I have nothing against France. Honestly, I don’t. I’ve got some friends who are French, and they’re very nice. But Marie-Claire Blancmange is NOT nice. She is one of the villains in the first of the Wullie-The-Mahaar-Gome stories, Blackhope Scar. …
Bluebeard
We learn that Bluebeard is Wullie’s arch-enemy. He hates all humans, although he will work with crooks if he thinks it will help him defeat Wullie. This is how Finn first describes Bluebeard in the bowels of The Rusty Pelican…
Baldo-The-Bladderwort
Baldo is one of the scariest gomes that we meet in the Blackhope Scar story. He is a wild and cruel creature that has a vicious lobster spike on one of his hands that he uses as a weapon. It…
Moray Place
At the very start of Part Two of Blackhope Scar Finn and his family get their first jet-lagged impression of Edinburgh when they arrive at the house that Great Uncle Hugh McDougall has rented for the summer. Moray Place really…
How Bad Is Scottish Food?
I make fun of Scottish food in several places in these stories. In Blackhope Scar when Hadley’s flaky mother decides to try having oatmeal in the hotel dining room she is somewhat disappointed. Riversong Kobayashi has a very delicate sensibility.…
Edinburgh Castle
When I describe real places in my stories I like to get the details right. I lived in Edinburgh for more than ten years and have visited Edinburgh Castle many times. It truly is an impressive and imposing structure. As…