I couldn’t find any pictures that expressed what I wanted to say on the cover of ‘Pitkirtly XI’ so I have had to carry out a special photo-shoot. Regular readers will not be surprised to learn that this didn’t involve glamorous partly-dressed models, mocked-up dinosaur landscapes or both. Instead I had to make the supreme sacrifice of buying three whole packets of scones and some miniature Empire biscuits (don’t forget the Empire biscuits as they are more important than they seem), which no doubt somebody will have to eat later on. The things I do for my art!
Normally I source my cover photos from a vast collection taken by my late brother Ian Ogilvy Morrison in various places in Scotland. They usually depict locations in Fife, but occasionally I’ve had to look a bit further afield. In a few cases I’ve used one of my own pictures, but they aren’t usually as good as my brother’s.
The picture shown here is a sort of ‘out-take’ that I added on at the end of the session just for fun, although in fact I think it has come out slightly better than the others, apart from the things in the background, which I see include a card given to me by a neighbour to thank me for lending her a ladder and a ‘Scottish’ teddy bear ornament that came from somewhere in the family. I may be able to fade these out if I do use this one.
Don’t get over-excited at this point if you’re waiting for the book to come out, by the way, as I am still somewhere in the middle of the editing process. I just find if I get the cover organised it helps to motivate me to finish!
Cecilia Peartree - woman of mystery 
Good luck with the book. I’ve been editing for 8 months now (on collection and on my novel) and I don’t think I’m anywhere near getting the novel finished. I’m giving myself until March 2017 to get it publishable and even then I expect it to be nearer June/July before it is.
You are very wise not to rush it, especially when you have so much else going on!