Northern Highlight - Robin Scott-Elliot

 NORTHERN HIGHLIGHT

Robin Scott-Elliot

Why did you become a children’s writer?

Because of my children, Iona and Torrin. I’d written an adult novel and my kids made me promise I’d write them a story while that was out on submission. I’d always told them stories, usually a mix of Scottish legends/tales I’d read when young or my mum had told me, but as I could only half remember them I would make the other half up. Which is effectively what my books are now - part based around real events, part made up. Anyway, nobody wanted my adult manuscript – a what-if historical fiction of Glasgow erupting in revolution in 1919, if anyone’s interested! – but something clicked with writing for children, I loved it. I love storytelling. I still run all my ideas past my kids first – if they don’t like it, they’re not afraid to say so!

Tell us about where you live.

In Helensburgh, a small town up the Firth of Clyde from Glasgow. It’s 10 minutes from Loch Lomond and beyond that you’re in the Highlands. It is a beautiful part of the world, but close enough to Glasgow to get your city fix when you need it.

Where do you write?

In a sun room on the side of the house which I share with my youngest’s rabbit. I say share, I have a corner and the rabbit has the rest! We live in an old house so the walls are thick – that means the wifi doesn’t reach my desk, which is a blessing as it means no wasting time on social media, news sites etc. I’ve found during lockdown – and this may be a fallout from 25 years as a journalist – the temptation to continually check the news or live blogs is strong. And as there’s been so much dire news it can get on top of you; which means having a room where I can’t get the internet is a godsend. Sitting in here, hearing the birds sing and losing myself in my story has been a big help in the last few months, an escape from everything going on outside. I know plenty of people have struggled with writing in lockdown but thankfully I’ve not found it at all restrictive.

My office co-worker

What for you is the ‘spirit of the Scotland’?

I left Scotland to go to university and only came home seven years ago. It feels like a dramatically different country in many ways, a country much more confident with itself and its place. I think devolution has done so much good for Scotland. Of course there are plenty of big issues, social and political, to resolve but I am so happy we came home. There is a now an openness to Scotland I believe; it feels a brighter country. A ‘spirit’ of Scotland I think depends on where you are. Edinburgh and Glasgow are very different cities. I was born in Edinburgh and never knew Glasgow well until we moved back. It’s a great city – there’s an old PR slogan ‘Glasgow’s miles better’, which went with a big smiley face, that I think still sums up the place perfectly. It’s friendly and fun.

Then you head up the west coast and it’s the land that seizes you. I’ve never been anywhere as beautiful, but you can also see it’s a hard land. It’s a land of stories, of struggle and strife and legends and lore. Drive through Glen Coe or zigzag along the banks of Loch Awe or catch a ferry to the islands or drive over the hill above Dervaig and see the jigsaw of islands spread north and west before you and you can feel the spirit inside you. I can’t wait for lockdown to end to get there again!

Has this spirit influenced your work?

My first two books, The Tzar’s Curious Runaways and Acrobats of Agra, are set in Russia and India respectively. My next, Hide & Seek, which is out this summer, takes place in wartime Paris – so there is not an obvious influence of Scotland in my writing (although Amelie, a resistance fighter, does spend time training on the west coast in Hide & Seek). But I grew up with stories of Scotland, whether through books or from my mum or granny. 

My granny lived on Mull and seemed to have a tale to tell about every corner the single-track roads edge around. Some of them may even have been true. ‘Here’s where Old Bill went over in the gale of ’63… down there’s the grave of Lord Ullin’s daughter… that old tree up by the farmhouse is haunted… the house on that island is where Unity Mitford died… here’s where I went too fast and the picnic spilled all over the sheepdogs, spruced and groomed for the Salen Show.’ We still call that one Salad Cream Corner. I find inspiration in those stories and the history of the land and the look of the land.

The Acrobats of Agra by Robin Scott-Elliot and illustrated by Holly Ovenden, published by Everything with Words

Who for you are the great Scottish children’s writers?

Robert Louis Stevenson is the benchmark. I loved Kidnapped and Treasure Island as a child and still re-read them. Stevenson set a template for adventure stories – the pace, the journey, the danger, the array of supporting characters, and leading characters who are flawed and unforgettable like Long John Silver and Alan Breck Stewart. I’ve always been fascinated by Peter Pan, so a respectful nod to JM Barrie. I like the idea of never growing up.

If you could be transported to anywhere in Scotland right now, where would it be?

Ulva – a small island opposite where my granny used to live. We go every summer. There’s a sign which you slide to red and Donald comes over on his boat to pick you up. A morning walking or swimming or scrambling round the shore is followed by lunch on a bench outside The Boathouse, a small café which specialises in seafood landed on the pier a hop, skip and a jump away. Idyllic. It’s a special place, and it now belongs to the people who live there, which is how it should be.

What would you like to see from children's publishing in Scotland?

I hope, post-pandemic, the smaller book festivals that have been springing up all over Scotland (and across the UK) in the last few years are able to get going again. There seems to be a real explosion in Scottish writing and publishing in the last few years, from children’s fiction across the spectrum to some great adult fiction, and the number of festivals is a reflection of that. From the little I’ve seen – I’m still a novice in this world – the chance to meet or listen to authors is something young readers relish and the chance to do that at a nearby festival can help make them readers for life.

What's your favourite children's book set in Scotland?

Tough one! I’ve mentioned Kidnapped – that has to be up there. Eagle of the Ninth was another childhood favourite, as was Tintin and the Black Island. I’ve had an otter obsession ever since devouring Ring of Bright Water. I always liked reading Katie Morag to my daughters – it made us look forward to our summer holidays on Mull. To tiptoe south of the border, I enjoyed Swallows and Amazons when I was young, but now find Arthur Ransome and his Russian connections much more interesting. Was he a double agent? Maybe there’s an adventure story in there somewhere!

You can follow Robin on Twitter and Instagram