Friday, January 6, 2023

Spotlight on Elizabeth Hutchison Bernard, author of Sisters of Castle Leod: A Novel

 

Follow the tour HERE

**Finalist in the 2022 American Writing Awards**

Millions are fans of Diana Gabaldon’s popular Outlander books and television series, but few know that Gabaldon’s fictional Castle Leoch was inspired by a real Scottish castle, Castle Leod. The two sisters who lived there at the turn of the twentieth century were among the most fascinating and talked-about women of their era. 

Lady Sibell Mackenzie is a spiritualist, a believer in reincarnation, and a popular author of mystical romances. Petite and proper, she values tradition and duty. Her younger sister Lady Constance, swimming champion and big game hunter, is a statuesque beauty who scandalizes British society with her public displays of Greek-style barefoot dancing. The differences between the sisters escalate into conflict after Sibell inherits their late father’s vast estates and the title 3rd Countess of Cromartie. But it is the birth of Sibell’s daughter that sets in motion a series of bizarre and tragic events, pitting sister against sister and propelling Sibell on a desperate mission to challenge the power of fate. 

Sisters of Castle Leod, by award-winning author Elizabeth Hutchison Bernard, is the emotionally charged story of two sisters torn apart by jealousy and superstition, and the impossible leap of faith that could finally bring them together.

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FUN FACTS

Mary Ann, it’s great to be with you as part of The Coffee Pot Book Tour for my new historical novel SISTERS OF CASTLE LEOD (release date: January 19, 2023). The novel is inspired by the real lives of spiritualist and author Sibell Lilian Mackenzie, who became the 3rd Countess of Cromartie in 1895, and her very unconventional sister, Constance. You asked me to share “five fun facts” about me and my writing. Here it goes:

My writing of SISTERS OF CASTLE LEOD started with a ghostly (maybe) visitation. When I began to think about writing SISTERS OF CASTLE LEOD, I wanted it to be a first-person narrative but was undecided about which sister’s point of view would be best for telling the story. Late one night, I awoke to see what appeared to be a figure in a red hooded cloak hovering near my bed. Though I was intrigued, and maybe a bit unnerved, I brushed it off as a trick of shadow and light, and I quickly fell back asleep. The next day, I began reading one of the many mystical romance novels written by Sibell Mackenzie, 3rd Countess of Cromartie, and in the very first chapter, the young female protagonist dons a hooded scarlet cloak. Thinking “someone” might be trying to tell me something, I made a choice to narrate the sisters’ story in Sibell’s voice. I guess I love reading meaning into things that may have no meaning—much as Sibell does.


Sibell, Constance, and I could be related. Once I had started writing the novel, my nephew, who is quite good at genealogical research, informed me of the high likelihood that I was distantly related to my main characters, Sibell and Constance Mackenzie. The thought had occurred to me before since their mother was a MacDonald, and the Hutchison Clan (Hutchison is my birth surname) is related to the MacDonald Clan. This possible connection had nothing to do with my initial interest in writing about the sisters but did perhaps reinforce the kinship I already felt with my characters.

I was a musician before I was a writer. I was a touring musician, and a songwriter, long before I became a published author. I’ve written more than a hundred songs in varying genres, from country to smooth jazz to New Age. Music has always been important to me and plays a central role in my second work of historical fiction, TEMPTATION RAG: A NOVEL. If I count unpublished writing, however, my love for the written word goes back to my elementary school days, when I attempted to write my first book. Just a couple of weeks ago, I unearthed from a long-neglected file cabinet some additional early writings, from my twenties, and I learned a lot about myself from reading them. Scary to realize that the stories I wrote in the 1970s would today qualify as historical fiction!   

I am what is often called, in writing circles, a pantser. Among writers, there are pantsers and there are plotters. I am most definitely a pantser, which means that my writing process is somewhat by the seat of my pants. I am not much of an advance plotter, preferring not to outline my work but to let it unfold organically. Of course, when writing biographical historical fiction about real people and events, such as my novel SISTERS OF CASTLE LEOD, one automatically has somewhat of a framework from which to start. But I still find plenty of room for imagination, and I try to flow in whatever direction my characters and instincts lead me. No Excel spreadsheet, please!

As a child, I fantasized about becoming a nun or a Spanish dancer. I am neither Catholic nor Spanish, but at some time in my young life, I was exposed to these very different personas—a nun and a Spanish dancer—which were imprinted on my imagination. My mental picture of a nun was a solemn woman in long black robes traversing the dark corridors of an ancient monastery, a lit candle in hand, perhaps on her way to take part in some secret ritual. The Spanish dancer, in her red ruffled dress and high heels, clicking her castanets with downcast eyes and a provocative smile, was an image I found equally mysterious. There is no question that I was drawn to the Mackenzie sisters of my novel because they so perfectly represent this same polarity—Sibell, the quiet spiritualist, and author of mystical novels about reincarnation and eternal love, and Constance, swimming champion and big game hunter, shocking British society with her public performances of barefoot dancing on the stages of London, Paris, and New York. I doubt I’m the only one whose childhood fantasies have somehow stuck with them to influence their later life. I’d love to hear your story…


Maybe, one day. Thanks for sharing. 
All the best,
Mary Ann

Elizabeth Hutchison Bernard

 A former touring musician/songwriter and public relations professional, Elizabeth Hutchison Bernard is the author of two Amazon bestsellers: THE BEAUTY DOCTOR, "a compelling historical novel steeped in mystery with strong elements of a medical thriller" (Readers' Favorite, 5 stars), and TEMPTATION RAG: A NOVEL, a "resonant novel ... about the birth and demise of ragtime ... luxuriously crafted" (Publishers Weekly). Her books have been finalists for the Eric Hoffer Book Award, National Indie Excellence Awards, and Arizona Literary Contest; they have received 5-star ratings from Readers” Favorite, Book Readers Appreciation Group, and historical fiction Discovered Diamonds. Elizabeth and her family live near Phoenix, Arizona.

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