This is a short description of the tour that Mary of Guise and Lord Châtellerault took to Aberdeen in May of 1552.
Mary of Guise became queen consort upon her marriage to King James V of Scotland in 1538. Her infant daughter, Mary, ascended the throne when James died in 1542. Then she ruled Scotland as regent from 1554 until her death.
When Mary of Guise became regent on 12 April 1554. (Just two years after Magnus and Kaitlyn were there) Her daughter, Queen Mary, just eleven years old, sent congratulations to "la Royne, ma mere" ("the Queen, my mother")
Mary Queen of Scots was born at Linlithgow Palace.
James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault, (also Earl of Arran) was next in line to the throne after the King's descendants, so on the death of James V on 14 December 1542, the Earl of Arran stood next in line to the Scottish throne after the king's six-day-old newborn baby daughter Mary, Queen of Scots.
Arran was appointed the Governor and Protector of Scotland.
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller was an American socialite and philanthropist and was a prominent member of the Rockefeller family through her marriage to financier and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr. She was known for being the driving force behind the establishment of the Museum of Modern Art.
Abby Rockefeller began collecting paintings, watercolors, and drawings by a number of contemporary American artists in 1925, as well as a number of European modernists including Pablo Picasso.
There was a small Easter egg here, a reference to one of my YA books, Sid and Teddy. In Sid and Teddy, a young couple, very in love, stand just inside a door in Edinburgh looking out, seeing terrible weather, and deciding to go out anyway.
Kaitlyn and Magnus do the same thing, and Kaitlyn wonders about it... 466 years before. Sid and Teddy
Acknowledgments
A big thank you to David Sutton for beta-reading again. You have been here from the beginning and have a really great insight into the characters… This time you figured out that Mary of Guise was actually in Aberdeen in May of 1552 so I had to make her vacation with Kaitlyn and Magnus later in the summer. And you noted that I needed to add Gardyloo! The best part was that right when I was on the page, you mentioned that Kaitlyn and Magnus might want to renew their vows... and yes, they definitely did. Thank you for your notes, they make the story better and better.
A huge thank you to Heather Hawkes for beta-reading yet again and keeping my feet to the fire on Magnus. I know he can waver between cocky and too cocky, I’m glad you help me navigate it. He’s a real heroic boy, but also needs to be a lover too. I’m so glad you loved the story and thought the adventure was grand. Thank you for saying, “Amazingly awesome and beautiful as always!” And for all your help making it better.
Thank you to Kristen Schoenmann De Haan for pointing out to me (the first draft had Hayley drinking) that this was hard to watch. (I agree) I rewrote that part. And helping me work though some of the parts on Kaitlyn’s parents. And advising on how the Emma/Isla/Kaitlyn dynamic might work. I appreciate your enthusiasm for this story so much. Thank you.
Thank you to Jessica Fox for your thoughts... I was chin-deep in edits and hadn’t come up for a while, when your email arrived saying, “what a ride that was” and other awesome things that had me floating on air for a while. It means so much that on book 11 you still have all the emotions. Thank you.
And a special, gigantic thank you to Cynthia Tyler for so many great ideas. You pointed out that Magnus and Kaitlyn probably had Sweating Sickness (running rampant at that time) and told me that the entourage would be more likely to stay at Estates than taverns (thusly our gang stayed at Linlithgow, one of Mary of Guises and my own personal favorite palaces.) You read once with exuberance and then a second time with more detail, finding mistake after mistake, you help me make the story better and better. I’m filled with gratitude that you’re so good at this, thank you.
And a very big thank you to Keira Stevens for narrating and bringing Kaitlyn and Magnus to life. All the way up to book 8 so far, you’re amazing. I’m so proud that you’re a part of the team.
And thank you to Shane East for voicing Magnus. He is perfect.
Thank you to Gill Gayle and Emily Stouffer for believing in this story and working so tirelessly to bring Kaitlyn and Magnus to a broader audience. Your championing of Kaitlyn means so much to me.
And a special shoutout to Gill for saying about Black Duncan... “What a fine looking chap, that ruffle around his neck really makes his eyes pop.” That, of course, went in the book.
And thank you to Isobel Dowdee for advising me on their clothes, the photos, your advice on the sleeves, it all helped so much.
Thank you to Jackie Malecki and Angelique Mahfood for signing on to help admin the big and growing FB group. Your energy and positivity and humor and spirit, all the things you do and say and bring to the conversation fill me with gratitude. And thank you for giving me Hayley’s new drinks... Dirty Chai (Angelique) and Spicy Virgin Bloody Mary (Jackie) were both perfect, Hayley loves them both. Thank you. I’m so glad you’re there!
Thank you to Linda Rose Lynch for sharing the link to the reconstruction of Edinburgh in the year 1554. It was exactly what I needed at the exact time I needed it, that night Magnus and Kaitlyn were walking into Edinburgh. (Oh and thanks for sharing all the hot hunky highlanders too.)
And thank you to Anna Spain for continuing to run the weekly book club, it means so much to me (and others in the group), I know it takes devotion, thank you for that.
Which brings me to a huge thank you to every single member of the FB group, Kaitlyn and the Highlander. If I could thank you individually I would, I do try. Thank you for every day, in every way, sharing your thoughts, joys, and loves with me. It’s so amazing, thank you. You inspire me to try harder.
And for going beyond the ordinary to the most of the posts, comments, contributions and discussions, thank you Amy Selinger, Andrea Gavrin, Anna Spain, Azalee Salis, Bev Burns, Bill White, Carol Wossidlo Leslie, Caroline Twyford, Christine Cornelison, Christine Schultheiss, Christine Todd Champeaux, Connie Westberry, Crislee Anderson Moreno, Cynthia Tyler, Debra Mackenzie, Dianna Schmidt, Donna Lancaster, Donna Rice, Dorothy Chafin Hobbs, Emily Smith-Haskins, Fleur Garmonsway, Gina Maloney, Ginger Duke, Gwen Gangi, Jackie Briggs, Jeanne Collins, Jennifer Lysakowsky, Jenny Thomas, Jeri Wenneker, Jessica Blasek, Julz Louise, Karen Scott, Karla Ferguson Blaise, Kathi Ross, Kathleen Fullerton, Kathren Rose Sanchez Cole, Kathy Ann Harper, Kelly Stewart Hanson, Lauren Ah Sang, Lillian Llewellyn, Linda Donald, Linda Rose Lynch, Linda West, Lisa Kain, Lisa Lack Clark, Lori Balise, Lori Geiger, Lorraine Sills, Lydia Russo, Lynda Colleen, Mary Meyvis-Little, Melissa Fondren, Michelle Lynn Cochran, Nadeen Lough, Nancy Josey Massengill, Nancy Sweyer, Nannette Y. Thompson-Wiley, Pamela Beaudoin, Pamela Kathleen Ates Lehman, Pamela Pickens Barker, Risa Bee, Sandy Hambrick, Shannon McNamara Sellstrom, Shannon Victoria Fleckenstein, Sly Greenberg, Susan Dailey Owens, Teresa Lynn Potter, Tina Rox, and Valerie Villa Stewart.