27th July 2011
Willow Moon Publishing of New Orleans has just released Wick man Alan Calder's first novel, The Stuart Agenda as an e-book.
Alan was born in Barrogil Street in 1944, the oldest son of John and Bunty Calder. His wife Jennifer Sinclair is the elder daughter of Annie and Sandy Sinclair of Wick. Alan was a pupil and Wick High School and went on to BSc and PhD degrees in chemistry at Aberdeen University before joining chemical giant ICI. As a senior executive in R&D he made a number of contributions to national strategy for university chemistry research and was made CBE in 1996 for services to the Chemical Industry.
Alan and Jennifer bought a house in Wick a few years ago and divide their time between Caithness and the family home in Yorkshire. The couple have two daughters, Fiona, a teacher in Huddersfield and Laura, a GP in Chester.
Over the last few years Alan has been active in the Wick Society, organising the series of Johnston exhibitions that brought the town's nineteenth century heritage to life in the large scale images of Johnston photographs. He also led the recent successful fund raising activity for the project to refurbish the Fishing Building at the Heritage Museum.
His first novel, 'The Stuart Agenda' is an intriguing take on history. What if the royal bloodline of the Stuarts had survived and one of their heirs mounted a claim to the Scottish throne? Set in the 2030's, fact and fiction blend throughout as we follow Robert, the charismatic heir to The Stuart Agenda, as he strives to win his heritage and, later, his love in the heady atmosphere of Scotland at last going independent. Part political thriller, part adventure, part romance, this is a novel set in the highlands and lowlands of Scotland, through the vineyards of France and the English royal court.
The Stuart Agenda is available for download from www.willowmoonpublishing.com as a PDF to computer, e-readers or i-Pad or from amazon.co.uk as a download to Kindle.
You can follow Alan's blog at http://alancalderwriting.blogspot.com