tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353479285769121899.post8417940585183552220..comments2024-03-28T08:43:04.825-04:00Comments on Seduced By History: Places that Inspire – Isle of SkyeSeduced by Historyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15196314920956478724noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353479285769121899.post-85309452522911908272010-07-03T22:40:00.534-04:002010-07-03T22:40:00.534-04:00Thanks Kathryn! The top two photos were taken at K...Thanks Kathryn! The top two photos were taken at Kilt Rock and the other two were taken on the northern tip of the island at Duntulm. Both are definitely must see places of Skye. Dramatic landscapes.<br /><br />Your lighthouse setting sounds amazing too! I love lighthouses.Nicole Northhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01535088964454920083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353479285769121899.post-14830416936697504422010-07-03T22:16:23.634-04:002010-07-03T22:16:23.634-04:00What wonderful photos, Nicole! I hope to get to Sc...What wonderful photos, Nicole! I hope to get to Scotland in the next year or two. I have made note of this place as a "must visit" from your post here. <br /><br />I used one of my favorite places as the setting of my first published book--the old lighthouse in San Diego. It is set high on a lonely peninsula that often would get fogged in. A few miles away was a whaling station. Cliffs, crashing waves, beaches. <br /><br />Thanks for sharing your trip with us!Kathryn Albrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00133422500061876841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353479285769121899.post-91893755188027299682010-07-03T08:36:47.920-04:002010-07-03T08:36:47.920-04:00Pat, thanks!! Hill of Howth sounds fantastic. I...Pat, thanks!! Hill of Howth sounds fantastic. I'd love to visit that sometime. Research of this sort is fun! :)Nicole Northhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01535088964454920083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353479285769121899.post-35088848087060679582010-07-03T07:54:00.106-04:002010-07-03T07:54:00.106-04:00Lurking mist is a fabulous tool for setting a scen...Lurking mist is a fabulous tool for setting a scene, Nicole. Well done! Great photos, and I enjoyed your excerpt. A critical chapter of my current WIP takes place on the Hill of Howth, the dramatic cliffs nine miles north of Dublin. In the story, the fairies have an outpost inside the hill. The area is famous as the site of an ancient fairy battle,as one of Finn MacCool's lookout camps, and as the landfall for the smuggling in of guns for the 1916 rebellion. I'm happy to say I've described the breathtaking views of the Irish Sea and the mounds of heather and gorse from my own visits there. Ah, research :-)Pat McDermotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17969402820726235963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353479285769121899.post-1528332116861557972010-07-03T07:54:00.107-04:002010-07-03T07:54:00.107-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Pat McDermotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17969402820726235963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353479285769121899.post-23418817100082823052010-07-02T22:37:11.936-04:002010-07-02T22:37:11.936-04:00Cynthia, thanks so much! I do love for my settings...Cynthia, thanks so much! I do love for my settings to be as vivid as characters. It is definitely possible to bring a setting perfectly to life without ever having visited. It just takes a different kind of research. I bet that truly was an astonishing experience to walk into the castle where you set your story, after the fact. We develop strong emotional attachments to the settings of our stories.Nicole Northhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01535088964454920083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353479285769121899.post-60260006262844470382010-07-02T22:32:23.999-04:002010-07-02T22:32:23.999-04:00Carly, thanks! I haven't been to Land's En...Carly, thanks! I haven't been to Land's End though I'd love to go sometime. I have been to John O'Groats.<br /><br />I bet futuristic stories require not only scientific knowledge but also lots of imagination to create.Nicole Northhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01535088964454920083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353479285769121899.post-87165594558147171442010-07-02T22:29:26.475-04:002010-07-02T22:29:26.475-04:00Nicole, what lovely pictures, and a great excerpt ...Nicole, what lovely pictures, and a great excerpt to go along with it!<br />Setting as character is a great device, as it puts the reader into the picture. I guess you could say I went about it the wrong way, because I spent years researching the west of Ireland, wrote the book and got it published, and THEN visited Ireland. One of the nicest things a reviewer said was that my setting was almost like a character in itself. High praise, and much appreciated.<br />When I did visit Ireland last year, I was lucky enough to be able to visit Dunguaire Castle, the castle that adorns my book cover, as a friend of mine identified it for me (he'd actually worked there years ago). It was an amazing feeling to walk the grounds of the castle - I could almost feel my hero and heroine had walked there before.<br /><br />Thanks for a great post!Cynthia Owenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18345425630343664622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353479285769121899.post-39406654439545049122010-07-02T22:29:12.129-04:002010-07-02T22:29:12.129-04:00Anonymous, thanks! I love the sexy and playful new...Anonymous, thanks! I love the sexy and playful new Secrets cover. Happy birthday all around!Nicole Northhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01535088964454920083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353479285769121899.post-11837845843811711782010-07-02T22:27:17.099-04:002010-07-02T22:27:17.099-04:00Paisley, I'll have to visit that MacDonald cas...Paisley, I'll have to visit that MacDonald castle ruin and garden sometime. Sounds wonderful! Cary House sounds very intriguing and inspiring too. I love ghost stories.Nicole Northhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01535088964454920083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353479285769121899.post-57096628138095253192010-07-02T22:01:01.736-04:002010-07-02T22:01:01.736-04:00Great pictures. I love the Isle of Skye and all th...Great pictures. I love the Isle of Skye and all those other names are so evocative. Land's End is my favorite. Great excerpt too. Thanks.<br /><br />My next story is set in the future so obviously I haven't seen the place. But I did do a lot of scientific research to make it believable. I wish I could see it though. lolCarly Carsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18236823971323039071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353479285769121899.post-72130321655520739792010-07-02T18:02:01.912-04:002010-07-02T18:02:01.912-04:00WOW secrets looks s good! Celebrating birthday, ...WOW secrets looks s good! Celebrating birthday, my daughter's son's AND AMERICA!! WHOOHOO!<br /><br />lindarb49@hotmail.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353479285769121899.post-74521852811426796582010-07-02T15:54:15.774-04:002010-07-02T15:54:15.774-04:00When we visited Skye we ended up at the MacDonald ...When we visited Skye we ended up at the MacDonald Trust which is a castle in ruin, but a garden that blew our minds. They boast of having one of every kind of tree in the world there, but if not it has to be close. One tree (in the Fall) was the color of marachino cherries. It is one of my favorite photos we took. AND, I might add that Teresa has gorgeous photos she has been sharing. I am in heaven with both of you being so generous.<br /><br />My favorite place to explore to write about is The Cary House, a hotel built in the gold rush town of Placerville in 1857. I worked in an art gallery across the street and made friends with the manager. He shared tales and let me roam the halls taking photos, dealing with one of the two ghosts (Stan who loved women and was killed because of it) and feeling the ambiance of history there. It is where my hero in my prize winning contest entry owns this hotel and the heroine lives there.Paisley Kirkpatrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06401039126457210324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353479285769121899.post-5561983098307407402010-07-02T15:37:35.532-04:002010-07-02T15:37:35.532-04:00Thanks so much, Teresa! I agree Skye is amazing. I...Thanks so much, Teresa! I agree Skye is amazing. I'm enjoying all your blog posts about your trip to Scotland!Nicole Northhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01535088964454920083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353479285769121899.post-73998821211264727452010-07-02T14:56:52.765-04:002010-07-02T14:56:52.765-04:00Nicole:
Hands down one of my favorite places in Sc...Nicole:<br />Hands down one of my favorite places in Scotland was the Isle of Skye. No one could believe the setting until they've experienced it first hand. I couldn't get over the way the glaciers had carved out the mountains and valleys. They were so exaggerated. Like a teenagers face going through that awkward stage where his teeth or his nose is too big for his face. <br /><br />Amazing!!<br /><br />I loved your pictures. They're much better than mine. We didn't get to go out far enough to the coast. We ran out of time and had to make it down the coast of the mainland to Troon for our two days in Ireland.<br />So I mostly had to stay inland. Darnit!!<br /><br />Excellent way to use the setting in your excerpt. <br /><br />I love to use setting as a character and let it be part of the conflict.<br /><br />Write on,<br />Teresa R.Teresa Reasor https://www.blogger.com/profile/18204579039577235727noreply@blogger.com