Natural History Author and Expert Reader
My recent titles are shown below. They give an idea of my range of interests. I still also write occasionally for British Wildlife magazine.
** Click here for titles as contributing author **
I am always interested in new (small) commissions for books or magazines, or to provide guidance as an expert reader on other titles, although my commitments as a cruise ship speaker very much limit my available time. Please contact me initially to discuss options. My full publications list is on my CV here.
MOUNTAIN FLOWERS
This is the book I have always wanted to write, and of which I am most proud. It was published in August 2016, as number 4 in the British Wildlife Collection, published by Bloomsbury Publishing (ISBN 978 1 47296 718 3) priced at £35.00.
It covers the mountain flowers of Britain (Scotland, Wales and England, but not Ireland simply because of space constraints), although it is informed also by my experience of many of the species in their wider range within the Arctic and the mountains of Europe. A particular pleasure was chosing the 340 colour photos (the majority my own) that illustrate the plants and their habitats. The illustration on the left shows the delightful cover painted for the book by Carry Akeroyd.
SCOTTISH WILD FLOWERS (Field Guide)
Originally published by Harper-Collins in 1995, my field guide was republished 2011 in a fully updated edition by Birlinn Ltd of Edinburgh at £9.99 (ISBN 978 1 84158 953 4). It is aimed at locals and visitors to Scotland who are interested, but not expert, in wild flowers.
Arranged according to habitat, it covers more than 350 of the wild flowers most commonly found in Scotland, with information on their habitats and distribution. It also features 35 of the best places to look for wild flowers in Scotland. It is illustrated with a selection of my photos and excellent artwork by Valerie Price.
SCOTTISH WILD FLOWERS (Mini Guide)
The smaller Mini Guide, also published by Birlinn (ISBN 978 1 84158 954 1; £5.99) is ideal for the pocket, car glovebox or rucksac. It covers the same range as the original field guide (above), but in less detail, and excludes some features of the main guide, including the 'Places to Visit' section.
YOUNG OXFORD BOOK OF ECOLOGY
Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1994, 1996 (ISBN: 0-19-521167-7; now out-of-print)
Definitely my bestseller, this book has been translated into at least 10 languages (including German, Spanish, Russian, Polish and American English!). The German edition, Young Oxford: Die Natur, published by Beltz & Gelberg, 2000 (ISBN: 3-407-75304 -7), won the Umweltpreis für Kinder- und Jugendliteratur 2001 ('Environmental Prize for Children's and Young People's Literature').
Second-hand copies may still be available from Amazon here or here. *
THE FLOWER GARDEN:
The Book that Transforms into a Work of Art
This book was a really interesting commission. Andre Deutsch had previous published books on birds, butterflies and trees featuring a large image on the page, the upper edge of which was meticulously perforated, so that the top of the page could be removed, leaving the the images standing proud, with a descriptive text beneath (see photo right). They asked me if I thought something similar could be done for flowers.
I said it would be, so I ended up with the challenge of selecting 50 illustrations of different flower species from 200 beautiful, copyright-free paintings from the Georgian and Victorian eras. I wanted to tell a story about the uses and other values to humankind of each species featured, so that the book would encompass the wonderful diversity of the plant world. The book (published by Andre Deutsch; ISBN 978-0-233-00560-7; £20) was a pleasure to write, and I hope it is fun to read and transform.
The book is available from Amazon here.*
WALK & EAT: CAPE TOWN
Just to prove our versatility as travellers and as writers, this is a book that Sue and wrote around 2007 (ISBN 978-1-85691-331-7; price £7-99). It features 12 fascinating walks and 2 excursions around Cape Town, each of which is linked to a recommended place to eat, during or after the walk. Sadly, it is now out-of-print and rather out-of-date, particularly in view of the security situation in Cape Town, but the walks remain and the recipes for local dishes are just as delicious as ever.
* NOTICE OF DISCLOSURE: Thank-you for using these links, which help to pay for this website. I may eventually be paid a few pence by Amazon UK for any copies of books (and additional items) sold using these links.