Dear Readers,

Thank you for reading The Kiss at Midnight. I hope you enjoyed the story. Before you close the book (aka scrolling away on your reading device), I’d like to add the following behind the scenes tidbits…

It is my heartfelt wish to dedicate this story to ‘squirrels everywhere,’ words I prefer to place here, at the end of the tale rather than the beginning to avoid spoilers. Wiggle was inspired by my daily bike rides and walks. As a nature and animal lover, it saddens me when I spot a squirrel that did not make it across a road. It makes my heart hurt. On a happier note, the deck off my writing office is frequently visited by squirrels – they are safe when they come, no pesky cars in my garden. So one afternoon when I returned from a walk with a sad heart and then spotted another squirrel (a living one) on my deck just as I was about to begin this story…

Well, in that moment, Wiggle was born. I wish all squirrels (indeed, all animals) could be so lucky. Imagine a place like Gannet House to call home. Greyson, Ophelia, and Smithers as their humans. That can’t be so, of course. But magic lives in words, so in the pages of this book, all squirrels are safe, happy, and loved.

For the curious, Pumpkin (see dedication) could be Wiggle. Pumpkin is a rescue squirrel found by a friend’s cousin. Itty-bitty and injured, Pumpkin’s chances of recovery were slim – especially if left where he’d fallen. But Pumpkin was lucky – a great-hearted soul found him, giving him all the care and love that I know Greyson showered on Wiggle. Today, Pumpkin thrives, is the happiest-ever mite. Living proof that love works miracles.

Seahorses. Everything that finds its way into a book is flotsam gathered from the writer’s soul. Bits and pieces taken from life experiences, that great store of day-to-day existence we all collect over time. I live on Florida’s Gulf coast and often walk the beach. The seahorse scene Ophelia describes happened to me and a very good friend. To this day, I have no idea why they washed ashore, but they did and in the hundreds.

Horrified, my friend and I ran about, gathering the little creatures in our hands and carrying them back into the water. Again and again and again until we’d cleared the beach of all living seahorses. I hope they made it. I’ll never know. But I do know we did what we could. And so my memory became Ophelia’s seahorse magic.

The only difference is that my friend is not of the fey. Nor has she ever given me a magical silver silk shawl. But, hey, she has gifted me with quite a few silk shawls in other shades, so who knows? Maybe she is a faery? She is certainly lovely and kind enough to be one.

Mither Kirk. This spelling is not a typo. ‘Mither’ is the Scottish word for mother. Likewise, kirk is church.

Kirk of St. Nicholas (aka Aberdeen’s Mither Kirk) and its St. Mary’s Chapel. This is a true place and can be visited by anyone touring Aberdeen. The referenced Great Scottish Witch Hunt of 1597 is sadly also real. As I prefer to write light-hearted and humor-filled tales, I did not wish to delve too deeply into this slice of Aberdeen’s past. Anyone interested in the details of those days can learn more with a quick Google search.

The Samhain Eve revels described could well have happened. Such All Hallows’ Eve celebrations were common, a reason I chose to use the night for Greyson and Ophelia to meet.

The tale of the Samhain lovers is imagined, but could well have happened in a long ago, more romantic and danger fraught age. Scottish kirkyards were often scenes of illicit trysts. I witnessed one myself once, at Edinburgh’s famous Greyfriars Kirk.

Kettle House is also fiction, though could well have existed. Flourmill Lane is real, as is the mentioned provost’s mansion not too far from the house. I had the very real Provost Ross’s House in mind when I placed such a mansion near the Russells’ home. Provost Ross’s House can be visited and was built in 1593, making it the second oldest house in Aberdeen. The building is in the care of the National Trust for Scotland.

Aberdeen is my favorite city in Scotland. I visit whenever I can and am sure a huge part of my heart dwells there and always will. I hope the great Granite City will forgive me for giving a few locations a different name…

Tullie Village is my own creation, for one. Gannet House likewise. I wanted a harbor-near home for the artist’s fanciful house and so ‘borrowed’ the area near Aberdeen’s harbor.

Stony Bay also is my own creation, though there are one or two coastal hamlets north of Aberdeen that surely reflect my description of the place.

Thank you again for reading The Kiss at Midnight. If ever you visit Aberdeen, please lift a pint to Greyson and Ophelia – and dear little Wiggle.

Wishing you Highland Magic,

Sue-Ellen Welfonder

(also writing as Allie Mackay)