goodbye skye- for now.

Here it is-- the last in my Skye series-- at least for a while. Sometimes, I think I'm psychic. I've been plotting the novel I'm writing while in Scotland since this past spring in NYC. I'm fascinated by the idea of literary friendships. The way the art is changed the other artists around. How creative people get together and influence each other.


So I have a story about a literary giant, his daughter (his muse) and his protege and what happens when they form a literary community. And then what happens when  that breaks down. Without really knowing what I would do here in Scotland, or who I would meet, or what unique experiences awaited me, I made this literary giant called MacLeod. And I set it predominantly on Skye (See why I think I'm psychic?)


I genuinely feel so so grateful to the MacDonalds and to Hugh MacLeod for being my friends and for helping me research my novel under the guise of the best vacation ever. Especially learning about Dunvegan and Clan MacLeod history on the tour Hugh gave us, I genuinely felt I'd died and gone to heaven. 


Historical preservation is something I've always cared a lot about. On all my historical quests in Georgia with my Grandmother, I remember feeling sad deep in the pit of my little kid stomach looking at a beautiful antebellum home that had been turned into a bank. (Or as DFW would put it: "the constant gnawing sense of having had and lost some infinite thing.") So I think quite highly of Chief Hugh MacLeod of MacLeod and all his endeavors at Dunvegan. 


Not only was he able to turn around the finances of the 800 year old estate just 18 months after becoming Chief, but he's doing all kinds of great restoration activities at the castle. From the roof, to the decor, to the relics, he's reordering things according to the priorities of business as well as historical integrity. 


Some people just get it. And he totally does. He's exposing more of the ancient interior, noting the drawing room was essentially "a film set" (you can tell that's his day job) built to entice the wife of one ancestor to move to Skye from London. We saw one of only two ancient Claymores still in existence.  "What have we got? One of only two in existence, and it's tucked away under a staircase. We're going to fix that." 


He has a cool take on history, which I appreciated. While looking at the amazing art in Dunvegan-- Zoffanys for days-- he recalled several ancestors "The MacLeods only fight battles we can win. That's why we're still here." 


Amen. And it's a good thing they are! The 30 minute fireworks extravaganza at Dunvegan for Bonfire Night raised thousands of pounds for charity. Just amazing.