John Bolland

Carol-Ann

Carol Ann has lived in the foothills of the Grampian Mountains for the last 20 years and after 34 years in the IT industry has 'retired' to indulge her passions for travel, writing and photography. These travels have provided an abundant supply of source material for her writing and she is particularly interested in exploring the links between sacred landscapes, their legends and underlying geology.

As a member of Huntly Writers, Carol has been involved in various poetry readings and performances and contributed to both the Weaving Words and Open With Care anthologies. She has also published a children's book called Rifka, the Adventures of a Gnome; and contributed to several of the recent 'Poetry and Prose' series of books and 'The Empath' magazine, published by Robin Barrett Publications.

Mary Burgerhout

Mary is from the Isle of Lewis but has lived in the north-east of Scotland for most of her adult life. She dabbles in various genres and occasionally writes in, and translates from, her native language of Gaelic.

Sue Cramptonhill

I have lived and worked abroad most of my life and now live in NE Scotland.I started writing about 15 years ago while living in Catalonia and had some stories published there. I am interested in history and self published a book 'A Head Above Others' about a forgotten woman MP. I have also written a memoir about my Dad a prolific letter writer and campaigner for social justice.

Tom Cruickshank

Haseley Hinton

I was born in England. My mother was English, my father Italian. I have lived in Scotland for nineteen years and have come to love its people and landscapes dearly.

I enjoy watching science fiction films and television so much that I started trying to write my own scifi/fantasy stories a few years ago. I am just finishing off a second novel based on an imaginary planet populated by humanoid beings and by imaginary black birds with red beaks that I have called seacrows. I haven't reached the end of the story yet, so I think it might end up being a trilogy.

I am also trying to improve my short story writing and the writers' group is great for getting constructive feedback in a very positive atmosphere. The writing exercises that we do are good for broadening the scope of my efforts, as they encourage me to attempt some pieces that aren't scifi orientated.

Annie Lamb

Annie Lamb originally from Boston, Massachusetts, was until recently a bookseller in Huntly. To enliven quiet moments in the trade she invented several imaginary friends and wrote about them in the Marchbank series of murder mysteries, using the pen name Liz Laighton. As a member of Huntly Writers she has been churning out short stories for some years and is now helping the Hound Holmes in the production of a casebook to be published shortly.

The Marchbank murder mysteries are: A Killer Close at Hand, Hideous Gifts and The Moon and I.

Fiona McClennan

John Robson

Born in the North East of England. I now live in Aberdeenshire with my wife and three daughters. Background in Engineering and Construction. Interest in natural history, history, gardening and architecture, have a passion for hounds. New to writing after a late start and thoroughly enjoying it.

Maureen Ross

Born and brought up in the North-East of Scotland, Maureen Ross has written poetry from early childhood till the present day. Most of it ends up in the bucket. However some of it has seen the light of day in recent years in Pushing Out the Boat and Storm. Koo Press published a chapbook collection of her work Day Moth in November 2006.

She is a member of the Huntly Writers and through the group has been involved in various poetry readings and performances.

Readers of last year's biog will be pleased to note that her dog has now stopped eating the house... (however she is having to get a new kitchen) ... and the grandchildren are doing fine.

Linda Smith

Born and brought up in Aberdeen, Linda Smith has been writing since she was ten, but it wasn't until she was in her forties that she found her Aiberdeen Doric voice and the stories flowed. Short stories and poetry found their way into Leopard and Pushing Out the Boat and at the launch of the issue three of Pushing Out the Boat she met Maureen and Margaret from Huntly Writers. With the support and encouragement of this formidable group, she has continued to contribute to local magazines, appeared in two Huntly Writers anthologies and performed at numerous events. In 2012 she won the Toulmin Prize for her short story The Last Een and in 2013 the Connon Caup for her poem Picts.

Linda writes all the time in her head, especially when she's out walking; or trying to keep up with her long-legged husband, Bill, on Scotland's beautiful hills.

Leon Stelmach

After an encouraging start at school where an inspirational teacher, Mr Grubb, praised an essay, creative writing was abandoned to the more mundane business reports and plans.
Now retired, the support of Huntly Writers has encouraged a return to the pen, or more realistically the keyboard. The Writers have a created a fertile and encouraging environment for both poetry and prose.
The Woman from the Ministry is now finished. It is still in need of some severe editing and proofreading but is a novel still a novel if it has not been published?
The second volume is started but currently slow going