Liz Macrae Shaw

Liz was brought up in England but has Scottish roots and lives on the Isle of Skye. She spent all her summer holidays on the island where she absorbed the distinctive culture and history of the island. Her love of history led to her studying the subject at university where she discovered that 'British history' really meant ' English history' with the Celtic nations of the United Kingdom only appearing as bit players.\n\nShe worked as a lecturer in Further Education and later embarked on a second career as a psychotherapist. The fascination with history and interest in psychological motivation flowed together and inspired her to write historical fiction, with a strong Highland flavour. Roger Hutchinson who has written many acclaimed books about the Highlands, wrote as follows in his review of 'No Safe Anchorage':\n\n'North-west Highland and Island history could not be in the hands of a better modern novelist.'\nLiz has been a contestant on the well-known quiz programme, 'Mastermind', reaching the semi-final stage. Her specialist subjects were 'The Life of Elizabeth I' and 'The Life of the Duke of Wellington'.\nShe believes that historical fiction is a genre which gives the past a human face but it's vital that it's rooted in thorough research. As the historical record is often a worm-eaten piece of fabric, with much unknown or contested, there is plenty of scope to weave fact and fiction together.\nLiz is currently working on a novel set in the Second World War and on a trilogy for younger readers set in the First War.\n