Dear Readers,

Scroll down for lots more information, links, and freebies! Keep reading for the inspiration behind Smoke on the Wind.

This story was in the works for a long time. My writing process starts with months of research as I dive down rabbit holes of information to discover the facts and details that bring a story to life. I then write a multi-page, detailed outline that I follow when I finally sit down at my computer and write the story. I was at the outline stage when, in June of 2019, I flew to Scotland with my oldest son to walk the West Highland Way, a 96-mile walking trail that goes from a suburb of Glasgow called Milngavie north to Fort William.

But I’m getting ahead of myself here. Writing a story set in Scotland had always been my dream. It was a goal that I pushed off for years because fear was telling me that my writing skills weren’t yet good enough. I loved Scotland that much. Whatever the story ended up being, it mattered. I’d read about the country all my life and first visited in 1997. In 2017 I walked my first long-distance trail in Scotland (the East Highland Way from Fort William to Aviemore) and fell in love with it. Sure, I love walking, but it was getting off the tourist roads and seeing the hills and glens as one only can on foot that really hooked me. The slower pace was also a key factor in making me fall in love with hiking in Scotland. At a walking pace, you see the shining flecks of mica in stones underfoot, the tiny pink flowers growing amid heather beside the trail, the many waterfalls and streams, the crumbling rock walls of abandoned homes and byres that attest to someone’s past dreams. I craved the open hillsides where views go for miles. I felt magic happening as I walked those many miles and I wanted to stay forever.

When I returned home from that first hike, I looked deeper into the history of the area where I’d walked and I fell even more in love. I saw a church (Cille Choirill) that had been built sometime in the 15th century, WWII Commando training sites, and an old barracks (Ruthven) where, it is said, a man once played a chess game with the Devil himself. I immediately started planning my next hike and I knew that one would be the most famous long-distance trail in Scotland, the West Highland Way. I also started research for the book I knew I’d set there.

My son, Riley, was 16 years old at the time of our hike. We walked the last week of June 2019 and experienced hot weather and midges most days, and sideways cold rain on the one day that I forgot to pack my waterproof trousers! I took detailed notes and tons of pictures. When we returned home, I got to work writing the story that became Smoke on the Wind.

The historical storyline is set during the Clearances. For those of you not familiar with this term, it was a tragic time in Scottish history when landowners forcibly evicted all their tenants – people whose families had lived on the land for centuries – so they could turn the land over to sheep farming and, later, shooting estates. These tenants had nowhere else to go, and no trade skills other than farming. In the early years of the Clearances, the government even actively discouraged emigration because they needed men to join in the fight during wars in Ireland as well as the Napoleonic Wars. There are a lot of complicated layers to what happened that I won’t get into now, but I’ll just say that the Clearances changed Scotland forever. Entire glens once full of communities of people still lay empty today. The land is still owned by few. I encourage you to read my Author’s Note at the end of Smoke on the Wind for more information or dive into the books referenced in the bibliography linked below.

While writing Smoke on the Wind, I decided to connect with my Scottish ancestors on an even deeper level by learning their language. Duolingo has Scottish Gaelic (while there are similarities between the two, it is a different language from Irish Gaelic), and I eagerly started daily lessons. Not long later, I discovered a group local to me in the Pacific Northwest that supports the Scottish Gaelic language and culture. I went to their summer gathering, called Fèis Seattle, and learned from expert presenters from both Scotland and Cape Breton. I also fell in love with traditional Scottish music and quickly signed up for Scottish fiddle lessons, which I continue today. I’m also now on the board of directors of that Gaelic group – Slighe nan Gàidheal – and invite anyone interested to join us! Find more information at www.slighe.org. Oh, and for those wondering, my maternal great-grandparents were Campbells who emigrated from Rothesay on the Isle of Bute in 1908 and came to Washington State.

As you can see, I am deeply passionate about the topics addressed in Smoke on the Wind, and I haven’t even mentioned mothers and sons (I have two sons!), other relationships in the story, or how we must constantly redefine ourselves as our roles change in life. I really hope you love this story as much as I loved writing it. I also hope it inspires you to learn more about Scotland and her history, language, and culture. It is a very special place.

Leis na beannachdan (with best wishes),

Kelli