Nonfiction

Scotland Is Not for the Squeamish

By Bill Watkins

Book Two of the Once and Future Celt Trilogy

Rich and colorful, Bill Watkins deftly mingles Celtic poetry, history, and song with true and tall tales of his high-seas adventures and explorations of the Scottish highlands. Continuing from where A Celtic Childhood left off, Scotland Is Not for the Squeamish reflects on the events that transpired through Bill’s early twenties and shaped him as a man.

After realizing his childhood dream of becoming a wireless operator at seas, Watkins takes his readers to the places he visits, the people he meets, and the work and predicaments he gets into. Whether it’s experiencing the wrath of a hurricane on a trawler, sinking docked warships, bedazzling friends with Druid magic, or hunting for gold in the mountains of Scotland, the tales of the ever-vibrant Bill Watkins capture his adventures and his character with glorious effect.

Tackling his rugged surroundings with humor and smarts, Watkins recounts the magic of his younger years of soul-searching exploration in animated detail, giving Scotland Is Not for the Squeamish the rare quality of equaling its predecessor.

“Stuffed full of mischief and yearning, and all manner of whimsical absurdity that bedevils the soul of the dispossessed Celt.”
— Erin Hart, author of Haunted Ground, Lake of Sorrows, and False Mermaid

“Watkins’ gift is as a storyteller.”
— Herald Sunday

Bill Watkins was born in Birmingham, England, to a Welsh/Irish family in 1950. His bilingual parents were notable traditional singers. Having learned to play the tin whistle, fiddle, guitar, banjo and mandolin at an early age, Watkins is an accomplished singer/songwriter whose most famous ditty, “The Errant Apprentice,” has been recorded worldwide. Watkins lives in Minneapolis, where he builds pubs in the British Isles style and serves as a cultural ambassador at Merlins Rest Pub. He's currently working on his next book, The Fiasco Society. www.merlinsrest.com/bill-watkins/