S.G. MacLean

Shona (SG) MacLean was born in Inverness and grew up with her four siblings in various small hotels run by her parents around the Scottish Highlands. The writer Alistair MacLean was her father’s brother and a very kind and perceptive uncle. She studied History at Aberdeen University, with a view to an academic career, but the logistical demands of family life led instead to fiction-writing.

After over 25 years around Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, she returned with her family to the Highlands in 2010. Her husband is gainfully employed in education, but not all the ills of society are his fault. Her four children are almost all grown up now, and she should have more time for writing, but on the loss of their much-loved old Labrador last year, the family bought a puppy who is unimpressed by literary pursuits.

She helps run a toddlers’ group at her local church and is secretary of the local Pipe Band. The toddlers are a good deal less trouble than the Pipe Band. Her favourite pastime is cycling, in which no lycra is involved.