Thurso author tops charts with folkore tale
Thurso-based writer Gail Brown says she is "on cloud nine" after hitting the top of the Amazon charts with her debut novel, Castles of Steel and Thunder.
The young adult novel, inspired by Caithness legends including the Piper of Windy Ha’ and the Olrig Selkie Grave, made it to the top of the Amazon eBook charts in two categories – "teen and young adult myth and legend" along with "young adult survival stories" – within 24 hours of its release.
Gail, who lives in Thurso and writes the blog Wellies on the School Run, says she was "bowled over" by the response to the novel on release day.
"Launch day was a very exciting experience for me, and the culmination of a lot of hard work over the past few months,’ said Gail, who is already writing a sequel to the book.
She traces the inspiration for the novel back to her days at Thurso High School, when she illustrated a book for the late Donald Omand called Caithness: Lore and Legend. Gail says the folk-tales Donald recounted in the publication have stayed with her ever since.
Castles of Steel and Thunder entwines some of these local legends with the story of Sysa Steel, whose secluded life with her grandfather is shattered when she disappears into a strange, mysterious world through a faerie mound. Once there, she discovers the truth about her family and a quest for vengeance that threatens their existence, while answers seem to lie in the stories her grandfather told her as a child.
"I wanted to write something that might introduce a new audience to some of the rich mythology of the far north," says Gail, who is now preparing for the launch of the novel in paperback.
"And although the novel sits in the young adult genre, I also hope it might appeal to some not-so-young readers out there too."
The author has pledged 50 per cent of the profits from sales of her eBook over the 16 days from today (November 25) until December 10 to local Women’s Aid group CASWA, in support of its Change Her Story campaign raising awareness of the impact of gender-based violence.
"It’s an opportunity for me to give back to the local community which has been so supportive of my writing," said Gail.
Castles of Steel and Thunder is available as an eBook on Amazon priced £5.99 at www.amazon.co.uk/Castles-Steel-Thunder-Anthea-Brown-ebook/dp/B08NKD2HS1/
Gail can be found on her Facebook page Wellies on the School Run and on Instagram at @welliesontheschoolrun and @gailantheawrites.
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