It’s the year 2089 and everything is altered. The revolutions of the early 21st century have created a world divided – between the Privileged few and the Native (Celtic) underclass. Sorlie is enjoying a typical carefree Privileged teenage life until it is smashed apart by the cruel death of his parents and he is spirited away to live with his ice-cold grandfather at a mysterious island penal colony. Sorlie’s discovery that the captives are being genetically altered to remove all trace of their Native origins triggers a chain of shocking events that reveal his grandfather’s terrible secrets and, ultimately, the truth about himself.
Guest post
Today I am happy to share a guest post written by the author : Favourite Character to Write
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Ways of the Doomed is the first book in the Sun Song trilogy. The novel is set in Scotland in the year 2089, in a world divided between the Privileged few and their native slaves. The two main characters are Sorlie Mayben, a sixteen year old Privileged boy and his native slave, twenty one year old Ishbel. Although both these characters take up most of the action and are great to spend time with, the character I enjoyed writing most was Scud. Scud becomes Sorlie’s new native slave once he moves to Black Rock Penitentiary and after an initial spat, they soon become friends.
Scud is around fifty years old. He’s a prisoner in the penitentiary and he speaks in a broad Scots accent. I love writing in Scots and I think this is one of the reasons I have such a fondness for him. He is small and wily and Sorlie soon discovers he is smart too. When Scud is assigned the role as tutor, Sorlie is at first suspicious but he soon sees another side to this strange wee man. Scud is also very brave and risks punishment by zapping and even death to get some secret information passed the prison security and into the hands of Sorlie.
Throughout the course of the book the reader learns more about Scud. Before he was imprisoned he was a university lecturer and great historian. He was married with a family. His tale could be seen as tragic but his good humour never allows you to feel sorry for him.
After finishing Ways of the Doomed I moved onto the next novel in the series, Wants of the Silent. I planned for the action to open out into other parts of the UK and before I began I had to decide what characters from Ways of the Doomed would come with me. Sorlie and Ishbel were obvious choices but I did consider leaving Scud behind. And then something happened that made me change my mind. As soon as Ways of the Doomed was published and readers began to feedback to me, it became obvious that Scud was a firm favourite. Everyone loved him and wanted to know what happened to him. I knew then that Scud was in for the long haul. My readers would never forgive me if anything happened to him.
Thank you, Moira McPartlin and Love Books Group Tours.
About the author
Moira McPartlin is a Scot with Irish roots. Although born in the Scottish Borders, she was brought up in a Fife mining village. She has led an interesting life as a mother and successful business woman. Moira made a big impact with her debut novel The Incomers, which tells the tale of a West African woman moving to a small town in 1960s Scotland. It was shortlisted for the Saltire Society First Book of the Year Award and was a critical success. Moira is also a prolific writer of short stories and poetry, which have been published in a wide variety of literary magazines. She currently lives in Stirling, Scotland.
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