The Winter Sea - Susanna Kearsley
"I couldn't say how far away I was when I first saw the ruined castle on the cliffs, a line of jagged darkness set against a cloud-filled sky, but from the moment I first saw it I was captivated ... Then, beyond the tangle of a wood, the road curved back again, and there it was: a long dark ruin, sharp against the snowbound fields that stretched forbiddingly between the cliff's edge and the road."
When writer Carrie McClelland visits Scotland, she'd no idea that she was about to embark on an adventure from the past. Her own ancestor, Sophia, had walked the beaches and cliffs near Slains castle, and the land and stones had not lost its memory of her. As Carrie writes of the Franco-Scots invasion, what she discovers is the great love story in her own history and the love story that could be her own.
Kearsley has become one of my all-time favorite authors. In her books The Winter Sea and The Firebird, she presents historical fiction at its finest. There is nothing so impressive as the relationship that we develop with real people as Kearsley weaves their story and illuminates their motivations.
And what is more, this great book has inspired a hop-skip-and-jump up to Cruden Bay this summer to see first hand the dark ruins of Slains castle. You will certainly hear more from me about this book and the adventures it inspires for me.
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