Biography

Hi! My name is Alex. I’m a writer with several years of experience, and have been an independently published author since 2012 when my first historical novel, The Only Genuine Jones, was published — and attracted rave reviews. My second novel, The Atholl Expedition, followed in December 2013. Both titles have been reviewed in national magazines by authorities in the genre.

Keen to know more? You can find out all about my novels here.

My historical mountain fiction is fuelled by a deep love of the outdoors. I have the Scouts to thank for sparking an early interest, but as a teenager I discovered backpacking, which led naturally to mountaineering and climbing. Many of the blog posts on this site are devoted to the wild places of Britain and Europe. You may also recognise me from my early work at Glencoe Mountaineer (now run by my brother James). In addition to blog content, I have written non-fiction articles for various publications over the years, mainly on the subject of the outdoors.

Testing out 19th century climbing gear on Ben Lui
Photo by James Roddie
Pinnacle Editorial — freelance editorial services for writers

When not writing or up a hill, I am usually helping other writers along the road to publication and success. You can find out more about my editorial work at Pinnacle Editorial (established July 2014). I have experience of developmental content editing, copy-editing, and proofreading. I am a member of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders.

Sidetracked

In 2015 I joined the Sidetracked team as sub-editor. Sidetracked is a tri-annual adventure travel magazine.

Science fiction

In 2014 I began writing science fiction under the pen name A. S. Sinclair. My first short story, Cold Witness, was published in February 2015 as part of the No Way Home anthology. I was also responsible for editing the project.

Book reviews on this site

I review every book that I read, but I also seek out new outdoor books from authors and publishers and try to review them before they hit the shelves. My reviews are posted here. Read my review policy here. If you would like to send me a new book to review, please contact me.

Social Media

My Facebook author page
My Twitter account