Thank you, Angie. It's nice to have the freedom to follow where the characters lead me, and to know my readers will follow ME, too :)

I like a touch of the supernatural, as well, sometimes. It can be a good way of bridging the present and past in a story.

Hi Denise. Sorry about the wait. The publication dates are set by my various publishers, who take a lot of different things into consideration, including who else is publishing into that particular season that might be competing with their edition of the book, or what time of year is traditionally best for publishing a certain kind of book. In Canada, my publishers generally like to bring my books out in the spring so they don't get lost in the flood of fall titles by bigger-name authors that fill up the bookstores each autumn. I hope that, in the end, you'll find the story worth the wait :)

Hi Nancy. The Winter Sea was truly a special book to write. I'm glad it seems to have touched the hearts of so many readers. The Canadian edition of The Vanished Days will be out on April 26, 2022, but to help pass the time while you're waiting you can always read the opening chapters for free on my website: https://susannakearsley.com/books/the-vanished-days/ And there are links on that page for pre-ordering the book from Indigo etc. (the Canadian version is partway down Indigo's page of my books, with a cover that looks a lot like the American one), or you can ask your local independent bookshop to order it for you, or you can wait for your library to get it in (and save your $$).

It is like an investigation, isn't it? I enjoy writing the mystery element of these books, as well, even if the modern day characters don't always know as much as we the readers do about what truly happened in the past.

You're very welcome, Bev. Thank you so much for your kind words. I hope you enjoy the new novel.

Modern day narrators also make it a little easier for me, as a writer, to dip into and out of the history when I need to, and to explain things to readers without having my historical characters go off on long-winded talks for no reason about things they already know :) I'm glad you find the modern characters easy to connect to.

Oh, Janet, you will have to go to Edinburgh. And to Leith, which is lovely (and one of my favourite places to wander about in). Maybe you and your husband should stay in one of the holiday flats in Gladstone's Land, the building that inspired the setting for my story :) They've renovated all the flats since I last stayed there, but the one now named the Johnston Apartment is the one I always stayed in. https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/gladstones-land-1/highlights/holiday-accommodation?lang=

Thank you, Erica. I love dual storylines, too, and most of my books do have that structure, although a couple of them stay more or less in the present, with only references to the past (like The Shadowy Horses). Each book ends up deciding what it wants to be, but I'm always happy when one decides it wants to have a dual timeline.

Hi Anne. I think maybe it's sometimes easier to connect with characters from the past if we have the characters from the present day to lead us into that unknown time, and serve as our guides, in a way. Thanks for your kind words.

Aw, that's so sweet of you, Jessie. I'll try to always give you stories that live up to that high level. Hope you like The Vanished Days!

Hi Andrea! (hugging you back hard) It's wonderful to BE back, however briefly. Glad to see everyone is healthy and safe. I can't wait for you to READ the book, so I can pester you to tell me your favourite parts :)

Thank you, Donna. I like that I'm Canadian, too :) Our geography and history means we understand both American and British humour, can interpret both Americanisms and Britishisms, have the skill set to make Margaritas, Bloody Caesars, and a proper cup of tea, AND we have egg-cups. It's a cross-cultural win-win :)

You'll be well primed, then, Karen, for The Vanished Days! There are definitely some familiar faces in this new book, and some new friends waiting to be met as well. I hope that you'll enjoy it.

Tamar, if you like the little links and continuity, then I think you'll find some moments of happiness in The Vanished Days :) I wish I could say that all those links are planned out very cleverly, but honestly my subconscious mind just sneaks them in through the characters, usually, and sometimes I don't even notice them myself until after I've written them down on the page!

Thanks, Sharon. That's such a lovely thing to say. I'm really glad my stories make you feel this way.

Thank you, Annette, I do hope that you and those you love are well and safe and happy, too. And I'm glad you enjoyed the interview. Christina asks the best questions, they're so thoughtful that it makes the whole conversation a pleasure.

I always enjoy exploring the ways the past and present intertwine, and how much who we are is shaped by those who came before us.

That's reassuring, Pat, because for me it's usually the characters themselves who decide whether a story is going to stay mostly in one time period or be more evenly divided between two. With the novel I've just started writing, I actually thought it was going to be purely historical, until modern-day characters waltzed into the plot unannounced and planted themselves there, letting me know in no uncertain terms that it was going to be a properly dual-timeline book :)

Thank you for your faith, Margaret! Not much longer to wait, now, till publication day...

I like that there are so many different ways we can all enjoy stories these days: in print, or as eBooks, or in audio format. Audio books are also nice for long road trips in the car, I've found.

Hi Sue! I hope you find the story worth the wait. It might not have any Roman ghosts or charming archaeologists in it, but it does still have Scotsmen, so there is at least that :)

Thank you for your very kind words, Teresa. I'm so glad you enjoyed The Vanished Days!

Thanks, Jeanne. Yes, I'll definitely be back for guest posts. And given how long it takes me to write my books, I might not even wait until I have a new book to peddle :)

Thank you, Mary. And you might be losing one blogger, but you're going to be gaining a new one you'll enjoy just as much, I promise.