Take a trip to Malbister in Wick woman's new novel
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A former Wick resident and teacher at Thurso High School has fulfilled a long-held ambition to write a book based in Caithness.
Julie Adams lives in Angus now, having moved there four-and-a-half years ago, and her novel called Malbister is due to be released for sale on Amazon next week. The setting is a fictional estate south of Wick, owned by the Goddard family but much of the action takes place around the northern part of the NC500.
"My main character and her son do visits to Durness and Smoo Cave, and there are scenes in Whaligoe, Lybster, Dunnet Head, Duncansby Head and John O Groats, as well as some key moments in Wick," said Julie.
"Wick is often missed out when people do the NC500, and I wanted to point out that it’s an amazing place if you take time to explore. Some friends from my time at Thurso High started Above and Beyond Tours to do just that."
Julie said she has stayed clear of naming specific people and places, and of making it about any real crimes.
"Instead, I have a lovely generic fictitious Caithness character called Annie Swanson who fills in details for my heroine. The main Caithness character is the location – the biggest skies in the world, and those wonderful beaches."
Malbister is a blend of family drama – at the heart is the relationship between Wendy and her sister Kate, and Wendy’s issues with her domineering father. There is an element of crime fiction and road trip adventure in what the author calls "a rollercoaster of a book".
"It’s told in the first person by the central character, which means the viewpoint is limited to her direct experience."
Julie moved up to Caithness in 1971 as a secondary school pupil when her father, Ernie Adams became manager of Fred Shearer’s department store.
"Dad loved Caithness and when Fred Shearer was sold to Mackays, he started his own business, Fairways of Wick. I studied in Aberdeen and spent a year in the London civil service before doing teacher training and becoming an English teacher at Thurso High School.
"I left Caithness after my parents died, mainly to be closer to extended family and friends, and returned to my childhood location in Angus."
Julie loves the similarities between the two counties with the "same wonderful beaches and amazing countryside". She taught for two years after moving south, and then tutored for another two years before retiring.
"I love Caithness, but I had difficulty finding a pet sitter to let me do trips south for gigs and theatre, and moving meant my cat knows I will always be home at night."
She has also found Caithness connections with friends from Wick and Thurso who live nearby that she goes walks with.
Her next book called The Lapidary, also due out soon, is very different and concerns a cold case crime story in Edinburgh with flashbacks to the 1930s and wartime Budapest.
"I have always written and was a member of Caithness Writers, but the impetus for these books was down to a challenge my friend Gino set me several years ago. I’d said I loved to write but couldn’t cope with the business of finding publishers and agents, so he suggested I wrote a short story each year as a Christmas gift – I've got a set of four short stories as an ebook, including my favourite, Reversal of Fortune."
Julie said she struggled with lockdown at first but used the time productively with special writing afternoons. "And two books later, and discovering the wonderful Heather Osborne, who formats the novels for me – I have something to show for my time."
Malbister is released on Amazon as both an ebook and a paperback on December 15. Follow this link to pre-order a copy www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08PTB2YWH
Chance to come together in many ways this Christmas
