Our Authors and illustrators

Please meet some of the authors and illustrators who work with Foggie Toddle Books and Second Sands Publishing.

 

Susi Briggs

Susi Briggs is a writer, storyteller, poet and musician living and working in Dumfries and Galloway. She specialises in promoting the Scots Language and is the Scots Scriever for 2024 representing the region with the National Library of Scotland. Susi is the author of four Scots Language picture books and has contributed to collections of classic stories published by Itchy Coo. A busy woman, you’ll find her reading to children, performing her poetry and singing in a Blues band – but not all at the same time. Publisher, Jayne Baldwin, first worked with Susi on the books Nip Nebs and Nip Nebs and the Last Berry before starting Foggie Toddle Books and commissioning her stories Wheesht and Yum.

During the Pandemic Susi joined forces with author and teacher Alan McClure to create Oor Wee Podcast where they performed songs and stories which they later took out to schools when the crisis was over. Susi has worked with BBC Scotland, The Scottish Book Trust, the Scottish Storytelling Centre and the Scots Language Centre.

 

 

 

William Gorman

 

Artist William Gorman trained at the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Dundee before spending time travelling and working back in his native Wigtownshire. He established a career as a full time artist specialising in humorous pictures of animals before being commissioned to illustrate the picture book Mustard and Pepper by Alasdair Hutton. He worked again with Alasdair for Foggie Toddle Books creating the illustrations for The Castle Cat and with Susi Briggs on the picture book Wheesht.

William’s work can be seen on information boards for the villages of Garlieston and Sorbie in the Machars along with The Bookshelf, a mural he was asked to create on a telephone junction box in Wigtown, Scotland’s National Booktown. The Bookshop mural is now a popular attraction in the town.

 

 

Alasdair Hutton

Alasdair Hutton has had a long, varied and distinguished career. He has served as a Territorial Army Paratrooper, a Member of the European Parliament for south west Scotland, a journalist and broadcaster, before becoming a storyteller and writer – The Voice – of the Royal Edinburgh Tattoo. He worked with the Tattoo for almost thirty years and his experiences inspired his two books for Luath Press about a fox that he regularly saw in Edinburgh Castle.

Based in the Scottish Borders he is the author of a number of books including The Tattoo Fox and the Luath Treasury of Scottish Nursery Rhymes. He first worked with publisher Jayne Baldwin on a book about Dandie Dinmount terriers before joining her at Foggie Toddle Books to create The Castle Cat, based on a character that first first appeared in the Tattoo Fox stories. The Castle Cat was illustrated by Wigtown artist William Gorman.

 

 

 

 

Catherine Stables

Catherine Stables is a working vet living in Aberdeenshire with her family. She made her debut as a writer and illustrator with her Shona the Vet stories which will become a series – two published and a further two books in the pipeline for 2025. Catherine’s first book, Shona the Vet: A Coast to Coast Adventure was produced as a special edition for the charity Future-Vets Scotland and sent to every primary school in the country in early 2024. The charity hopes that the stories will inspire young children to consider training as a vet in the future.

Catherine is also a keen sheep breeder, basket maker and enjoys playing bagpipes in a folk band.

 

 

 

 

Fran Raw

Originally from Lancashire, artist Fran Raw has lived in south west Scotland for more than thirty years. She works in a variety of media ranging from textiles to lino-cut printing and has her own studio in Whithorn. Illustrating The Wee Kirkcudbright Centipede was the first time she’d worked on a children’s picture book. She’s currently creating images for a poem The Langhill Fairy which will be published by Second Sands Publishing this year.

When she’s not knitting, sewing, or printing she enjoys gardening and looking after other people’s pets. You can find her on social media as Raw Art Scotland.

 

Caroline Smith

Artist and illustrator, Caroline Smith has worked as a graphic designer for more than 40 years, turning freelance 20 years ago and moving to live in south west Scotland. She works with magazines, catalogues, branding and websites as well as creating her own digital artwork. Her art is available on a variety of products ranging from canvases and coasters to prints and glass worktop protectors.

Illustrating Betty’s New Best Friend was a first, though, for this experienced artist. There are plans for a second Betty and Archie story next year. Caroline is a keen golfer and can be found on the course if she’s not working on a project.

 

 

 

Charlotte Brayley

Artist Charlotte Brayley lives on a small holding in Perthshire with her husband and two children and a variety of animals. She’s a graduate of Glasgow School of Art and has worked as an artist for more than 20 years initially as a teacher and later selling her quirky watercolours as originals, prints, cards and wrapping paper through her popular social media profile. Her work has been exhibited internationally. She made her debut as a picture book illustrator with her images for Yum with the main character of Jenny based on her daughter Freya.

Donna Brewster

Writer and historian Donna Brewster was born in the United States but has spend the vast majority of her life living in Wigtown. She is an authority on the history of the town and has written several books including My Ninian and Second Daughter. The book, The House that Sugar Built, was reissued by Second Sands Publishing in 2023 and is a novel based on research carried out by Donna on Barbados Villa, a home she shared with her husband and family. The house had been owned by a local man who had made his money on the Caribbean island where he had fathered two children, returning to Wigtown with his daughter who was regarded as a ‘woman of colour.’

 

Donna felt inspired to use the information she discovered to write a novel imagining how Margaret McGuffie’s life may have been living in this small Scottish town in the Victorian era.

 

 

Des Dillon

Author, playwright and poet, Des Dillon is an internationally acclaimed award-winning Scottish writer. Born in Coatbridge he has lived for many years in Galloway. He has been a script writer for radio, stage and screen with his play ‘I’m No a Billy He’s a Tim’ becoming a phenomenon in Scotland where it has sold out of countless tours. He has been published in the USA, Russia, Ukraine, Sweden, in Catalan, French and Spanish. His works include many novels, short story collections and poetry collections with Me and My and My Gal, Six Black Candles and My Epileptic Lurcher among the best known. Increasingly interested in drawing and painting his poetry collection ‘Muscle work, Alcohol and Blame’ includes his illustrations for the first time. Des is a keen violin player and kayaker. He lives by the sea with his wife and several dogs.

 

 

Louisa MacDougall

 

Author and journalist, Louisa MacDougall lives on the Hebridean island of Harris with her husband and children. She had been knocking on the doors of children’s publishers for many years with stories being short-listed for awards including the Kelpies and Searchlight. Then last year, like buses, suddenly three were selected, Rory and the Snack Dragons, an early reader, published by Little Door Books, The Great Auk’s Great Escape published by the Islands Book Trust, and The Highland Cowgirl.  Louisa also runs the children’s book review blog, Roaring Reads.

Sarah Lovell

Sarah Lovell is a British illustrator and artist currently living and working in British Columbia, Canada. Inspired by wildlife, nature, and her three children, she likes to illustrate using a mixture of traditional media – paints and pencils and Procreate on her I pad. Sarah specialises in children’s illustration and has worked previously with three authors who were self publishing their books. Sarah and author Louisa MacDougall were brought together through the Searchlight Children’s Awards.

Lorraine Johnston

 

Writer Lorraine Johnston was a senior health and safety advisor with a major engineering company when she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Unable to continue in her first career she turned to her passion for writing and went on to publish several children’s picture books, all benefitting different charities. In 2023 Foggie Toddle Books published a new edition of her book ‘Walter’s Wonky Web’ about a spider who believes his web skills need improvement until it’s pointed out to him that his designs aren’t wrong, they are just a reflection of his own creativity.

Jayne Baldwin

Owner and publisher of Foggie Toddle Books, Jayne Baldwin, began her writing life as a journalist with local and regional newspapers.

Her first book ‘West Over the Waves’ was published by GC Books in 2009 which led to her becoming involved in publishing and bookselling. She has two further historical non fiction titles – Mary Timney: The Road to the Gallows and The Wrecking of the Orion. She has been the editor of further books but is probably best known for her stories about Belted Galloway cattle – The Belties of Curleywee Farm, Big Bill’s Beltie Bairns, Big Bill and the Larking Lambs and Betty’s New Best Friend.

Jayne worked with GC Books, and co founded Curly Tale Books before leaving to start her own publishing company and bookshop in Wigtown, Scotland’s National Booktown. She’s enjoys kayaking, sea swimming, playing tennis and walking her dog.