iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 21/09/2026

#Autumn has well and truly arrived. Jess isn't sorry, but she isn't moving from her spot, either! #Scotland #Caithness #Spaniel #DogsOfBSky

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 08/07/2026

Ever wondered who was behind these posts... 🦅📚🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 25/06/2026

Orlando sitting out the storm. 🐶 #Spaniel

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 23/06/2026

I wish I could share the beautiful smells of the morning garden with you. The sun has been up for about 4 hours, just right for teasing out the aromas. 💚 #30DaysWild

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 22/06/2026

Good morning from Stempster! This is a part of the garden which is full of bugs in all their stages because they - like us - love herbs and veg! We use no chemicals to get rid of things, but the birds help us out. 💚 #30DaysWild

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 20/06/2026

My #30DaysWild pack finally arrived yesterday. I'd lost the impetus with it (and crazy madness), but this has jolted me back into the hashtag. So here are a couple of pictures from the days I've missed. Butterflies, orchid, oak, and harvest. #Caithness #Scotland

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 20/06/2026

Good morning from Stempster. Last night's result might not have been great but this morning's sunshine more than makes up for it. 💚 #Caithness #Scotland

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 13/06/2026

Good evening from Stempster! 💚

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 08/06/2026

Sycamore keys, gooseberries, a secret rainbow, and a bog orchid. These are little #30DaysWild gifts after a very hectic - albeit very good! - day. #Caithness #Scotland #FarNorth

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 06/06/2026

Absolutely no idea who these little fellows are, but they have taken over one of the gooseberry bushes! #30DaysWild 🐛

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 05/06/2026

After spending all day yesterday looking for moths to photograph, this one found me today! #30DaysWild

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 04/06/2026

As the #30DaysWild prompt is moths today, perhaps someone can help me to identify this handsome and very hairy soul. Maurice was not spotted today, but last year. But despite trying to match him (or her, I'm not sure!) to an ID guide or ten, I still can't work out what they were. #Moths

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 03/06/2026

I walk this route most days, sometimes more than once a day, past the old millpond and down to the burn. Sometimes it takes me about 20 minutes, depending on who I meet. Here I've condensed it into 60 seconds. #30DaysWild #Caithness #Wildflowers

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 02/06/2026

Today has been misty and rainy, so no great opportunity for photographs. So here's a couple from yesterday... #30DaysWild #Caithness 💚

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 01/06/2026

It's a beautiful day to start #30DaysWild! All through June I'll be posting from my #Caithness home, filling you in on all the wildlife with whom we share our corner of the world. Here's a treescape to begin the month. There are ten species of tree on this picture (not all are clear). #Trees #Nature

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 29/05/2026

#HistFicMay Days 28 & 29 My books have been dedicated to a few people - usually family. My first one was dedicated to my dad. In terms of collaborative writing, I have been known to write with my sisters, but it is generally too much of an hysterical experience to produce any publishable literature!

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 27/05/2026

#HistFicMay Day 27 Every piece I've written has a piece of music to match it and most have more than one. When I travelled south for Day's Dying Glory's #BookLaunch, my sister made a couple of CDs with a range of tunes (inc Shaun the Sheep; John Tams...) One song which always works: The Last Goodbye

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 25/05/2026

#HistFicMay Day 24 and 25 Well, my MCs would be eating shellfish, but that would not be my Mastermind topic! In a total curveball to what I've been posting this month, I quite fancy my chances with Savonarola: The Early Years (up to 1494)... I'm quietly confident on that. #HistoricalFiction

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 23/05/2026

I missed #HistFicMay yesterday, but it was deliberate because the last line of the book is also my favourite. So here's Day 22 and Day 23 combined: "He turned back to share this revelation with his new mentor, but the room behind him was empty, with only a single candle left burning in its centre."

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 21/05/2026

#HistFicMay Day 21 I love writing description! I love it so much more than dialogue. Here's a short passage which I quite like. #HistoricalFiction #WIP

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 20/05/2026

#HistFicMay Day 20 Share your opening line. Well, it's still very much a work in progress, but here's what I've got so far... #HistoricalFiction #WIP #AmWriting #HistFic

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 19/05/2026

#HistFicMay Day 19 Trostan wishes he could interpret and understand all the things he sees. Tressa would love to go back in time - even just a few years to when her people were more prominent. Hengis would love to be able to cover great distances with one step. He's not a fan of big journeys.

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 18/05/2026

#HistFicMay Day 18 Trostan grew from the myths & legends of the saint of the same name, but my other two MCs aren't based on anyone. It became clear quite early on in the writing of the story, that the characters were happier finding their own routes, so I just left them to it! #HistoricalFiction

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 17/05/2026

#HistFicMay Day 17 *Most* people find Trostan easy to get on with. Tressa isn't liked by the Culdees, but she's a champion of her fellow Picts. Hegis is rash & compulsive, but has a good heart, which tends to mean people like him half the time! #HistoricalFiction Pics: one of my Stempster stones.

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 16/05/2026

#HistFicMay Day 16 I'm not sure who I'd want to play my MCs. They are all quite young, so it's difficult to imagine any of my favourite (and older!) actors. My one stipulation is that they all have the same accent as they are all meant to come from the same place. #HistoricalFiction #Writing

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 15/05/2026

#HistFicMay Day 15 I think Trostan's favourite colour is green - representing a fresh hope for each day 💚 Tressa's favourite is blue - her ancestors' colour 💙 Hengis probably likes red best - he's a passionate man ❤️ None of them ever mention it - they are more fans of patterns. #HistoricalFiction

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 14/05/2026

#HistFicMay Day 14 All three of my MCs are driven by their faith, although it becomes apparent that each one's faith is very different to one another. Ultimately, their love of one another and the hope they have for each other are what drive them to make the decisions on which the story is based.

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 13/05/2026

#HistFicMay Day 13 I have 3 Main Characters in The Stonemason's Crown: ~ Trostan (stonemason turned prophet) ~ Tressa (who unites the Picts and the Christians) ~ Hengis (culdee who uncovers the crime which underpins the story) They represent the past, the present, and the future. #HistoricalFiction

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 12/05/2026

#HistFicMay Day 12 When would I #TimeTravel to? If I were just going to be a fly on the wall, I'd love to go back into the first millennium. I'd love to know about the things we've now lost touch with & whether there was any truth to those beliefs, truths we have chosen to ignore. #HistoricalFiction

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 10/05/2026

#HistFicMay Day 10 I have gone down many weird and wonderful rabbit holes! One of my favourites was researching bird lore in #AngloSaxon beliefs. It helped shape the plot for "The Year We Lived", giving it just enough of the other world while keeping it firmly rooted in history. #HistoricalFiction

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 10/05/2026

No zoom required. These feathered friends were up close and personal! 💚 #Caithness #Scotland #Wildlife #BirdWatching

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 09/05/2026

Today has been a day for making memories... for sunshine adventures... and for having rings run round me by these two!

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 08/05/2026

Once the constituency votes are announced, the regional votes come into play. These are designed by another power to keep a majority out of a devolved parliament and silence a people's voice & vote. Perhaps the most unfair form of election whilst wearing the guise of democracy. Here's how it works:

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 08/05/2026

Eeek! I forgot #HistFicMay yesterday! Day 7: I'm more about the quality of writing/plot than the setting. Day 8: Various little things: phoney adverts by caring but cunning landowners; ancient lore; letters about Byron's "daughter". Nothing revolutionary, but gold for a #HistoricalFiction writer! 📚

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 05/05/2026

Day 5 Hats off to anyone who can write #HistoricalFiction with more than one timeline. I tried it once, but never again! #HistFicMay #WritingCommunity

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 04/05/2026

#HistFicMay Day 4 Yes, I absolutely go for happy-ever-afters. That's not to say it is the ending all readers would expect as a #HappyEverAfter, but it is the ending I feel best suits my characters. #HistoricalFiction

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 03/05/2026

#HistFicMay Day 3 Standalone or Series? I've written both. For my own enjoyment I love writing series (I can never get enough of my characters!), but my standalone books seem to do better with readers. #HistoricalFiction #AmWriting #WritingCommunity

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 02/05/2026

#HistFicMay Day 2 Who inspired me to write? I've been lucky in that I'm from a family who have always valued books & reading. They're definitely who have most inspired me. Here are some of them. Not a "normal" family, but an awesome one! #HistoricalFiction #Family #WritersLife #WritingCommunity

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 01/05/2026

#MammalMay sounds like a brilliant idea! Have a few April Caithness critters to celebrate Day One. 💚 #Caithness #Scotland

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 01/05/2026

Yey(!) it's that time of the month when Amazon remembers how to make you feel great about your book sales. #WritersLife #AmWriting #PinchPunch #1stOfMay #MayDay

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 01/05/2026

Happy #HistFicMay! Today is an introduction day so here goes... I'm Virginia, creator of #HistoricalFiction which teeters on the edge of reality. I won a prize once and have written very little since... this is something I aim to correct. #May #HistFic #PinchPunch #AmWriting #WritingCommunity

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 24/04/2026

Today, I was allowed to share in a fantastic party with five hares. I have been accepted as an honorary hare! 💚 #NationalMammalWeek #Hares #Caithness #Scotland #Wildlife #NaturePhotography

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 20/04/2026

Tonight, we did our #WildMile for #NationalMammalWeek. We saw a mouse, a hare, and two deer. I couldn't get the photo function on the app to work, so here are some pictures I snapped on other walks. #Environment #Wildlife #Nature #Caithness #Scotland #WindfarmWildlife @mammalsociety.bsky.social

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 18/04/2026

A rather wonderful surprise when I checked the #TrailCam this evening. Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Bill. 💚🦡💚 #Caithness #Scotland #Wildlife #NaturePhotography

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Virginia Crow @stompermcewan.com · 16/04/2026

Today has been a day of showers and sunshine. They're not opposites, they complement each other. 💚 #Caithness #Scotland

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