NK Chats To…Sheila McClure

I am so pleased to be welcoming Sheila McClure to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, ScotLander. Hi Sheila, can you tell me about your novel, Scotlander and what inspired it? 

Hello and yes, of course! I used to be an entertainment reporter in Los Angeles and then I moved back to the UK and met and married a Scotsman (whose eyes are remarkably similar to someone’s in the book) and now we live on a farm where the learning curve was STEEP.

I was getting regular queries as to when I was going to write about us and, rather than writing about our actual lives, I thought it’d be fun to write a variation on a theme. When I was thinking about it Outlander was (and still is) huuuuuge. I had never really watched it and had a friend who was a superfan. I think superfans are amazing.

So I decided to combine a few ideas into this one madcap adventure about a fully immersive Jacobean experience and, of course…falling in love when you’re out of your depth.

What’s your typical writing day like? 

I’m an early to bed early to rise kind of gal (clearly destined to be a farmer, LOL). I usually get up around five or six and go straight to the keyboard. I write until about lunchtime and then it’s over to the farm. The only variation is if the dogs or cows need seeing to and then I do whatever needs to be done with them first and then head to the keyboard.

From idea to final draft, how long does it take you to write a book? 

Oh, gosh. That’s tough to quantify. I have a billion ideas all the time, but I would say three to four months is my usual stint on a book. Saying that, I’m writing a couple of crime books right now and they are taking longer!

What songs would make up a playlist for your book? 

Oooo – I would say…lots of Proclaimers, Eurythmics, traditional Scottish songs and lots of girl power songs (think Beyonce and Lady Gaga).

Which fictional character would you like to meet and why? 

Oooo – that’s a good one. And it probably changes every week, but this week I think I would like to meet Elizabeth Zott (from Lessons in Chemistry). She seems great. I don’t know if we’d be chummy, but I love her verve.

Which authors do you admire? 

Bonnie Garmus (see above). Jane Austen, the Brontes, Liane Moriarty, Curtis Sittenfeld, Lily King, Marian Keyes, Kate Grenville, Mark Twain, Richard Ford, F Scott Fitzgerald, Rita Mae Brown, Michael Cunningham, Tom Perrotta (I could go on. Should I go on? I am just going off the top of my head, but also Agatha Christie, MC Beeton, Donna Leon, Elmore Leonard, Jane Harper…I mean…I really could go on and on and on…)

What’s your favourite word and why? 

Sussuration – because it is super fun to say and I’m definitely a fan of onomatopoeias.

In your opinion, what are the common mistakes aspiring authors make? 

Not finishing their book and losing faith in themselves.

How do you research your novels? How do you know when you have enough? 

Well, for the book before this I rode my bicycle along Hadrian’s Way in the pouring rain for five days and by the time I reached the other side of the country, had saturated all of my clothes and had blisters for days…I knew I had enough. This one was easier in that I had done the job the heroine had, I lived on a farm (with a Scotsman), I adore Scotland, I am American so I know what it’s like to be in a foreign country, but have been in Scotland long enough to know what it’s like having Americans there. I also went to a few Outlander events (one with my superfan friend) and on an Outlander inspired history tour with two guides who dressed in Jacobean costumes the entire time (they even did a past life reading! NB: I wasn’t anyone famous). I had a great time researching this book. Rather than feeling I have enough research, I have to feel I know the characters enough. Also…deadline are very motivating!

Any other advice for new writers?

Keep writing. Keep writing. Keep writing. Show it to friends. Join a writing group. Get feedback. Cry if you have to but keep writing. Look at submitting your work as a job. Some days are good. Some days require tea and your favourite biscuits. All feedback might not be what you want it to be but it means someone was interested enough to read it! Keep writing. Keep writing. Keep writing.

About Sheila McClure – 

Sheila McClure lives in the English countryside with her Scottish husband, their dogs, Harris and Skye, and a small herd of delightfully striped Belted Galloway cattle.

Prior to rural life in the UK, she was a camerawoman and news producer for Associated Press Television.

As she’s originally from Seattle, she began her working life as a barista. She has also written books as Annie O’Neil and Daisy Tate. She will never refuse a quality dill pickle.

Say hello to Sheila on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. 

About Scotlander – 

When the Big C takes her best friend too soon, Willa Jenkins struggles to recapture the joy in her life, and all she wants is to get away from LA’s glitzy party circuit. But superfan Valentina had other plans. For her final, wickedly funny act, she’s packing her bestie off on a two-week Outlander-themed experience at Balcraigie Castle, Scotland.

Expecting a couple of weeks with Valentina’s hot brother Gabe, Willa gets more than she bargained for when she’s put to work doing actual, real-life farm work. Not only that, but to get the ‘full’ experience, she’s paired up with the irritating—and irritatingly sexy—Finn, with whom she will pose as fake husband and wife for the next two weeks.

Willa despairs of Valentina’s terrible trick. But then she makes a discovery. Finn’s family might just lose the castle if they can’t make the experience worthwhile for the other attendees. The stakes are high, but as the days pass and the fake marriage she signed up for starts to feel all too real, could Willa be in for a prize of a different kind…love?

Scotlander is due to be published by Lake Union Publishing on 21st June 2023. Click to buy Scotlander on Amazon UK, Amazon US and Barnes and Noble. 

Win a paperback copy of Scotlander  plus a packet of Tunnocks Teacakes

If you’d like to be in with a chance to win a paperback copy of Scotlander as well as those Tunnocks Teacakes (yummy,) simply click on this link and enter via Rafflecopter.

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by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.