Interview Tricia McGill

by Blair Bancroft

 1) Please give us a thumb-nail sketch of My Highland Love.

Australian Beth Anderson visits her friends in Scotland to help refurbish the castle they inherited. Her friend Liz tells her the extraordinary story of when she and Andrew went back in time the previous year and saved the life of Travis, Andrew’s look-alike ancestor. Intrigued, Beth inadvertently stumbles on their means of time-travel and meets up with a vastly changed Travis. This highlander is intent on revenge and is so different to the lovable rogue portrayed by Liz it’s hard to believe it’s the same man. This is, of course, the sequel to White Clover.

2) What do you like best about your heroine?

Beth is a quiet and gentle soul who hasn’t been very lucky in love to date. Despite this she is brave and forthright. She faces some horrendous obstacles in 1051 Scotland, but pulls through, earning the admiration of Travis and his clan.

3) What do you like best about your hero?

Travis? My darling Scottish hunk! I loved him so much in White Clover that he screamed to have his story told. His number one priority is his family and his close kin, and even though he can be a cold-blooded killer where his enemies are concerned, he’s gentle, kind and considerate with his loved ones.

4) Do either the hero or heroine have faults which must be overcome?

Travis can be a bit overbearing and arrogant at times I guess--but let’s face it, he is a laird in a time when he has to take responsibility for the people in his care. Beth is introverted and not too confident--but a failed marriage didn’t instill too much self-belief in the shy creature who thinks she’s plain and dull.

5) When I write, I have trouble making my villains sufficiently evil; i.e., I always seem to write in some redeeming characteristics. Have you ever had this problem?

I view life through rose-tinted glasses and I guess this accounts for me not being able to imagine that anyone can be rotten through and through. But, I have written my fair share of villains who were horrible--and took pleasure in killing them off (he he!)

6) Why did you decide to set your books in Scotland?

Love a man in a kilt (especially when he looks like Sean Connery in full highland dress). I wrote White Clover a fair while ago and honestly can’t remember why I decided to set it in Scotland. It probably fit in with the characters I’d created. I did go through a phase when I read any book where the cover depicted a hunk wielding a claymore and wearing a kilt so I was probably in the mood to create my own Scots.

7) Is it more fun to write stories with characters continuing from one book to the next than to write simple single title, where The End really means the end, you’re never going to hear about the first set of characters again?

I’ve written two sequels, both happened because there was a character in each who wouldn’t let me forget him. I never planned sequels when I began--it just happened that way.

8) Are you planning another book with continuing characters?

As it happens I am writing a Viking time-travel which started out as a single title but looks like it will end up as two books. I knew the heroine was going back in time to meet her Viking hero but hadn’t planned on her friend going back with her, and so deciding she had to have her own story told at a later date.

9) Do you develop your characters before your plot? i.e., do you “know” your hero and heroine before you decide what dire situations you’re going to put them in?

Yes, my stories are always character driven. My main characters are pretty well mapped out before I start and then I build on their quirks etc. as I go along, and then add the minor characters as they pop up along the way.

10) Do you approach writing with a detailed outline that allows you to make a bee line toward where you want to go? Or do you merely know your characters, know where you want to go, and enjoy the fun of discovery as you go along?

When writing my time-travels of historicals, I always have a very detailed time-line as this is essential, but never have a detailed outline except to know more or less where I want my characters to be at a certain time in history. I just love bowling along and letting my characters show me the way.

11) Do you plan to stay “branded” as an author of Highland romance, or do you feel the lure of branching out into other romance genres?

I’ve written just about every sub-genre so can never be branded as anything other than a ‘romance’ writer. I was warned early on that I stood more chance of being published if I stuck to one sub-genre until I’d made a name for myself. I found this impossible to do so gave up trying long ago and now just write whatever takes my fancy. I’m having too much fun so why try to change that now?