Everyone writes differently than everyone else, right? I know I do. I don't sit down at the computer and just scribble out whatever comes to my mind unless I'm blogging. I do that when I'm doing this. I scribble away, and I rarely go back and change anything. This is more or less a practice in freewriting. If you get into the planning like I do, your plans have to have preplanning, and those plans are then sketched out, fleshed out, and written out just a little bit - - long enough for you (me) to change my mind and start either at the top, or move the top to the bottom, and fill in the middle to make things pop. That's about the size of it.
So, the book was to be called "Of Kilted Pleasure" but I didn't want everyone to think it was a sex book - nope! I didn't want that at all. Don't get me wrong, there will be plenty of intercoursing and lovemaking, even a rape or an attempted rape. There will be exploring of one or two characters, and there will be innuendo, but it's not like the entire book is a guidebook or verbal demonstration of who did it with whom, how they carried it off, or what the actions entail. No, rather than make it a book about sex, it is a book that has a BIT of touching, feeling, ravaging, and forced violation, but more history, story telling, and about relationships. Without giving it all away, think 18th Century in the Highlands where laws weren't quite as lined out as they may be in the 21st Century. Husbands had more rights than wives back in those days - - but no worries, he gets his. He won't get away with it.
The title of the book is not going to be announced until I am 100% completed with it, and I register it with the Library of Congress before having it published and produced. It's a good title, still has the word "Kilt" in it, but it leaves a lot more to the imagination than the original title. Will there be "kilted pleasure" sure, and some pleasure without kilts as well? Wait, that's rather redundant if you think about it. I also feel that the new title carries a more credible reason for people to read it; people who aren't just seeking Highlander intensity with flesh pounding flesh in both their battles and their beds. This is a good book! I've not even completely written it and I can tell you that. I'm working very diligently at making it worth reading and worth whatever price the publishers attach to it. (We authors don't really have too much say about the price.) I will try to have it on Kindle for free for a month if they'll allow it. It's a good marketing tool. Maybe they'll agree.
What I did today was to focus on the number of chapters and the way they'll be laid out so that they make the most sense, and so they are as entertaining as possible. I will be using flashbacks as a means of knowledge for the reader and memory for some of the characters. There will be other literary devices as well; being an English Professor I think I owe that to my calling. I know I owe proper grammar to it, but that won't happen. The Scots language alone (which some of the book will be subjected to) will see to that. There will be grammatical errors and there will be no apologies for them. (I don't know, I may actually apologize in the Introduction so my readers actually know I know how to use grammar properly.) I really am not one to suffer from OCD, but I do suffer when I see grammar being misused....again, not in my blogs. Freewriting.
The book takes place between 1715 and 1746ish in both the two main populated areas of Scotland, Glasgow's western edge (Strathclyde) and the city of Edinburgh proper. Many events take place in both cities, and there will be an explanation of the way the two cities as well as the culture(s) of the two cities have similarities and vast differences. From language to belief systems, politics, and marketing, the two cities are in deed and indeed quite unique. The two families my personal family is connected to are the Armstrongs and the Campbells. The Armstrongs were, for lack of a better phrase, "hung out to dry" in 1610, causing many of the surviving clan members to change their names, intermarry with others, or leave the country completely. This won't be discussed in too much detail as the book is literally taking place a century later. The Campbells on the other hand ruled and remain in great strength in and around Strathclyde, Glasgow. I just happen to be a bigger fan of Edinburgh, that's all. Both deserve their limelight moments.
I added a really cool character and YES Tex, I did get his permission before doing so. See, I do know my boundaries. I've added Antoin (there's an accent in there, but you can't see it, as my keyboard doesn't have one) Broonford. Antoin is the Scots Gaelic way of saying "Anthony" and this character will be built around the likeness, image, mannerisms, and character of Edinburgh's own beloved son Tony Broonford of Clan Broonford, there's a link to his YouTube channel at the end. He's an amazing guy with talents that span the spectrum. He, his beautiful wife, and his dogs will be spoken of in the book. I may even make mention that he and his wife are hoping for a couple of bairns, but there won't be time enough in the book for it; just pipedreams perhaps of the two sweethearts. I can't say more without giving too much away, but Antoin is a gifted solider, tour guide, grand friend, and whisky advocate to boot! Thanks again Tony for letting me insert you into the book - - you'll find that you are both a hero and a confidant.
There are currently 30 chapters. I will likely add one or two here and there, squeezing them in to explain this or that. I have a murder, an attempted murder, an attempted rape, a scandalous coverup, the purposeful turning of the heads so as not to see what was there to be seen, and of course, there will be cooking, dancing, laughing, parties, even a real live philosopher and a couple of inventions that make their way into the book about the same time they were being made in reality. All in all, I think I have a good thing started and with the fleshing out, the filling in, the moving around, and the stuffing it full of facts and fictional bliss, this is going to be one helluva book -- truly a good tale to be told. (at least I think so.)
Buckle up Buttercup; we're headed for the Highlands. Mr. Tesla, take me back to 1715 please....thank you!
CLAN BROONFORD: https://www.youtube.com/@ClanBroonford
Photo Credit: Alamy.com
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