As long as I can remember I have been fascinated by ruined castles and stories of beasts and ghosts. As a child I loved reading books and in particular poetry. My mum was quite worn out with her sons demands for bedtime stories to never end. I loved to listen to tales told by firelight, sometimes ending up too scared to sleep!
Oral tradition and the written word by the many great Bards spoke to me deeply and I became intrigued by the many Celtic myths and tales that have passed into Legend.
I grew to love the work of Robert Louis Stevenson, Robert Burns, Lord Byron, William Wordsworth, Edgar Allan Poe, James Joyce, James MacPherson to name but a few influences. I am quite sure the scholars amongst you will find their influence in my writing.

In my lifetime I have spent many a lost day wandering the inspiring old cobbled streets of Edinburgh to the lost wilderness of the Highlands. Scotland has a magical, unique quality that I will never tire of.
I was born in Dundee and lived in Carmyllie near Arbroath but moved to Dunfermline in Fife aged 9. Dunfermline being the ancient capital of Scotland, complete with a ruined 12th century Abbey and is the resting place of Robert the Bruce |”King of Scots”. Dunfermline was an inspiring “Auld Toon” to grow up in to say the least!
When I went to live briefly in the Isle of Skye in my late teens, I began to study the wanderings of The Bonnie Prince and the Jacobite risings. The cruel and bloody revenge of the British Government struck deep into my psyche and I felt compelled to find out more and more.
Eventually in 1996 I become involved in a former Secret Jacobite Society “A Circle of Gentlemen” of which I eventually became chair and I still am to this day.
In 1998 I met my wife Donna and in 2002 and moved to my beloved Highlands to live. It was to prove to be a life changing decision. I had been a musician and a writer my whole life, with varying degrees of success, but a young family and a new business halted any creative path for many years but I still had a secret ambition to create something unique in whatever shape that might take.
After completing an intensive 4 year course of professional study, my life felt full of spare time and possibilities, so in the summer of 2013, I decided to test my writing skills and attempted to write a book.
An entire summer later I had the bones of what would become “The Jacobite Officer”.
Fate was to intervene with a chance introduction to talented local Composer Kenneth R MacLennan.
We instantly clicked and this led to the idea of creating a narrative Soundtrack.
Some recording sessions then ensued at a studio on the banks of Loch Ness. There was a meeting of minds, chemistry and some magical moments happened.
As the recordings evolved, I realised that we were being taken in a deeper, darker direction, which influenced me to rewrite much of what I had already completed, so the whole body of work became very organic, one medium influencing the other.
As well as the written word, The Jacobite Officer project evolved into a beautiful, moving Sound-Scape, that became a successful ,live production in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2016.

I have spent the last few years refining The Jacobite Officer and it has indeed been a journey into the darkest recesses of my imagination. You never truly know if its finished but sometimes you have to stop….there may be more to come, who knows??
At the point of writing these closing lines, I have begun working on a supporting film project…The Jacobite Officer project continues to evolve!
I hope you enjoy the adventure as it truly was a labour of love.
The following people I wish to thank for their support and patience. I never would have got here if not for you.
Kenneth R MacLennan, Tom Alner, Craig Urquhart, Jason Dormer, Derek Joy, Andy Stewart Jamieson, Ian Forsyth, Anthony Carson, Zoe Victoria, Alasdair Macneill, Ross Shand,Paul Power, Victor Cameron, Deborah Dennison, Robert Jensen, Peter and Rae Gibson, Iona Gibson, Jack McDaniel, David McGovern, Paul MacDonald, Kenny Jamieson and A Circle of Gentlemen.
Last but not least my wife Donna and family, who I am quite sure, are all demented with my obsession with this man from the past.
I wish to dedicate The Jacobite Officer to the memory of my departed friends David Gilmour and Alex Mackay who were a source of great support, but they too walked into the light before their time.
Slainte Gentlemen
My Love to you all….
Matthew J Donnachie