Long before I started writing novels, I spent years learning to be a leather craftsman. There is a satisfaction in making something with your hands and knowing that it will endure through long periods of uncertain conditions and challenging applications. That kind of performance comes from taking the time for the things that matter. Every cut, every stitch, and every decision. Similar disciplines followed me into writing. Whether shaping leather or shaping a story, I believe the work deserves patience, honesty and attention to detail. Quality rarely comes by accident.
Historical fiction carries a responsibility. The stories are imagined. Their world should not be. Every novel in The Scottish Borders Series is the result of extensive research into:
Nineteenth-Century Hawick
Scottish Border history
Trade directories
Census records
Historical maps
Local traditions
Family history
The goal has never been to simply entertain. It has always been to leave reader understanding a little more about the people and places that inspired the story. My hope is that the struggles and triumphs that defined the lives of my characters resonate with similar experiences today. History often repeats itself.
William Rule lived in a period when traditional craftsmanship faced unprecedented change. But factories didn't merely transform industries, they impacted entire communities! Skilled trades were disappearing as a means of making a living. Families were being pulled into the rigid structure of factory work. A few prospered, the masses struggled.
Although these novels are set in nineteenth0century Scotland, the central issues of the stories remain surprisingly familiar.
How do ordinart people preserve the dignity of meaningful work?
How do communities respond with a unified voice when a common threat is upon them?
How do people respond when change appears to be unrelenting?
These questions are as relevant in our communities as they were in William Rule's Hawick, Scotland.
A Craftsman First
Research Before Imagination
Why The Shoemaker's Story Matters
The Shoemaker on Round Close Series
The Molecatcher From Annan
The Shoemaker's Wife
The Wolf is Always at the Door
Callants and Reivers
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Future Series
A new series following Thomas Rule through the hidden alleys of Scotland's most notorious smuggling ports.
Margaret Rule's story that describes the events that forged her strength and daring... qualities that would later save her family and her community.
