Dunstanburgh Castle — from construction to ruins

Dunstanburgh Castle is one of the main locations in The Lady’s Protector (Highland Bodyguards, Book 1). Lots of real history brought this location to life in the story! Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster is responsible for the creation of the castle. He commissioned its construction, which sits on the North Sea coast in Northumberland, in 1313.

Part display of Lancaster’s power and wealth, part defensive stronghold against English King Edward II’s reach, Dunstanburgh is situated on a promontory that juts into the North Sea, thus giving it only one side as a point of entry. That side boasts three artificial lakes to protect the castle, and a curtain wall which encloses almost ten acres of land, making it the largest castle in Northumberland. Several towers were built to provide lookout points and protection for the castle, including the formidable three-story gatehouse tower.

But after decades of construction and costs that were no doubt hefty even for the second richest man in England (behind only the King), Lancaster may have only ever visited the castle once or twice in his lifetime. The castle now stands in ruins, but its majesty, then and now, is still on full display!

To see Dunstanburgh Castle come to life in the form of a romantic story, check out The Lady’s Protector.

Fairy Rock - Ailsa Craig

Ailsa Craig, a location featured in Her Wild Highlander (Highland Bodyguards, Book 8), is a real island off the western coast of Scotland. Its unusual sheer sides, composed of granite columns, and its domed top are a result of the fact that it is an ancient plug on a now-extinct volcano. It has been used as a landmark for sailors traveling between Ireland and Scotland, alerting them that the Scottish (or Irish, depending on which direction you’re traveling) mainland wasn’t much farther. Though it means Fairy Rock in Gaelic, it came to be known colloquially as “Paddy’s Milestone” because of this.

The island has seen an exciting and rich history. It sheltered Highland pirates and smugglers (a story for another day!), was the site of a sixteenth-century castle, was invaded by Spain so that it could serve as a safe haven for Catholics fleeing the Scottish Reformation, and more. Now it is a protected bird sanctuary. Fun fact—it’s also the location where stones for the sport of curling are quarried. Every stone ever used in Olympic curling competitions has come from Ailsa Craig!

See this beautiful location—and the history behind it—come to life in Her Wild Highlander.

The Yule Log

I absolutely loved getting to research medieval Scottish holiday traditions as I was writing The Laird's Yuletide Bride! Here's a wee peek behind the scenes into my research.

Before the Scottish Reformation of 1560, Christmas in Scotland was known as Yule. Yule is the Scot-ification of the Old Norse word jól, the word for their winter solstice festivities. Medieval Scottish Yule celebrations were a blend of Christian traditions and the pagan solstice festivities the Vikings brought with them to Scotland, some of which have stuck around to this day, including decorating with evergreen boughs and mistletoe!

Another such holdover is the Yule log. Now a tasty dessert, it was traditionally an entire tree that was carefully selected and brought inside with great care.

One end of the log would be fed into the fire slowly, as it was meant to last for the entire length of Yuletide. Part of the log was saved to light the following year’s log. In between celebrations, the log was kept around to ward off evil, illness, and bad fortune. The ashes of the Yule log were also saved for good luck.

See this history come to life in The Laird's Yuletide Bride.

For the Birds

A ton of fascinating history went into the making of His Lass to Protect. One of the most interesting and fun things I got to research was the use of messenger pigeons in the medieval era!

Medieval messenger pigeons (also called carrier or homing pigeons) were an undeniably fast way to get messages in or out of war zones. The only way to stop them was with a trained hawk or a very accurate and quick archer. It was the fastest means of communication at the time--a pigeon could cover the distance of a twenty-days' walk in less than a day.

These pigeons are believed to use magnetoreception (which allows them to sense the earth's magnetic field like an internal compass) to find their way home. They've been known to return to their home nest across distances of over 1,000 miles!

Trainers also increased the incentives for a bird to return to its nest faster. Food was a good motivator, but even better were sex and jealousy. Pigeon handlers would introduce a new male to the mate of a male about to leave on a mission. The bird would return faster if he saw that a new suitor was sniffing about back home.

It was so much fun to incorporate this research into His Lass to Protect. To see this history in action, make sure you grab your copy! Happy reading!

The Northern Lights

If you follow me on Facebook, you’ll know that it is a bucket-list goal of mine to see the Northern Lights. As I was writing Thor's Wolf, I got to do a fair bit of research on the various myths and legends surrounding the Northern Lights, and what Vikings would have thought of them.

People in medieval Scotland, England, and other regions on the European mainland thought seeing the Northern Lights, which most often appeared to be red (the color of the lights when they are at their weakest), was a sign of upcoming war and bloodshed.

Beliefs about the lights were a bit more positive in many Scandinavian cultures. Some thought that the lights were reflections of schools of herring, meaning good fishing ahead, or that they indicated a good harvest or a particularly—ahem—fertile time to make love. Others believed they were the shimmer of the Valkyries’ shields, or a bridge or pathway for fallen warriors on their way to Valhalla.

I managed to work this research into a certain...intimate scene in Thor's Wolf. ;-) That scene ended up being the inspiration for the cover, which features the Northern Lights and a standing stone circle in the background!

It was such a treat to get to research and write about the Northern Lights--now I just have to see them for myself!