Sky: The King's Druidess is a short story that sets the stage for the Scottish trilogy.  It's definitely fantasy in that it elaborates on a world born of Irish folklore. Chiomara Ruadh, Druidess of Ulster, is a wanderer, floating where destiny takes her.  This story tells of the prophecy which leads her to Erc, king of Dal'Raida, and what the two of them must create to appease the gods.


GWN: Tell us about Erc Breac, king of Dal'Raida and the complex situation he is in.

Sky: Erc Breac, king, is long sworn to marry another woman, a marriage pact made by his family. Well aware of the prophecy, aware of Chiomara, he fulfills his obligation to the gods by coupling with the Druidess. Regrettably, Erc's attraction to Chiomara is so intense he finds himself contemplating breaking the marriage pact and letting down the whole of his kingdom.


GWN: In your latest novel, Fate's Monolith, Arianna Brown, a Scottish born colonial American has been haunted by the reoccurring dream of a phantom Scottish warrior. What has her obsessed with the dream?

Sky: The man himself, the Scottish warrior and his reaction to the potential violence that occurs in the dream.  And, of course, the sizzling chemistry burning between them though they never touch. An attraction that remains with her even during her waking hours.


GWN: What allows the curtain of time to fall so Arianna can meet this mysterious man of her dreams?

Sky:  I can only hint about this one but it has something to do with a rock at Patee's Caves, now known as Mystery Hill Stonehenge in North Salem, New Hampshire. Combine this mysterious area, All Hallow's Eve and a little bit of fate and the 18'th and 12'th centuries aren't all that far apart for misplaced lovers! 


GWN: Why does Laird Iain Mac'Lomain think Arianna is his promised bride? 

Sky: Because Arianna shares the same name as the woman promised him and she ends up in 12'th century Scotland when his intended bride is due to arrive.


GWN: Is there anything that can keep the lovers together?

Sky: Courage, on Arianna's part, could keep them together. Faith in Iain's reaction.  Regrettably, fear of the unknown can sometimes be a powerful persuasion. Such is the case with Arianna. 


GWN: Is "Destiny's Denial" your next book? Is it the sequel to Fate's Monolith?

Sky: Yes, Destiny's Denial is the second book in the Scottish Trilogy. This time the reader travels between the 21'st century and the early 13'th century, meeting once again the characters from Scotland in Fate's Monolith. 


GWN: Who is Caitlin Seavey and what disturbing nightmare has her restless? 

Sky: Caitlin Seavey, heroine from Destiny's Denial, is a descendant of the Brouns and resides in the same house Arianna lived in back in the colonial period.  In her nightmare she's inside a man, diving over a cliff, following a young boy who vanishes.  It's a pretty intense scene.


GWN: Who is responsible for it?

Sky: An ethereal Scotsman, felt and heard but never seen.

GWN: Who does she turn to for guidance? What is she told? And what must she do? 

Sky: Caitlin turns to her grandmother, her best friend, and though she's told very little she is given an old book titled Fate's Monolith and urged to read it.


GWN: Just a comment. Your myspace page is worth the browse. Hot stuff!! I see that you love myspace graphics. Tell us about that.

Sky: Thanks!  Though it took some time to browse the internet looking for image codes, I had a lot of fun creating it.  I've tried to keep the theme of all my sites relative to one another, a mix of mystical and nature.  In fact, I've got a blog up now that's linked to the homepage of my website, feel free to pop in and read my recent thoughts!


GWN: How far are you into your latest novel? 

Sky: Not far I'm afraid.  I spent the entire summer writing Sylvan's Mist, the third novel in my trilogy, which meant pulling late nights working and long days with my two year old son.  After that I took some time off but I've started writing again and hope to have another novel written by early spring with perhaps another short story in between.


GWN: How are you promoting your books?

Sky: Quite a few ways!  I've had the book cover for Fate's Monolith up at multiple review sites; have hired a company to continually post blurbs and excerpts at random loops.  I've sent out press releases, promotional items to book stores across the country and put up flyers around my home town.  And, just a little incentive to come visit my website, me and a bunch of my fellow authors are coming together to host a holiday scavenger hunt contest starting November 15th and ending on Christmas Eve.  We're talking about a lot of prizes!

c gottawritenetwork.com
November 13, 1007

GWN: Sky, you've stated that you came to realize that you weren't a poet, but a storyteller. That through five years of correspondence courses you learned what it takes to be a writer. What was that story "born inside your head," that had ideas flying at you and your fingers typing away ten forty? 

  Sky: Actually, it was the first novel in my Scottish trilogy titled Fate's Monolith.  It was inspired by a trip to the Scottish Highland Games here in New Hampshire.  It was there that I discovered my husband's clan and mine had been intermarried throughout the 13'th and 15'th centuries, hence the whole concept of love and fate.

GWN: Is "The King's Druidess" your first novel? Is it classified as a historical or fantasy? Tell us about Chiomara Ruadh and what does prophecy have in store for her?