10 Things You Might Not Know About His Kilt Dropped Here by Kathleen Shaputis @nwauthor #10Things

Kathleen Shaputis, author/ghostwriter, lives in the glorious Pacific Northwest with her husband, Bob, a clowder of cats, two pompously protective Pomeranians with little social aptitude, Brugh and Miss Jazzy, and an overgrown adolescent blue tick coon hound, Juno.

If not writing during her lifestyle in an acre of forest, she keeps busy reading from her never-ending, to-be-read pile and watching romantic comedies. Her hygge in the woods.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

Website:  http://www.kathleenshaputis.com

Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/NWAuthor

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/KathleenShaputisAuthor

10 Things You Might Not Know About His Kilt Dropped Here

1.      The book was first published by Crimson Romance imprint of Simon and Schuster in 2015. The title was rather bland and the cover, I felt, had nothing in common with the story. They had a female in a plaid skirt skipping in a grassy field. The main character, Rogue, is an orphaned heiress who lives to be near her horses, especially the dynamic and dangerous Friesian, Doughal. Rogue would take the company of horses over humans any day. She would never be caught skipping.
I asked for my rights back and have self-published the book with a new title and cover design.

2.     One of the main male characters, Bruce Mackenzie, was originally named Brugh (sounds like Hugh), a name I had discovered years ago. Long before the book was written, I bought a cream-colored Pomeranian puppy and named him Brugh, for the Scottish character running through my head. The family wanted to spell his name Brew for easier sake, but that wasn’t his name. Unfortunately the publisher who first bought the book thought having two uncommon names, Rogue and Brugh, would be too much for the reader. My four-footed Brugh is still alive and well – keeping my lap or feet warm.

3.     Have you met the Diva Squad? Starring Rafael and T-Cup, they are two of my favorite side characters. Both are professional entertainers headlining in the Seattle area as drag queens, Beyawncee and Jaello. Their snarky attitudes make me laugh at the keyboard. They know how to make their swish and snap sizzle. Some day I would like to write their story. I’d love to hear from the audience if they’d like to see the Diva Squad star in their own detective series.

4.    Rogue raises Friesians – as well as other duties at the castle. Have you ever stood next to a Friesian horse? These are the creatures used by medieval knights as their power and strength could easily handle the weight of a man’s armor. As a child I grew up riding in the back of my mom’s Ford station wagon on long journeys to visit relatives. Out the windows I visioned galloping along the wheat-colored hills on the back of a pitch-black Friesian, while beside me ran a luscious coated collie like Lassie. Such were my daydreams.

5.     Another four-footed side character in the book is Ferdinand, a Scottish Highland cattle. This sturdy, shaggy breed has long horns and draping wavy, wooly coats. I have a stuffed one on the front dash of my car. He has a Scotland flag on his foot and you can barely see his eyes. I would love to raise a little calf on my two acres here in the Northwest.

6.    A palm-reader, Nell, plays a pivotal role in this story. As a Sagittarius, I am fairly easy to read by psychics and have enjoyed readings by some very astute people over the years. There have also been some not very gifted. My first experience was with my mother’s hairdresser who read cards for people on the side. He said it was like watching a movie in his mind, he was merely relaying the information. His talent eventually led him into a more lucrative profession of working with detectives.

7.     Part of the castle is used as a romantic bed and breakfast often hired for weddings. Did you ever dream of having a wedding at a castle, walking down a flower-strewn aisle like a princess? Though I didn’t have these fantasy thoughts as a little girl myself, I was raised on three Disney princesses, Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. Their happily ever afters each ended at a castle.

8.    A central plot in His Kilt Dropped Here surrounds a week-long writers’ conference staying at the Baillie Castle. I had the delightful experience of attending such a conference at Hever Castle in England back in 2012. It was from this event, my husband originally suggested I write an Agatha Christie murder mystery where my fellow conference attendees are killed off one by one. Too dark and depressing. I must say, none of the characters in the book even slightly resemble my fellow writers from that week.

9.    Did you know Scotland produces some excellent wines? It is a rather new commercial industry, developed in the last thirty to forty years. The land adjacent to the Baillie Castle also belongs to the heiress, Rogue. These are the Bruce lands. Rogue is the only child of both the Baillie and Bruce lineage. So, I imagined she and her aunt would create a fruit vineyard for specialty wines they could use and sell at the castle.

10.                        Another of my favorite side characters is Robbie, maintenance and part-time butler, husband of Putney, the cook. The two of them have been employed at the castle all their married life. Putney’s mother was the castle’s cook before her. I feature Robbie as a Leo G. Carroll personality. Mr. Carroll portrayed the manservant, Joseph, in the 1939 movie Wuthering Heights, one of my favorite movies. I see Robbie as a mixture of Joseph and Grumpy from Snow White’s seven dwarves. A lovable curmudgeon.

 

About the Book:

Title: HIS KILT DROPPED HERE: A MAGICAL REALISM SCOTTISH ROMANCE
Author: Kathleen Shaputis
Publisher: Clutter Fairy Publishing
Pages: 170
Genre: Magic Realism Scottish Romance

BOOK BLURB:

Rogue Bruce enjoys running a Scottish castle turned bed-and-breakfast with her Aunt Baillie from America. They specialize in hosting romantic Elizabethan-themed weddings, complete with resident ghost, Lord Kai. But love is something Rogue is not the least bit interested in. Content with her work, she requires no male accompaniment for happiness.

A new delivery service brings Bruce MacKenzie, a Thor look-alike in plaid and denim, fetching more than the usual number of groceries from town, while Jonathan Olson, a snobbish, dark, Rhett Butler type, arrives at the castle to administer a writing seminar for aspiring authors. With two men after the heart she’d thought safely locked away, Rogue is flattered and confused. But when things start to take a sinister turn, danger befalls Rogue and those dear to her. The musical soundtrack of Rogue’s life flares from complacent, to dizzyingly romantic, to heart-thumping scary in this sizzling triangle.

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