Creative Writing
Alicia Anne Adams is a writer and folklorist based in the English countryside. A scholar of Medieval Literature, she carries her love of old lore and legend into her own creative work.
She has written and self-published three books of short stories. The first, created for swordfighting business Balefire Blades, showcases microfiction centred on swords and fencing, drawing on historical and fantastical themes. Its first print run sold out within months.
Her second title was produced for a touring Scottish textile-arts exhibition and features an original short story inspired by each artwork. These tales explore themes of heritage, community, folklore and ecology, woven together with wool and the Scottish landscape. Alicia presented this book at the Butser Ancient Farm book festival alongside renowned fiction and non-fiction authors.
She has also written a companion text for an internationally touring museum exhibition on vararfeldir, or Viking-era trade cloaks. This includes a compendium of her research on the topic, as well as ten short stories, giving a glimpse into the rich historic world of those who wove, wore and traded these remarkable garments. She is currently working on a longer text on the same subject in collaboration with weaver and experimental archaeologist Sarah Rosenthal Almirall.
Alicia is currently working on two full-length novels, one of which she hopes will become her debut traditionally published work. You can read more about those projects below.
Skaldkonur
Skaldkonur is an epic Nordic fantasy inspired by Alicia’s academic study of Old Norse saga literature, particularly the Skaldic tradition. Set on the fictional island of Eyn, it follows Agthys, a woman defined her by her roles as daughter and wife, until she defies tradition by volunteering as the new apprentice Lawspeaker.
What starts as a rebellious whim becomes a journey far beyond Agthys’s dreams as under the guidance of the elderly Lawspeaker, she studies Eyn’s ancient traditions. She discovers that the complex verses she once dismissed as metaphor are in fact a map to long-forgotten parts of the island: the Gates to the mythic Nine Realms.
To complete her training and claim the mantle of Lawspeaker, Agthys must travel to each Gate and return with a token as proof. But what she finds is far more complex: as belief in the Realms fades, so do the virtues they embody, leaving Eyn exposed to growing threats. When danger reaches the island’s shores, Agthys must find a way to remind her people of their magical birthright - before it’s too late.
Dealing with questions of faith and fate, tradition and change, Skaldkonur weaves a compelling world: bound by political strain and an inhospitable, insular environment, yet lifted by swords, sorcery and self-discovery.
Vararfeldr: Weaving New Life into Archaeology
This short collection of original stories and informative facts was created as a companion text to the internationally touring Vararfeldr exhibition, which centres around the handwoven recreations of eight Viking-era pile-woven cloaks, based on archaeological finds.
Drawing on her academic background in Old Norse literature, Alicia researched the archaeology, ancient laws and folklore surrounding these remarkable garments, creating sign boards for the exhibition itself, and drawing their information together into this souvenir volume.
Alicia also wrote ten original short stories for the text, offering evocative glimpses into the everyday lives of the people who wove, wore and traded these cloaks, from a young woman lost in an Irish bog to a sailmaker weaving in the Norwegian fjords.
The book is available to buy online at www.ardbeagcrafts.com, where you will also find information on the dates and locations for the touring exhibition.
Forgotten Fleece Tales
Written to accompany the touring Scottish exhibition, Forgotten Fleece Tales, this colourful compendium includes photos of and information on the 22 original artworks included in the tour, as well as original short stories inspired by each artwork.
Artists were asked to make pieces using “waste wool” - raw fleeces that would otherwise be consigned to the scrap heap, industrial mill waste such as selvedge and cone ends, or repurposed wool from discarded textiles.
The result is an exciting exploration of the place wool holds in Scotland’s history and heritage, and how it can be reimagined as part of a sustainable future for fashion, design, architecture, conservation and more.
Alicia's stories add new dimensions to each piece, exploring wool’s gifts of warmth, comfort, nostalgia and connection, as well as drawing out historical, folkloric and ecological themes.
The volume also contains an exploration of textiles in Scottish folklore, a foreword examining the link between text and textiles, and a behind-the-scenes look at each artist, their materials, and their methods.
A Sword Called Spindle
A Sword Called Spindle is a young adult fantasy novel that reimagines the Sleeping Beauty tale by asking: what if the fated spindle were actually a sword?
Briar Rose is cursed. Everyone in the castle says so, and they don't just mean her propensity to get into trouble. Her estranged auntie cursed her at her Naming, saying she'd die at the point of a spindle before she turned fifteen. Now, with her mother banished from the Kingdom and her father barely able to look her in the eye, she runs wild through the castle's labyrinthine halls, fighting with the stable boys and hissing at anyone who dares pity her.
When her misadventures lead her to discover a smallsword that sings in her hand, she is thrilled by the danger. Naming it "Spindle" in defiance of the curse, she is determined to become a great fencer. When her father makes plans to marry her off before her imminent death, Briar makes her own plans: to enter clandestine duels, and use the prize money to find her mother. After all, the worst it could do is kill her.
Exploring themes of mortality and gender identity, A Sword Called Spindle is a fierce coming-of-age story inspired by historical swordswomen such as Julie d’Aubigny and La Jaguarina. Drawing on Alicia’s background as a historical fencer, it features meticulously crafted fight scenes and a fantastical twist on 17th-century duelling culture.