We have a wonderful guest post for you today by Laura Vosika, author of the historical fiction novel, Blue Bells of Scotland: The Trilogy (Gabriel’s Horn Publishing).
10 Fun Facts about Blue Bells of Scotland
by Laura Vosika
- Blue Bells of Scotland started as the story of Shawn Kleiner. Niall, as characters often do, had ideas of his own. He let me know he had a story, too, and the book changed drastically.
- One of my favorite scenes in the book was added specifically because a member of my writers’ group said he couldn’t wait to see Shawn play trombone in 1314, now that he’d seen Niall play harp in the present.
- Speaking of scenes, my twins’ antics as two-year-olds make a cameo appearance in the novel, as Amy’s young cousins.
- I spent two weeks in Scotland visiting the locations in the novel, including backstage at Inverness’s Eden Court Theatre.
- I climbed a mountain—Sron a Clachan—in medieval-style leather boots to get a feel for what Shawn felt like, hiking mountains in 1314.
- I was so entranced by Finlarig Castle that I wrote it into a scene when I got home.
- A very minor character from Blue Bells of Scotland became, largely of his own accord, a major character in Book 2, The Minstrel Boy.
- Blue Bells of Scotland is the only novel I know of which features a trombonist as a main character.
- The title of the book is taken from a famous theme and variations well-known to trombonists, which is in turn based on a much older folk song.
10. It took 3 years to write Blue Bells of Scotland, although I set it aside for about a year of that time.
Laura Vosika grew up in the military, visiting castles in England, pig fests in Germany, and the historic sites of America’s east coast.
She earned a degree in music, and worked for many years as a freelance musician, music teacher, band director, and instructor in private music lessons on harp, piano, winds, and brass.
Laura is the mother of 7 boys and 2 girls, and lives in Minnesota.
Her latest book is Blue Bells of Scotland: The Trilogy.
You can visit her website at www.bluebellstrilogy.com.
