Acknowledgments
First of all I’d like to thank Liz Pelletier at Entangled because without her, this story wouldn’t exist! She hit me with an idea one day—hey, what about writing a story set in ancient Scotland where the woman are all gone for some reason and a druid sends the hero forward in time to find a wife, and he uses Craigslist. I was like, LOL, I’m On It! How could I resist? It spoke to my love for ancient history and the early Celts as well as sounding like a lot of fun.
As always, I’m hugely indebted to a number of people who helped me out with the historical aspects of the plot, description, and characters. I’d like to specifically thank the following for helping me; any mistakes or inaccuracies, however, are my own.
Jody Allen of Rings True Research who read my outline for historical advice and inaccuracies. And to the Dr. Ewan Campbell, the archaeologist who originated the theory that the Gaelic speakers of Dunadd did not come from Ireland—he was gracious enough to answer a question I had via email.
And, ohmygod, to Shaila Patel and Jami Gold, who read my chapters as I was writing them so that I could adjust and revise as I went in order to make my deadline. I’d never done that before—usually I wait until I’ve finished a whole draft and had a chance to go through a thorough self-edit, but I didn’t have time for that. They always have my back and give me helpful, and sometimes painful, feedback, but it’s always worth it to make a story stronger.
Special thanks goes to Jami, Buffy Armstrong, and Shaila for always being available via Facebook chat when I needed encouragement or yanking back from some fruitless rabbit hole of research detail or for helping me brainstorm some tricky plot problem.
To my editors Liz Pelletier and Lydia Sharp, who helped me get this into final shape! You knew exactly how and where to get me to dig deeper.
I also want to thank the following who helped me during my research trip to Scotland in 2018: the lady working the counter at the Kilmartin Museum for giving me a good primer on the area and loading me up with history books of the region; Donald, the captain of the boat The Morag, who accommodated my last minute request to join his tour from Tighnabruaich up around the waters above the Isle of Bute and back. He was a natural storyteller and kept us entertained while also serving tea. He also kindly answered all my boat/water-related questions and tipped me off to using ferries to get in some of the views my characters would have seen while on water. Storms come from the west, he also told me, which wouldn’t have been something I’d glean from book research. Though I didn’t follow his advice to have my characters sail up around the top of the Isle of Bute as the incredible, craggy inlets at the south tip served my story purposes better. Sorry, Donald! If they had followed Donald’s advice they would have been much safer from that storm. And to Heather and the staff at Ben Arthur’s Bothy in Arrochar where I was staying, who kept me supplied with steak pie and Irn-Bru and other Scottish fare almost every night. It was nice to feel like I had a “home base.”
And to the docent at the Auld Kirk Museum in Kirkintilloch who, when I asked if there were other places I should see related to the Antonine Wall, told me of an historical reenactment happening during my stay. She told me to look for her husband Martin, dressed as a centurion. This proved to be a mother-load of great information—nothing beats seeing and talking to people who steep themselves in an era. So thank you to Martin and the other members of The Antonine Guard who answered various questions I had about the Romans and their gear and culture, who let me take innumerable pictures and recordings as well as reenacting a prayer to Mithras for me.
To my employees at the bookstore who put up with my grumpy-groggy self when I’m on deadline, and especially Alex McLeod who’s always willing to be a sounding board when I have a thorny plot problem or, in this case, coming up with the line about “increasing the herd.” Thanks, Alex!
To the members of my facebook fan group—Angela’s Time-Traveling Steampunk Regency Assassins—for their help and support! And to my readers, whose encouragement and support are invaluable.
To my facebook and twitter friends who are always willing to answer questions I pose, whether it’s about writing, or character ideas, or an opinion sought.
To Bree Archer at Entangled for the gorgeous cover—I couldn’t be happier! Love the silhouette of the castle in the skyline!
And finally to my family, who have always believed in me and make it possible for me to pursue writing.
About the Author
An avid reader herself, Angela Quarles writes books she’d like to read—laugh-out-loud, smart romances that suck you into her worlds and won’t let you go until you reach The End. She is a RWA RITA® award-winning and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary, time travel, and steampunk romance. Library Journal named her steampunk, Steam Me Up, Rawley, Best Self-Published Romance of 2015. Her time travel romance Must Love Chainmail won the Romance Writer’s of America’s RITA® in 2016, becoming the first self-published author to win in the paranormal category. Her debut novel, Must Love Breeches, made the USA Today bestseller list in 2015. Angela loves history, folklore, and family history and combined it with her active imagination to write stories of romance and adventure. She also owns and operates her own independent new & used bookstore in Mobile, Alabama, connecting readers to books every day!
She has a B.A. in Anthropology and International Studies with a minor in German from Emory University, and a Masters in Heritage Preservation from Georgia State University. She was an exchange student to Finland in high school and studied abroad in Vienna one summer in college.
Find Angela Quarles Online:
www.angelaquarles.com
@angelaquarles
Facebook.com/authorangelaquarles
Mailing list: www.angelaquarles.com/join-my-mailing-list
Also by Angela Quarles
As You Wish
Steam Me Up, Rawley
Must Love series
Must Love Breeches
Must Love Chainmail
Must Love Kilts
Must Love More Kilts
Stolen Moments series
Earning It
Risking It
Deserving It
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