link the episodes. I will need a hero as well but there are enough clan feuds to provide ...

 I've just been boning up on the navy in the time of the Henry's and I'm amazed at the amount of work that has gone into the various books. However, as an old freelance journalist it irks me to find comments like Admiral Brown, possibly from the family that owned XXX. Or it's companion - there is no reason to assume previous generations had not been using this method for some time. As a journalist, it either is because you've seen the original documents, or you DON'T KNOW. It is permissible to add - It seems to me ... - making it clear it is an unresearched opinion. In my researches I have fund a comment that Henry did not appreciate the advantage of seaborne invasion and the way in which an invasion force could be landed at some remote point etc. My impression has always been that in Medieval times, most accessible places on the coast were inhabited by fisherfolk. In addition, bearing in mind that the ships of the era would need maybe ten feet of water to float...

 Bubbles in the Cauldron has been well received. It's for sale on Amazon but I send copies to old friends, especially those from Glasgow and South West Scotland where the bulk of it is set and the reaction is good. It does go as far as Loch Lomond but I don't know anyone there. I enjoyed it in the end, even though I rewrote it three or four times after I'd 'finished' it. What I need to do now is rewrite the original, which went out under the title of Drover and give it a new name and cover that 'tells the tale'. I've printed of the old chapter and incident headings I used when writing it and am surprised at how much there is in the story. It's in truth a kind of John Wayne, or maybe James Stewart western set in Scotland. While it's written under Graham Dalton it is listed under sullatoberdalton. I felt it was only right that the sullatober pen name was kept for village tales and it would be unfair to readers to have a bit of drama flung in among ...

This is the synopsis for Bubbles in the Cauldron, or at least the start of it.- In 1820, Scotland is in turmoil, in fact, bubbling like a cauldron. A rebellion is brewing; agents provocateur are inviting insurrection; smugglers on the Clyde are encouraging turmoil to keep the authorities too busy to interfere with their moonlight activities; political groups trying to blacken the name of their opponents; aristocrats plotting against the court; and all trying to keep their activities secret, or cast the blame on their adversaries.  Fergus Findlay finds out about the coming uprising while he is at a ball in Glasgow with his wife, Fiona, Tom Abernethy, his accountant's son, Tom's sister, Jean, and Jeans suitor, Captain Grey. When he learns of it, Fergus becomes worried about his deaf shepherd, Davie, who has a gift for fabric design and has been sent to the village of Strathaven to learn more about weaving, but when Fergus gets to Strathaven, Davie has run away. In one way or anot...