1. I hear you have pets and other animals in your Blue Bells Chronicles. Tell us about the novels in this time-travel series.

Bluebells of Scotland blurb:

Shawn Kleiner has it all: money, fame, a skyrocketing career as an international musical phenomenon, his beautiful girlfriend Amy, and all the women he wants—until the night Amy has enough and abandons him in a Scottish castle. He wakes to find himself mistaken for Niall Campbell, medieval Highland warrior. Soon after, he is sent shimmying down a wind-torn castle wall into a dangerous cross-country trek with Niall’s tempting, but knife-wielding fiancée, pursued by English soldiers and a Scottish traitor who want Niall dead.

Thrown forward in time, Niall Campell learns history’s horrifying account of his own death and of the Scots’ slaughter at Bannockburn. Undaunted, he navigates the roiled waters of Shawn’s life—pregnant girlfriend, amorous fans, enemies, gambling debts—seeking a way to leap back across time to save his people, especially his beloved Allene. But he finds himself liking Shawn’s life…

The Minstrel Boy blurb:

On a misty night in the Scottish Highlands, Shawn Kleiner, a womanizing modern American musician, and Niall Campbell, devout medieval warrior, both fall asleep in the tower of Glenmirril Castle, seven centuries apart. They wake up in each other’s time.

In The Minstrel Boy, Shawn’s girlfriend Amy resigns her position with the orchestra and stays behind in Scotland to trace Niall’s fate through historical records. What she finds is not answers, but more questions. Niall Campbell, a man larger than life, who recovers miraculously from multiple injuries, walks through walls, and appears in two places at once—fact or myth? The thieving MacDougalls built a gallows to hang Niall—was it used? Why is the cop assigned to Shawn’s case pursuing her long after the files are closed? And what can she tell the police and everyone in the orchestra? They want answers, and unlike Shawn, she’s not good at lying. But she can’t tell them the truth: they’ll never find him. Because Shawn Kleiner, the notorious twenty-first century musical phenomenon, is dead.

The Water is Wide blurb:

World-renowned musician Shawn Kleiner vanished in the night among the ruins of a Scottish castle. While the world searches, one woman, the mother of his child, knows the truth: he is trapped seven hundred years in the past. While they struggle to reunite across the centuries, an unseen shadow crosses their path—an evil that will threaten the life of a child prophesied to protect history. An evil from the past walks today….

Westering Home blurb:

Two years in medieval Scotland will change a man. A month in the modern world will tempt him back. Some people don’t want Shawn to change, while others can’t believe he has. Modern life is not the haven he imagined. The orchestra has a new star, and Amy has found new love—he may still lose her to the stalwart Angus. He is guilt-ridden over leaving Niall to an unknown fate while he escaped to safety in Amy’s 21st-century arms. But his life of music turns dark as he learns a medieval foe stalks Amy and his son. Living and fighting alongside Niall, the Laird, Hugh, Robert the Bruce, and Scotland’s greatest hero, James Douglas, Shawn learned honor, virtue, and strength. Will they be enough to win back Amy and save his son? Because history and the whole world depend on it.

The Battle is O’er blurb:

Shawn means self and Kleiner means centered, one of Shawn’s (many) ex-girlfriends proclaimed. Two years in medieval Scotland will change a man—and make him see what his ways have cost him. Safely back in his own time, Shawn is steadily regaining all he lost—his career as a world-traveling musician, the son he feared he would never know, and finally, maybe—even Amy’s heart. But as he does, he learns of the dangers still lurking in fourteenth century Scotland: to Niall, who will pay the price for the deed Shawn committed; to his own son, the subject of prophecy and an ancient letter predicting a fateful battle; even danger to the whole world as the Butcher of Berwick uses his knowledge of the future to destroy it. In this gripping conclusion to The Blue Bells Chronicles, Shawn faces the ultimate test. His selfishness once cost him everything. His newfound selflessness may do the same.

NOTE: The Buy Links for the Blue Bells Chronicles, as well as Laura’s other books, are on her Amazon Author Page: https://amzn.to/4bEwF8i

 

2. Why did you add pets to this series?

The series couldn’t exist without a wealth of animals. The medieval world lived much more closely with them than we do—horses, cows (which were much smaller then, than in our modern world), chickens, wolves, and the hunting hounds that roamed Glenmirril Castle. I greatly enjoyed Shawn having to learn to ride a horse and handle the Laird’s birds of prey. The Laird’s “great hunting hounds” are best seen in today’s Irish Wolfhound, which is partially the descendant of the wolfhounds of medieval times, renowned for…well, hunting wolves!

These wonderful dogs nearly died out in the late 1700s and 1800s. Captain George Augustus Graham built them up again by breeding the last remaining ones with some of the world’s biggest dogs: the Borzoi (or Russian Wolfhound), the Scottish deerhound, Great Danes, and mastiffs. His aim was to breed a dog that matched the historical description of a tall, powerful, rough-coated dog. Today’s Irish Wolfhound is the world’s tallest dog, though not the largest by weight.

I sought to be as authentic as possible in my writing of the medieval world. To that end, I’ve hiked hills in medieval leather boots, play and own several medieval instruments, and have a decent collection of medieval weapons hanging on my walls. I also set out to find an Irish Wolfhound, which is how Liadan came into my life. Having had Golden Retrievers previously, it was something to see an 87-pound puppy step over the back of my couch on her first day home with us! It certainly gave me a better feel for what it is to live with such a large dog. She only grew to be 110 pounds, which, for a wolfhound makes her the runt of the litter.

Still, when I sat at the stool at my kitchen counter writing, she could easily poke my shoulder with her nose, looking for attention. If she chose to stand on her hind legs with her paws on my shoulder, she looked down on me. Strong? Yes, she was definitely strong! She was also exceptionally loyal and loving. My retrievers seemed to care mainly that they had food and a ball tossed for them, and they were content. Liadan, by contrast, seemed like a child, in her active love for me and for “her” kids. She had a very gentle nature. At times, she came with me when I gave talks on medieval Scotland and seemed to take great delight in meeting those in the audience—as they took great delight in her!

In our last four years with Liadan, we lived on acreage first in Duluth and then in Tennessee. She raced ahead of us as we roamed through our northern woods but never strayed far and came when called. As I made my rounds caring for our chickens, rabbits, and sheep on our homestead, she loved going nose to nose with the rabbits and coming into the field with me when I fed the sheep. When her back legs began to give out and I could no longer let her go up and down our steep Tennessee hills with me, she whined incessantly until I came back, hating to be left behind.

Irish Wolfhounds live, on average, only 6-8 years. We were lucky to have her until she was almost 11. In one last example of how she loved her family, she seemed to know in the fall that the grown kids were coming to visit for Thanksgiving and Christmas. When the last of them left after Christmas, she seemed to know they wouldn’t be back soon, and she immediately went even more quickly downhill. I firmly believe she hung on to see as many as she could one last time. We put her to rest on January 6, 2025. I sought out this wonderful girl because of the dogs in my book, and she has truly been one of the really wonderful parts of my life.

You can see pictures from her life at Liadan’s Tribute: https://youtu.be/k7prN-XkVbQ?si=5zIaCln2n3hCE9eq

 

3. What other books have you written?

My husband and I together put out a collection of essays and poems on the topic of love, and also a book called The Saint in the Cellar, which is the story of a young boy with a vivid imagination, whose parents are overly busy with their careers. When they move to a historic home in St. Paul, MN, he discovers a mysterious monk living in a room in the basement. Is he just imagining things—or is this the miracle his parents need?

I’ve written Cooking with Rabbit, in the hopes of encouraging a return to eating this very healthy meat, and also Food and Feast in the World of the Blue Bells Chronicles, which I call “NOT a cookbook,” although it features over 100 recipes paired to scenes from the series. Many of the recipes are taken from historical cookbooks dating to medieval times. The book also gives some history behind the story:

I’m currently working on two books about our change from suburban living to greater self-sufficiency (High on Spirit Mountain and Up Above the Hollers), as well as my new Ivy Leake Mystery series, about a young widow who writes mysteries while traveling the country with her 16-year-old son, River. Part of the fun of the books is that I take all the character names from the names of towns in whatever state Ivy and River are in.

 

4. Tell us about your kudos or reviews.

I’ve been very happy with my reviews, pulling in numerous 5-star reviews and comparisons to Diana Gabaldon (and Dostoevsky!).

Some of the aspects of my books readers especially love are the historical accuracy—down to the weather, the battles, specific documented trips made by a bishop, and even the recently discovered sewer under the ancient town of Carlisle; the vividness of the music throughout the story; and the people of the Blue Bells World, saying how real they are—even the minor characters, how they seem like people they might meet in real life.

 

5. How do you promote your books?

I spend about an hour a day on various social media, either posting or connecting with podcasters and bloggers, often doing cross-promotions. In the beginning, my books got a huge boost from a month-long blog tour that drew a lot of attention.

I keep a blog with articles documenting The History Behind the Story, and the music of Shawn’s orchestra and Niall’s time, but has also now branched out into articles I write as I learn more about all aspects of homesteading, which my husband and I have been doing for a bit over four years now. So, you might find articles about how Bannockburn was won by Robert the Bruce, a famous piece of trombone music, or the health benefits of cayenne pepper! I’ve recently hit 10,000 views in two weeks, so apparently a few people are enjoying the articles!

 

6. Where can readers learn more about your books and connect with you online?

Website: www.LauraVosika.com

Blog: www.bluebellstrilogy.blogspot.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/laura.vosika.author

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Laura-Vosika/author/B09NPF2HN9

Books and Brews: www.booksandbrews.net

Email Signup: Gabriel’s Horn Press [https://gmail.us20.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=0c2306d07d529ddff1ade5c28&id=7267518900]

 

MARCIA: Thank you, Laura, for being my April interviewee! Your books and blog sound fascinating.

 

MONTHLY BLOG EBOOK CONTEST! Would you like to win a Marcia James’ ebook? Visitors to this pro-pet blog can join in the fun, comment, and/or share photos of their pets for a chance to win one of my ebooks!

Each month, I’ll randomly pick one blog commenter to win. To leave a comment and/or a photo, click on the word “Reply,” which is just below the social media icons for THIS interview. (Don’t scroll past this interview to the next interview.) Go Pets!