A chat with Jan Baynham

I've been talking to Jan Baynham about Surprises on the Scottish Isle and what inspired it.

She's also chatted to lots of other lovely authors on her blog, so why don't you take a look!

Here is her interview with me...

Guest Post With Lilac Mills

If you read my New Year goals in my last post, you will have noticed that in 2025, I hope to support other writers. One of the ways I like to do that is to invite them to write guest posts for the blog.

The first of my guests this year is a fellow Cariad and author friend, Lilac Mills. I'm always in awe of the number of books Lilac has written but as well as being a prolific writer, she is always ready to support others with her experience. Her latest novel Surprises on the Scottish Isle was published by Canelo on 23rd January.

I've asked her to tell you about herself and her new novel. It's over to you, Lilac!

My bio states that I love making things out of glitter and glue (a mess, usually), and that is so very true. I’ve always loved anything crafty or arty and have tried my hand at quite a few over the years. One of my earliest memories is Christmas time in the first year in school making paper lanterns, and angels using card and gold doilies – Father Christmases out of loo roll inserts!

My pathetic attempts at painting and needlefelt, and a gorgeous old doll's house, ripe for rennovation.

I used to draw and paint a lot, but although my pencil drawings weren’t too bad, I can’t paint for toffee. See?

I’ve also made some of my own clothes in the past and even made loose covers for a sofa and chairs. I’ve done quilting (harder than I thought it was going to be), embroidery, cross-stitch and knitting. I was pleased with my cross-stitch results, but anything I knitted was always a disappointment. No matter how hard I tried, I could never get the tension right.

And as for needle-felting… This is how far I got! I keep going back to it and giving it another try, but I’ve been working on this kit for nearly two years, so I don’t anticipate finishing it anytime soon.

I’d like to do more crafting, but I never seem to have enough time, so writing a series set in a craft centre was a real treat, and I wanted to pick those crafts that I want to learn more about or have another so at.

Surprises on the Scottish Isle features dolls’ houses and all things miniature because my daughter reminded me of the dolls’ house I renovated for her when she was tiny. She wanted to know whether I still had it, but unfortunately I don’t. But it got me thinking that it’s something I would like to do again one day, especially when I see one in a charity shop that needs some TLC, like this one. In the meantime, I had my main character, Tara, make dolls houses for a living instead.

The craft centre in the story is loosely based on one I used to visit often when I lived in the West Midlands (that’s a part of England, for non-UK readers), and I must admit that I stole shamelessly from it, from the layout to the gorgeous crafty vibes. The real one doesn’t have a castle, but it should! I love castles and the older they are, the better as far as I’m concerned. Their history fascinates me and I’ve visited many over the years, so the temptation to put one in my latest book was too great to resist. And you must admit, Scotland has its fair share of stunning castles! Nature and the natural world also feature quite heavily in the book, so I suppose I could say that I’ve combined all my favourite things into one gorgeous story!

But that’s not all. I can’t not mention the most important aspect of the book - the romance! I simply adored writing Tara and Cal’s story, and I hope readers will fall in love with it just as I have.

Surprises on the Scottish Isle was out on 23rd January 2025.

View all Lilac Mills books

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About the Author

Lilac Mills writes heartwarming romance inspired by life in the Welsh countryside, her love of simple pleasures, and the beauty of everyday moments. She’s the author of over twenty feel-good novels, and also writes as Liz Davies and Etti Summers. Meet her here.