It’s a pleasure to be here for Deirdre O’Dare/Gwynn Morgan’s (AKA AZGaye) Celtic Special Book Brew. Deirdre/Gwynn and I go way, way back, so our long years of friendship make this visit even more special. Thank you.

CSBB: Who or what is your greatest inspiration as a writer? When did you first know you wanted to become a novelist? When did you learn to read and what book in your youth left the strongest impact on you?

SEW: My greatest inspiration is a tightly woven blend of my passion for Scotland and its medieval past, my fascination with all things Viking, likewise the paranormal, wild weather and wild, empty places (bleak, raw atmosphere), and my tremendous love of animals. Imagine all those elements bubbling in a cauldron. The “magical steam’ that rises is where I find my stories.

I never wanted to be a writer. My dream was always to be an airline stewardess and travel the world. I did that for twenty-three years and miss flying very much. A pubbed friend, the late Becky Lee Weyrich who was the Queen of Time Travel Romance several decades ago, encouraged me to write. I’d send her letters describing my travel adventures in far-flung corners of the globe. She told me that when she read the letters, she “felt as if she was there.’ She urged me to write, becoming a mentor, as did Deirdre/Gwynn, after Becky suggested I join RWA. So I just sort of fell into writing.

I could read and write before kindergarten. I grew up loving books. My earliest favorites were the amazing Childcraft encyclopedia series. I would lose myself in those books for hours. Later, I devoured Nancy Drew mysteries and suspect they were a strong influence on my love of atmosphere. There were “moss-covered mansions’ and “lilac inns’ and all kinds of deliciously exciting places in the series. I wanted to slip right into the pages and be there.

CSBB: Do you have a favorite character among all those memorable ones you have created in your many novels? Or perhaps a favorite couple from one of the books? (I know, they are like our kids and we can’t “play favorites”but we do””at least a little!)

SEW: I adore Devorgilla. She’s a well-meaning crone who weaves mischief and magic through almost all of my books, especially my MacKenzie series. I’m also partial to Sir Marmaduke aka Sir M, another recurring character in that series. His book was Bride of the Beast, which was my third book and also launched GCP’s Forever line.

Of my Allie Mackay titles, I love Bran of Barra. He, too, was a recurring character. His book was Some Like It Kilted.

Couples? More recently, Kendrew Mackintosh and Isobel Cameron of Temptation of a Highland Scoundrel, book two of my Highland Warriors trilogy. I love Kendrew because he’s such a wild man. And Isobel shared my own passion for wild places and wilder weather, also Norse myth and legend. So I really love this pair.

CSBB: Can you imagine writing a book set anywhere besides in Scotland or with strong ties there, like in the Allie Mackay books where the heroines are mostly from the US and part of the story happens here?

SEW: Generally, no. I write Scottish-set books because I love Scotland so much and that passion inspires and fuels my stories. I might be able to research and write a different setting/genre, but the book would lack the “heart’ that I believe flows into my Scottish stories. If a writer isn’t passionate about her subject matter, the writing will fall flat, the words only ink on the page.

I make exceptions by setting parts of my Allie Mackay titles in Bucks County. PA. (the heroines hail from there) That’s because I know and love this area, so the passion needed is present. I also wrote an Irish-set story for the Mammoth Book of Irish Romance. I used a little fishing village I visited a lot when I lived overseas. It, too, is a place dear to me, so I was able to write a story set there.

So if I love a place’s atmosphere, I may write a story set there. If I don’t feel strongly about the land/atmosphere, I won’t. Scotland will always remain the main setting of my work.

CSBB: Do you have an animal totem or spirit guide? If so, what is it?

SEW: Yes. I have two. The first is the swan. A cold-loving bird, with winter as its cycle of power, and strong ties to the north. The swan is the totem of poets, mystics, and dreamers, so is an excellent animal guide for a writer. My second is also a bird, the hawk. The hawk as a spirit guide is associated with creative and psychic energy development, and balance. It’s also fearless, strong, and has thick scales on its legs, guarding it from the bites of enemies. As writers also need a thick skin, I really love this quality of the hawk totem.

CSBB: What is a special secret or tidbit about you that most readers do not know (but that you are willing to share LOL!)?

SEW: Probably that German is my everyday language, not English. German is the language spoken in my home and I only speak English with US friends. I am not German, but I married one and lived most of my adult life in Germany, so I speak, read, and write it fluently. I even prefer speaking it to English now, after so many years. It is more comfortable for me to speak in German and most people say I have an accent.

As I used the German answer on my recent blog tour (for the same question), here’s another answer: I hate to shop and shoes do not interest me at all. My idea of torture is when necessity forces me to dress or shoe shop. I cannot wrap my mind around going ga-ga over $$$ shoes and glam clothes. (I can spend whole days in used or antiquarian bookshops or thrift shops ““ now that’s my idea of bliss)

CSBB: Do you think your love of stormy weather, mist, cold and snow comes from a prior or even many prior lives spent in places where this prevailed? Do you believe in reincarnation and influences of past lives on our current existence?

SEW: Yes, and yes. My love for such weather/atmosphere was surely influenced by the decades I lived in Germany, enjoying just such conditions so much. Yet my love for this kind of weather was always present, even in early childhood. I’ve always felt drawn to such raw weather (and wild, empty places) and always “come most alive’ when I can be where this kind of atmosphere is prevalent.

Absolutely, I do believe in reincarnation, karma, and that past lives influence our present existence. I do not believe in coincidence and believe that everyone comes into or leaves our lives for a reason. I believe we reincarnate in soul groups, returning again and again with the same souls. There is a reason when we meet someone and feel an immediate affinity to them. Likewise how we can see a stranger across a room and feel our skin crawl. I could really expound here, but won’t. Bottom line: yes, I believe in reincarnation and the influence of past lives.

Thank you so much for inviting me here today. It’s been fun. Almost like the good old days of RWA’s Outreach. Didn’t we have some grand times?

Highland Blessings!
Sue-Ellen Welfonder