An Author’s Note
People often ask me why I chose to write about Alloa Tower and what inspired the story. In the second edition of the book I have included an author’s note to address that:
Thank you for walking this path with me. I’m honoured you chose to spend time within the pages of Echoes on a Fractal Line.
One reader described my story as a love letter to Scotland, and I suppose it is. I consider myself very lucky to live here. The landscape is beautiful. Central Scotland is the crucible for so much of our history and characters. William Wallace, Robert the Bruce and Mary Queen of Scots all met their fate here. Before them were the brochs and hill forts of the Picts and Celts. I am surrounded by myth and legend. The perfect place to write historical fiction.
Writing this book was a weaving of the threads that connect us to the past. It explores themes of loyalty, survival, resilience and loss. I owe so much to the women who came before and their bravery in the face of terrible circumstances. This is for them, and for the women today who still need to be brave.
The work of my friend Senga Cree, leadership and empowerment coach, inspired the concept of a “fractal line”. An image on one of her Portal cards got me thinking about how history loops and spirals, how our lives repeat patterns from generations past—never the same, but never quite different either. The science of fractals gave me a language for that. A desire to explore this connection in my storytelling gave me the rest.
Though the people in this book are fictional, the emotions they hold are not. They came from deep wells in history and my own lineage. If you found a reflection of yourself in these pages, I hope it brought some comfort, a spark of wonder, or even curiosity to follow your own fractal lines.
If Echoes moved you, I’d be grateful if you left a review or shared it with someone who might need it. That’s how stories travel. And if you’d like to stay in touch, I’d love to hear from you. You’ll find me at www.lee-annemcaulay.co.uk, where I share news, upcoming books, and details about writing retreats and coaching for storytellers like you.
There’s more to come. Always.
