Blue Bells of Scotland, because it involves time travel and historic Scotland, is compared by many readers to Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. I love her work, but only started reading it a year after I started writing Blue Bells of Scotland.

The true genesis is the children's novel from the 70's, In the Keep of Time, by Margaret Anderson, a wonderful story about four siblings who go into a Scottish keep and come out into medieval Scotland.

Blue Bells of Scotland, however, is also influenced heavily by my background as a musician. Like my characters, I play trombone and harp, and the title itself comes from a piece well-known to all trombonists. My research into the lyrics of the old folk song led me to the Battle of Bannockburn, and things grew from there.