2013: creative, invigorating, exhausting. How has it been for you?

It has been a whirlwind year.

A rollercoaster in many respects with a healthy mix of the highs and lows that life brings with the rising sun and the falling rain. It was a year in which The Birds That Never Flew was published.

Here's an interview about the writing process that I did with novelist Jackie McLean.

You know all about the building project at Mullindress, but it was also a tremendously busy year professionally too. Here's a interview I did with AllMedia Scotland entitled That Was the Year That Was:

GOOD year, bad year? As 2013 draws to a close, we ask Margot McCuaig, director of purpleTV: ‘How has it been for you?’.

Briefly, what is it that you do?
I’m one of the company directors at independent production company, purpleTV. We’re relatively new, formed last year, and, along with my colleague, we work on creating the strategy for the company, developing our business plan and programme ideas as well as essentially looking after the day-to-day running of purple, including our staff.

We’re a digital company that also works on creating high-end traditional television output (we love a good story!) so a purpleTV day can range from discussing the marketing strategy of our mobile apps to managing the shoots for our filming across a range of subject areas.

I’m also a working producer/director so, as well as creating programme proposals and pitching to commissioners, I also go out and shoot them and write the scripts for the productions I’m working on.
I’m also the managing director of mneTV and look after all our sport and entertainment output. It’s a busy life!

Choose three words that sum up 2013 (so far), from a professional point of view.
Creative. Invigorating. Exhausting!

In 2012, what was your biggest professional ambition for 2013, and to what extent did you achieve it?

The biggest ambition for 2013 was to see the purpleTV mobile app strategy come to life and that it did, with great results.

Our first product, the Edinburgh Book App (Book City), earned the prestigious mantle as a top 20 app in The Guardian. We were a main sponsor of the Edinburgh Book Festival in 2013 and it was very satisfying to see that our product – which involved a lot of work – was available for download for the world’s literary-loving public! It was a massive project, and the process wasn’t without its issues and challenges but we got there with excellent team work and a lot of energy.

There were other very satisfying moments in 2013 – no less the completion of seven hours of traditional factual entertainment programming for purpleTV which received fantastic feedback.
It was a year in which we achieved what we set out to do in both key areas of the business, and learned so much in the process.

How has 2013 (so far) been for you, personally?
2013 has been a year of many brilliant things. Telling stories on-screen, albeit on a professional basis, is personally very satisfying. Taking a kernel of an idea and shaping it into something that is inspiring and creative is very powerful. When you work in the creative industry, it’s very difficult to separate the professional from the personal and that’s because you invest so much of your inner self in the projects you work on.

It is very satisfying to see your work on-screen manifesting itself in the way you had hoped, particularly in programmes like Gothenburg ’83 and Honeyballers, which so many people immersed themselves in. Taking people on a narrative journey is what enables our creativity to thrive, both personally and professionally. The two are often mutually exclusive but in the work that we do they are more often than not directly related. A perfect marriage in some respects…

On an absolute personal level, 2013 has been magnificent. My debut novel, The Birds That Never Flew, was published last month. The book was shortlisted for the Dundee International Book Prize in 2012 – it was a hotly-contested year with over 500 entries, so to make the list was a terrific achievement. But I still had to find a publisher willing to take my creation to the world.
Thunderpoint did that and have been terrific for both me and TBTNF. It has been an ambition of mine for as long as I remember.

To be able to say I am a now a novelist is a truly brilliant thing. The reviews so far have been incredibly positive and it’s a lovely, lovely thing to know that readers have shared my characters’ tumultuous journey. It’s an absolute honour. The task for 2014 though is to finish the next book, so the pressure is on.

Also on a personal level, I realised another ambition. In less than nine months, from the demolition of an existing dwelling, through to the interior and exterior design, to completion of the project, I have built a house (well, the builders have!) on Rathlin Island in the north of Ireland – a dream of mine since I was a very small child.

My father is from the island and his birthplace has always been integral to family life so to be able to build a home on a remote island, up a hill accessed by a single track road – from my residency in another country – feels like a major achievement and one that I am extremely proud of.

So between the creative successes with purple, my debut novel and the building project, it has been an unbelievably busy year but one with extraordinary outcomes that I will celebrate – if I ever find the time.

Any changes this year in technology, legislation, the economy, etc that have had a relatively significant impact on the business?
The economy obviously has an overall impact on everything we do. Budgets are tighter, clients/customers expect more for less and the markets are changing rapidly, especially in a digital context.

My fellow director and myself were working in an entirely new field in 2013 – neither of us had any experience in the build and design of mobile applications – so it was a challenge to try and get a handle on new technologies and markets, especially as they keep changing. The product we have created is new to market – merging traditional TV with mobile technology – so it was a little bit scary but we just trusted our instinct and went with it.

If there is one thing we have learned, instinct is absolutely key. You can’t legislate for what’s going on around you but you can make sure that you are driven in the right direction if you pay attention to your own ambition. The industry is a precarious one and there are so many variables to contend with but with good support and ideas there are avenues to success – if, of course, you are willing to work hard and accept that the rollercoaster of ups and downs come with the territory.

As to legislation, I guess 2014 is the big one. Who knows what is ahead but, whatever it is. we have to make sure we are prepared to embrace change and seek out and exploit any new opportunities.

What looking forward to, in 2014 – personally and professionally?
Personally, I’m very much looking forward to getting back to work on my next novel. It’s very different from my debut and I’ve been distracted from it by the preparation work that was required to get TBTNF ready for publication. It is my absolute aim to have it complete in 2014.
I’m also looking forward to spending time in Ireland, on my island, in my home; a creative space that has emerged from my imagination. The island is a place of absolute inspiration so I know it will fuel my creativity, both personally and professionally, and hopefully help me contribute towards a successful year.

My son is getting married to a beautiful girl in the summer so I’m also excited about being mother of the groom and reading a poem (that I will be writing for them) at the ceremony.

In terms of my professional life, I’m very much looking forward to working on the ‘fact-ent doc’ that purpleTV will begin in earnest next month – a wonderful story that I can’t say too much about yet – and I’m also very excited about the launch of our second purpleTV app – Sport City, Glasgow, which I hope will be very well received.

We’ve also got a four-part observational documentary, beginning production in the Spring, that I am very excited about.

Fortunately, we can look ahead and say that 2014 is going to be as busy and hectic as 2013 and in the current economy that can only be a really good thing. Throw yourself into living and squeeze whatever you can from every single second, that’s what makes life as invigorating as it is.
You only get one shot at it, take the good with the bad, and make it all count.

2013, a year of adventure...

The year hasn't quite drawn to a close so it's a bit early to be melancholy and hanker after days that are waving a fond farewell to 2013 somewhere in the distance.

December is just beginning so I really should let it thrive.  I should give the spirit of Christmas time to glisten and wax lyrical in festive cheer, or sweet sorrow, until the embers burn out on Hogmanay and give way to a new flame.  

 

And yet it's never too early to be reflective and think about those moments that you just know will stay with you, even when the days turn to weeks and the months to another year.

 

2013 is all but gone. It has been an exhausting and challenging year, with all the 'lows' that life carries with it maintaining a constant presence, like forgotten sweet wrappers in an old overcoat, hiding in little corners, sticking to the edges with a gluey substance that clings to your fingertips no matter how often you try to wash it off.

 

The 'highs' though have been here in abundance too. It has been a year of summits, ambitions hurdled like munros, memories captured in little petals of exhilaration that press against the horizon in pink clouds of summer blossom.

A lot has happened in 2013.

 

I've always wanted to write. Indeed, I have always written. Often pieces of nothing, or sometimes a little bit of something that sparkled with a teeny bit of promise; but mostly I have just written and written, a plethora of words, snatched greedily from the sky or the sea, the mountains and rivers or from the lingering memories of the people that make us who we are. After a lot of tlc, and good advice from people who knew when to nudge and cajole and encourage when it was so obviously required, my debut novel was published in November of 2013, this year of adventure.

 

I'm very proud of this. In the real world I work two 'full time' jobs and writing has to take a step to the side and be ready to push itself to the fore in rare moments that don't involve work or family. I have become adept at snatching windows of opportunity in a frenzied wave of activity. The moments crash like a freezing sea, the impact shocking and all the while exhilarating when the chance arrives unexpectedly from the deep and wraps itself around me like kelp, washing the page with colourful stories that make me weep and laugh and swallow quietly in pleasure, or indeed sorrow because with the depth comes not just the sea urchins but the hollows where monsters often lie...

 

And so far so good. The reviews by readers have been really positive (thus far!) and I am immensely proud that my characters' tumultuous journey is being shared by others. My creations are being carried, gently, from pillar to post by readers who are caring and giving strength. That is just lovely. The Birds That Never Flew, published by Thunderpoint is available HERE, just in case you were wondering!!

 

Ian Rankin offered me some advice recently. He said, never allow yourself to lose the excitement of seeing your book in print. Pick it up, leaf through the pages and feel the absolute joy of knowing it is your own creation. It is lovely advice. I never want to lose that 'moment'. And so I will continue. A new book is planned for completion in 2014...

 

 

And so on to Mullindress. Otherwise known as betwixt and between, grand designs Margot...

 

You may remember the journey that, along with my loved ones, I set out on some 9 months ago - investing love and attention in a dwelling that encompassed the beautiful history of a world once lived, a homestead that wouldn't give way but instead rise up and wrap itself around a new beginning, a home built on inspiration, creativity and an overarching passion for maintaining a path for my family to follow, long after the days and months and years that I shelter alongside are bidding farewell in the distance...

 

The house is now a home. It has pushed its knees straight and stretched towards the vast grey sky. It is  already bursting with inspiration, waiting to share its lovely narrative with the world, hopefully through the words that I grasp with fervour from the windows and doors  that rock ever so gently alongside the sweet smelling sea breeze.

 

The house has still to be fully furnished, but here's a wee glance at where it is at! It is rather beautiful, don't you think!

 

 

 

This is where the story began, in 2013, that year that threatens to push out its wings and soar towards the stars.

 

 

 

This beautiful old homestead is very much still present! The original stone, some 200 years old, now shapes the future as it has been used to create the surrounding walls that circle and protect Mullindress, holding it against its breast like a babe in arms. How's that for a thing of beauty.

 

 

 

 

Loads of chapters still to follow as the house becomes a home! The official moving in date is 2nd January 2014. Another year of adventure ahead.

 

Life isn't easy, it can be astonishingly hard and unpredictable and like many others I'm all too aware of the pain that can bear down upon us with crushing weight. But we get up and we rebuild and live and love and be as strong as we possibly can be because, well because, if we don't do that what on earth is the point of it all.

 

Happy almost new year all! x

a shadow upon a shadow

My dad was 80 this week. EIGHTY. That's almost a hundred, a life that has spanned generations, like the wings of an eagle, stretching across a vast sky and pushing into the sunlight. Long before I was born those generations flew into the shadows of my dad's own family, a fledgling with siblings and parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins and friends, and then after that, the nest expanding, the season's merging, soaring into a new path, a new story emerging, five of us, joining together with my father and mother as a family. And then we created our own, contributing to the generations with our own children who then in turn have come together in their own narratives, each flying beyond the moon and the stars carving their unique little worlds that merge and shine like the silver diamonds they were cut from.

We celebrated my dad's big day as a family; children, grandchildren and great grandchildren coming today in a frenzied burst of energy, sheltering under those broad brushstrokes of life, laughing, eating, chatting, pulling in the past and stretching out towards the future.

The future is so uncertain and yet so is the past. Is it as you thought it was, do the walls shift and merge at different angles as we move forward? If you step backwards the path isn't always where it once was, it changes direction as we grow and learn and become wiser. And the future's there, somewhere in the distance. Are we part of it and if we are what form do we take, what heights have we climbed to. Have we climbed?

The only moment with any certainty is the one that sits on your shoulders, turning with you, a shadow upon a shadow, a window to your soul. Grasp it, hold it tight and fly.

what september brings

This afternoon I took a moment to look back on September, a month of changing light and incredible bursts of colour. Every day brought something different to my world, a morning view shared before I made my way into a new challenge with fresh eyes and hope in my heart.

 
Here's my month as it descended on each new morning, my first thoughts captured and then sent to Twitter before I had a chance to analyse or think or begin to try to change what was there in front of me. Hope your days were memorable and creative, too.

@MargotMcCuaig 1 Sep

Sun: the breath of wagging tails swirls & rusting leaves dance, stepping out on a path of beauty, the last melody before the gaping sleep.

@MargotMcCuaig 2 Sep

Mon: wind pushes into the sky like ivy climbing a chimney breast. A gull catches the swirl in its throat & glides, the morning call piercing

@MargotMcCuaig 3 Sep

Tue: clouds roll across a low sky & leaves shiver in its gentle breeze, a bird dances on trembling bark & glides into the shadow of morning.

@MargotMcCuaig 4 Sep

Wed: the sky is silent & yet little puffs of watery mascara float in the distance, the smoky tears of an angel washing her sadness in morning

@MargotMcCuaig 5 Sep

Thur: rowan fruit sheaths morning like strong hills on the horizon, flaming stillness seeping into low grey sky & washing it in pink promise

@MargotMcCuaig 6 Sep

Fri: trees stand still less they break the silence of morning, a late summer bloom watches, waist deep in soil, head bowed in self-doubt.

@MargotMcCuaig 7 Sep

Sat: a gull cuts a shadow on the chimney breast & the misty sky watches it dance across time, a hidden message in a story long forgotten.

@MargotMcCuaig 8 Sep

Sun: a dog's bark glides the sky, its rafting twang stealing presence like a child discovering Christmas, its gravity captured in a smile.

@MargotMcCuaig 9 Sep

Mon: beyond the naked eye misty rain gathers effortlessly in fluffy clouds, its presence pulsing like yesterday's brightly falling stars.

@MargotMcCuaig  10 Sep

Tues: a cloud tumbles from the sky like an anchor & morning catches it in broad arms that swim in the shallows diverting the onset of rain.

@MargotMcCuaig 11 Sep

Wed: polished wings brush sky, feathers sweeping openness with artist's grey, the colour of a universe washed clean & left to dry in the sun

@MargotMcCuaig  12 Sep

Thur: the scent of autumn rain hangs like fabric, entwined clouds part & sway, an audience that whistles like sweet music in a careless sky.

@MargotMcCuaig  13 Sep

Fri: tall trees brush the clouds in autumnal green, the sun, bright & yellow, pulls back & glows a virginal white, beaming fresh, new sky.

@MargotMcCuaig 14 Sep

Sat: streetlights glow defiantly against a dawn sky, shadows of wise old trees wink knowingly in the direction of the collision of morning.

@MargotMcCuaig  15 Sep

Sun: raindrops kiss the window, the merging day pulsing in translucent drops that capture night & breaking dawn in a kaleidoscope of colour

@MargotMcCuaig 16 Sep

Monday: an angel's tear spills silently, its passage captured by a passing bird that mimics its shadow & tumbles to the earth like a stone.

@MargotMcCuaig 17 Sep

Tue: a silvery hue threads unexpectedly through swaying branches, the flood of a new day catching the solitude of distant stars by surprise

@MargotMcCuaig 18 Sep

Wed: the low light of morning glistens on east facing windows, the shadows of tumbling autumn dancing like butterflies on its projection.

 @MargotMcCuaig 19 Sep

Thur: misty rain polishes pavements & the morning preens itself in its reflection, a magpie with liquorice wings gathers its secrets & flees

MargotMcCuaig 20 Sep

Fri: leaves sigh & part, tumbling like feathers, too slight to imprint the sodden grass yet bold enough to make bended branches & sky weep.

@MargotMcCuaig 21 Sep

Sat: silence earths on washed pavements that glisten in patches of promise, their secrets whispering in the throats of passing gulls

@MargotMcCuaig 22 Sep

Sun: branches bend & leaves tremble & tumble, folds of green & yellow dancing under a blanket of morning rich with silence & hidden light.

@MargotMcCuaig  23 Sep

Mon: crisp white sky hangs like wet cotton sheets on a still day, the breath of passing birds singing in hearts anchored in yesterday.

@MargotMcCuaig 24 Sep

Tues: night lingers, its hue pressing hard into the shadows. A spider's web gleans from within the silence, morning embracing the distance.

@MargotMcCuaig 25 Sep

Wed: soft breeze circles the skyline & falling leaves crumble under nature's sweeping palms, gathering like tombstones on thickening grass.

@MargotMcCuaig 26 Sep

Thu: sky falls in milky brightness, the frothy top of morning kissing trees, its sap seeping into mystic roots that swallow summer's pulse.

@MargotMcCuaig  27 Sep

Fri: morning drops from heaven in a solemn cloud, still breath hushed, its smoky grey settling calmly among the silent, uncertain leaves.

@MargotMcCuaig  28 Sep

Sat: White cotton ripples on blue sky like the ebb tide on morning sea. A blackbird bobs in its vast waters, preening its majestic shadow.

@MargotMcCuaig 29 Sep

Sun: day mimics summer & sun kisses an unsuspecting sky. Birds stop & stare, wings still & throats silent as they soar into the husky chorus

@MargotMcCuaig 10h

Mon: pink angels embrace pale blue sky & the world falls silent, the miaow of a cat swallowed by the darkest hour strolling nonchalantly by.

 

 

betwixt and between revisited...

It was a whirlwind day but one that fuelled the soul and put a spring in a step so frequently slowed by the demands of a life that I am determined to live to its maximum.

I journeyed to Rathlin on Saturday, my heart sitting in my throat, the rapid thumping too heavy to swallow, too wild to contain so I set it free, everything that I am racing in front of me, knowing the route, chasing my dreams to the top of the hill and finding rest in the soulful space of Mullindress.

I caught up with my dancing heart just as the sun was paying homage to my home in the form of a rainbow, a colourful spray of yesterdays and tomorrows arching across the hillside in a protective curve. A pair of swallows were giving chase, their excited chatter unfurling a tale of the last five weeks, their impatience quickly outlining the changes to the build since my last visit. It was such an aura of noisy quiet, peaceful and yet all the while bursting with energy and life.

What can I say? The house is beautiful, so perfect that when I stood still for just a moment the magic of the soil and the passing air swallowed me whole, dusting me in a flush of welcome. And then I trembled, swaying a little against a sudden fear, the impending doom of chaos and disorder that surely must be en-route, swirling in a nearby cloud of grey just because it can... I trampled those thoughts and moved on, anxious to see the progress.

Wow! It's so amazing to see change, to watch shapes develop and create ownership of the space in which they are contained. The rooms are now recognisably such, proper rooms with plasterboard walls ready for skimming. The plumbing is ready to house radiators and the electrics are just about ready for appliances. It feels so different, but yet the same, another layer of future carefully added to the nest.

The outside walls have been beautifully crafted, the builder making use of every stone from the original homestead. Aside from the breathtaking beauty, the walls are a stunning homage to the past, a home of more than 200 years old lives on.  There are two walls. One at the front (picture below) and a second at the back of the house, nestling the space between the mountain and the back garden, both protecting, the ancestors of Mullindress resting in my future.

We're cracking on now. This week the rooms will be plastered, the cement floor insulated and skimmed and then it's time for the beautiful white oak floors, staircase and doors and the fitting of the kitchen, utility room and bathrooms. Outside, the lawn will be laid, the driveway laid down and the patio (stunning blue limestone flagstones) placed in front of the gorgeous windows that have a heavenly view. The outside walls have been rendered and the guttering fitted.

The house at Mullindress  isn't a mansion or a work of architectural genius, but it is a home that will be loved and love in equal measure.

Here's a few wee pics to show you I'm talking about!

Firstly, my gorgeous wall!

My lovely wall, and the view of the garden and Tommy's tree beyond it (from the bedroom window!)

 

The house, all rendered and ready for a lick of brilliant white paint!

The kitchen (you may have to use your imagination for this one!

The living room, almost ready for living..

 

The Mull of Kintyre from my bedroom window. The view looks out to the east where the sun stretches into the sky each and every day. New possibilities!

I hope I haven't bored you, but I guess I have fallen a little bit in love!

noctilucent clouds...

A wee story I had a flush of pleasure writing has been included in a collection called In On The Tide, and published by Appletree Writers.

The collection is inspired by the sea and all profits from the publication are donated to the RNLI. My wee narrative inspired by, well, when you read it you'll see, is called noctilucent clouds.

You can read the story here - noctilucent clouds and you can purchase a copy of the book and do your bit for the RNLI here -  In On The Tide

The Appletree Writers website is a community of writers who want to tell stories. It's a fine place to be.

it's official then, soon there will be paper, ink & a flurry of page turning (should you be so kind..)

The Birds That Never Flew, by Margot McCuaig.

ThunderPoint Publishing has signed Margot McCuaig, Managing Director of mneTV, and will publish her first novel, The Birds That Never Flew, in the autumn of 2013.

The Birds That Never Flew is a tale of loss, exploitation and revenge set in Glasgow. The novel is written with a strong Glasgow influence and tragically conveys the impact of poverty, drugs and abuse, with the surreal vision of a Glaswegian Virgin Mary acting as guardian angel to the lead character.

The Birds That Never Flew was shortlisted for the 2012 Dundee International Book Prize, under its working title of The Dandelion Clock. The Dundee International Book Prize is supported by the University of Dundee and Dundee: One City Many Discoveries campaign, sponsored by Apex Hotels. The 2012 competition was one of the most hotly contested years of the prize, with 500 entries from across the globe.

@MargotMcCuaig has produced and directed numerous programmes for the BBC and other organisations and has previously written newspaper columns and TV/documentary scripts on subjects relating to social history.

Margot is co-owner of digital TV company purpleTV, and has developed a suite of innovative interactive apps called purpleTrails. The first product to launch, the Edinburgh Book Trail, invites users to explore the rich literary heritage of the Scottish Capital city. purpleTrails is a Major Sponsor of the 2013 Edinburgh International Book Festival.



You can find out a wee bit more about the lovely folks at Thunderpoint here - http://www.thunderpoint.co.uk/

It's rather exciting! More excitement to come, a trip to Mullindress to catch up with Grand Designs Margot in the morning...blog and pictures to follow!