Hummm….my thoughts tend to turn to making coffee cake when I smell a good cup of java. The aroma is just so rich, you want to close your eyes and immerse yourself in it.
I think a good book should hit a reader the same way. You should be able to feel the frost on your nose if it’s winter time or smell the flowers if it’s spring. That’s a challenge for an author but one that I think completes the story. Sure, we all read for the story but the setting is important too. Just tossing in a few ‘ye’’s and ‘yer’’s doesn’t transform the inside of that book.
Although, getting a grip on the Scottish brogue is interesting work. I had a wonderful opportunity two years ago when I turned around in of all places, Alaska and discovered myself sitting next to a gentleman from the Highlands. I actually asked him where he was from because I didn’t want to put my foot into my mouth by saying he was from Scotland in case he wasn’t. He laughed at me and asked, “Cannae ye tell woman?”
It was the beginning of a wonderful conversation. It turned out he was in fact a Highlander and traveling on the same ship we were. Now, it’s the honest truth I met him in a bar, that was also once an infamous whore house. Over the next few days, I was privileged to spend a fair amount of time with him and it was enthralling to listen to his brogue. It was also very interesting to learn about Scotland from someone who called it home.
Yes, ladies, he did in fact bring his kilt. On formal night, my husband and I love to dress in our Victorian finery. Hey, they said formal but they neglected to give a year. Well, our new highland friend was very happy to join us in his kilt and he looked smashing in it.
When I returned home and began to work on To Conquer a Highlander, I think I heard his voice in my head as I was writing the dialog. It really brought Torin to life, just a little bit more for me. Not that I have trouble seeing my heroes, in fact, there has been more than one instant when I’ve had to demand they take a break so I can sleep! By the way, Scottish Highlanders like Torin don’t like to be told what to do...but no book was ever written in a single day…I keep trying to tell my heroes this fact and they just glare at me and interrupt my sleep. LOL.
Yes, I’m that into my writing. I do wake up at night, with the perfect scene in my head and I debate whether or not to get up and write it. I hope you all enjoy the book enough to feel it’s worth it!
- What about you? How important is it to your reading pleasure to have your senses engaged?
A big thanks for having me by to blog and enjoy some coffee today!
Two commenters will have the chance to win a copy of To Conquer A Highlander. PLEASE leave me a way to contact you if you are one of the winners. If you don't want to leave your email on the blog, then please contact me via: siamckye@gmail.com with an email address. Thank you.
TO CONQUER A HIGHLANDER
A fierce Highland laird ready to kill for king and country…
When Torin McLeren discovers his neighbor’s plot against his king, he takes their daughter as his prisoner, thereby stopping her father’s plot from going forward. But that leaves him with a woman under his roof whom he can’t ignore, and not just because she’s his enemy’s daughter…
A woman who’s as much trouble as she is temptation…
Shannon McBoyd decides to use her captor to experience passion for the first time, and then to destroy him. But her plan goes awry because once she has lured Torin into her bed, she no longer wants to hurt the one man who seems to value and understand her…
Even if her father will kill him—and her—when he discovers what they’ve done...
This first in a trilogy of sexy Scottish Highland romance.
EXCERPTBUY: •Amazon, •Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million
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