Your Mountain is Waiting
I’ve been thinking a lot about mountains. Specifically ancient mountains, like the Appalachians that run from Georgia to Nova Scotia in North America, and the Highlands in Scotland. Why, you may ask, am I thinking about mountains? It’s a reasonable question.
Well, for one thing, I live in South Jersey, Land of the Flat. Unless you count sand dunes, which I don’t. I go to amazing places, with astonishing scenery…which I suppose if you think about it is no one’s fault but my own. And then I come back to Flat. Depressing. I need mountains. Even a rolling hill would be nice.
So let’s look at these mountains I crave so much. Not the Rockies…they’re too lofty, too sharp, too young. I’m talking about the hills I grew up with in Western Pennsylvania, the Highlands I run to every chance I get. Because they’re the same mountains. Yep–thousands of miles away, across the pond, lie the very same mountains we have in the United States.
Here’s the proof:
On the left are the Appalachian Mountains in Virgina. On the right Cairngorms National Park, Scottish Highlands.
And here’s the history, from Alastair MacGregor, Aubrey’s wanderer from The Comyn’s Curse:
“Scotland use t’ be attached to yer own North America, way back before people came to the world. Then it broke off and meandered for a few million years, endin’ up attached tae Europe for a while.” He nodded at her. “Aye, but then the people came, and Scotland made the smart decision to break off with the mainland and go off north by herself. I think they were tryin’ to break off from England, even then, but those people were hard t’get rid of!” He wheezed like an old bellows at his own humor.
“So, you see, the hills in yer country and the highlands in Scotland are the same mountains. When the Highlanders got kicked off their land at th’ time o’ th’ clearances, a lot of ‘em emigrated to America and Canada. When they saw those mountains over there, they felt a connection t’ their home, and they put down new roots.”
To be precise, Scotland was once part of a supercontinent called Pangaea, which existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras. It began to break apart about 335 million years ago, and Scotland drifted away carrying her share of the mountains.
So it’s very true that we live in a small world. Millions of years after Scotland left for Europe, Scots emigrated to the New World, saw mountains that reminded them of home, and put down new roots–never knowing they were back in their own beloved Highlands.
Around the Site
I’ve added a new widget, with the patient help of the WordPress Happiness Engineers. Below the Guest Author Spotlight you will find an image that looks like (hopefully) shelves of old documents, titled Archives. Click on that image–go ahead, click on it, nothing bad will happen, I promise–and a list of the last ten blog posts will pop up. Of course you can read all the posts I’ve ever written by scrolling down this page forever, but this is just another refinement to save time and energy. I’m impressed–I hope you are.
Indie Finds
Romance Kills, by Stephanie Colbert, Schulyer Pulliam, Rebecka Jäger
Three private investigators meet in colorful, eccentric New Orleans and join forces as they try to stop a sadistic killer, whose victims all die after being stabbed through the heart. Why romance novelists? Has the killer been hurt by someone he loved?
It’s a race against time…
They must stop this madman before he strikes again! But are they willing to risk their own lives to do so? A must read by three of the best authors in the Write Practice.
Links for Writers
“You Are Already a Storyteller” https://medium.com/the-1000-day-mfa/you-are-already-a-storyteller-d29494f77b4a
“5 Books You Should Read If You Want to Write” http://erinsinsidejob.com/2015/12/5-books-you-should-read-if-you-want-to-write/
This 10-Minute Routine Will Increase Your Clarity And Creativityhttps://mail.google.com/mail/u/1/#inbox/FMfcgxwDqfLFPQwHNSSzxgTQvxqzgRph
Twelve Habits that Destroy Your Focus and Productivity: https://medium.com/personal-growth-lab/12-habits-that-destroy-your-focus-and-productivity-c1b16744a865
M MacKinnon’s World
I’ve received the first edit for The Piper’s Warning, and there’s not much I have to change! I agree completely with the suggestions that have been made, and they were relatively easy to fix, not demanding ejection of whole scenes or reworking characters’ personalities. So I’m content. And soon I’ll be able to share the cover of the second Highland Spirits book with you!
Leave ’em Laughing
In the spirit of mountains, I leave you with this…
I know what you mean about mountains and beautiful scenery in general. Almost three weeks of the beauty of Lake Como and the Italian Alps; a week of stunning Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia and then back to the flatness of home, sigh. Well, at least, we do have the beach… I am anxiously awaiting the cover of your second book. Oh, and its contents as well!
Yes, at least we have the beach. Thanks for your support and humor.