Logan’s Time by Dayna Leigh Cheser
‘Logan’s Time’, A Minor Character Becomes a Big Challenge
After I finished Janelle’s Time, a minor character in the book, Logan Conor, the Scots Duke of Muileach, came to me, demanding I write HIS book, because readers and reviewers liked him.
Now, picture Fabio (remember him?) but with red hair and blue eyes, add a dash of attitude, and that’s Logan. He crashed Richard and Janelle’s wedding in June of 1831 in New Hampshire.
I didn’t know what to do. This was new to me, communicating with a character. Was I losing my mind? Well, I ignored him. But, he was relentless. He was in my dreams, and in my face.
I wondered if I could develop a minor character into a main character and write a whole book about him, so I gave it some thought. Will I be able to do justice to a book set in Scotland (a place I’ve never been) and about a Scots Duke?
Before I agreed to do the book, I needed to sketch out Logan’s life. At that point in the thought process, I had him as a part-time pirate (that didn’t work out ultimately). In order for him to be a pirate, his castle had to be close to the water. I spent hours with maps, looking for the perfect location. I didn’t know it then, but there are a lot of islands of every size in the western Highlands of Scotland, but I finally found the perfect location. It’s a small island, Eilean Mor, at the head end of Loch Buie, a salt-water lake on the southern end of the Isle of Mull. In the book, it’s a peninsula, but otherwise, that’s the locale.
As time went on, bits and pieces fell into place, and I finally agreed to write the book. At the time, Logan’s Time was slated to be Book 2, but then, Janelle’s twin daughters came along with stories of their own, Moria’s Time and Adelle’s Time. Logan wasn’t happy when I bumped him to Book 4, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. It’s a spinoff (rather than a sequel), and, as it turns out, I believe it is the best book in the series. With a lead character like Logan, it HAS to be great!
I submitted Janelle’s Time to a publisher in August of 2011, and signed a contract (big mistake) in October. The book was released in July of 2012.
The day I submitted Janelle’s Time, I started Logan’s Time, getting about 50,000 words done before I had to stop to do NaNoWriMo (Moria’s Time), followed by edits in Janelle’s Time, then the release. I also worked in a switch from my old blog to my new website/blog – a hefty undertaking. Then, work on Moria’s Time, followed by another NaNoWriMo (Adelle’s Time), Moria’s Time released in August of 2013. As soon as Moria’s Time was complete, I started working on Adelle’s Time, followed by a third NaNoWriMo (Clarissa’s Time). I barely got Adelle’s Time launched when we decided to move from Naples to Lake Placid which took about 6 weeks. By then, I was so far behind on everything, I took several months off to catch up.
I didn’t get back to Logan’s Time full time until September of 2014, and have been working on it ever since.
In April of 2014, I was going through the list of Tweeps who wanted me to follow them. I came across a Scots writer who listed his town so I went to Google Maps and found him and all but freaked out. He lives a scant 50 miles (the way the crow flies) from the locale of Logan’s Time. I followed him, then sent a tweet: “Have you ever been to Eilean Mor?” His response was, “No. Are you from there?” We’ve been friends ever since.
In the summer, Bob and his brother took a trip to Lochbuie, the tiny town near Eilean Mor. Up to that point, the only view I’d had of the island was via satellite maps. Between pictures Bob found for me locally, and the pictures he took while he and his brother were there, I know a lot more about what we’ve come to call ‘my island’.
After his visit, Bob said he’d found no indication that anyone had ever lived on the island. I was thrilled. Logan’s castle was built in the 1200s, followed by two rounds of expansions and renovations over the years to become the castle in the story in the 1800s.
I learned that Moy Castle was within sight of Muileach Castle, so I had to come up with a scenario to explain that fact. Also in Lochbuie is a very old small circle of stones – think a tiny Stonehenge. It’s smaller than Craig na Dun (Outlander’s infamous circle of stones).
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Set in the wilds of the Scottish Highlands, this 19th century historical romance looks at the life and loves of Logan, the Duke of Muileach, beginning when he’s seven years old. Grandson of the old Duke, Logan hides in his mother’s room to witness his brother’s birth. Confused, he watches as his mother, Annella, abandons the newborn, flees to the South Tower, then locks herself and her entourage inside.
After eight self-sequestered years in the South Tower, Annella disappears, leaving a family with too many questions. Later, Logan and Daniel lose their beloved grandfather, followed too soon by their grandmother.
Logan travels to England to attend school, where he meets Richard Grayson—the youngest son of an English duke. After graduation, a celebratory trip to Paris results in tragedy. Minuet, the love of Logan’s life, may be dead, while his best friend, Richard, leaves Paris without notice.
Peadair, Logan’s father, then the duke, renounces his title and leaves Muileach, to face an uncertain future in southern France with his long-missing wife who hates him. Logan, at age twenty-five, becomes the Duke of Muileach.
Believing Richard had betrayed him with Minuet, Logan needs to square things with his former friend. He learns Richard now lives in America. Setting sail to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, he arrives just in time to crash Richard and Janelle’s wedding. That same day, he meets, and marries Rachel.
Too long absent from Muileach, Logan returns to Muileach with his family to discover Seanna, a childhood friend, and sometimes lover, has birthed his first-born son. Later, Seanna reveals her plans to make sure her son is the next duke.
Come live in Victorian Scotland while you read the fourth book of Dayna Leigh Cheser’s TIME Series.
Free Chapter: http://bit.ly/DLC-LT-Free
