Dunnottar Castle, Scotland, Overlooking the Setting of ARTIFACT

My debut mystery novel, Artifact, goes on sale this week. There are links to buy the book in the side-bar of the blog, but since this is a mysterious photography blog, I'm going to keep things related to photography! (You can read more about Artifact here.)

The setting for the book was inspired by my travels to the Highlands of Scotland, especially the Dunnottar Castle ruins. The site of the ancient fortress is a chunk of land on cliffs that stretch out into the North Sea, only accessible by walking down a steep path and up another one. It's no wonder the site was used as a fortress beginning in the Dark Ages and played a role in Scotland's history throughout the centuries.

In ARTIFACT, historian Jaya Jones travels from San Francisco to London to a Pictish archaeological dig in the Highlands of Scotland, piecing together the secrets of a lost Indian treasure that are hidden in a Scottish legend from the days of the British Raj.

 —Gigi

New York City Gargoyles, Part X: Lions

Wrapping up a look at New York City architectural details with some lions. Except for the second image below (which is Gramercy Park), these are all in the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

 

Yes, that's a dragon in the foreground in the above photo, but the two lions from the previous photo are in the distance.


—Gigi

New York City Gargoyles, Part IX: Unexpected Places

I thought I was done with my New York trip photos, but I realized there were several photos of building ornaments I really liked that I hadn't yet shared. These photos didn't fit the themes of my earlier posts, so I've sorted them into two last posts. This week is an assortment of carvings. These images are all juxtapositions of some sort, but mainly they're just some cool carvings worth sharing on their own.

 

 

 

—Gigi

Instagram Gargoyles

Last week I posted the last of my gargoyle highlights from my recent trip to New York City. (I have a lot more, but need to stop somewhere!) It took a long time to sort through all the photos I took, which made me tempted to supplement the photos on my next trip with some instant gratification. Yup, Instagram. And when I decided to download the Instagram App on my phone this week, I knew I should take the first photo of a gargoyle. The little fellow in my garden is reminiscent of the Irving Place gargoyle from NYC.

—Gigi