Publications

A Thing So Delicate: The Hidden Voices of Scotland’s Mass Concrete Viaducts

A thing so delicate that the fairies might have built it.’ J J Bell (Journalist) of the Glenfinnan Viaduct

‘This is a book that is without doubt greater than the sum of its parts.’ Undiscovered Scotland

A chance finding on the way to the pub led to an unexpected adventure for author, Moira McPartlin and retired civil engineer, Colin Baird. As they crossed the footpath over the Dochart Viaduct, the 2nd Mass Concrete Viaduct built in Scotland, Moira asked, ‘What’s mass concrete?’

That question was the first of many that sparked the couple’s collaborative project, A Thing So Delicate:The Hidden Voices of Scotland’s Mass Concrete Viaducts.

Seasoned adventurers, Moira and Colin, found twenty significant mass concrete viaducts built in Scotland between the years 1880 and 1904. What they discovered was not ugly industrial structures but carefully engineered elegant curves that blended into their environment. They asked the questions ‘Who built these?’ and ‘What are their stories?’ Not just stories of the men in the history books but the common men and women whose lives the bridges impacted.

As Moira and Colin travelled through Scotland in their campervan, they recorded their adventures to find these delicate creatures who have carried railways over a century of progress into modern day Scotland. Through a curated mix of history, memoir, poems, short stories, travel writing and photographs they have unlocked the hidden voices of Scotland’s mass concrete viaducts.

The Incomers (Hollyburn Series)

Praise for The Incomers

“The Incomers is a comment on the universality of prejudice as well as an emotive work of fiction.”

The Herald

“The Incomers is a graceful, searching tale of a stranger in a strange land. Its emotional resonance and narrative sweep fascinate to the end.”

Alan Bissett, author of Boyracers, Death of a Ladies Man, The Moira Monologues and Pack Men.

“Graceful, delicate stuff that masterfully builds as it goes, painting a picture of a time, place and people that is never less than engrossing.”

The Daily Record

Paperback copies of The Incomers can be purchased here from Amazon for the new price of £6.99, (Kindle £1.99).

If you would like a signed, limited edition (£10.00 including P&P – UK customers only) you can order one here by clicking on the book’s headline.

Before Now: Memoir of a Toerag (Hollyburn Series)

“Ah suppose there’s loads eh stories that ah could stert wi. Lucky escapes ah suppose ye could cry thum. The story eh how ma maw ruined oor lives by draggin us away fae ma da an aw the calamity that followed. But ah cannae tell that just yet.”

Sam and Gavin Smart’s worlds shatter when their maw rips them from the family home on Mother’s Day 1990.

Six years later, Gavin is confined to a room in his granny’s house after breaking a leg. All he wants is to pass his driving theory test and escape the room, instead he writes his memoir of the last six turbulent years. As the memoir progresses more than one person’s story emerges and Gavin realises things have to change.

This coming-of-age story, told entirely in the Fife dialect, is filled with comedy, high pranks and a heavy dose of unintended pathos.

Moira McPartlin’s Before Now exposes the challenges faced by a single parent family in a small mining community in the wake of mass pit closures.

‘A brilliant depiction of family, the highs and lows of growing up, and a wonderful narrator who feels like a friend. I flew through it.’
Ross Sayers, author of Daisy on the Outer Line

Available from Amazon in Paperback or Ebook through the link below.

Before Now: Memoir of a Toerag

If you would like a signed, limited edition (£10.00 including P&P – UK customers only) you can order one here by clicking on the book’s headline.