What’s very new in my author life is writing a trilogy after twenty-four linked or standalone books. It’s known as the Skye Sisters trilogy, so you won’t be shocked to learn that it’s set on the beautiful Isle of Skye off the west coast of Scotland. Under a Summer Skye is Thea’s story and came out in May, to be followed by Ezzie’s book, A Skye Full of Stars in autumn and then Valentina in Over the Sea to Skye in summer next year.
Although Skye fitted my requirement to be remote from Suffolk in the east of England, where the sisters Thea, Ezzie and Valentina were brought up, I had no experience of the island. ‘My’ villages, created for various novels, have been set in England, Italy or France – but never Scotland. I had no continuing characters to call on, and no village already drawn in my pad.
My first trip to Skye was in summer, when a blue sky was populated by scudding clouds and my husband and I were not the only visitors. Canadian, American and Australian accents mingled with English voices like my own. The local folk speak English with a flowing Hebridean accent, or they speak Gaelic. Skye is the largest island of the Inner Hebrides, but handily joined to the coast of mainland Scotland by a bridge. From the map I’d already studied, I thought I’d create my new village just north of Broadford Bay, where we stayed, but when I saw the thick woods, the youth hostel and even some light industry … well, no.
So, we drove south to the Sleat Peninsula, the historic home of Clan Macdonald, and it was there that I found a scoop of land that sloped to the sea, a perfect home for Rothach village, where I’d send Thea and Ezzie to take refuge from the past. The bay would be Rothach Bay and Rothach Hall would stand on the headland above. I returned to the hotel to draw a map and conjure with street names and I’m pretty sure my husband thought my job was not that hard.
The structure is that Thea, Ezzie and Valentina are adoptive sisters, and their adoption backstories weave in and out of their respective books, yet the novels each have to follow closely on the timeline. And timelines aren’t my best thing.
However, Under a Summer Skye has met the world with gorgeous reviews and A Skye Full of Stars is almost ready. I’ve even moved Valentina to Rothach for Over the Sea to Skye – so I think I’m getting the hang of it.
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Her novels, short stories, serials, columns, writing ‘how to’ and courses have appeared around the world. If you’d like to see more of her covers go to www.suemoorcroft.com and click on ‘Gallery’.
