I love amber - those rich colours - the way no two pieces are alike - the flecks of mystery within. But to think that I'm wearing deep history round my neck - that's a feeling I can't quite name.
I've photographed my amber necklace, bought in Norfolk, with a stone spear head found in Belize, on top of my sci-fi/historical/adventure/romance novel Silver Skin, because ...
- the book was inspired by the stone age village of Skara Brae in Orkney
- there is a rather more spectacular version of the necklace in the book, but I can't tell who's wearing it because that would be a spoiler
- and because links between times and places and objects, no matter how disparate, are the stuff of stories!
"I think I've been excited about Skara Brae my entire life - it's so spine-chillingly evocative: an entire Stone Age village buried in sand - completely lost and forgotten - and then, thousands of years later, dramatically revealed by a massive storm. And the structures are so intimate and show us so much about the way the people lived - but with still so many questions to be answered. It just begs to have stories told about it.
I'd visited the site several times, but the final push to write Silver Skin came when I was doing a Live Literature visit to schools on Mainland. During a Q&A, one of the pupils asked me why didn't I write a book about Orkney? And I realised I was desperate to do just that!"
Joan Lennon, born in Canada, has lived in Scotland since 1978. She has written a large number of children's books, including a number of successful series - The Wickit Chronicles, Tales from the Keep and the Slightly Jones series. Her books have been translated into numerous languages.
SILVER SKIN - SHORTLISTED FOR THE SCOTTISH TEENAGE BOOK PRIZE 2017
Skara Brae, Orkney, the end of the Stone Age. The sun is dying, storms batter the coast and people fear the end of the world. When Rab crawls out of the sea wearing the remains of his Silver Skin, he throws the islanders into confusion. Who is he? Why has he come? Voy, the village wise woman, is certain he's a selkie, a source of new power. Cait isn't so sure.
Rab, thousands of years from home, injured and desperate, must learn fast about this ancient world. What started as a high-tech study trip has turned into a struggle to survive.
'It's original. It's interesting. It's imaginative. It's beautifully written. The plot is compelling. And it mixes science and the supernatural to great effect' --Bookbag
'a fabulous read' -- The Bookwitch
'all the ingredients of a prehistoric transcendental romance' --Scotland Magazine
You can find out more about Silver Skin here, and order Joan's books here.
