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Introduction
Your first book and the beginning of the Blue Bells Chronicles, Blue Bells of Scotland, was released back in 2009. You’ve since published 5 books in that series and some other poetry works as well. This series though is pretty interesting in that it’s historical fiction, but features a time-crossing man that is facing in real-time, the challenges of both of his life experiences. This is a pretty unique choice to write about. One of my favorite books of all time features this same dynamic, Green Darkness by Anya Seton, and this is the first time that I’ve come across books with a similar feel to them.
So let’s begin with going back to the beginning, before you published any books. Help me get a sense of what influenced your writing of this series and how long the ideas for this book stayed with you before you started writing them down.
Laura’s Books
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Interview with Laura Vosika
Q: Before publishing Blue Bells of Scotland, did you know you wanted to be a writer?
A: Always! I wrote my first poem when I was 8. It’s probably just as well it’s lost to posterity, but I was writing very young. I started a novel when I was 10. It was going to be a great story about kidnappers who pick the wrong kid in little Timmy, who turns out to be such a terror they want to return him. Then I stumbled across The Ransom of Red Chief on my mother’s book shelf and didn’t realize that I could write my version of the story even if O. Henry had already used that plot.
Q: How long did you have the idea for the Blue Bells Chronicles before you started writing it down? What influenced or prompted you to write this story?
A: A few years. I wrote the first book for NANOWRIMO in November of 2005 and only later found handwritten notes on the plot. There were several influences:
- In the Keep of Time, my favorite childhood novel, about four siblings who go into a Scottish keep (Smailholm) and come out in the wrong time.
- As a trombonist, I loved working on a piece called Blue Bells of Scotland, a theme and variation on an old Scottish folk song that sings about noble deeds and streaming banners. That’s the kind of story I wanted to read, so that’s the story I wrote, which required digging into Scotland’s history to find a great battle, which was their great victory at Bannockburn in June of 1314, under Robert the Bruce.
- My background in music, including orchestral playing, meant the books couldn’t help but include the world of orchestral music.
- One day, an image flashed across my mind, of a man so obnoxious and arrogant as to gamble away the very tool of his career (his trombone) and to get it back by conning his girlfriend. I could see him laughing at the gambling table, thinking life is a huge joke and one big party and knew his name was Shawn.
Q: What differentiates these books from other historical fiction and makes them unique?
A: The books are very historically accurate, something my readers really appreciate. Time travel makes them stand out from most historical fiction. The fact that two people switch places in time is not unique to time travel, but less often seen.
But the biggest difference struck me recently while looking at the time travel section of MacKay’s. It was all bodice-rippers and I realized how much of the time travel genre is romance wrapped in time travel. I strive to write people as we are, meaning Shawn and Niall both have romantic relationships but the story is ultimately a very relatable story of the journey to see ourselves honestly, set against the very rich backdrop of Scotland’s beauty and history.
Q: What is your favorite strange food combination?
A: Well, my husband and I have a wide variety of tastes! We seek out restaurants with calamari, oysters, steak tartare, escargot, and caviar. Then we’re equally happy to come home and eat White Castle sliders in front of the TV!
Q: If you were to ask your friends or family, what would they say your greatest “Superpower” is?
A: That would vary by the person! But many have said patience, especially with kids. I say raising nine kids will do that to you. I realized at a certain point that if I let every little thing upset me, I would have a heart attack, so I put my priorities in order and realized many things aren’t really worth getting upset about.
Q: If you could be any fictional character (cartoon, movie, show, book, etc), who would you be?
A: Oh no, the hard questions! I would have to go with Robin Hood or the Scarlet Pimpernel. What a great thing to be a master of disguise, outwitting the bad guys to help other people!
Q: Can you tell me a little bit about your writing process? Note taking; favorite place to write uninterrupted; etc?
A: I’d like to be in my official office up over the garage. It houses my research library and looks down on our sheep pastures, and over the rolling Appalachian hills. However, I’m usually at our very long kitchen table (big enough to seat 12) with pages of notes spread out, so our farmhand can find me if need be.
Uninterrupted writing only happens in the small hours of the morning. Daytime can be full of interruptions, such as Terry recently coming in to tell me our little ram’s horn was again broken and bleeding. It had to be dealt with right away.
Q: Out of all of your books, is there one that stood out as being more memorable to write than the others? One that pushed you or challenged you in any way that wasn’t easy?
A: It was challenging keeping all the details working together over a five-book story, but more difficult has been my book still in progress, The Castle of Dromore, because it involves weaving three stories together and letting out clues at the proper times: the story of the widowed Lisa’s current life in her Scottish castle with her five boys; the backstory of why she fled Boston and what happened to her husband; and finally, the story unfolding in the 1200s that answers the mystery of who the ghostly lady in green is and why she’s haunting the courtyard of Lisa’s new castle.
Q: What advice would you give to a new writer just starting out?
A: Make time to write. Try to be consistent. Find a good writer’s critique group–that feedback is invaluable. Be tough on yourself and be prepared to do multiple read-throughs and drafts. Give yourself a 4-6 week break between each draft so you can read it with fresh eyes.
Q: You have 50 words or less to convince an audience why they should read your books. Go!
A: Find out why so many call it the best series they’ve ever read! Shawn’s a guy you love to hate: obnoxious, witty, and finally, able to see himself honestly. You’ll experience the amazing true world of medieval Scotland, down to the sewer beneath Carlisle and boats ‘sailing’ across land!
Follow Laura
Laura Vosika is the author of the beloved Blue Bells Chronicles, in addition to other works of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and a collection of music. She is currently working on several other novels, a non-fiction book on raising a large family, and Theology of Music with her husband Dr. Chris R. Powell.
Laura grew up in the military, visiting castles in England, pig fests in Germany, and the historic sites of America’s east coast. Seeing such history close up no doubt influenced her fascinatno with the past and her writing.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in music, and worked for many years as a freelance musician, playing trombone for pit orchestras, ballets, and symphonies, and flute and harp for other venues. She spent three years as a member of the Buz Whiteley Big Band and Farragut Brass Band in Bremerton, WA.
After earning a master’s degree in education, she took a job as a music teacher and band director. She has also taught private lessons on wind instruments, piano, and harp, for more than thirty years.
In her spare time, Laura likes to play piano, harp, and flute, do sudokus, and learn Gaelic.
Laura co-hosts Books & Brews with Chris Powell, interviewing a new author every month and pairing cocktails to authors’ readings. They formerly hosted Wordsmiths & a Wolfhound: happiness through the arts and self-sufficiency and may do so again one day.
She lives at Glenmirril Farms, named after the castle in The Blue Bells Chronicles, in the Appalachians with Chris, their Bernese Mountain Dog/Anatolian Shepherd, Boo Bear, and a whole bunch of New Zealand White Rabbits, chickens, and sheep.
Liadan, their Irish Wolfhound joined her ancestors, the Laird’s great hunting hounds, on January 6, 2025. There will never be another dog like her. She loved her family, her kids, her sheep, Boo Bear, like no dog ever has. She is greatly missed. You can see her tribute video here.
Together, Laura and Chris have 10 children and 4 grandchildren.
Looking for book recs…
Adventures in Literature 
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