PATHS TO PUBLICATION - Tammy Swoish

Hot Scots, Castles, and Kilts by Tammy Swoish

Hot Scots, Castles, and Kilts is the first novel I have published. I began writing shortly after I graduated from college. I'd always loved writing and figured while I was waiting for an English teaching job to open, I'd make some quick money and write a novel. I had an English degree. I'd studied the best. How hard could it be? Approximately ten years later, a full-time job which pays the bills, and three manuscripts stored in the attic, I have my answer. Writing is hard work.

It took me writing in two genres (adventure and romance) before I found my voice in young adult fiction. Voice . . . now that's an illusive foe to conquer. Hot Scots began during my time in Seton Hill's Writing Popular Fiction program. When I finished the program, the story, with the help of an editor, continued to improve and change into the novel it is today.

Here's the blurb from the back of the book:
Little does 16-year-old Sami Ames know what she’s in for when she and her mother head to Scotland to help their cousins save MacKensie Manor. Sami feels like she’s landed in a medieval time warp. There’s no electricity, no running water, or hair conditioner! But Sami joins in the challenges of daily peasant life in order to get MacKensie Manor up and running as a working farm tourist attraction. She can’t imagine people paying to make soap, dye wool, or milk cows. What’s worse, a ghost has invaded her room. Sami can’t figure out cousin Fiona, who obsesses over an ancient family feud with the McClintoggs, but Sami’s thrilled when she has a close encounter with a hot Scot. Too bad it’s Adan McClintogg!

Ten years ago, I had no clue how difficult the writing industry would be to crack. I love to write, but you won't hear me say things like I'd be happy just to write even if I'm never paid. I'm a realist and do not like the feeling of wasted time. If I had no hope of being paid for my writing, I'd have given up and stuck to private journal writing. Being published was the beginning goal. Now I set the bar higher and move forward. This is our purpose in life. Set your bar and move forward.

-Tammy Swoish
April 2008

See what Santa Fe New Mexican had to say about Hot Scots and watch for a second Sami Ames story in early winter 2008.

You can visit Tammy online at tammyswoish.com.


PATHS TO PUBLICATION, Heidi Ruby Miller, Tammy Swoish, Hot Scots, Castles, and Kilts, Random House, fantasy, young adult, writing, author interviews, Seton Hill Writers