I’ve just returned from a fabulous research trip to Scotland where each book in my new series for Berkley begins.

To set the scene: think of a castle on a promontory with a sweeping view of the North Sea. A storm rages outside. Lady Valeria McEcheran, better known to the locals as “The Witch of Drumore,” is on her deathbed and has sent for her three grandsons. She has a sacred duty to perform: one of her grandsons, or all of them, will inherit her psychic powers when she dies. It is a legacy not one of them wants.

The first book – The Runaway McBride – will be published February 2009 and tells the story of James Burnett and Faith McBride. James is a railway magnate, Faith is a school teacher. They are both living in London. Eight years before, their love story came to a shattering end. The last thing they want is to reconnect. But James doesn’t have a choice. Because of his granny’s legacy, he sees death for Faith in the near future and only he has the power to prevent it.

Faith is involved in her own quest. There is a mystery surrounding her mother’s death and she is determined to solve it. When someone tries to abduct Faith, James saves her. They join forces to try and discover who is after Faith and why.

This series is set in the late Victorian era, a new time period for me. Queen Victoria, now a widow, has been on the throne for 48 years. Women are demanding equal opportunity with men in the universities and the professions. Female explorers undertake their own expeditions to places like Egypt and Greece. People are now able to travel from one end of Britain to the other in trains. Telephones and telegraph lines connect most major cities and towns.

This is the background to James’s and Faith’s story.

Click here to read an excerpt from The Runaway McBride -

I’m in the process of putting together a photograph display for my web page of many of the places that appear in the book. The opening chapter takes place in Drumore Castle. I used Dunottar Castle as a model. It’s a ruin now, but in my imagination, it is restored to its former austere glory. This castle also appears in the Mel Gibson version of Shakespeare ’s Hamlet.

Click here - PhotoGallery - to view photographs of settings from the excerpt of The Runaway McBride.

My next book, as yet untitled, takes place in the rugged hills and peaks of the Scottish Highlands, in the Dee Valley. That's where Queen Elizabeth's favorite residence, Balmoral Castle, is situated.

The book opens with a dramatic scene in the ballroom. Yes, I was there. Unfortunately, no photographs were allowed. But I have many photographs of the grounds and surrounding area. Click here to views photographs.