My latest newsletter is now available to read on substack.
Subscribe to get my newsletter direct to your inbox on the first Monday of each month.
This month: an update on the latest novel, a new series looking at Berlin locations, sailing with Elsie, and the some thoughts prompted by the election!
You can read my latest newsletter here. Subscribe to receive it straight to your inbox on the first Monday of each month.
You can read my latest newsletter here. Subscribe to receive this straight into your inbox.
What’s the best way to keep in touch with you, readers?
I’ve been thinking about this for a while, given the unpredictability of social media, and so in January 2026 I will launch a monthly newsletter.
Subscribe here to receive the very first one!
I’ll use this space to share some of the challenges and joys of my writing life, and to keep you up to date with publication news. Each month I’ll have a wee Something from Scotland segment too, because why wouldn’t I want to share the stories, culture and landscape of the amazing country where I’m lucky enough to live?
See you in January.
Flora x
What a surprise and delight it was to be awarded the Bookmark Blairgowrie Festival Silver Bookmark for Book of the Year for The Paris Peacemakers.
Bookmark Blairgowrie is a wonderful festival, so welcoming and with really interesting speakers. I enjoyed my session chatting for an hour with James Robertson all about historical fiction, and the audience seemed to enjoy it too. It was then an unexpected thrill to be awarded this lovely silver bookmark, made by Sarah Cave silversmith, for The Paris Peacemakers.
#OTD Scottish aviatrix Elsie Mackay and her co-pilot Captain Hinchliffe set off from RAF Cranwell on a secret flight in their plane ‘Endeavour’. Elsie intended to be the first woman to fly the Atlantic in either direction and, with Hinch, to make the first successful flight over the Atlantic in the harder east-west direction.
Portrait of Elsie by Sandy Morrison @sandysdrawingroom
Elsie had no need of fame and fortune but wanted to use her achievement to launch her own commercially viable airline.
A former filmstar with the stage name Poppy Wyndham, she was the wealthy daughter of Lord Inchcape, chairman of P&O shipping line, and worked as interior designer on his ships. Their Scottish home was fairytale Glenapp Castle in Ayrshire.
Find out more about Elsie’s extraordinary story in The Endeavour of Elsie Mackay, published by Allison and Busby.
We had a lovely evening in Blackwell’s Edinburgh launching The Endeavour of Elsie Mackay! Thank you to everyone who came along, and particularly to Matthew Land for hosting and Jenny Brown for chairing.
The Endeavour of Elsie Mackay is available from publisher Allison and Busby and from all good bookshops.
Come along to Blackwell’s in Edinburgh on Wednesday 5 February for the launch event for The Endeavour of Elsie Mackay. I’ll be chatting with Jenny Brown about Elsie’s amazing story and what came next for Corran, Stella and their families. Come and join us!
Tickets from https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/flora-johnston-the-endeavour-of-elsie-mackay-tickets-1200258538599
I’m delighted to be able to share news of my new novel, The Endeavour of Elsie Mackay, which will be published by Allison and Busby on 23 January 2025 and is available to pre-order now!
The novel is inspired by the true story of pioneering Scottish aviator, Elsie Mackay. We first met Elsie briefly in The Paris Peacemakers when, using the stage name Poppy Wyndham, she was forging a career as a film star. Now she has a new dream: to be the first woman to fly the Atlantic.
Meanwhile Stella feels trapped by motherhood and domesticity and longs to soar like her wealthy friend Elsie. Her sister Corran appears to be immersed her academic career but her secrets are beginning to unravel, while their mother Alison sets off on a Mediterranean cruise with unexpected consequences. Their hopes and dreams intertwine with Elsie’s remarkable story in The Endeavour of Elsie Mackay.
Pre-order The Endeavour of Elsie Mackay now in hardback or on kindle!
Flora Johnston 