A Book Born in Linlithgow:  Inspiration, Loss, and a Secret Two Years in the Making

Inspiration for my book came from my home town of Linlithgow in Central Scotland, a beautiful place full of old buildings, including a ruined palace and church, and its very own loch.  The idea came to me as I walked along the high street to the toy shop to buy a birthday present, in much the same way as Ellie, one of the main characters, does in the first chapter!  I also wanted to give a shout out for the shops in town following the COVID 19 pandemic when they lost, in some cases, a devastating amount of business when they were forced to close and customers turned on-line.

The journey of writing the book has been a very personal, and sometimes painful, one for me.  My oldest sister, Chris, who encouraged me to write from my earliest childhood, sadly passed away in the middle of me doing it and therefore never found out.  I didn’t even tell my husband and daughter until it was finished and I knew it would be published - a secret for almost two years!

Tragically, we also lost a nephew to cancer not long after it was finished.  Rob and his wife, Laura, are the people I’ve dedicated the book to, along with Chris and my dear friend, Maureen, who became a wheelchair user a couple of years ago.  It was therefore very important for me to have a wheelchair user in the story – the young and feisty Chrissy, whom I absolutely love and hope you do too.

People have asked me whether the characters are based on anyone I know or have known.  Of course some are, to some extent, but I’d say that most are amalgams of actual people, where I’ve selected, or even exaggerated, certain characteristics.  I very much had my own town and its buildings in my mind as I wrote but, again, the town in the book is far from being a replica.  And, yes, I have been to Oman, several times now, and Harry’s sentiments towards the country are very similar to my own.  I made notes for that chapter whilst I was there.

I really hope you enjoy it, and please do give constructive feedback via my contact form.  I’m now writing a second book which transfers across some of the same characters, as well as introducing new ones.  I’d be very interested to hear which ones you would like to hear more about!

Thank you.