The story of my contemporary romantic novel, LITTLE PINK TAXI, which was
released by Choc Lit last month, is set in the magnificent Cairngorms of
Scotland where my heroine Rosalie Heart runs a small taxi company, Love Taxis.
Rosalie grew up at Raventhorn, a rundown castle and the ancestral home of the
local laird, Geoff McBride.
Who is the mysterious cloaked figure hero Marc Petersen keeps glimpsing in
Corby Woods, on top of the ruined tower of a nearby abandoned castle, or again
near Loch Bran in the dead of night? Rosalie believes that it’s the ghost of
Isobel McBride, one of Geoff’s ancestors, and that she is bad news… But is Isobel
friend or foe, and is the raven that’s always by her side really a bird of ill
omen?
We all know that Scottish castles are famous for their ghosts, and indeed
the Cairngorms National Park has its fair share of haunted castles and ghostly
legends. Inverness Castle as it stands today overlooking the river Ness was
built in built in 1836 by architect William Burn on the ruins of several previous
castles, among which the castle built in the mid eleventh century for King Macbeth. It is
where Shakespeare’s Macbeth is said to have murdered Duncan, and Duncan’s ghost
supposedly haunts the shores of the riverside beneath the castle hill.
 |
| Photo courtesy of Pixabay |
Other local castles have witnessed much violence and death. The ruins of
Raid Castle are said to be haunted by the daughter of Clan Cumming’s chief. The
poor girl was killed by her own father because the man she loved belonged to
rival Clan Mackintosh and she warned him that her father was intent of
murdering him.
The fearsome Alexander Stewart, who
was nicknamed the ‘Wolf of Badenoch’ because of his cruelty, was said to
practice witchcraft. He died in 1394 (although some say it was in 1406) when it
is believed that he played chess with the devil at Ruthven Castle near
Kingussie, and still haunts the place.
Castle Roy, a 12th century fortress built on a small glacial mound to the north of the modern village of Nethy Bridge, is not only haunted by a ghost that only appears during the Summer solstice, but is supposed to be home to a buried treasure too. The soil however is believed to be infected with plague and all those who have searched for the treasure have perished. Other castles, like Corgaff or Kindrochit have a troubled past and are rumoured to be haunted too.
Castle Roy, a 12th century fortress built on a small glacial mound to the north of the modern village of Nethy Bridge, is not only haunted by a ghost that only appears during the Summer solstice, but is supposed to be home to a buried treasure too. The soil however is believed to be infected with plague and all those who have searched for the treasure have perished. Other castles, like Corgaff or Kindrochit have a troubled past and are rumoured to be haunted too.
 |
| Photo courtesy of Pixabay |
But ghostly encounters are not limited to castles. The shores of Loch
Garten and Loch Mallachie, also known as Loch of the Curse, are haunted by a
terrifying spirit with a blood-curdling screech. Loch Morlich has not one, but
two other-worldly residents – the King of the Fairies on the West side, and the
spectre of a giant warrior in full Highland dress and a hand dripping with blood
on the East side.
So what about Raventhorn? Businessman Marc Petersen doesn’t believe in
ghosts at all – at least not at first. Will he change his mind by the end of
the story? You’ll have to read the book and find out for yourself!
In the meantime, here is an excerpt where Marc catches his first glimpse
of the mysterious Isbobel McBride and her raven…
 |
| Photo courtesy of Pixabay |
Excerpt
Oblivious to the rain running down
his face and soaking his hair and coat, he walked back along the road and cut
through the undergrowth towards the pine tree where the woman had been
standing. A huge raven, perched on a nearby treetop, stared down at him with
beady eyes. The woman, however, had gone.
Puzzled,
he peered through the shadows and walked into the woods. If there was a path,
he couldn’t see it. He breathed in mixed scents of rain and rotting vegetation.
Above him the raven flew off with a shrieking call and a loud flapping of
wings.
‘Monsieur
Petersen? Are you all right?’ Rosalie Heart called from the road. She had put
her hood up so as not to get drenched.
He
turned and walked back to her. ‘She’s gone, and yet I was sure she needed
help.’
Rosalie
Heart smiled. ‘If it was who I think it was, she does indeed need help, but not
of the kind you, or anyone of us, can give her.’
‘What
are you talking about?’
She
sighed. ‘Forget it. You won’t believe me.’
‘Try
me.’
She
took a deep breath. ‘You just saw the ghost of Isobel McBride.’
He
narrowed his eyes, and dug his fists into his coat pocket. His shoes were
soaked and muddy. Icy water trickled down his face, his neck and the collar of
his coat. He had the migraine from hell. And this small woman dressed in
marshmallow pink was babbling about ghosts?
‘Are
you serious?’ he asked, between clenched teeth.
She
nodded, turned away and walked back to the cab, leaving him behind. The woman
was making fun of him, that much was obvious. He followed her back to the taxi,
slung the door open and sat down. His wet clothes stuck to the pink plastic
seat with squelching sounds. Water dripped from his coat and trousers and
pooled at his feet. The windows steamed up, and it was like being enclosed in a
cosy bubble of gum.
Rosalie
Heart pulled her hood off and shook her curly brown hair. As it tumbled around
her shoulders he caught the scent of the rain and a deeper, fruity fragrance.
She smiled again, and he couldn’t help but notice she had a very attractive
smile indeed. In fact, he thought, looking at her properly for the first time,
she was rather pretty with her eyes a warm chestnut colour, and her cheeks
glowing pink from the cold.
‘It’s
a long time since anyone reported seeing Lady
Fitheach,’ she remarked in a thoughtful voice as she started the engine.
‘Lady Fitheach? I thought you said
her name was Isobel McBride.’
‘Fitheach is Scottish for raven.
People call Isobel Lady Fitheach
because of the raven that never leaves her side. You saw the bird, didn’t you?’
There
had indeed been that huge raven staring down at him from a nearby branch. He
dismissed it with a shrug. ‘It’s a wood. There’s bound to be all kinds of birds
there.’
Blurb
Take a ride with Love Taxis, the cab company with a Heart
…
Rosalie Heart is a well-known face in Irlwick – well, if you drive a bright pink taxi and your signature style is a pink anorak, you’re going to draw a bit of attention! But Rosalie’s company Love Taxis is more than just a gimmick – for many people in the remote Scottish village, it’s a lifeline.
Which is something that Marc Petersen will never understand. Marc’s ruthless approach to business doesn’t extend to pink taxi companies running at a loss. When he arrives in Irlwick to see to a new acquisition – Raventhorn, a rundown castle – it’s apparent he poses a threat to Rosalie’s entire existence; not just her business, but her childhood home too.
On the face of it Marc and Rosalie should loathe each other, but what they didn’t count on was somebody playing cupid …
