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…
Weetshill mansion
Add one ancient stone circle…
The stone circle on Gordonsfield Farm
Sprinkle in a narrow country lane…
The lane leading to Weetshill mansion
Lined with ghostly trees…
The lane leading to Weetshill mansion
Add a generous dollop of old graveyard…
The Old Kendonald Kirkyard
One full-sized headstone…
The Robertson headstone (my grandparents’ stone) in the Old Kendonald Kirkyard
Spice it up with a village hall…
Kendonald Village Hall
One lunatic asylum…
The lunatic asylum at Ladysbridge
One small country church…
Old Kendonald Kirk
And lastly a smidgeon of Aberdeen…
The Salvation Army Citadel in Aberdeen
Mix well.
Add characters…
A family portrait (my grandfather and his first wife believed to commemmorate their wedding day)
Let all the ingredients simmer then write, write some more, re-write, re-write some more.
When finished it looks like this…
My novel’s cover created by Aidana WillowRaven
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.
Robbie Burns Night Celebrations with Janice Horton
I’m so glad you were able to work me into your busy schedule, Janice. You’ve been snap-gapping all over the place of late so I’m thrilled to have you here at Celtic Connexions. You’re looking very “Scottish” today, all decked out in your tartan.
I take it you’re ready for a good old-fashioned ceilidh – Canadian style.
Here, come sit by the fire take the chill off (escorts my esteemed guest to one of the tartan wing-back chairs facing the crackling fire ).
photo from Flickr
I’ll summon my manservant, Donald (the Red) , to bring us some refreshments. Would you care for a wee dram? Perhaps Glengoyne – Scotland’s only un-peated single malt?(rings bell and gives manservant instructions)
I think you’ll like what I have in store for you at the ceilidh tonight. I tried to get the Old Blind Dogs but they weren’t available. That’s okay as I do have a vast collection of Scottish music on CDs – Old Blind Dogs, The Corries, Runrig and the list goes on.
(swish of swinging door as the manservant returns with a tray carrying a decanter of whisky – 18 year old Glenlivet no less, two glasses and water). “Your whisky, my lady,” he says as he places it on the table.
“Thank you.”
As the manservant straightens to leave, I cry out… “Donald, where’s your trousers?” because so unlike him, he’s wearing a kilt!
Overcome by the shock of seeing him dressed in that fashion, it takes me a moment to regain my composure. (fans self with copy of Leopard Magazine).
Well, while we wait for our meal to be ready, Janice, let’s chat about your novel. I’m really interested to find out more about it and your creative process. You spent three months on the Island of Utila researching and writing Castaway in the Caribbean. Can you tell me more?
Yes, I had the most amazing time in 2014 visiting, researching and writing in the Caribbean. While there I spent a lot of time in boats (as one features in my new novel) and even got to sail off Tortola in the British Virgin Islands in a schooner used in the making of the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie! After visiting lots of islands, my husband and I settled down to island life for a stay of three months on Utila, a tiny Caribbean island off mainland Honduras. This is where I wrote the first draft of ‘Castaway in the Caribbean’.
When do you expect to release it?
April 2015. I have promotional online book tours organised for April and May.
What made you choose that title?
I feel the title suits the story line perfectly. The premise of the book is that the two main characters, a surly boat captain who hates tourists and a girl holidaying in the Caribbean who desperately needs to get to a neighbouring island, end up castaway together on a remote island. It’s a fun, fast paced romantic adventure novel that I hope will be the perfect beach read for 2015!
The manservant returns and tells us that dinner is served… so we pick up our drinks and at the first skirl of the pipes, wait for him to enter the room and we get piped in to the formal dining room (I wish I had one of them, too) to the strains of The Bonnie Lass of Fyvie for a traditional Robbie Burns feast.
Once everyone is around the table, we begin with The Selkirk Grace.
Some hae meat and canna eat, And some wad eat that want it;
But we hae meat, and we can eat, Sae let the Lord be thankit.
Our first course is Cock-a-leekie soup.
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Not strictly traditional as I don’t put prunes in it.
You mentioned (or did I pick up on it) something about the names of your characters. Was there a particular reason why you used those names? If so, can you share it?
I wrote the first draft with my husband’s name, Travis, as the romantic hero’s name and the heroine of the story is called Janey (which is kind of like my name, Janice). I fully intended on changing the names in the second draft but for some reason ended up not doing so. The characters of Castaway in the Caribbean are Travis and Janey in their own right – they are not meant to be me and my husband – and the story is definitely a work of fiction!
The soup course is cleared away and the skirl of the pipes begins again. The door opens and the haggis is brought into the room with great pomp and circumstance.
Address to the Haggis
a wee dram for the haggisHaggis, champit tatties and bashed neeps
We’ll have a bit of a musical interlude courtesy of the Red Hot Chilli Pipers before we carry on with the rest of the evening’s festivities.
What’s your next project? Do you have another novel started?
I have a few ideas in mind for new projects. I’m travelling again this year and I’d like to continue the theme of writing romantic adventure novels set in places that inspire me.
Now that we’ve talked about your WIP (work in progress for those not accustomed to author-speak and abbreviations), tell us more about you and how the readers of Celtic Connexions can follow you?
Thank you, Melanie. I really enjoy connecting with people. I’m a keen blogger. I’m always on Facebook and I love to Twitter too. So here’s my links:
Janice Horton writes contemporary romantic fiction with a dash of humour and a sense of adventure. Look out for Janice’s new release for 2015 ‘Castaway in the Caribbean’
and her Amazon Kindle bestselling books ‘Bagpipes and Bullshot‘
and ‘Reaching for the Stars‘
and her fun ‘Voodoo Romance’ series of novellas.
Her nonfiction guide to online promotion ‘How To Party Online‘
is recommended reading for all authors and writers by publishers. Janice is a regular blogger from her website at janicehorton.co.uk and you’ll also find her on Facebook and Twitter. She is also associate editor at the award winning online magazine Loveahappyending Lifestyle Magazine where she produces her monthly ‘The Bookshelf’ feature and her seasonal ‘Snap Gap Travel’ features.
Thank you so much for coming to my “un”conventional Robbie Burns Night. I hope you won’t have a sair heid tomorrow. I see the chairs have been rearranged in the front room so shall we move the party in there and let the ceilidh begin?
A unicorn is a legendary animal with a large, spiraling horn protruding from its forehead. In folklore, it is always white but can look like a horse or a goat. This wild, woodland creature was a symbol of purity and grace and could only be captured by a virgin.
A mercat cross is the market cross which be found in many Scottish towns, cities and villages. The cross is a symbol of the right to hold a regular market or fair which was granted by the monarch, a bishop or a baron. It indicated a burgh’s relative prosperity and marked the settlement’s focal point. In many cases, these crosses are topped with the Royal Unicorn.
There are more crosses with the Royal Unicorn, but these are a few.
Aberdeen Mercat Cross:
Richard Slessor [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Edinburgh Mercat Cross:
By User:Kim Traynor (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Glasgow Mercat Cross:
Thomas Nugent [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia CommonsAnd to end my post, here are the Irish Rovers to sing you out…
Some people relate the skirl of the pipes to that of a cat (or a roomful) yowling after having its/their tails squashed under the rocker of a rocking chair. Not me. I love the sound. Maybe it’s just my Scottish heritage and its importance to me.
Shhh… don’t tell anyone but I have my own set of bagpipes and took piping lessons. Fortunately, for the neighbours my pipes are languishing in their box in the basement where the conditions keep them from drying out. I have to admit never being able to get the squeeze the bag, blow in the mouthpiece coordination down.
Did you know that the bagpipes have their own holiday? July 27 is Bagpipe Appreciation Day.
Have you heard of the Red Hot Chilli Pipers? I bet most of you haven’t. You can check them out here.
And here they are on YouTube performing their cover of Avicii’s Wake me Up among other tunes. Enjoy.
It’s Robbie Burns Day. Will you celebrate the bard today with haggis, champit tatties and bashed neeps?
Here at The House of King, we’ll be having a toned down version of previous Burns Night celebrations. Although I don’t have a wee haggis, I do have some frozen sliced haggis (great with a Scottish breakfast) so it will do, especially since I’m the only one who truly enjoys eating it here. I made Cock-a-leekie soup shortly after Christmas and it’s in the freezer and for the toasts to the lads and lassies afterwards, I have a bottle of 18-year old Glenlivet.
The “Guest of Honour”
Address To A Haggis
Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o’ the puddin-race!
Aboon them a’ ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy o’ a grace
As lang’s my arm.
The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies like a distant hill,
Your pin wad help to mend a mill
In time o’ need,
While thro’ your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead.
His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An’ cut you up wi’ ready sleight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like ony ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reekin, rich!
Then, horn for horn,
they stretch an’ strive:
Deil tak the hindmost! on they drive,
Till a’ their weel-swall’d kytes belyve,
Are bent lyke drums;
Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
“Bethankit!” ‘hums.
Is there that owre his French ragout
Or olio that wad staw a sow,
Or fricassee wad mak her spew
Wi’ perfect sconner,
Looks down wi’ sneering, scornfu’ view
On sic a dinner?
Poor devil! see him ower his trash,
As feckless as a wither’d rash,
His spindle shank, a guid whip-lash,
His nieve a nit;
Thro’ bloody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit!
But mark the Rustic, haggis fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread.
Clap in his walie nieve a blade,
He’ll mak it whissle;
An’ legs an’ arms, an’ heads will sned,
Like taps o’ thrissle.
Ye Pow’rs wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o’ fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups in luggies;
But, if ye wish her gratefu’ prayer,
Gie her a haggis!
Enjoy your Robbie Burns celebrations no matter how/where your celebrate.
Friends of the Brockville Public Library presented their firstmerrybookmas at the 1000 Islands Mall, 2399 Parkedale Avenue, Brockville – 14th December, 2013.
I always take a photograph of my table once I get it set up but as luck would have it, my phone didn’t have enough oomph left to take a photo. Tried hubby’s, his automatically shut down the battery was so low. However, all was not lost. I took my iPad with me (fully charged) which does have a camera in it.
This was the first event where I had to provide my own table. OH picked up a folding 4′ long one back in early to mid November so that I’d have it. It worked beautifully! Doesn’t my set up look great?
Also, the handcart he picked up was a dream to load everything on to wheel my table and boxes of books and other accoutrements in and out of the mall. We didn’t have to provide chairs, but we took our own anyway and I’m glad we did.
This was a first for, not just the Friends of the Brockville Public Library, but for me, too. This was the first time at any event that The Consequences Collection out sold A Shadow in the Past. I even had one couple who couldn’t decide which book to buy so they bought one of each – his and hers.
We didn’t stay stuck out here in the middle of the mall all day. We moved over in front of one of the closed storefronts so people could only walk by in front of us. I had visions of the table getting jostled and my display toppled or people trying to walk behind us to look at the store’s sale display would be bumping us all day. I don’t know if that was a good thing or not, but I felt more comfortable knowing people couldn’t walk behind me.
The final sales tally … 7 copies of The Consequences Collection and 3 copies of A Shadow in the Past.
In most character interviews you see, it’s the character being interviewed. This time, it’s the character being the interviewer as opposed to the interviewee. My main character from A Shadow in the Past, Sarah Shand, interviewed me over at her blog, Sarah’s Place the other day.
We talked about A Shadow in the Past, the second book in that series, Shadows from her Past, author brand and other things. She asked some pretty tough questions. You can read the full interview here.
About Sarah:
I live in rural Aberdeenshire with my parents, sister, and ginger and white cat, Murphy, on our farm (Gordonsfield) near the village of Kendonald.
When I’m not with them, I live in the year 1886 at Weetshill mansion with the laird Robert Robertson and his staff.
If you think going back to the past and knowing what you do now is fun, let me tell you, it isn’t. But then I’m probably telling tales out of school.
The best way to find out is to buy a copy of Melanie’s novel, A Shadow in the Past, and find out for yourself. You won’t be disappointed.
To all my Scottish friends and family whether you’re in the Auld Country or scattered to the wind around the world, I wish you a happy St Andrew’s Day!
How do you celebrate? Will you eat haggis? Will you go to The Scotsman’s Haggis Hunt and see if you can “bag” a few there? Have a dram or two? Or just spend a quiet evening in front of the fire?
Now, I’m turning things over to my Scottish-born author friend, Ali Bacon, to share what St Andrews Day means to her.
Take it away, Ali…
What St. Andrew did for me…
Well actually, I don’t know that St. Andrew and I have had much of a connection over the years. We did call our second son Andrew, but more because I thought it was a good ‘match’ for our firstborn Stephen (both names of Greek derivation) than for patriotic reasons. And even in my Scottish childhood, St Andrew was far less of a cultural icon than Rabbie Burns, Sir Walter Scott or Billy Connolly!
But hang on a minute. I did spend four of the best years of my life at St. Andrews University (600 years old this year) where I also met my husband to be – I think that means quite a lot!
(Ed note… I’ve been to both St Andrews Castle and Cathedral and remember this dramatic view)
St. Andrews these days is best known for being the place where the Prince William met his princess and in the year they married (I knew we were starting a trend!) I started a blog of my own reminiscences of a place (town and university) which is totally unique in so many ways. I only add to it from time to time but if you are interested it’s here.
Surprisingly I don’t remember St. Andrew was celebrated much in the university that bears his name, but there were all kinds of other traditions, some, like Raisin Monday(Ed note… I saw those pics on BBC and it looked like everyone had great fun getting covered in foam) madder than others. Kate Kennedy Day, named after an apocryphal Bishop’s daughter, is a slightly more serious affair with a procession of historical figures which takes place in the spring. I’m glad to say St. Andrew does get to appear, so here he is in his 1970s guise.
Of course it’s many a year since I was in St. Andrews but the town did creep into my novel A Kettle of Fish which is set in my home county of Fife (I just couldn’t leave it out) and in a weird way it has turned up in the novel I’m writing now which is about (amongst other things) the development of photography in Victorian times. (Ed note… I love the Victorian times and use that era extensively in my writing) What does that have to do with St Andrews? You’re going to have to wait to find out, but I think you’ll be surprised.
Thanks Melanie for having me here while my own website software is having a meltdown – and I hope I can repay the favour some time soon. (Ed note… having issues on this side of the pond with my stats/publicity plugin so I can understand your angst)
About Ali:
Ali Bacon was born in Dunfermline in Scotland and graduated from St Andrews University. She now lives near Bristol. Her writing has been published in Scribble, The Yellow Room and a number of online magazines as well as the Unchained Anthology.
Thank you Melanie for inviting me across the pond to share my exciting news!
The third book in my series of voodoo romance novellas ‘Voodoo Child’ is out this week.
It’s available exclusively from Amazon for Kindle.
Story synopsis: In ‘Voodoo Child’, ex-celebrity UK fashion model Nola and her handsome Haitian husband Louis are expecting their first baby. But as one precious life begins another is about to end. Louis’s beloved old Uncle Sid is dying and has declared his last wish is to see Louis and Nola’s new baby baptised on St John’s Eve – the most important event in the voodoo calendar. The voodoo isn’t over yet for Nola or for Louis!
Feel free to share, tweet, and tell all your friends!
Did you know that How Do You Voodoo? is an Amazon Kindle bestseller and it has 25 Amazon UK reviews with an average reader score of 4.6 stars! Love Reading Love Books said How Do You Voodoo? was ‘A Five Star Read of 2012’
Voodoo Wedding – Book Two – is also available from Amazon for Kindle alongside Voodoo Child at the fabulous price of just $1.52 or £0.99p so why not treat yourself to a little voodoo romance this Fall?
Have a great Fall everyone and don’t forget that I love to chat on Facebook and Twitter!
Janice Horton – Contemporary fiction with humour and heart
Isn’t it beautiful? Every month has a different full colour photograph (taken by moi) of something “A Shadow in the Past“.
How well do you think you did at guessing the various locations where Sarah Shand turned up each day?
Day 1
At The Caledonian HotelIn our room at High Cliff
Day 2
On the Jacobite train at the Glenfinnan StationOn the platform in MallaigIn our room at Myrtle Bank
Day 3
At Balvenie CastleIn our room at Fernbank House
Day 4
At DunnideerIn our room at Earlsfield Farm
Day 5
Waiting at the Insch train station
Day 6
At the entrance to the Old Kirkyard in KennethmontWith the Pictish stones at the Rhynie cemeteryAt the stone circle at Earlsfield Farm
Day 8 (we didn’t play on Day 7 as it was my launch at the Rannes Hall in Kennethmont)
At The Empress of India Restaurant in KelsoIn our room at Duncan House
Day 9
At the Cross Butts Stable RestaurantIn our room at Beechwood Guesthouse
Day 10
At The BellIn our room at The Old Forge
Day 11
At The Bell Hotel in Tewkesbury
I thought having the map beside the book was a dead giveaway in this one but apparently that wasn’t always the case.
At Wetherspoons in HarrogateIn our room at Fountains Guest House
Day 12
At Bolton AbbeyAt Smiths Hotel in Gretna GreenIn our room at Barrasgate House
Day 13
At Caerlaverock CastleAt Sweetheart AbbeyIn our room at Tigh-An-Struan Guest House in Largs
Day 14
In our room at the Holiday Inn at Glasgow Airport
So how did you do? Get all of them right? Some of them right? None of them right?
It’s been a close race – neck and neck right down to the wire between two participants. It was really difficult to say who would finish with the most correct answers. But in the end, one emerged victorious.
And now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for… the winner is… Grace!
Would you care for a wee dram? Perhaps Glengoyne – Scotland’s only un-peated single malt? (rings bell and gives manservant instructions)
