Scotland- photo inspiration for Unearthed
As you all know by now, Unearthed takes place in Scotland. This is special, not only because this is my first book that’s set entirely on Earth, but because Scotland holds a special place in my heart. It’s no coincidence that it’s the setting for this novel.
Scotland is in my blood. Literally. My mother’s maiden name is Ferguson, and we’ve been able to trace our heritage back several hundred years… most of which was in Scotland, and some in Ireland. Celtic culture has always intrigued me, so in 2004, I spent a semester abroad in Dublin, Ireland. While there, I went to magical places like:
Newgrange– One of the most amazing portage tombs in the world! It was built before the pyramids!
I took this picture while at Newgrange- it’s of farmland. But the center of the field is what’s important- the farmer has a fairy mound that has been left untouched. (you can it on the far right of the image) Seeing this is what made me understand how ingrained their beliefs are. Even if the farmer didn’t actually believe that inside the hill was a gateway to the fairy realm, he didn’t dare disturb the mound.
Knowth, on the Bru nu Boinne (adjacent to Newgrange), is a perfect example of fairy mounds and chamber tombs.
While living in Ireland, I was able to travel to Edinburgh and into the highlands. This is one of my favorite pictures from my trip! Highland cows (AKA- hairy beasts) are incredibly unique… and huge!
(OMG… I look so young! I know that’s not relative to this blog post, but I had to say it!)
I left Scotland knowing that I wanted to return. I got that opportunity in 2016! My family and I traveled to the NE tip of Scotland, to the Orkney Islands. We visited the Ring of Brodgar– an amazing stone henge, and the Maeshowe Chamber Tomb.
These are pictures from the Ring:
These are of the chamber tomb:
From far away, it looks like a grass-topped hill sitting by itself in a field of green. Perhaps believed to be a fairy mound, it was left undisturbed until (relatively) recently. It’s a much smaller version of Newgrange, but was built around the same time.
This picture is of my daughters waiting to be allowed inside.
We also went to Invergordon, where I took these photos:
The hills in the distance are the beginnings of the mountainous highlands, and the purple is heather. I wish we could have seen the mountains alight in purple!
These are a couple extra pictures we took along the trip:
You can see: swans with their gray babies, wildflowers, stone walls, and Highland Cows… Scotland will forever be one of my favorite places in the world!
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