New Book Release –
The Scottish Connection

by Fay Knowles

Thirty-eight years’ ago, I took a trip back to Scotland, along with my mother and two young sons, to revisit our Scottish roots. During this 1978 journey, I scribbled notes and researched books and local brochures about the parts of Scotland we were exploring, while my mother took us on a tour of her old haunts. When we returned to Devon, where my late mother lived at the time, I continued to write down what I had learned about our Scottish ancestors. I called my mini-memoir “The Scottish Connection”.

At the time, I didn’t know what I had in mind for this personal journal. I just knew I was moved to record as much as I could of our Scottish family history and of Scotland in general.

That journal became a 4,000-word article, but it languished in a drawer for many years. I couldn’t find a market for it, as it was too long (most travel publications seemed to require around 1,200 words). I was reluctant to reduce the word count of the article, as I would have lost much of the valuable information contained in the piece.

Finally, the editor of a prominent Canadian magazine said he loved the article and they would like to publish it. However, because of the length, he said they might have to run it over several issues.

A year went by and the article still hadn’t been published. By that time, I had added more information and some old photos to my own file for The Scottish Connection. Then I received a great disappointment. The editor of the Canadian magazine emailed me that their publisher had decided not to run the article. I can only conclude that it was just too long and they didn’t have room for it.

But I didn’t give up. I kept searching online for possible markets for The Scottish Connection and during the past several years submitted the article to a few publications, with no success. The length of my mini-memoir still seemed to be an obstacle. I put it aside for a while and released “Sunbeams from the Heart – A Collection of Twelve Romantic Short Stories” and my romantic suspense novel “Love at Sunset” on Amazon as e-books and in paperback.

With the success of these two books, it quickly became apparent that I should turn The Scottish Connection into a book and also release it on Amazon. After my mother passed away, I had added more information to the mini-memoir about my ancestors, obtained from birth, death and marriage certificates that had been in Mum’s possession. I scanned old photos from that 1978 trip to Scotland and others from later trips there, as well as getting permission from online tourism sites to use some of their photos, to include in the new book.

Finally “The Scottish Connection: A Journey Back - Mini-memoir” was ready for publication, beautifully designed and formatted by bestselling and internationally recognized Bahamian author Tanya R. Taylor. The 4,000-word article had become a fully illustrated book, which contains a wealth of information - Scottish ancestry, historical facts, genealogy, comparable 1978 prices, geographical descriptions, personal anecdotes, nostalgia and precious old photos.

On the day of release on Amazon, the e-book for The Scottish Connection hit the top 100 in various categories! The Scottish Connection is also available on Amazon in paperback.

An Amazon Customer posted this review of The Scottish Connection: “I truly enjoyed this book that is filled with rich history, photographs and scenery from the United Kingdom. The author takes you along on a fascinating journey with her and her family, and you feel as if you were right there with them. Precious old photos are shared that also include her ancestors. This mini-memoir is well worth every moment of the read.”

I am so glad The Scottish Connection has finally seen the light of day. I hope that readers will find it a fascinating look back at another time, another place – and even further back than that!

Wishing you a wonderful Christmas, filled with joy and happy memories, and a very healthy and prosperous New Year,
Fay

Fay Knowles
Cable Beach
Nassau, Bahamas
http://www.fayknowles.com