Why is Kiska so short?

     People ask me all the time why I made Kiska so short?  The answer is simple, because the Picts really were short!  This is a replica of a real Pictish throne carved to scale.  It is located in the Pictavia Visitor's Center in Brechin Scotland.  Pictavia presents an educational experience that covers the history and the life of the Picts.  Although there are many things we don't know about the Picts we do know they were very small in comparison to people today.  I wanted Kiska to represent what people in that time might have looked like and believe it or not they were much shorter!

Isle of Skye Hiking

     There are many beautiful places in the Highlands of Scotland, but at the top of the list has to be Isle of Skye.  To see the best places you have to be able to get out of the car and hike.  It is a great workout for your body and mind and when you reach the top the rewards are spectacular!

The Bottle Dungeon of Barcaldine Castle

     The bottle dungeon of Barcaldine Castle is not a place anyone would wish to be.  It is a dark and scary place at best.  Normally there is a metal grille covering the top of it, but we were permitted to get a closer look.  You will hear more about that in the upcoming book!

Excitement! The third book is about halfway finished!

                                                                  Barcaldine Castle
      Before I went to Scotland I had the plot for the third book in my mind.  Then I needed to find the right places for some of the action.  Some of the areas I selected by doing research ahead of time and then I visited them to confirm that they would work.  Then there were the wonderful places I discovered along the way.....like Barcaldine Castle.  I fell in love with Barcaldine.  It is a sixteenth-century castle that plays an amazing part in Scottish history.  I can't wait to tell you about it in my next book.....

The Quiraing

     In my second book, Message in the Skye, I describe the amazing place called the Quiraing as a place where dinosaurs once roamed.  Today you will see sheep grazing on the grassy rock formations, but it is certainly not difficult to visulize the dinosaurs.  This is a place with an untouched beauty straight out of the pages of prehistoric times.  It commands an unparalleled view of the Inner Hebrides Islands and is a place I will never forget!

A mysterious Scottish castle for the next book

     I have visited so many great Scottish castles and stayed in many too, but this is one of my very favorites.  I like it because it is relatively small and yet it has an amazing history, which rivals a lot of the larger ones.  I mean how can you go wrong with a place that can boast secret passageways, a bottle dungeon, a possible ghost and murder?  Then turn it all into a real bed and breakfast and it's a mystery writer's dream come true.
     So, what can you look forward to in my next book?  I am so excited about it, that I can barely contain myself with excitement! I can guarantee you that Barcaldine Castle will be featured.  After all, it is a beautiful place....for people like me who stay in the exquisite rooms.

Castle Ewen

     The rock formation known as Castle Ewen on Isle of Skye is an amazing place.  It may look like an easy climb up, but let me just say the pictures make things look a lot closer than they are.  In the second picture you can see me climbing up.  The drop on either side of me is very scary!  The path is very narrow!  This is the place in the book where Kiska and Gully encountered one of the would-be killers!