There were a number of things that influenced and inspired me to write my debut novel, A Shadow in the Past. Here are some of them.
Start with one spooky, derelict mansion…
![A Shadow in the Past](http://www.melanierobertson-king.com/wp02/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Weetshill-mansion-1024x670.jpg)
Add one ancient stone circle…
![A Shadow in the Past](http://www.melanierobertson-king.com/wp02/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Stone-Circle-on-Gordonsfield-Farm-1024x683.jpg)
Sprinkle in a narrow country lane…
![A Shadow in the Past](http://www.melanierobertson-king.com/wp02/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Image2.jpg)
Lined with ghostly trees…
![A Shadow in the Past](http://www.melanierobertson-king.com/wp02/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Image4.jpg)
Add a generous dollop of old graveyard…
![A Shadow in the Past](http://www.melanierobertson-king.com/wp02/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/The-Old-Kendonald-Kirkyard-1024x736.jpg)
One full-sized headstone…
![A Shadow in the Past](http://www.melanierobertson-king.com/wp02/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Image7.jpg)
Spice it up with a village hall…
![A Shadow in the Past](http://www.melanierobertson-king.com/wp02/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Kendonald-Village-Hall-1024x683.jpg)
One lunatic asylum…
![A Shadow in the Past](http://www.melanierobertson-king.com/wp02/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Ladysbridge-Asylum-1024x683.jpg)
One small country church…
![A Shadow in the Past](http://www.melanierobertson-king.com/wp02/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Old-Kendonald-Kirk-1024x683.jpg)
And lastly a smidgeon of Aberdeen…
![A Shadow in the Past](http://www.melanierobertson-king.com/wp02/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/image-18.jpg)
Mix well.
Add characters…
![A Shadow in the Past](http://www.melanierobertson-king.com/wp02/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/grandpa-robertson-with-susan-christie.jpg)
Let all the ingredients simmer then write, write some more, re-write, re-write some more.
When finished it looks like this…
![A Shadow in the Past](http://www.melanierobertson-king.com/wp02/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/A-Shadow-in-the-Past-by-Melanie-Robertson-King-662x1024.jpg)
Blurb:
Nineteen-year-old Sarah Shand finds herself thrust back into the past. There she struggles to keep her real identity from a society that finds her comments and ideas strange and her speech and actions forward, unlike Victorian women. When Sarah verbally confronts confining social practices, including arranged marriages, powerful enemies commit her to a lunatic asylum. After falling in love with the handsome Laird of Weetshill, Robert Robertson, she must decide whether to find her way back to her own time or to remain in the past with him.
Where to buy:
4RV Publishing: http://www.4rvpublishingcatalog.com/robertson-king.php
ChaptersIndigo: http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/A-Shadow-In-The-Past-Melanie-Robertson-king/9780983801887-item.html?ikwid=a+shadow+in+the+past&ikwsec=Home
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-shadow-in-the-past-melanie-robertson-king/1112348992?ean=9780983801887
A Shadow in the Past is also available at amazon for the Kindle (using the same links), Barnes & Noble for the nook, Kobobooks, and the iBookstore.