Book Spotlight
1)
What is the title of your book?
Thou
Shalt Not Kilt written by Liam
Ashe
Ø What is the story about?
· Thou
Shalt Not Kilt is a modern take on classic age murder mysteries. It is set in
modern-day North Carolina among the families who immigrated from Scotland
centuries ago and settled along the Cape Fear River.
Ø Who is the main character?
· Elle
Cunningham Mackay is the protagonist. She is a recently single, recently
unemployed and recently homeless author who lands a freelance research gig at
an old gothic estate on a tiny island just down river from Wilmington, NC. Her host,
a former flame, has invited her to research the Scottish clans who are starting
to disappear after centuries of settling the region.
2)
What inspired this tale?
Ø How did the story come to you?
· When not writing, I am a specialist in Victorian-era Scottish
silver jewelry. Most weekends, I attend Highland games and Scottish festivals around
the U.S., researching, buying and selling antique kilt pins, agate jewelry,
memorial jewelry and sterling accessories. The families and characters portrayed
in the book are very much my family, my friends, my customers and my
colleagues.
· My grandmother, now a 103-year-old Cunningham matriarch, first got
me interested in reading mysteries by Agatha
Christie, Ngaio
Marsh and others.
· This book was a chance to combine two things I love.
Ø Did you have to research for this novel, and if so, what and why?
· Most of my research focused on the geography of the area — for
example, where to situate the fictional town of St. Andrews — and anything I
could find on extinct clans, Scottish family names that have died off due to
too few heirs.
Ø If you did research, what do you think surprised you most to
learn, and why?
· In Scottish tradition, each family or clan has a number of
distinct, identifiable marks that are often unique to that clan. For example, clans
typically have a specific Tartan pattern on file with the Scottish Register of
Tartans, a crest, a motto, a clan seat, a clan badge and so on.
· I was curious what happened when a family name disappeared — if
there were no sons across too many generations or the clan changed its name or
the family folded into a larger clan. What happens to these registered tartans
for clans that no longer exist? Is there any record of these extinct clans?
After a great deal of research, I could only come up with a single mention of
this idea in one book. Nothing else. It’s something I plan to return to in the
future as an actual research project.
3)
Do you feel your character is relatable for
readers of all ages?
There is nothing too shocking, outside of the murder(s), so it should be appropriate for ages teen and up.
There is nothing too shocking, outside of the murder(s), so it should be appropriate for ages teen and up.
Ø Is your protagonist anything like you personally?
ü If yes, then how?
o Elle
and I are very different people. She tends to jump first then worry about where
to land later. I, on the other hand, am a planner who can get too involved in the
process making the decision to actually ever make the decision. Writing from Elle’s
perspective is very liberating as it gives me the chance to throw caution out
the window. And I never have to deal with the consequences.
Ø What made you write this character; were they based on a real
person or something that inspired you?
· Elle is based on many of the people in my life. I surround myself
with people who are a bit more direct than I am (I’m a good yin to their yang),
so there is a little of each of them in Elle.
ü What should readers know about your protagonist?
o She knows she has screwed up. Whenever she was sure she’d finally
hit bottom, she’d find another hole and jump in. That hasn’t gotten her very
far in life, and she is finally learning to face her issues, lean on the people
who care about her and climb up.
ü Why are they important to you?
o We all make mistakes. Mistakes are one of the best things about
being human because each time we screw up, we have the chance to learn something
about ourselves and make a change for the better. Right now, Elle
is all about making that change.
Ø Do you consider the main character to be good or bad, and why?
· She’s good person at heart. Closing in on 40, she’s finally growing
up and making her own path to a better future.
Ø What’s the objective of your character?
· She is working hard to learn from her past mistakes. It’s not going
to be an easy trip and she has a long way to go, but it’s a start.
4)
Is there anything specific you’d like readers to
know about this piece of work?
If you love the old murder
mysteries of Agatha
Christie or more modern works by P.
D. James, I hope you find something to like here.
Ø Is there a moral or idea you’re trying to convey – if yes, what
and why?
· It’s never too late to make a change for the better. And murderers always
get caught in the end.
5)
Is this novel a standalone?
Ø If it is included in a series or collection, what is the name
and which installment is it?
· This is the first Elle
Cunningham Mackay mystery.
Ø If it is the first installment of a series or collection, when
can we expect to see the next book published?
· The second title, Off Scot
Free, will be available later this summer.
Ø If it is a part of a book series or collection, can it be enjoyed
as a standalone novel or must it be read sequentially to experience the full
realm of the tale?
· Each of these mysteries can be enjoyed alone. There are threads
that connect the books, but you won’t have to have read one to enjoy another.
1) Where can readers connect with you and purchase
your book?
