Carn an Tuirc [Munro #11]
Alexander and I went up Càrn an Tuirc on Wednesday. It was his first Munro since he started university, so we only did half the (optimistic) route. Lots of this was because it was very boggy on the bottom end of the route, and we had quite a lot of stops to work out the steps to avoid sinking into the peat bog. Route for Carn an Tuirc and Cairn of Claise I very optimistically planned a route that could cover both Càrn an Tuirc and Cairn of Claise should we arrive early and find the going good. The route started in a layby on the A93 about a kilometre past the Glenshee Ski Centre. From the map there's a path to the top of Càrn an Tuirc, there's also a path linking the two Munros. It's an out and…
Càrn Liath [Munro #10]
I went up Càrn Liath, my tenth Munro and the first one I've done on my own. As walks go it was a fairly short and straightforward one. Càrn Liath Route Càrn Liath from the start of the route (photo: James Kemp) I parked in the Beinn a' Ghlo car park just off the A9 near Blair Atholl. It had a wee bit of phone signal and the car parking machine took card payments. It was £3 for a motorbike, £5 for a car and £8 for a van or camper. The car park was mostly empty, there were three or four camper vans and one other car. I didn't see anyone until I came back to the car. The route was all on paths, and with excellent visibility I could see the way up Càrn Liath from the car…
Goddess of the River by Vashnavi Patel [Book Review]
It took me a while to get into the style of Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel. It's a partial retelling of a part of the Mahabharata from the perspective mostly of Ganga, the river goddess. It's well executed but it definitely takes you a while to get the strange perspective of a river deity as a character. I did enjoy it when I was able to get a solid run on a couple of longer train journeys. Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel Cover of Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel There are two main point of view characters in Goddess of the River. The first, and majority POV character, is Ganga, the devi of the river. The second is her son Devavrata, who also goes by a couple of other names in the story. The…
Fierce Released TODAY!
Fierce, my heroic fantasy novel with a relatable female lead, is finally out and you should be able to buy it in paperback or digital versions by following this link Fierce is on a special introductory price of £ on kindle until 5th June. After that it will go to £ The paperback is £ You can read the first chapter of Fierce elsewhere on this blog. Copies of Fierce by James Kemp in a cardboard box (Photo: James Kemp) Reviews So far Fierce doesn't have any published reviews, but I've had some feedback from ARC readers that they thought Fierce had a relatable female main character, and that they wanted more of it. NB if you're a reviewer it's not to late to get an ARC, the booksprout link will work for another month or…
Fierce Advance Reading Copies (ARC) Available
My fantasy novel Fierce is now available for pre-order and that means that I can make Advance Reading Copies (ARCs) available for those that are willing to read and review it ahead of formal publication in May. Ideally I'd like people who can read and review it before the end of May 2024 so that there are reviews available shortly after it is released. About Fierce book cover for Fierce (image: James Kemp) You can read the first chapter of Fierce elsewhere on this blog, I've updated it to reflect the current edit. Fierce was written very deliberately to the template of the Hero's Journey. So the first chapter is the pre-adventure normal. The enticing incident is in the second chapter and crossing the threshold follows that. Although I wrote twelve chapters, one for each of the stages of the…