Origin of the real place, Amelia Island

Today, Kaitlyn and the Highlander (Book One) joins Prime Reading (free until Aug 31!) and I thought I’d tell you a wee little bit about the origin of the story.

I’ve always loved Magical Realism and wanted my next book series (this was in 2017 when I was beginning to plan what was next) to feel like it was at home in the world, real, and that the reader would be able to go visit the locations as if they existed in the world, truly.

I had teen daughters at the time and we had all gotten caught up in the book ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ and then the movie and I was fascinated by the idea that there was a park bench installed in Amsterdam, to commemorate the spot where the two fictional characters had an important conversation. There was a moment there where I would have loved to take my daughters to see that bench.

Then one day I heard a story on the radio (sounds so ‘old school’ but that was about 2017 too) about Outlander fans traveling to Scotland to see the sites from the book and tv series. I had heard of the story but hadn’t read it yet, but stood there listening, blown away by how enraptured the fans were. I had been obsessed with the history of Mary Queen of Scots and had traveled to Scotland twice, I started thinking about a story with a Scottish Hero.

And how freaking cool it would be for a Scottish Hero to come forward in time to my home town. Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island Florida would be the real place.

I grew up there, I knew it like the back of my hand, or like the palm of my hand filled with tiny shells while I searched for sharks teeth. My mother had been one of the founders of the Amelia Island History Museum, I had been swimming, beach playing, and partying my arse off up and down that 18.2 sq. mile historical island.

Did you know it was named for Princess Amelia, the daughter of George II? Did you know that eight flags have flown over Amelia Island? The French, Spanish, British, Floridian/Patriot, Green Cross (Scottish guy!), Mexican, Confederate, and finally the flag of the United States.

You probably know that the 19th century Fort is real, but did you know that I really did hike up there in the middle of the night and sneak in once with some friends (we just wandered around scaring the heck out of ourselves)? Also, speaking of real, that all the restaurants from the book exist and will serve you food?

Did you know that the restaurant on the beach, Sliders, where Magnus tied his horse up to the rail to talk to Kaitlyn and the gang about needing to learn to drive… actually has a sign that says:

And that this photo of the sign was taken by a fan of my story, the photographer Margo Machnik, who way back in 2019 traveled to Amelia Island to see the sites from the story.

My heart swells at the idea. It makes me want to cry. Dreams come true and all.
I made this map, in case you’re ever thinking about a visit to this real world.

Did you have a moment when you were reading Kaitlyn and the Highlander when you thought or began to believe, oh, this is a real world?

I’d love to hear about it!

Which is a roundabout way of saying, f you’re new to the story, please grab Book 1 for free with Prime Reading.
Or tell your friends, now’s their chance to read the story you’ve been yammering on and on about!

And if you aren’t a subscriber to this here Substack, please do sign up, free or paid, you’ll get a pretty art print for joining me!

Thank you for reading!
Sincerely,
Diana