Monday's Musing - One & Only

Hi Readers! Welcome back. Today we look at the research/inspiration for One & Only, the first book in the highly rated and acclaimed book one in the Gunn Guardsman series.

It's funny how I always begin my books with an idea and it rolls into a series. That was the case with this series. I wanted to write Graeme's story and more stories formulated for the other men in the story. But first...let's start at the beginning. So I got the idea thinking about a young lass who was troublesome and the lad she tormented because we know girls always bother the boys especially at young ages. I always pestered my brothers and the boys who played outside on our street, but that's me...a minx.

The beginning of the story was inspired by the idioms don't throw the baby out with the wash water dates back to the 1500's. In medieval times, people shared bathwater and by the time the baby was bathed in it, the water was so murky the baby was in danger of being tossed out. Most believe this idiom means don't do something which you'll regret. 

Also, I loved the spare the rod, spoil the child idiom. Since Bree was a little vixen and because she was so cute and adorable no one wanted to punish her when she did wrong (which was often.) The meaning: children would become weak or vulnerable if not chastised, physically or otherwise, for any wrongdoing. Perhaps that is true, but no spoilers here :)

I think it's fun to include sayings from earlier time periods, especially those that no longer exists or known today. And I loved King William in this story. In researching him, I found that he had some illegitimate children and I thought hmmm.... So Aubrey/Bree was born to him.

A lot of the scenes in this story was inspired by images I found on the web or those on the Pinterest board. Check them out here: https://www.pinterest.com/karagriffin/one-and-only-gunn-guardsman-1/

And a song that played on repeat while I was writing it was Mayday Parade's "We Were Kids In Love" Quite inspiration. 

Also I have never been a good cook. I can be when I want to be, but I though I would make my heroine a great cook and everyone loves her food. The theme can be found throughout the book because it is Bree's "go to" when she's upset or needs something to distract her.

If you've read the book or may want to there are a good many researched themes within. For example, medieval people had many festivals and feasts in honor of all sorts of things. There is a wonderful holiday the ancients celebrated called Saint Swithin's Day. It coincided with the harvest festival. I find it sad that some of our ancestor's holidays fell by the wayside. Saint Swithin's Day is like America's Ground Hog Day in that it foretold the weather as an 'old wives tale.' There's a cute song that goes with it:

St. Swithin's day, if thou dost rain,

For forty days it will remain;

St. Swithin's day, if thou be fair,

For forty days 'twill rain na mair.

In the story there are two lords who are featured: MacHethe and MackWilliams, who were indeed after King William's crown and then his son, Alexander's. There was a lot of turmoil embedded within their trying to usurp the kings, but all were squelched by the growing strength of the Scottish kings.

There's also reference regarding executions. In those times many people were mainly executed with men by hanging and women by drowning (pit and gallows). The Scots were superstitious and continued to practice Norse law (especially north and in the Highlands) where the men were sent to Woden (hanging by wood) and the women were given to Ran (a sea goddess, drowning.)

This was a fun series to research and I was like a kid in a candy store when I found bits of history to add to the story. If you've read One & Only, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Tune in next week and we'll talk about On A Highland Hill. Two of my favorite people - Kenneth and Elisa!

Happy Historical Reading,

Kara Griffin

Monday's Musing - Lass' Valor

Inspiration for Brendan MacKinnon 

Today we delve into the backstory and inspirational research for Lass' Valor, the 3rd book in the Pith Trilogy. The 13th century is my favorite historical time frame to write in. I don't know why it appeals so much to me. Perhaps it's because it's been romanticized so much with courtly love, chivalry, knights in shining armor... 

In the last book of the Pith Trilogy, I thought of a lass who could take care of herself and yet hopes to find love. Kaitlin's father has left her an orphan and her guardian means to use her to gain the wealthy possession her father sent her from the crusade. She's taken to the guardian's home and finds a wee lass there. Kaitlin loves children and she can do nothing but rescue the child.

Brendan is probably the fiercest warrior in the clan. He's superstitious and has prebattle rituals (which is a throwback to his ancestors). Researching the warrior's rituals was inspiring, especially because the Scots were fearless in their pursuit of war. They fought with passion and typically for something that meant a great deal to them. They were dedicated to their clansmen and country and resigned to fight to the death for their sovereign or lord or even for the ideal of an important matter.

Kaitlin has a cat who was inspired by my own sweet kitty Trixie. I got to enjoy 19 years with my persnickety feline. She passed to kitty heaven in 2008, and sadly not a day goes by that I don't think about her. But I found a cat Princess Pearl who greatly resembles Trixie in her mannerisms. Yeah, she's a bitch too. lol. But I still love her. I told you animals were a typical thing in my stories, and I hope they add a sweetness to the characters.

I couldn't help but make Brendan a cantankerous sort of fellow. He's been a quiet sort in the previous books and keeps to himself mostly, until his story comes to light. Though he's close to his brothers, he's kind of an outsider within his clan. Then he meets Kaitlin and everything changes for him. But he must be accepting or else he'll lose all.

I find in life sometimes it is hard to accept life's choices or to even make them. The fear is what if it's a mistake, what if what I hope happens, doesn't? I suppose that's how life is...to go forth and not look back. Make the most of the situation you're in and follow your heart, right? I kept telling my characters that and fortunately in the end, they listened.

Happy Historical Reading,

Kara Griffin

Monday's Musings - Claimed By A Charmer

Hi Readers, welcome back to Monday's Musings. Early on in writing my books, I didn't include an Author Note, but I will discuss some of the elements in the second book in the Pith Trilogy. In case you didn't know Pith means love. So the books are really the love trilogy :)

Today I'm talking about Claimed By A Charmer (one of my favorite books) although, I love all the stories I've written. This book is kind of dear to my heart. The heroine Isabel is probably the character I most identify myself with.

Her backstory - she has a terrible home life and gets to go to her uncles where she meets a friend. They have a lifelong friendship and Isabel falls hard for her friend's brother. Unfortunately, Isabel has an unruly father, a despicable brother, and a brother who she loves dearly.

Douglas is every lass's dream. He's ever the charmer and captures Isabel's affection (well not really) from the moment they meet.

SO the musing -- This story came to me on a Sunday morning as I was watching some book related show (can't remember the name now, but it was on PBS) and they were discussing a movie The Magdalene Sisters. If you don't recall it, it was about {Three young Irish women struggle to maintain their spirits while they endure dehumanizing abuse as inmates of a Magdalene Sisters Asylum.}

Isabel's story instantly came to me while I listened to some of the horrible things the girls endured in the movie. Though the movie was set in Ireland, my story takes place in Scotland -- and also the asylum Isabel is sent to is one that is ruled by an awful caretaker, not nuns. So there are vast differences. I just imagined what would my heroine do if she was sent to such a place and the story wrote itself.

Isabel makes me want to be courageous, to face the world head on, and win. She's a gentle woman faced with dark moments. But she also is kind and wants to save the world.

Douglas is a swoon-worthy hero, although he saves Isabel a few times, he's also saved by her. Mentioned in the story is Douglas's stepmother who has a tattoo. People have been putting images on their bodies forever - going back to ancient times of the Picts etc. So that she had one wasn't really a stretch. I love that element of the story because Douglas needs it to prove to Isabel he loves her. No spoilers here lol.

Poor Douglas unfortunately makes an enemy who hexes him throughout the book. But he doesn't know who is causing the trouble. When he finds out, he's relieved he made certain choices in his life. The mystical element is underlying and not the focus of the book, but it make for an interesting twist to the story. I had a great time researching potions, hexes, and mystical chants.

The themes of this book are rich with friendship, family, courage, and love.

I hope you enjoyed this insight into the book and its research.

Stop back and we'll take a look at Lass' Valor next week.

Happy Historical Reading,

Kara Griffin

Monday's Musings - Warrior's Pledge

Warrior's Pledge was my first book. I will never forget the love and heart that went into that book. Unfortunately, I hadn't included an author note, but below, you'll find some of the ideas and research that went into the story.

The inspiration for Warrior's Pledge came about from a dream I had while I was sleeping in the car on the way home during an 18 hour drive from Chicago. Of course I'd been an avid Historical Romance reader at the time and was devouring books at least one per day then.

When I got home, I got on the computer and started writing. The name Julianna was inspired by my Great-great-grandmother. Of course I had to add a little magical element in the story which is where Julianna's friend Bleeth comes in. The heroine's story came to me and I researched King John's life and learned his father King Henry II had many mistresses and children out of wedlock (but didn't they all!) I wanted her to be related to John and so I made her his sister via his father. Her story begins as a young girl who witnesses her mother's death - but as all children of a young age, memories are hard to decipher. 

{This actually is a personal connection for me. My father died when I was four. Through my life memories have come to me of him. When I spoke of them to my mom, she clarified the actual situation. Of course I had a different view as a child so it was nice to find out the reality of my memories.}

Colin's life was filled with turmoil with the dysfunction of his family (his parents had a terrible relationship - but no spoilers here lol). He has a good relationship with his brothers and clan, but doesn't think he's capable of love. Perhaps Juliana will prove him wrong on that matter.

In this book, I enjoyed the descriptive scenes of the Scottish landscape. Because I was landlocked here in the US I did extensive research and fell in love with its stark beauty. It's said that during Pangaea Scotland was connected to North America around the north eastern part of the US. I have lived in Pennsylvania and there are many similarities of the land there, rocky mountainous places, streams, lakes, etc. When the Highland clearances happened in the 1600's many Scots found their way to Pennsylvania. I like to think they settled there because it reminded them of home.

George, the goat in the story, was inspired by a dog we once had that was such a trouble-maker. He wouldn't stay out when he was supposed to or in. I love adding animals/pets to my story. Animals have always been a part of human's life and adding them makes characters more interesting and lifelike.

That's it for now :) Be sure to check back next week when I share inspiration/research bits about Claimed By A Charmer.

Happy Historical Reading!

Kara Griffin

 

Religion or no?

This blog post is about religion in Medieval times and it's contents are not the sole view of the author's and are primarily for discussion purposes.

RELIGION IN MEDIEVAL TIMES

I'll have less religion in my story, please...

Being a medieval writer, I (as well as many of my author friends), want to be as accurate as we can with character traits, settings, dress, politics, and especially with religion.

Imagine, it's the 13 or 1400's and almost everyone is pious. People from serfs all the way to the Lord of the land, and the clergy are all extremely pious. Even warriors and mercenaries stuck by regimented religious rituals.

It was a time when religion was a very serious matter. If a person didn't practice or follow the religion it could very well mean their heads. Although many people in Ireland, Britain, and Scotland continued to practice many old customs in conjunction with the newer Catholic religion rites. Those who followed the old religion had to do so in secret lest they be held for treason and likely executed.

In my opinion, I feel that many of the leaders of that time used religion to scare and keep those beneath them in line. It also helped to further their rule/leadership when certain laws were followed and those leaders had the benefit of being feared.

I suppose some of these religious philosophies are still be enacted today. Fear, using religion to invoke leaders and subjugate, etc. How sad it is that people cannot follow their hearts when it comes to beliefs. Today, religion, it seems is being segregated by age groups. For example, many of the youth follow no religion at all, while middle-aged people do practice, but with limitations. Older people still hold onto old beliefs and are much more pious than the younger people.

Time has changed, and religion is still there in the forefront of people's lives whether they believe or not.

When it comes to writing religion in Medieval times, I like to flavor my stories with just enough religion to set the tone of the time period, but not too much to detract the reader from the story. Let's be honest, if we wrote a person's daily life into our stories, we'd have five-thousand pages... And how boring would they be. Some people went to church every single day and many prayed up to five times a day. Let's just imagine for time-saving sake that you know this and writers can skip over that part of their lives.

This weekend, we celebrate Good Friday and Easter. Back in the 13/14th centuries people lit candles (these were used to denote light from dark through resurrection.) They also attended the service of lessons called "the prophecies", and performed the sacrament of baptism (this sacrament was only performed once a year, during Easter).

Decorating eggs goes back as far as the 13th century. We can assume the egg tradition likely came from a pagan festival. For Christians, it represents Jesus' resurrection. Eggs were a taboo food during lent, and people would decorate them and eat them when let was over.

The 13th century was a major stepping stone to accepting Christianity for many medieval folk. It had to be an exciting, yet inquisitive time for people as they explored their beliefs and gave much meaning to their lives. Either that, or they were too fearful and decided their lives meant more than following their pagan traditions. How sad for them.

Whatever your take or participation in religion, do you mind if it's mentioned in fiction (even if it's not the prominent part of the story)?

Do you wish authors would make their characters more religious and in line with the time period? Or would you rather it be omitted completely?

I really hope you comment even if it's anonymously. Your view means something and would never be ridiculed or refuted. Everyone has their own opinion, and that is a cherished thing.

Wishing (if you celebrate) a wonderful Easter filled with love of family, peace, and joy.

Everyone else, have a wonderful weekend!

Fondly,

Kara Griffin