A literary pilgrimage to Abbotsford by Michelle Styles

Over the years, I have enjoyed visiting houses where famous authors created their stories and found inspiration. Literary pilgrimages if you will. Recently  I took a literary  pilgrimage and visited Abbotsford, the home of Sir Walter Scott. While he can be a bit overlooked today, Sir Walter Scott was the first successful commercial novelist so it felt appropriate to visit his house. In his day and for decades afterwards, he was the world’s most popular novelist. In doing so, I was retracing the steps of other writers such Nathaniel Hawthorne and  Charlotte Bronte who had also come to see where the man wrote his books.

Abbotsford from the walled garden

Sir Walter Scott purchased the farmhouse and set out about refashioning it into a Scottish baron’s castle.  At the time, he was  the world’s most popular novelist. The main train station in Edinburgh — Waverley — is named after the novel which made his name, rather than the opposite.

A grandfather clock belonging to Scott

More than anyone else, he did much to popularize certain beliefs about Scotland and Scottish history. He loved Scotland and wanted others to love it to.  His novel Ivanhoe popularized the medieval period as a world populated by  brave knights and maidens who needed rescuing. i It also gave the world the image of Robin Hood as the Earl of Locksley. If you like romances set in the Highlands, again Scott is the writer ultimately responsible for popularizing this area and inspiring generations of writers.

Sir Walter Scott's marriage lines

He was such a Scottish patriot that he obtained permission from George IV to search for the Scottish crown jewels and then actually discovered them in a box in Edinburgh castle where they had been put a 100  years before when the Act of Union happened. Partly as a reward for the discovering the missing jewels, Sir Walter Scott became the mastermind behind George IV’s visit to Edinburgh which among other things resulted in  tartans and whiskey being legalized.

Unfortunately for Scott, shortly after his great triumph with George IV’s visit, his publisher went bankrupt. Because of how it worked back then, Scott also become bankrupt and had to go back to writing (as well as selling his Edinburgh property) to pay off the debts. 

He worked so hard that his health was damaged and he died  in the dining room in 1832.

An outfit belonging to Sir Walter Scott

Shortly afterwards, the family decided to open the house to visitors. They only showed the main public rooms, including Scott’s  wood paneled study while living in the rest of the house. Scott was a great collector of stuff — old armor, arms, books on the occult, locks of Robert Burns and Nelson’s hair etc. The library remains just as it was in  Scott’s day when they used to use it for entertaining.   There are  no bedrooms or backstairs areas open but they have significantly altered since Scott’s day. The main purpose of a visit to the house is to worship the genius of storytelling that was Sir Walter Scott.

He also landscaped the grounds and walled garden. On the day I visited there was a group of artists (including one in full artist regalia – beret and smock) painting in the garden. The grounds also host a number of adventure play areas for children and walks along the Tweed and through the woods Scott planted.

There is also a newish tea room (the food is good and reasonably priced)  above a small museum where items associated with Scott can be found, including his marriage lines to his wife. I will admit to never really having seen the proper document before. It is no wonder they went to simple licenses.  They also have a gift shop where  Scott’s books and inevitable Scottish shortbread is sold.

Apparently weddings are often held in the grounds and the former private area of the house has now become accommodation for guests. There is a

The house is quite close to Melrose Abbey where Robert the Bruce’s heart was buried. The name Abbotsford harkens back to the abbey. It is a forgotten corner of Scotland in many ways but well worth a trip.

In  Other News

My 27^th historical romance  Sent as The Viking’s Bride has been accepted and will be published in January 2019. As it is set on the Scottish Islands of Jura and Colonsay, I feel grateful that Scott first popularized such things all those years ago.

Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical romance set in a wide range of time periods, most recently Viking. You can read more about Michelle's books on www.michellestyles.co.uk 

Michelle Styles: My latest Book Hunting Expedition

The late Phyllis Whitney famously never went on vacation but always went on book-hunting expeditions. It is simply a matter of tailoring where you go to coincide with what you want to write. Sometimes this is easier than others as I do have to take other members of the party into account.

Thus it was last weekend when my daughter and I departed for an expedition up to the wilds of the Scottish highlands. Because Vikings were not really up there in that area, I could not research them. I could however look at the Victorians, how they had changed things and what was going on.

We stayed at the Grant Arms Hotel in Grantown-on-Spey. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert famously stayed the night here (incognito) back in 1860. Victoria wrote about in her journal. There is an exhibition about her stay in the vestibule outside the dining room. The Queen and Prince Philip also have stayed (1961) but far more openly. The hotel is a great base for exploring the area and boasts a wildlife club. If you happen to be in the area, you could do far worse as the rooms are comfortable, the food plentiful and tasty and the welcome warm.

Carriages at Balmoral

One of the days we traveled to Balmoral which is open April – September of each year. It remains very much a private residence for the royal family. However, the public can go into the ballroom (far smaller than I had thought it would be) and wander around the grounds. One of the big highlights for me (besides seeing the three tea sets the Queen uses to take tea – the gold and white is used for the morning and she alternates between the plaid rimmed and the strawberry one for afternoon tea) was the carriages. There was a splendid sleigh as well as a dogcart and a governess cart. I later learnt that Prince Philip used the Balmoral dogcart in his carriage racing and regularly smashed it up. He was the man to invent disc brakes for carriages. It rather begs the question as to what they were using before that!

The Balmoral Dogcart

I was also able to peer into the Garden cottage where the bedrooms are done up how they would have been during Queen Victoria’s time. The grounds were good but it was very clear that they managed so that they come into their splendour when the Queen is in residence during August.

Flowers in the greenhouse at Balmoral

The tea rooms are good. The Palace has just released a book of recipes, including the Queen’s dropped scone recipe that she gave President Eisenhower called Royal Teas. In the book, they mention that most of the recipes are about a 100 years old and that many were preserved by one of the housemaids writing things down.

Another focus of the trip became whisky tasting. Although whisky has been around for a long time, it did not become a legal drink until 1823. The first license to produce whisky is not granted until 1824 and that was to George Smith who produced the Glenlivet. Some distilleries claim to be older than that but they were operating beyond the law and whisky was not really drunk outside of Scotland.

In 1822, George IV travels to Edinburgh at Sir Walter Scott’s behest and tries the drink (as it happens it was George Smith’s whisky).  He likes it and of course the king cannot drink something which is illegal so Parliament legalises it in 1823. This is also the visit which sees the tartan becoming popular after Sir Walter Scott organises a grand ball and all the men have to go kilted. George’s bill for his tartan (the Royal Stuart) was over £110,000 in today’s money! The man who won the catering contract for the ball was one Ebenezer Scroggie whom a certain Charles Dickens apparently used as inspiration for a character…. But it is this visit that sets the Scotland craze going.

Most of the whisky you drink today tastes nothing like the whisky that would have been drunk pre end of Prohibition in the US. After the Prohibition ends, the whisky distillers begin to use American bourbon casks to mature their product but before that they used sherry casks, in particular oloroso casks. Some distilleries such as Glenlivet and Aberlour have started make whiskies which go back to the original which are only matured in sherry casks, Glenlivet Nadurra and Aberlour A’Bundah. During the Glenlivet tour we tasted some whisky straight from a cask which tastes different again – far rougher. I also learnt about flour flash fires and how they had to be very careful in the warehouses because whisky can go up in flames very easily.

There was plenty to digest from my book hunting expedition and I do foresee writing a Scottish Victorian in the near future (or possibly set slightly before Victoria). And I remain firmly of the opinion that book hunting expeditions are the only way to travel.

Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical romances for Harlequin Historical. Her latest Sold to the Viking Warrior is set on Islay was a result of another book hunting expedition. To learn more about Michelle and her books visit www.michellestyles.co.uk

Christina Hollis: Highland Hideaway...

My mum has been hospitalised with a chest infection, which would be bad enough at any time of year but in the run-up to Christmas it's hit her very hard. I'm working on a snow-bound story to cheer her up. 

In the name of work Megan gets stranded in a remote Scottish cottage (the Highland Hideaway of the title) with only a heartthrob celebrity for company. It's no dream job. Drew Wallace is a man whose public image is all an act. He's ticked the box for "no publicity" while he takes a break from the bright lights, but Megan's on a deadline.  Facing a huge hike in her rent, she really needs this interview to pay her bills, and avoid being thrown out of her flat.

Here's the opening of the first draft...

Shepherd’s Bothy was only a deer's leap up the track, according to the cabbie when he left Megan at the bottom of the hill. He was right—if it was a deer with legs as long as Beyoncé. From the main road, Drew Wallace’s hideaway was a smudge of light in the black landscape. After toiling up the track for what felt like hours, it grew into a huddle of buildings with their backs to the mountainside. 

Megan stopped to catch her breath. A shadow broke away from the surrounding darkness and an owl swept over her head, making her duck. As she jumped sideways there was a crack like gunfire, and her Samsonite slewed. The handle bucked out of her hand, and the next ripple of fitful moonlight ran over its broken axle. One wheel lay flat on the frozen mud.  

Hahaha! shrieked some animal from the slopes, high above in the darkness. 

The owl hissed an answer from the nearest tree.

‘If it wasn’t for you frightening me half to death, that wouldn’t have happened.’ Megan huffed.  So much for the peace and quiet of the countryside. ‘If I had the time and energy, I’d sit down and swear.’ 

Icy blasts sucked all the warmth from her body, replacing it with cold prickles. The wheel was too big to fit in her coat pocket. Pulling the case along on one castor almost broke her wrist. If her best friend Sandy’s wedding present hadn’t been inside, she would have abandoned the thing in the nearest ditch. There was nothing for it but to battle on, hoping Drew Wallace, Man of the Moment, could fix the break. 

This darling of the gossip columns was more than just a handsome face. As well as being the top man of wildlife-documentary making, he was well-known for being able to turn his hand to anything. Asking the world’s most famous recluse if he was any good at running repairs would be an icebreaker, if nothing else. And there was plenty of ice about tonight. 

Megan hauled the case up into her arms. As she bunny-dipped to pick up its wheel, the moon did another disappearing act. Groping in the dark, handicapped by the dead weight clutched to her chest, she lost her balance. The Samsonite went one way, Megan went the other—and landed with a bang on her bottom. 

Muttering through her teeth, she fumbled about. Finding her luggage again she scrambled to her feet. What was the point of wasting all those hours traveling up from London, worrying how Drew Wallace would react when she turned up out of the blue— or rather, out of the black? Working out how to get to his house in one piece would have been more use.  

Security lighting bloomed over the bothy. Actually meeting Big Bad Drew Wallace would be a snap after this endless struggle up the mountainside. It would have been quicker to fly transatlantic. If only Sandy had stuck with New York for her celebrations rather than switching to her hometown of Inverness at the last minute, they’d all be looking forward to brunch in Allswell tomorrow. Instead, it would be a Best Western special in the capital of the Highlands.

Not that spending the next few nights in Scotland wouldn’t be a great break. Leaving behind office paperwork until the New Year felt good, but a bachelorette party to kick off the holiday season took some beating.  When her boss, Max Croome, suggested she came up to the Highlands a day early on time-and-a-half plus expenses to coax Drew Wallace into writing his autobiography for Croome and Filditch, it felt like the icing on Megan’s Christmas cake. 

Shepherd's Bothy is only half an inch away from Inverness on the map. How hard could it be? 

The last two hours of delays, transport strikes and route-marching had been a tough lesson in Highland geography.

Max had been upbeat. “All you have to do is pop in to Drew at the Bothy, get him to sign on the dotted line of this contract, and Bob’s your uncle!”

And Fanny’s your aunt.

Mr Rossiter, Megan’s landlord, had a lot to answer for. Anyone who brought in a rent rise from 24th December deserved to be haunted by nightmares, like Ebeneezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol...

Megan's got a big shock in store when Drew opens the door. He may be a hunk but he's also a tough, bad-tempered misery. Getting snowed in at his Highland Hideaway for the holidays feels like a life sentence—until Megan makes a discovery that changes both their lives forever... 

I’d love to know what you think of Highland Hideaway so far. You can let me know in a comment below.

I hope you have a lovely holiday season, and a happy, peaceful New Year. See you again in 2017! xxx

My Heart Is In the Highlands

Later today, I will be returning to Scotland for the first time in NINE years. I can't believe it's been so long since my last visit and I cannot wait to get there. For years, since the first time I visited in 2002, I have felt like it is the place I need to be. It feeds my soul and refreshes my spirit and I cry when I leave. But today I'm going back --

 

  This is the quintessential song about Scotland and missing it that I wanted to share it with you...

I'll be visiting places I know I like and seeking out places I haven't yet been - all to inspire me to write stories of the history and wonder and people of the Highlands. I'm really excited that I'm going during the Blas Festival - a festival of Gaelic music and storytelling that is held across the Highlands. This year - although Dougie won't be there - I'll be seeing the Red Hot Chilli Pipers, Aly Bain& Phil Cunningham and going to the big finale show in Inverness. 

Could there be anything more magical than Gaelic songs and stories being sung and told in castles and keeps and schools and churches all over Scotland? 

I think it's my connection to this place that inspires me to write Scottish historical romances. I've always been called to it and when I need to tell a story, it's the place that usually appears to me. I shouldn't be surprised, really, because during a past-life regression I learned that I lived in medieval Scotland. . . in the Highlands. I could hear it, feel the wind, smell the air and when I opened my eyes I WAS there. 

So, I'm off to the Highlands today. Maybe someone should warn all the men-in-kilts that I'm on my way? Maybe.... 

Have you ever been to Scotland? Or have a place that calls to your soul? Tell me about it - I'll pick a couple of commentors and send out a souvenir of my trip to them! 

Terri is thrilled to be part of an upcoming Celtic ghost anthology about haunted castles in....Scotland!  ONCE UPON A HAUNTED CASTLE is available for pre-order now! Visit her website for more info! 

August is when?!!

Somehow the summer has flown by and now I'm facing down one of the busiest Augusts I've ever faced! June was taken up by college graduations and weddings - well, my youngest son did both of those! Usually, late June and most of July is taken up with RWA preparations but I can't even blame that this year since it's the first RWA I've missed since 1998.

But somehow July whipped on by me anyway. And those who know me are probably saying there must be a writing deadline coming soon and you would be correct. I also accepted an invitation to be part of a Celtic ghost anthology, coming out in time for Samhain/Halloween. So that meant writing my brains out even before I need to write my brains out on my next book. . . due August 31!

Yeah, that's how I roll....LOL!

I have actually had the chance to read a few books and would love to share them with you - in case you need a couple more romances to read this summer...


First - I grabbed up Annie West's newest one - The Flaw in Raffaele's Revenge - and read it in ONE day! It was hot and a great romance - try it if you haven't! (I think she may be talking about it here tomorrow so stop back!)



Then,  a friend suggested an author I'd never read - Emma Wildes - and I confess, I'm in love! Her historical romances were out a few years ago and I tried to savor the first one - An Indecent Proposition - it didn't work and I stayed up late two nights finishing it. A steamy, old-school historical romance with a wonderful secondary romance, too! I've since bought up print copies of her other books so I've got lots to read!


And finally, I found another new-to-me author - Kerrigan Byrne. She's getting rave reviews on her Victorian Rebels series so I read the first one - The Highwayman -  and ordered the next 3! Again, old-school historical romance - this time sexy and so emotional. Her next one comes out next week and I wish I could read it as soon as it gets here... but. . .

Now, I'm heading straight downhill into my next deadline. AND -- going to Scotland  on August 31! Yes, finally returning there after 7 years and I'm so excited. I have research places to visit for my upcoming books and Blas Festival concerts to attend.  Lots of photos will be posted all over my social media places.

So that's my summer -- how's yours going? Read any good books you can recommend to me or done anything fun? Please share in a comment and I'll be choosing two commentors to receive a copy of the "Once Upon A Haunted Castle" coming September 27!

Terri is thrilled to share that she'll be writing 6!!! more medieval Highlander romances for Harlequin over the next few years! Her next one - Kidnapped by the Highland Rogue - will be available in print on September 20 and in digital on October 1! Stop by her website for lots of info!

Can You Be Homesick for a Place Where You've Never Lived?

   

I always thought you had to have lived in a place in order to be homesick for it. But, I discovered on my first trip to Scotland in 2002, that I was wrong. As soon as I landed, 2 days late and alone and rushing to catch up with the group in Pitlochry, I knew I'd come home. 


   And, I really thought that my recent illness had caused such strange feelings throughout the trip and on my way back home. But, when I visited Scotland again in 2004, I knew I'd returned home...again. 

   Over these last several weeks, the need to go back has been increasing almost on a daily basis. The premiere of the OUTLANDER series on Starz with its wonderful scenery and history and, ok-shallow-gal-here, hunky Highlanders in kilts with scrumptious Scottish accents has made it nearly unbearable. 



  So, I've been posting photos on my FB page and reliving my most recent visit there in 2009. I'd decided I wanted to go and stay long enough to feel as though I was not simply a tourist. My trip was just over 3 weeks long -- and I went solo! My hubby valiantly (and with a painful expression in his eyes that said please say no) offered to come with me but I knew it would not be pleasant for him....and would ruin my trip. 

With maps, a reservation for a GPS in the rental car, off I went from Glasgow out to Oban, up to Dornie and over to Skye. Ferries took me to Mull and Iona and Lewis and Harris. Then, after a stay in Inverness, I headed north to Orkney. More ferries and then down to Aberdeen and St. Andrews. Finally across to Loch Ness and a stay in Glenmoriston before heading back to the US. 

And I know I need to get back there....soon....absolutely, positively must. 


How about you? Is there a place, near or far, where you've felt that same thing? As though it is where you should be? As though you leave a piece of yourself behind when you go? 

Terri has been busy writing the first books in 2 new series, both debuting in 2015! RISING FIRE:A Novel of the Stone Circles will be a March 2015 release and STOLEN BY THE HIGHLANDER will be out in April 2015. Visit her website or FB page or FB profile for lots more info...and sign up for her newsletter to keep in touch! 

The OUTLANDER Craze - You In?

Back in 1991, while I was busy with a new baby, Diana Gabaldon published her first novel - OUTLANDER. I'd only recently returned to reading romance (during that pregnancy!) and ignored it because it was written in the first-person perspective. I've always found books written that way difficult to enjoy or read. So, I was happily reading lots of historical romances by Julie Garwood and Johanna Lindsey and many others even while I kept hearing about OUTLANDER. 

It took more than a year of buzz about it before I gave it a try - and I fell into this story about a woman who travels back in time to 18th century Scotland and her struggles to survive and adapt in that time period...with the help of an extraordinary younger man named Jamie Fraser. By the end of it, I was well-and-truly hooked and waited for each next book in the series - not patiently nor well since it took quite a while for Diana to write each one. 

Now, fast forward through more than 20 years to today...social media and romance readers all over the place are buzzing about the tv series adaptation of OUTLANDER coming this summer. After years of speculating and 'casting' the series in case it was made into a movie or tv show, the casting is set - and I have to say - their choices are spectacular! Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe are perfect for the roles! And Tobias Menzies (who I've watched in many roles) has the dubious honor of playing the dual role of Frank Randall and Black Jack Randall....can't wait to see that! 

So - take a look: (this one is my favorite so far because you can hear Sam's wonderful voice and accent): 

 Visit here to learn some Gaelic phrases and words!

  I confess - I am falling in love...with Jamie Fraser...and can't wait for late Summer 2014 to get here. To make my wait a bit easier, I've made myself a Pocket Jamie.... Starz gave them out at a couple of fan events (already!) and you can print and cut them out yourself if you want one... He'll stay on my desk, serving as inspiration to me....

 But today, he came out to lunch with me and my friends and made quite an appearance! LOL! You can get your own Jamie here.

So - how about you? Have you read the series? Heard about the tv show coming in the summer? Plan to read it?  Or just like hot, Scottish highlanders in kilts with fabulous accents? (it's okay to be shallow....!)

 Speaking of shallow....isn't that <<<>>>

I'm thrilled to let you know that YIELD TO THE HIGHLANDER (the final book in my MacLerie Clan series from Harlequin Historical) is the Featured Author selection for May! So, you'll find a very special edition of it in many retailers...with the first print edition of my HH UNDONE short story - TAMING THE HIGHLAND ROGUE...! 
I hope you'll look for it on the shelves on April 17th and in digital formats on May 1st! FMI - visit my website.

Anne Gracie's Scottish Affair

I've had a love affair with Scotland all my life. I grew up with a father who, like his father and grandfather before him, quoted Rabbie Burns at the drop of a hat, and we recited the Selkirk grace at dinnertime. That was even before we went to live in Scotland for a year when I was eight. My siblings and I came back to Australia speaking broad Scottish - as a kid, you learn to fit in pretty quickly.

Yet I've never set a story in Scotland. Partly this was because my first editor was English and she saw nothing whatsoever romantic about Scotsmen or Scotland.

And just in case my first editor happens to be reading this, here's one reasons why Scottish romances are fabulous:

So when Trisha Telep asked me to contribute a story to the Mammoth Book of Scottish Romance, I jumped at the chance. I had such fun with the story, too.

My hero, Cameron, is laird in name only — his inheritance is in the hands of his uncle until Cameron turns thirty, or marries. His uncle is spending money like water and nothing Cameron says will stop him. Cameron storms out, swearing to marry the first eligible woman he meets...

So Cameron sets off, followed by his two cousins, who've bet on the outcome of the vow — and taken a wee dram or three of the Good Stuff along the way...

Of course, the first woman Cameron meets is entirely unsuitable.... on the surface. Not that he can see much of her surface -- he's run her and her sheep into a bog, and she's covered in mud.

But there's more to Jeannie Macleay than meets the eye... and she's no pushover. Cameron is in for a learning experience...

Here's an excerpt — but to get you in the mood first, here's another reason why you should read Scottish romances!


The girl followed her sheep, putting as much distance between herself and the men as she could, running swiftly despite the clumsy, man-sized boots. Cameron watched her thoughtfully.

When he'd made his rash statement he had no thought of wedding anyone except a lady born. This bog sprite shepherdess was totally unsuitable.

But he'd never broken his word before. Rashness gave way to serious thought; there might be wives to be had in Inverness — ladies — but how long would it take to get one to wed him? And how much would his uncle squander in the meantime?

Jimmy grabbed him by the shoulder. "Well, Cammie, will ye wed her or no? There's a bet on."

Cameron swore softly under his breath. The girl was young, unmarried and born outside the estate. What difference would it make anyway who he wed? Women were for running the house and birthing babes and any female could do that. Getting control of his inheritance was what counted. Besides, the little he knew of ladies born was that they were a lot of trouble. They expected a man to dance attendance on them, whereas a lass like this, country bred and down-to-earth...

She floundered in the mud. Very down-to-earth.

"Aye, I'll wed her," he declared.

"Aha—" Jimmy began, then let out a yell. "She's getting away. Don't worry, Cam, I'll get her back for ye." And without warning he jumped on his horse and galloped after the girl.

"Och, the mad fool," Donald began. "Whatever will she think—"

Cameron leapt on his horse and set off after Jimmy.

The girl, seeing Jimmy bearing down on her, screamed defiance at him and ran faster. Jimmy let out a whoop, as if he was running down a hind.

"Leave her be, Jimmy," Cameron roared.

But Jimmy was almost on the girl and oblivious. With a blood-curdling yell he scooped her up and tossed her over his saddle. She fought and struggled but Jimmy just laughed and smacked her on the backside as he wheeled his horse around and cantered back to Cameron with a triumphant grin.

"I fetched her for ye—yeeeowww!" He broke off with a yell of pain. He stared down at the girl in shock. "She bit me! The wee vixen bit me!"

The wee vixen moved to bite his leg again and Jimmy hastily shoved her off his horse. She dropped lightly to the ground and glanced warily around, preparing to run again.

* * * * *

Mine is just one of twenty-one stories in the collection. It's a fabulous read.

The Mammoth Book of Scottish Romance - edited by Trisha Telep

Released January 4th 2011 in the USA, Jan. 27 in the UK

And just in case you need reminding, here's a third reason why Scottish romances are fabulous:

So what about you -- do you think Scotland is romantic, or do you agree with my first editor?

Anne Gracie
http://www.annegracie.com/

In Search of Serendipity

I am always amazed at the serendipitous moments in real life and in writing my stories. Many, many times, strange 'coincidences' happen and things work out in mysterious ways -- much like Robert the Bruce finding and watching the spider in that cave in Ireland when he was hiding. According to legend, it was observing the spider's relentless efforts to weave its web and inspire the Bruce onto bigger and better things....(If you magnify this photo, there's an itsy bitsy spider in the corner of one of the panes of stained glass in the Abbey at Dumfernline...)

Anyway...I believe that these moments happen and make things/my stories better. When I was writing my novella THE CLAIMING OF LADY JOANNA, I decided to use evil Prince. . er. . King John as a character but the story had to be set in Springtime in England. Well, heck, I said, as I wrote the novella and researched it as I was writing it. Amazingly, I discovered that the ONLY year King John actually held an Easter court in England was. . . the year in which I set my story!

Those kinds of things have happened lots of times in my life and my writing. Serendipity. Moments and events that I couldn't have planned but are special.


When I'd planned my first trip to Scotland, something I'd dreamed of for years and years, I ended up in the hospital. I begged my doc to let me go (once they couldn't find anything wrong with me) and I ended up joining the rest of the group a day late. Because of that, I flew to Scotland on my own, took a train across and into the Cairngorms and into a small town called Pitlochry. I also met a number of people I would never have met and was even helped from the train station by a nice young man who showed me around the town and found a ride for me (on a Sunday when no taxis were available). Pure serendipity.

One of the best examples of serendipity occurred during my first trip to Scotland when I stayed on with 2 friends - Sue-Ellen Welfonder and Lisa Trumbauer - to travel out to the Highlands. As we were on our way back to Glasgow, we passed by the sign for this castle I'd never heard of: Dunstaffnage. So, as Sue-Ellen fills me in on the history of it, we toured, climbed onto the battlements, walked the acres around it, all the time never dreaming that it would turn into a romance novel for me a few years later.

So, what's this all about? Well, I'm planning another trip to Scotland and I am in search of serendipity. I'll be driving all over the Highlands, visiting the islands and lots of places in between. And I'm hoping that something will click, something will ping, something from the cosmic universe to point me in a direction or inspire me. I suspect, with scenery like this-- -- it will happen!


Terri






While Terri is busy planning the trip, her latest Harlequin Historical - THE CONQUEROR'S LADY - is hitting the shelves. After beginning the story in her HH Undone, A NIGHT FOR HER PLEASURE in June, the Knights of Brittany return as Giles find his newly-betrothed wife marrying someone else! Visit Terri's website for more information about her upcoming novels and novellas.. www.terribrisbin.com

(okay - yesterday in work, we were talking about Elton John's TINY DANCER and how it was sung in a movie that none of us could remember; as I'm writing this blog, I changed the channels and came upon ALMOST FAMOUS as the whole group in the bus is singing along with TINY DANCER! Serendipity in action!)

You Say It's Your Birthday?!.......

.....it's my birthday, too, yeah!

Alas, it is my birthday today and I'm tempted to use some of that new-fangled math to come up with a number I like more than the real number (doesn't that new math still allow for imaginary numbers?). But, after facing some serious glitches in the matrix of life a couple of years ago, I guess I'm just fine starting my 53rd year on planet Earth.

Even though I'm acknowledging my body's age, I have to say that I don't think I'm really that old yet. At least not in mind and spirit. I still have things to do, places I want to see, people I want to meet, books I want to read...and write...., music to hear and people I want to be like when I grow up!! I think I've always been one of those people who never acts or thinks like their age. Now sometimes, that's not a nice thing to say, but I take it as a compliment because I think, as that "Kick the Can" episode of TWILIGHT ZONE taught us, that you are only as old as you let yourself be.

And, my habit at this time of year, not necessarily New Year, but on my birthday eve, is to think ahead at where I want to be or what I want to have memories of on my next birthday. Since I did this on January 29th, 2008 --

-- I've written two novels, one novella, and a short story,

-- I've signed with a new publisher to write 3 more books,

-- I hired a new agent,

-- I spent 3 weeks traveling all over the UK and got to climb the scaffolding to the top of Rosslyn Chapel, see the Highlands in the middle of a snowstorm, listened to harpists from all over the world, met a world-renowned scientist who spoke on how storytelling is one of two biggest differences between human and ape brains!, visited a library built in the 1700s, and rode buses all over London and Edinburgh, talking to the locals and meeting so many nice people!

-- took my hubby and son (and his friend) from San Francisco to southern California to Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon to Phoenix, meeting friends and romance readers and writers all along the way

-- celebrated countless family and friend birthdays and anniversaries and other happy occasions

-- had a wonderful quiet holiday season at home with family.

Are you tired yet? I am! LOL! So, 2009 has a lot to live up to if I compare it to 2008, but I've discovered that each year is special and offers wonderful occasions and events and milestones to remember. So what can 2009 bring to me to make it stand out.

Well, I think I am on the brink of a wonderful year ahead. How do I know? According to my horoscope over at Astrology Zone.com 2009 is MY YEAR! Okay, I have to share this fantabulous year with other Aquarians, but I'm willing because apparently there's lot of fabulous to share. I take horoscopes with a grain of salt, of course, but the last time Jupiter was in my sign (12 years ago in 1997) I finished my second manuscript, was on Lifetime TV with Debbie Macomber and Harlequin editor Paula Eyckelhof promoting it , I signed with my first agent, and sold my first book! So, I'm thinking this whole 'Jupiter in Aquarius' thing could be good again for me?

What do I hope for? Where do I want to be on birthday eve 2010?

The answer is the same each year -- to be surrounded by family and friends, to be in good health, to be writing books that my readers enjoy, to be seeing the places I want to see, doing the things I enjoy, meeting the people I like and new ones, too, and just being here.

The rest of it is all icing on the cake of life -- to be enjoyed, to make memories, but not essential to my savoring the plain, simple parts.

So yes! It's my birthday, too, yeah! How do you celebrate your birthday? Do you look behind or look ahead? What's the best thing, personally or professionally, that happened to you in 2008? Leave a comment and share it with me and I'll send something out to 2 randomly-selected posters, not limited to Aquarians so as to spread the good cheer around!

Terri

Terri's next release will be her Harlequin Historical UNDONE!, available online in June 2009, followed by the first book in her new "Knights of Brittany" trilogy, THE CONQUEROR'S LADY, for Harlequin Historicals, available in bookstores and online in July 2009. Then, watch for her first Kensington BRAVA historical romance, A STORM OF PASSION, available in December 2009. Visit her website at:

www.terribrisbin.com for more info on books, Terri, contests and everything!

Missing: Where are the Men in Kilts?

Just who I need to tell about the missing men-in-kilts in Scotland? Does one call the police about something as horrible as an entire group of people who went missing during my recent trip to Scotland? Scotland Yard, perhaps? (sorry – couldn’t help myself there!)

I had the wonderful and exhausting opportunity to travel to England and Scotland over the Easter holidays with a group of students and faculty (and a couple of parents) from my youngest son and my oldest son and daughter-in-law’s high school. The original plan was for me to go with them and do things on my own, since I had things to do on my own....a list of them leftover from my trip four years ago. But, plans changed and I ended up with them for seven days, in London for five more and then north to Scotland . . . in search of the elusive man-in-a-kilt. Like this one >>>>

Now, I’d seen them before – on my last trip to Scotland in 2004, there were bunches. On my first trip to Scotland in 2002, they were everywhere and even included American men in a wedding there. What could have happened to them? I decided a thorough search was necessary before reaching any conclusions that might panic the women of the world. So, I visited lots of places in Scotland:

Edinburgh – a tip to toe search of Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood House and everywhere in between on the Royal Mile was fruitless.

Robert and William are wearing something medieval – but not kilts!

I looked up and down the alleys, closes and wynds.....no kilts there either!

Found this. . . . What the heck is this?

Are the real Scottish Hairy-coos missing, too?

I decided to widen my search and left Edinburgh for Stirling Castle, Dunfermline Abbey, the fields of Bannockburn , and finally Rosslyn Chapel and Castle....Found what looks like a palm tree here at Stirling Castle . . .

I even searched high up on the scaffolding that surrounds Rosslyn Chapel – found some old cup that’s supposed to be the answer to some historical mysteries, but alas, no men in kilts!

It wasn’t until my last day when I took a bus trip out to the Highlands that I think I discovered the reason for their absence. . . The weather which had been kind of wet the whole I’d been there turned to something worse – as we left Edinburgh and traveled north and then west,

these were some of the sights....

Hey wait! That's SNOW!

I suddenly realized that, most likely, the cause of this lack of men in kilts

could be weather-related! I mean, we all know what a Scottish man wears under his kilt, right? Or doesn’t? Confused and concerned, I sought the advice of my tourguide –

-- a wonderfully-knowledgeable man named Ali (short for Alistair) who was so experienced in Highland lore and tradition that he managed to teach a bunch of outlanders a Scottish country dance in a parking lot near Fort William. And he had the answer. He looked up at the snow falling around us and said the one word that explained it all. . . .

Shrinkage!!

So, my next trip will definitely be during the warmer months. Wanna come with me?

Terri Brisbin invites you all to visit her newly-designed website ( www.terribrisbin.com ) to find out more about her books and her unfailing fascination with Scottish men, kilts optional!