Snarkology Halloween Hop: Things that go Bump in Scotland

I can often be found pondering quaint and curious volumes of forgotten lore.  Research is half the fun of writing for me. Indulging this passion takes up endless hours, provides fodder for numerous nightmares, and gives me a wicked edge in trivia games.  And you never know when some tidbit will come in handy in a story.

My new release, Zoraida Grey and the Family Stones, takes place mostly in Scotland.  Here are just a few of the legendary creatures you’ll find lurking within the pages of Zoraida Grey and the Family Stones.

The Blue Men of the Minch. Blue water sprites who lure ships to their doom—unless the captain can answer their questions—in perfect iambic pentameter. Want to know more about these demonic Smurf-like creatures?  Check out my post HERE.

A Caoineag. She is a gauzy apparition who foretells doom. Learn about the part she played in a famous Scottish massacre in this post.

A purple ghost and a green ghost. Scotland practically glows with ghosts of every color in the rainbow. Zoraida meets the spirit of a burned witch who is, as you might imagine, not in the best of moods. The glowing green ghost of a Spanish soldier haunts the East Tower. He knows a thing or two, but getting him to talk isn’t easy. Find out about some of the colorful ghosts of Scotland in this post.

Witches. Scottish witches are arguably the worst (or best, depending on your perspective) kind of witches.  Zoraida stumbles into a nest of them—some good, some bad, some undecided. It will take all of Granny’s teachings and the intuition Zoraida was born with to tell which witch is which.

Baobhan Sith, a vampire. She’s a seductive female vampire. Learn her story HERE. And read the excerpt from Zoraida Grey and the Family Stones to see how a Baobhan Sith figures into Zoraida’s family history.

from Zoraida Grey and the Family Stones

Shea sits on one of the repaired merlons, his legs stretched in front of him and his arms crossed. His eyes are distant, already lost in the story he is about to tell.

“Long ago, Clan Logan fled to Scotland from Ireland, seeking a place to rebuild. They crossed the North Channel and made their way through the western Isles to Loch Linnhe. They traveled north through the Great Glen Way and struck out through Easter Ross.

“When they found Loch an Drochaiddubh, they saw a tall, gray broch perched on the edge of a precipice. Lorne Logan wanted it, but the only clear path to the summit led between two granite boulders with barely room for two abreast. There was no way an army could assault the tower. His people were tired and ill-nourished after a long journey, so Lorne Logan went alone.

“He wrapped himself in spells and crept through the cleft in the boulders in the dead of night. Sword drawn, he advanced to the tower. It was empty. No living thing had dwelt in the broch for centuries. By the light of a waxing moon, he explored the ancient round tower. On the floor lay crystals of every imaginable size and hue. In the center of the broch, a chasm opened into darkness. He caught moonlight in a crystal and by its light dropped down through the chasm.

“The light of the crystal revealed runes and symbols on the passage walls. He could not decipher them, but he followed them deeper and deeper into the caverns. They led him through winding passageways to a crystal-encrusted cave where blind fish swam in a black lake.

“From the dark, something watched Lorne Logan and his moonbeam crystal. The Baobhan Sith, a vampire, had seen no living thing in centuries. She fell in love with the tall, strong sorcerer at once.

“She had ensorcelled many men in ages past, luring them to their deaths in the black lake. She planned a different kind of spell for Lorne.”

Learn more about Zoraida Grey and the Family Stones (and pick up your very own copy) HERE. Release Day is October 28 but you can reserve a copy right now.

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Away with you to the next stop on the hop: