Today I’m delighted to feature author Samantha York. Her debut novel The Foreshore, was published by Salt Publishing in August 2025 and explores themes of isolation, grief, and clashing beliefs on a remote Scottish island.
Samantha is a Glasgow based writer raised on the Northumberland coast. Samantha lives with her husband, daughter, cat and gecko.
Over to Samantha:
Which five pieces of music/songs would you include in the soundtrack to your life and why?
“Wuthering Heights” by Kate Bush
I’m a huge fan of Kate Bush, and my favourite novel and greatest literary inspiration as a writer is “Wuthering Heights”, so naturally this comes first on my playlist. The bleak atmosphere and uncanny quality of the novel is perfectly evoked in both the lyrics and music. It is absolutely the kind of weird, disorientating and creepy vibe that I would want people to feel reading my own writing.
“Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide” by David Bowie
This song helped get me through some of the darkest chapters of my life. Times when I felt that there was no chance of things getting better and my sense of self was utterly crushed. Times when I felt the best I could ever hope for was a dead-end job or toxic relationship and that the validation of others was everything. I would play this song every day as routine and its final triumphant cry of solidarity from Bowie would make me feel seen and give me the will to get through that day. Needless to say, I cried when he passed away.
“The Last Man on the Earth” by Wolf Alice
This song really struck a chord with me when I first heard it, especially as I was writing my first novel, “The Foreshore”, at the time. The whole song is a riff on a Kurt Vonnegut quote that places divine significance on coincidence, a notion which the song deconstructs as an egotistical human fallacy: a fallacy that places us at the centre of the universe at the expense of everything else around us. It made me think of one of my central characters, Reverend Thomas Murray, who could strongly use this kind of lesson in humility. It’s also a message that I find rings very true to where society is currently heading.
Symphony No. 3 (The Organ Symphony) by Camille Saint-Saens
The finale is by far my favourite piece of classical music. It is uplifting, inspiring, yet simultaneously comforting and familiar. I credit the latter to its significant role in the soundtrack to the film, “Babe”, one of the sweetest movies of all time. I often sing the lyricised version to my daughter as she is falling asleep.
“The Skye Boat Song” – Traditional
Whilst it does partly reflect the kind of romanticised, chocolate box history that I loathe, this song captured my imagination as a child and got me interested in folklore and folk music as a way of reading the past. It is still incredibly haunting in its evocative depiction of a strong woman amidst the storm-tossed Hebridean landscape.
What five things (apart from family and friends) would you find it hard to live without.
Stories – Books feels too obvious, so I would have to say that stories, including folklore, myths and ghost stories, are what I could not live without. Oral storytelling tradition is very important and is drummed into us from infancy. It is where a lot of my inspiration comes from as a writer.
Nature – When I need to feel inspired, I can always rely on a long walk on the beach or through the woods. When I feel creatively blocked, I find it is the best way to clear my head.
Museums and historical sites – Reading about history is not enough for me: I need to see and experience the artefacts and places of the past to feel connected to them.
Vintage fashion – I learned in my twenties that a lot of modern fashion was not for me. I went through a phase of wearing only 1940s inspired clothing but then realised that I had the whole of history at my disposal to find styles that appealed to me. What I wear now is more of a hodgepodge of 40’s land girl, Victorian academic and vaguely historical witch.
Give five pieces of advice to your younger self?
There is nothing wrong with you. As a child and teenager, I often felt like I had to fit in but often could not relate to what others wanted from me. I later discovered that I am autistic and no longer feel a compulsion to appease others in the same way. The irony is this has made me far less awkward around people.
A similar piece of advice, but embrace being weird and don’t do things you don’t enjoy just because others think you should.
Be open. This can be scary but be your true self and let your relationships with others blossom organically.
If something isn’t working, there is no shame in changing course.
Things will work out in the end. You’re going to hate hearing this, but it is true, even if how things work is not what you originally expected.
Tell us five things that most people don’t know about you
I love sharks, but whilst ticking cage diving off my bucket list I was mortified when a sudden surge of sea sickness caused me to be sick in the face of a Great White. To be fair, I don’t think they minded much.
I sing loudly in the car. Only my one-year-old knows.
My celebrity crushes are almost all dead.
I own a tarot deck and despite my innate scepticism I have used it.
Tell us five things you’d still like to do or achieve.
Firstly, I would like my second novel to have a publishing date and be enjoyed by readers.
I would like to keep writing publishable books (you’ll see there is a pattern here).
I would like to help other writers accomplish their creative vision.
To live in a big, old (preferably haunted) house full of books and animals.
To leave a happy legacy for my daughter.
Many thanks for joining me today Samantha. I love your music choices and I hope you approve of the version of The Sky Boat Song that I included. As I’m partial to bagpipes I was drawn to this one. I can understand your love of museums and historical sites. Seeing artifacts and places can often be far more evocative than just reading, they really help bring facts to life. I love your description of your fashion style, “40’s land girl, Victorian academic and vaguely historical witch” sounds pretty cool to me. I guess that also harks back to your advice for your younger self, to be your authentic self and don’t try to appease and fit in. It’s a lesson I’m still learning, plus I’m still figuring out my fashion style – a worrying confession as I’m in my late 60’s! Singing loudly in the car is wonderful, I used to love it. As I no longer drive I’ve become a kitchen singer – it doesn’t quite have the same freedom. Here’s hoping that your second novel isn’t too far away and that your creative spark keeps sparking. That big old house full of books and animals also sounds very appealing, but I’d have to pass on the ghosts!
The Foreshore
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In the wake of a deadly storm, past sins return to haunt the living…
Eilean Eòin is a tiny scrap of land which is stranded amidst miles of fierce ocean, where the scant population barely cling to a centuries’ old way of life. It is here that Flora McKinnon, an aging islander, is brought news of her youngest child’s death, whilst tensions are riled by the arrival of a new reverend, Thomas Murray. Murray has a mission: to weed out religious dissent and purge the island in the name of progress.
When a strange young woman is found washed up on the foreshore, illness and famine start to blight the island, stirring whispers of witchcraft. Despite their differences, Flora and Murray unite in an uneasy attempt to solve the mystery of the girl’s identity, which soon becomes an all-consuming obsession. With their own deep-buried skeletons, will the island’s dark secrets make or break them both?
