Thanks to Cynthia for having me here! I’ve been writing romance for years, but Far Horizons is the first historical novel I’ve ever written, and while it’s quite different from my romances, it’s certainly a story that is close to my heart.
The main characters, Harriet Campbell and Allan MacDougall, are actually my great-great-great (I think that’s all the greats!) aunt and uncle. My mother has told me their story since I was a little girl, how in 1819 Allan proposed to Harriet right before he emigrated with his family to Canada, and how his father found out and forced him to set Harriet free. Allan gave her the letters she’d written him over the years as a sign of her freedom, but said she could keep her own as proof of his own faithfulness.
As a young girl I found this terribly romantic. Actually, I still do! And when I was in my twenties, I discovered that one of my relatives had typewritten copies of many of the letters Allan and Harriet wrote each other. Reading them was fascinating, transporting me to a different time and place. But this sentiment, written by Allan, is what truly inspired my story:
How can I express the consternation of my heart, or account for the long and cruel silence on your part? This is the fifteenth letter I have written you since, but I am afraid they never got your length, or you would not be so long in writing me.
Why, I wondered, had Harriet not written Allan? And how distraught Allan seemed to feel, at not hearing from her. I decided to make up my own reason to account for her silence, and that is the story of Far Horizons.
I’ve now finished what has become the Emigrants Trilogy, following Allan and Harriet’s story as well as the stories of their families through the years. Far Horizons, Another Country, and A Distant Shore span twenty years of the characters’ lives, and I’ve really enjoyed researching the different time periods in which the stories take place. I’m now planning to continue the story on into the 1860s and beyond. Is there a particular historical period you enjoy reading about? I’m giving away a Kindle copy of my Christmas romance, A Yorkshire Christmas, to one randomly drawn name from the comments below.
Happy reading and Happy New Year!
Kate
You can learn more about me and my books here:
Website: www.kate-hewitt.com
Blog: acumbrianlife.blogspot.co.uk
Twitter: katehewitt1
Facebook: www.facebook.com/KateHewittAuthor
And you can buy The Emigrants Trilogy here:
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-emigrants-trilogy-kate-hewitt/1120748236?ean=2940046404630
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-emigrants-trilogy
How exciting to have real live romance in your family. But I’m dying to know why Allan couldn’t find her or didn’t search for her. It’s obvious that he loved her…
It has been very exciting, Melissa! In real life, Allan settled in Canada to establish a farm before returning to Scotland for Harriet. He knew she was healthy and well because other people in her family wrote him… but she didn’t write! Unfortunately the letters we have don’t tell us why… which is why I made up my own reason 🙂
Being stationed overseas, during the Vietnam War, having a fifth letter reach home before letters one through four caused confusion. On the receiving end, I might not get any reply for six weeks then get sixteen replies all at once. Not at all unusual or uncommon in the days of “snail-mail” where “Hi-Tech” was sending letters in the form of voice cassettes (where the drive spool would snag and unwind half the tape or break it).