Shadows in Scotland

              

Canadian author Melanie Robertson-King

 

 

draws on more than her imagination for her paranormal novel, the Victorian romance,

 

A Shadow in the Past.

 

 

Melanie draws on her strong family connection with this beautiful land.

 

  Welcome Melanie, I'm delighted to have you visit here today.  You have a novel is set in Scotland. Why were you drawn to Scotland, rather than Canada where you live?

 My father was born in Scotland and came to Canada as a Home Child and for as long as I can remember he always talked about his native country and how one day he would take my mum and me there. Sadly, it never happened. He passed away in 1969 when I was twelve.  

 While I never got there with my father, I did go to Scotland for the first time in 1993. Until that trip, I had never travelled that far – alone! I’d never flown before. And I rented a car for part of the time I was there.  I’m surprised I didn’t come home with a bruised chin from my jaw constantly hitting the ground. I swear my mouth gaped open almost the entire trip, I was in such awe of the beauty of the country and its history.

 What a wonderful adventure that must have been for you. What did you love the most?

It’s so hard to say what I love the most about the country. On that first trip, I visited and stayed in the orphanage where my father was raised and in the village where he was born.
 

Broadfield Home – the cottage where my father was raised

Since that first trip, I’ve been back in 1997; 1999 (I met Princess Anne on this trip); 2000 – my husband and I celebrated our 25^th wedding anniversary by renewing our vows in the church at the orphanage where my father was raised;

Mt Zion Church, Quarriers Village

2001 (for the opening of a museum exhibit in Glasgow on Home Children) and lastly in 2005 when we visited primarily England and Wales, although I did get my feet on Scottish soil once. We stayed in a B&B with a Scotland mailing address which was just south of the border – so we walked to Scotland, and we drove up to Dumfries for a bit of shopping.



Sarah’s Stone Circle in A Shadow in the Past.

I love the history, the castles (especially the ruined ones), the standing stones and stone circles and the rugged beauty and broodiness of the land. The people are warm and friendly. What isn’t there to love about it?

 


You've had some wonderful experiences in your father's homeland, well worth the visits, but your novel is set in 19th century Scotland. That must have required some research.
 

I chose the 19^th century because of my interest in genealogy. I hadn’t been able to get further back than that but had obtained a wealth of information on my father’s family (mostly on his father’s side). As my information accumulated and I was able to visit the places where my ancestors lived, the creative juices started to flow.  
                                                                                      

Wardhouse – aka Weetshill in A Shadow in the Past.

I  fell in love with this “old heap” when I saw it for the first time in 1993. Isn’t it just begging to have a story spun around it?

           Yes, definitely!

 

 

 

As the author who created the paranormal aspect in the historical romance, ‘A Shadow in the Past’, which character would you least like to confront?

 

I wouldn’t want to confront Hamish MacMillan – Weetshill’s groom. He fancies his chances with the ladies and can be mean and abusive when he doesn’t get his way. Maybe he wouldn’t be angry with me for writing his character that way although he might since I didn’t let him have his chance with a certain lady. 

You invite yourself, the author, to a fictional Ball you create in a lovely old mansion. Would the characters in your novel greet you warmly?

 I’d like to think that my characters would greet me warmly but it’s difficult to say. I think Sarah would since we’re from the same time. The others would be wary (downright frightened) of my appearance... and heaven help me when I spoke and didn’t have a Scottish accent. I would be a Sassenach for sure.

Would you stun the other guests by wearing a gown designed by a 21^st century designer or would you blend in, in Victorian costume?

 

I would try to blend in. I’d love to wear a burgundy, velvet gown that has cap sleeves just off the shoulders and a plunging (but not too) neckline, fitted bodice and huge skirt with or without a bustle. It would be heavy because of the weight of velvet and the amount of fabric in it, but I see that as the quintessential ball gown.

Something like this one with shorter sleeves?

Yes, like that.

 

 

If given the chance, are there any characters you would apologize to for placing them in certain situations and/or for giving them certain character traits.

I’d apologize to Sarah. I put her through some terrible situations in the present and after she ended up in the past. I think she’d admire the character traits (well some) that I gave her – headstrong (okay, it gets her into trouble but it also gets her out).

Do you have a talent or two relating to Scottish culture and did these talents find their way into this novel or any of you fiction?

Talent? Surely you jest... I know, don’t call you Shirley. Let’s see, I used to take Highland Dancing lessons and competed. I learned to play the bagpipes and have my own set. I love haggis. The only thing that made it into this novel is the bagpipes. Angus Cameron, the ghillie, plays the pipes and he does so in a couple of scenes in the book.

Having lived inside your novel for so long, what advice can you give the reader who finds herself captured by this book?

Sarah does stand up for herself and her outspokenness causes her problems, so I  hope the reader will root for her, but get angry with her, too, and think 'why on earth did you do that?' And while they think she and Robert will make a lovely couple, in the back of their mind they should be saying 'don't do it, Robert! It will only end in tears'. And possibly most importantly, I'd tell the reader to 'enjoy the stone circle but beware of the magic it holds because you, too, might become A Shadow in the Past.'


 Log Line.

When a contemporary teen is transported back through time to the Victorian era, she becomes A Shadow in the Past…

Excerpt:

At the narrow stone bridge, Sarah stopped and rested. As she stood there trying to catch her breath, the bridge began to vibrate and black smoke filled the air. A shrill whistle pierced the silence, drowning out the ringing in her ears. Sarah wheeled around and gasped. Off in the distance she saw the tiny speck of a headlight. It grew larger and brighter as the train drew closer and thundered beneath the bridge. Sarah watched the disappearing train and tried to understand what she had seen. There was no railway line near her house, only a flat dirt trail leading to the village.

Soon the smell of freshly cut hay, manure, and farm animals replaced the lingering aroma of the train’s oily coal smoke. If the barn was this close, she was almost home. Drawing closer, she heard the sounds of hooves pawing at stall floors and horses snorting. Her parents did not own horses. Beef cattle, sheep, and a few barn cats were the only livestock on their farm.

Confused, Sarah stumbled away from the barn and turned to face a sprawling three-storey building. It looked like Weetshill but it couldn’t be. The Weetshill mansion Sarah knew had no roof, and trees grew within the confines of its crumbling walls. The slate roof of this building shone in the moonlight as if it had been installed yesterday, and glass sparkled in enormous windows that should have been gaping, dark holes.

Sarah touched the heavy oak door and jerked her hand back as though she’d burnt it. She reached for a thick cord hanging from a bell by the door...

Sarah has her own blog here

A Shadow in the Past book trailer.

Learn more about Melanie and read her bio on her blog at
 Celtic Connexions

'Like' Melanie's Facebook Author page

Melanie's Twitter handle is @RobertsoKing

 

A Shadow in the Past is available in paperback from:

4RV Publishing
Amazon 

Amazon.ca
Amazon.co.uk
Barnes and Noble
ChaptersIndigo

I've really enjoyed our time together, Melanie. Thank you for sharing your special connection with Scotland.

 

 

'BOO'S BAD DAY' BLOG TOUR

APRIL 22ND - MAY 17TH

Author Penny Lockwood introduces her newly released picture book for children aged 18 months to 7 years.

 

Boo is a very bored kitten. When Timmy and his mom return home, Boo sneaks out of the house. Boo is frightened by the noises of the big world outside of the safety of his warm home. When Timmy coaxes Boo back into the house, Boo realizes some places are safe and some are not.

Talking Points for parents include:

·Taking care of a pet

·Dangers of a busy street

·Listening to parents

·Safe places vs. unsafe places

Day One

Wendy welcomes Penny Lockwood on the first day of her tour.

I've read this beautiful book and placed a 5 star review (by Calamity) on Amazon. Congratulations Penny. Over to you.

Hi Wendy, thank you for offering to host me on your blog today.

Although I’ve been writing stories for adults and older children since 1993, this is my first foray into picture book writing. It was definitely a challenge. It’s so easy to look at a picture book and think, as a writer, “Oh, that must be easy to write.” In reality, a picture book takes a lot of thought and effort.

Like any other book, when Boo was finished, I asked for first readers to give me feedback. I was fortunate to find several young mothers with toddlers willing to give it a try. The hard part, though, was there were no illustrations, so it was difficult for the little people to grasp this was to be a picture book. Still I did get positive responses and set about locating a publisher.

For several years, I have participated in the Muse Online Writer’s Conference where I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with publishers from several houses. One of the women I met was Vivian Zabel who is one of the owners of 4RV Publishing. I liked what I heard about 4RV and Vivian from other authors who have published books with her. They are a small house and only publish a few books every year. I was very fortunate that the acquisitions staff liked Boo’s Bad Day when I submitted it a few years ago. Vivian asked for a few changes, which I was happy to make, and I was rewarded with a contract.

I’m not sure how other houses handle authors and illustrators, but 4RV Publishing uses their own stable of illustrators. It’s my understanding this is common practice with picture book publishers. One of 4RV house rules is that authors and illustrators have no correspondence, so I had no contact whatsoever with Deborah C. Johnson, the talented illustrator who worked on Boo. She was given the manuscript and created the pictures, which in my mind are perfect. She captured the spirit of not only the book but Boo the cat as well, without any input from me.

Was it a nail-biting experience? Not really. At the same time the illustrator was working on Boo (unknown to me), I had been working on edits for my MG novels, Ghost for Rent and Ghost for Lunch, also scheduled for release from 4RV Publishing. I wasn’t even thinking about Boo when I received the galley proof to review! When I saw the illustrations Deborah did, I couldn’t have been happier. I didn’t see a need to change anything.

Deborah was able to bring Boo to life on the page. The expressions she uses for the different experiences Boo has are just delightful. I think she was able to make Boo come alive for the children who will read the story and added to the experience kids from around eighteen months to seven years will have when either the story is read to them, or they can read it themselves.

Authors interested in writing a picture book should explore sites on the Internet devoted to children’s writing such as the Children’s Book Insider Clubhouse. There are a lot of great articles available to the public even if you’re not a member. Writing World has an entire section devoted to children’s writing, including an article by me, “Eight Things Picture Book Editors Don’t Want.”

 Penny, it's fascinating to hear of your experience towards publishing your picture book. I've always imagined finding a publisher and an illustrator would be an impossible task. Thank you, too, for sharing the sites above which will be enormously helpful for writers who wish to follow in your footsteps and get their picture books out to the mums and bubs.

Boo's Bad Day is available from the publisher

4RV Publishing, LLC. and Amazon   

       
Find Penny at her website 

Day 2
Tomorrow April 23rd Penny is on  Terri Forehand's Blog       
where she'll tell us more about Boo's Bad Day.
 

Wendy, thanks again for hosting me. At the end of the tour, I will pick out one commenter’s name and send an autographed copy of Boo’s Bad Day to a United States address only. If the name I pick is someone who lives outside the U.S., I will send a PDF copy of the book. So remember, readers, be sure to leave contact information when you comment!