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Not The Right Kind Of Victim

Not The Right Kind Of Victim

Most of my friends will learn about many things for the first time when they read my book. Not because I was hiding them. Not exactly. But because the kind of trauma I carry doesn’t naturally come up in conversation. It’s not neat. It cannot be told between

Working-Class Women Aren't Supposed To Say This

Working-Class Women Aren't Supposed To Say This

‘What I’ve made is good. What I’ve made is important.’ It’s rare and radical to say that out loud. Especially if you’re working class. Especially if you’re a woman. Because when you’re working class and a woman, you’re not supposed to say you’

Published Doesn’t Mean Paid.

Published Doesn’t Mean Paid.

I want to talk about money. (Ugh, I know. How crass.) Specifically, how much money authors make, or more accurately, don’t. I signed my publishing deal in 2023. My advance was £2,500. That’s it. I was paid £1,250 on signing, which, spread over 18 months (writing

The Slog - What No One Told Me About Writing A Book.

The Slog - What No One Told Me About Writing A Book.

There’s still so much prestige and status attached to a book deal. I'm not sure that’s how it should be-but just 0.1% of the global population have been traditionally published, and even when you include self-publishing (and you should), it only jumps to 0.15%

Happiness? In This Economy? - Five Pieces of Joy From My Week.

Happiness? In This Economy? - Five Pieces of Joy From My Week.

In a time of extreme chaos, turmoil, and corruption, I try hard to focus on the little things, the day-to-day. Because looking too far beyond that often leads to soul-destroying levels of depression. So here goes. Five pieces of joy from my week 1. Merlin Bird App I'm

The Best Photos I Never Took

The Best Photos I Never Took

Some of the most striking images I’ve ever seen were never captured. Not on film, not in pixels, they aren't forgotten, buried in a folder on a hard drive. Around eight years ago, I took a roadtrip around Scotland with my (then) husband, and my two daughters.

I Walked So You Could Run* Free Drystone Walling Guide - Download Now.

I Walked So You Could Run* Free Drystone Walling Guide - Download Now.

*But don't run with stones. I’ve been blown away by all the enthusiasm and support for my book 'Drystone - A Life Rebuilt' over the past week, thank you so much. As a small way to give back, I’ve put together a free, downloadable,

About My Book 'Drystone - A Life Rebuilt'

About My Book 'Drystone - A Life Rebuilt'

I spent years running: from places, people, and parts of myself. But chaos always followed. Growing up in the shadow of my family’s brutal experiences of racism, I faced my own. I dodged racial slurs and had pennies thrown by school bullies. I felt connected to the land and

The Effort Behind Effortless.

The Effort Behind Effortless.

Great Work Often Goes Unnoticed. A beautifully built drystone wall blends into the landscape. A carefully crafted sentence reads effortlessly. A well-composed photograph is something people appreciate, often without knowing why. Effort and skill aren’t always noticeable, in fact, if you do your job well, they shouldn’t be.

Perthshire In Black and White

Perthshire In Black and White

Perthshire is Scotland’s fourth-largest county and one of the few without a coastline. But it makes up for it in every possible way, forests, rivers, hills, lochs and light that shifts by the minute. Some images demand colour but others feel like they were born to be monochrome. Below

A black and white image of abstract lines on an icy puddle.

Reading - Rediscovered

In winter, I hibernate. I become an indoorsy person, saving up all my energy to release in one long burst over spring, summer, and autumn. Between the ages of five and seventeen, I read around five books a week. Then, through my twenties and thirties, I could barely read at

Five Things I Was Wrong About (Until I Was Right)

Five Things I Was Wrong About (Until I Was Right)

The truth matters. But I’ve learned that getting to it usually means being wrong first. And being really wrong is the best way to figure out what’s actually right. Because of that, I don’t get too attached to what I believe, just to the idea that it

A white building with an orange roof sits behind some rocks o

Scotland On Film - Around Scotland In Sixteen Images

I’ve travelled a lot in Scotland. From the winding back roads near my home in Perthshire to the far reaches of the rugged north. And wherever I go, I’m usually lugging four cameras, too many lenses, and more rolls of film than I’ll ever need. Film doesn’

A black and white photograph of a town set within lots of trees from a distance. You can see church spires and houses.

Scottish Gaelic - The Language Of The Land

Scottish place names are full of ghosts. They describe churches that are no longer there, forests long felled, rivers that have dried up or changed course. Gaelic carries the memory of people, land, and place. It’s one of the reasons I’ve spent the last two years learning it.

A black and white photograph of a road leading through a rocky landscape. There are some sheep lying near the road.

Pre-Orders For My Book Are Live—Now We Just Need a Cover

Pre-Orders for My Book Drystone – A Life Rebuilt Are Open! But What About the Cover? My book, Drystone – A Life Rebuilt, is now available for pre-order! (If you don’t want to read through my chat about why pre-orders matter to authors, the info and links are at the bottom

A colour photograph of a path through trees in autumn.

How I Get Anything Done Ever

After a lifetime of struggle, I was diagnosed with ADHD at 36. I’d long suspected I was neurodivergent, but the diagnosis still hit me harder than I expected. So much grief. The question - what would my life have looked like if I’d known this as a child?

Digital V Film

Often when I am taking photographs I'll shoot the same image on digital and film. I find it interesting to compare the final results. Below, digital images are first, then the 35mm version, and the square images are medium format. Images were shot with comparable camera settings between

A colour photograph of a woman looking out over hills from the top of a hill.

Interview About My Upcoming Book 'Drystone - A Life Rebuilt'

I wanted to share with you a conversation that I had with journalist, therapist, broadcaster and editor extraordinaire Svea Vikander. I know Svea well and, like all of us, I am most compelling on any subject when I am comfortable. I think this interview gives a great sense of the

A colour photograph of a large, rugged looking hill with a small fences off path runnning across the bottom.

A New Way To Engage

Halò! Fàilte!* My name is Kristie. I’m a writer, photographer, and drystone waller from Scotland. My first book, Drystone – A Life Rebuilt (a memoir that isn’t really about drystone at all), comes out on August 7, 2025. I’m intentional about where I put my work. The current

Not The Hills, Not The Loch

Not The Hills, Not The Loch

Even among towering Scottish hills and the gentle movement of a loch beneath a blanket of blue sky, all the space that nature affords, my eye is often drawn to the details. The little bits of light. The places where lines converge. Today, it wasn’t the natural that held