Introducing the Shadow Castles series
Conall Canmore tumbles towards his death from the walls of Stirling Castle. But instead of crashing onto rocks, he lands face down in the dirt. Bruised but freed from the disease that was killing him, he sees a city he recognises. It is Stirling, but not the same city he left. For reasons he doesn’t comprehend, this is a version of the place that existed long ago.
Conall picks up the threads of this new existence and exploits his futuristic knowledge to achieve material gain. And life is good until another brush with death sends him tumbling further back in time. As the years stretch to centuries, Conall is on hand to witness the birth of Scotland, bloodily wrought through migration and war. Stripped of his riches and his dear ones with every fall, Conall recognises within himself the seeds of change. But how will it benefit him if his only destiny is to descend, further and further back in time? He is renewed, but at the same time unhinged, for Conall cannot keep his grip on history.
Back in the twenty-first century of another Scotland, terrorists target the leading prince of the realm. Seizing this latest assassination as a judicious moment to strike their enemies, powerful clans jostle for influence ahead of the coming fight. Alliances rise and fall in the Caledonian court while the coming succession convulses the old guard. And when finally, the aggressor nation is revealed, only one obstacle restrains this nation from unleashing a shockwave of revenge. The old king is dying, and with his passing, Caledonia will choose a new sovereign and go to war.
Imagining an alternative Scotland
I want to show you the capital of the different Scotland I’ve imagined. It’s always been said that if an army-controlled Stirling, then they could exercise control over all of Scotland. The reason for this is mainly geographic. With the River Forth running wide and deep to the city gates, and the Clyde valley sweeping in from the west, the road past Stirling is the only route avoiding wetlands and high hills. And so, in my new series, set in another Scotland, Stirling seemed the natural setting for my capital.
What goes on here? Well, it’s a city of four million with a big heritage of shipbuilding, especially warships. These days, it has a significant financial district, second only to the nation’s trading capital, Roxburgh. At the heart of the city lies Stirling Castle, though in my imagined world it’s called The Concordium; so-named by the powerful northern clans when they united twelve hundred years ago to counter the Viking threat. The government here has three strands, and all must work in unison if there are to achieve substantive change. The democratic parliament meets in a modern building by the river, while the Concordium houses the monarch and the second house of government, known as the Thane’s Conclave. At the heart of this multi-towered castle lies the Stonekirk, which is the operational headquarters of the military and security services. Headquartering these forces under one roof has always seemed efficient, though lately, with advances in many types of remote-controlled weaponry, the government has acknowledged that the Concordium places a lot of eggs in one basket. Perish the day it should ever be attacked …
Who will you trust?
I’m going to be honest and admit I’m not always the first person to the party with new trends on TV. And recently I caught my first ever episode of Traitors on the BBC. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a locked-room mystery where everyone has to work out who the bad guys are. Contestants have to pick up clues, trust their instincts, and then press forward to a decision as if their lives depended on it.
It got me thinking about my new Shadow Castles series. It is a complex story with lots of moving parts, and I knew right away I didn’t want my characters to wear their hearts on their sleeves. Who is Faithful and who’s a Traitor? Isn’t it more interesting when the values and motives of our characters aren’t so starkly black or white?
In preparation for writing, I’ve striven to know my characters well enough so I can sustain them across many books and be crystal clear about their motives and what they’re trying to achieve. But I also wanted to capture a little real-life complexity, because very few people act solely on pure motives. And you’ll meet my characters at a time of terrible endurance and rapid change. A time of opportunity for some and life-ending threats for others. Everyone is looking around to build alliances and discover who’s trustworthy. Who are the heroes and who are the traitors? And who’ll still be standing at the end?
Artemis Macintyre, Third of Macdonald
Artemis Macintyre, a minor princess within the extended royal family. She’s a Skye-born lass who has a remarkable affinity with nature, leading her to be clan-falconer to Thane MacDonald. Alongside her in the mist and gun smoke of the first attack is James Guthrie, an old soldier and a veteran of the colony wars. When events compel him to act as Macintyre’s protector, the pair form a reluctant alliance. And it appears she’s going to need a lot of protection because Artie seems to be the only person always rushing towards each new wave of trouble.
James Guthrie, shieldman to Macintyre
James Guthrie is an old soldier and a veteran of the colony wars. He’s a familiar face around the Concordium having been Shieldman to many prominent Contenders over the year. He used to following orders and isn’t naturally equipped to act as minder to a young woman operating a ‘thought experiment.’ But when events compel him to act as Macintyre’s protector, the pair form a reluctant alliance. And it appears she’s going to need a lot of protection because Artie seems to be the only person always rushing towards each new wave of trouble.
Tearlach Canmore, King of Dalria
Tearlach (pronounced ‘Char-lahk’) is king of this alternative Scotland I’ve imagined. During his long rule, he achieved much to commend his place in history. And in person, he’s reputed to be wise, and kindly in his treatment of others. However, this man has sucked power from the other branches of government and now, it seems, he has overstepped the boundaries of his executive authority. Right now, for good or for ill, his nation’s future hangs on his decisions. And unfortunately, he’s dying.
Domestic opposition to Tearlach is rising as his citizens realise the once mighty Caledonian Empire is now just a diminishing Commonwealth. Foes at home and enemies abroad sense that this Scotland, or Dalria as I identify it, is more vulnerable than she’s been for one thousand years. In a few weeks, the old king will be dead, and under a darkening sky, a host of metaphorical vultures are circling.
The new monarch will be selected under the historical rules of tanistry, which have served Dalria well for two thousand years. This is a merit-based process whereby all clans must present their chosen Contenders for the throne and then, in theory, the best man or woman is elected to the role. Fortunately, one man already stands head and shoulders above the rest of the field, and his name is Roddy Canmore.
Catriona MacAllister, Ban-Righ
Let me introduce Lady Catriona MacAllister. In Dalria, my alternative Scotland, Catriona has a rather special role. When a new king (or queen) is selected following the rules of tanistry rather than blood-descent, they choose a Ban-Righ (pronounced ‘Ban-ree’). The title can best be translated as Mother of the Nation, and their role is to temper the will of the king and ensure the throne is never in open conflict with the other branches of government. Some past Ban-Righs have hidden in the shadows, but not so for Catriona. She was widowed early in life and threw her energies into her job. She’s clear-thinking, focused, and knows how to work the system better than anybody. Over forty years, she’s become the oil in the machine of Dalrian government, and in the eyes of some, she wields more power than the fading monarch she serves.
Is Catriona a good person? I’ll leave you to form your own impressions, but I do know the job has hardened her to the point where she can make ruthless decisions. And here’s the thing: as the old king fades, her power is waning along with him. Part of her wants to retire to her lairdship on Aran, but the other …? Catriona has heard the whispers in the background. Perhaps when her king is gone, she’ll be the pragmatic choice for the next monarch.
Lydia Noble, CEO Purple River Consulting
Lydia used to lead a religious order based in Whithorn in Galloway. But religion, indeed, spirituality of any kind, is very out of vogue in modern day Dalria, and now she’s plying her skills elsewhere. Lydia carries a deep intellect. She has the emotional intelligence to instantly ‘read a room’ and has the cognitive ability to break complex problems down into manageable parts. And so, since circumstances forced her ‘retirement’ from spiritual matters, she’s made a name for herself in the world of business consulting.
It has to be said, however, that Lydia is hiding. She knows she’s a gifted individual and can plainly see the futility of a life spent earning a pile of cash she’ll never spend. In her younger years, she’d a greater sense of purpose, whereas these days she feels adrift. That is until events driven by the rising national crisis bring a series of strange visitors to the doors of Purple River Consulting. Her first instinct is not to get involved. But Lydia is good at seeing patterns in the data, and it’s evident there’s a repeating theme in all their stories. And whether she likes it or not, that common thread is based on an old, old myth that only she can unravel. The Shadow Castles are coming to threaten the continuing existence of Dalria. Lydia’s choice is to act, or hide in the shadows and betray everything she claims to believe.
She’s also a canny fly-fisher, but that’s another story.
Conall Canmore – stonemason
This is Conall. He’s a retired stonemason with a deep fondness for his hometown and a good head for heights as he peers out over the city of Stirling. If you read all the Mys.Scot books and have a great memory, you might remember him from the opening sequence of book 4, This Jagged Way.
Conall’s life is coming to an untidy end because of a fast-growing tumour in his brain. At night, he doesn’t sleep much, and when he does, he’s tortured with glimpses of another Scotland – one with wealth and might. A Scotland that answers only to itself and walks tall on the world stage, as Britain once did back in its days of empire. But in an unhappy echo of the old British Empire, Conall senses all is not well with this dreamt version of Scotland. Somewhere deep in his psyche, he’d love to help. But of course, that makes little sense because he’s dying in the here and now, while his imagined Scotland is in another place, if it even exists at all.
Conall knows a journalist who takes an interest in this kind of thing – a decent fellow who once found unicorn bones and works in Dundee. Sure, once he gets home from his excursion on the castle walls, he’ll find the guy’s number and give him a call – see what the journo makes of this other, imagined Scotland. But first things first, because Conall needs to climb down safely from this ledge …
Gianna McKnight, jeweller and former comms officer in Dalrian navy
Let me introduce you to another Shadow Castles character. This is Gianna McKnight, known as “Fish” by those who’ve sailed with her. Her mother was from Stirling and worked as an ambassador to Ghana. Her dad was a local man – a driver and fixer for the Dalrian Embassy. Both moved back to Stirling once Ghana left the Caledonian Commonwealth* where they raised Gianna as their only child.
Gianna joined the navy straight out of school, and along the way she earned her lifelong nickname – Fish. The source of this monicker is a well-kept navy secret, but she tells folks around Stirling it had something to do with a training accident at sea. On board, she worked in comms and maintained the complex electronics you need on warships. That made her good with pliers and a soldering iron. These skills steered her towards her off-duty pastime of jewellery making. When she retired from the navy, she turned her hobby into a job. An old friend helped her to secure a retail unit in the Concordium** and from there she sells her high end wares, and keeps an ear out for navy gossip. What’s her role in the story? Fish is a woman who can see stuff – a woman who sees deeper than the superficial, calling out abilities in people they didn’t know they had. It’s a quiet thing – she doesn’t parade it. And although she’s a sharp-tongued navy veteran, she is at heart an encourager. And someday soon, she’s going to meet a young woman called Artemis Macintyre. After that, her life will never be the same.
The first three books in the series…
Climb inside the Shadow Castles alongside Artie Macintyre and ponder – what are they? Who created them? And most terrifying of all, what is their ultimate purpose?
Book 1 – The Caledonia Regression
In an alternative Scotland, it was the northern kingdom that dominated. And now, it is under pressure from all sides.
Book 2 – Our Fractured Realms
The Shadows Castle threat is growing as Scotland’s echo in one reality breaks into another.
Book 3 – These Troubled Stones
Are they natural or are they a weapon? The nation of Dalria assembles its best team and invades a Shadow Castle.
Glossary
Shadow Castles is an imagined version of Scotland, so a few terms may not be familiar to you. Here’s a handy guide: