num_pages: 180
description: In their tiny sea-beaten cottage on the north coast of Scotland Liska and Ruth await the birth of their first child. They spend their time telling stories to the unborn baby trying to pass on the lessons they've learned: tales of circuses and stargazing selkie fishermen and domestic werewolves child-eating witches and broken-toothed dragons. But each must keep their storytelling a secret from the other as they've agreed to only ever tell the plain truth. Ruth tells her stories when Liska is at work to a background of shrieking seabirds; Liska tells hers when Ruth is asleep with the lighthouse sweeping its steady beam through the window. As their tales build and grow along with their child Liska and Ruth realise that the truth lives in their stories and they cannot hide from one another. A Portable Shelter is a beautifully produced collection of elegant haunting short stories from one of Britain's most exciting new talents. Each story is accompanied by an illustration by award-winning artist Liz Myhill. Produced with the assistance of the Dr Gavin Wallace Fellowship.
language: English
title: A Portable Shelter
publisher: Association for Scottish Literary Studies