A Tale of Two Clans, a new blog post from Closed Door Romance author, E.L. Irwin

Hello, everyone! Welcome to another blog post from Closed Door Romance author, E.L. Irwin.

We're 38 days from the release of Written in the Deep and I thought I'd share a little more about how this story came to be. So read on for a tale of two clans.

There's a scene that takes place in the book between Bethany and Liam; they're in an animal shelter in the Irish countryside during a rain storm. The scene gets pretty hot and heavy right off the bat. It's the first scene I wrote for this story, and didn't even know the characters at this point. Hadn't even figured out that Bethany was Kate's and Asher's only daughter. I didn't have a name even for Liam yet. But this scene took hold and I had to get it out. Once done, I began to flesh out these characters, doing research to see who they were and where they were from.

Before I get into all that, I'll share a little about me. My married name, Irwin, is derived from the Scottish name Irvine (Irbhinn), which is believed to be derived from the Celtic word, 'Erin-viene' or 'Erin-fiene' which is interpreted to mean, "A true Westland Man." Haven't quite figured out what a 'Westland Man' is as of yet, but will continue researching.

Now, the name Irvine can be traced back to the approximate years of 1124/1125, in which a man named Gilchrist Erwini, supposedly witnessed a charter of the Lords of Galloway. Lands were granted in Drumfriesshire shortly thereafter, establishing that name.

Jump ahead a couple hundred years to around 1300, and we meet William de Irwyn, who, for his faithful service to Robert the Bruce, was granted the royal forest of Drum, where the Irvine/Irwin seat for the Chief of the Clan (https://clanirwin.org/) was to reside. Drum Castle is still in existence there today and is now under the ownership of the National Trust for Scotland. My husband is named William, after William de Irwyn/Irvine/Irwin--there are many derivatives of the name, including Ewing--and it's on my bucket list to visit there.

*Side note, there's another Irwin/Ivine castle in Ireland. Castle Irvine, also known as Castle Necarne, is in Irvinestown, in County Fermanagh. The Castle itself is closed and boarded up, but the lands are used by a riding school. During World War II, the castle was used by American Forces as an Army hospital for the US and the RAF. My daughter and I visited there in 2019; there's bench beside the castle that mentions this history. Below are some pictures from that trip, and in my opinion, ALL of Ireland is beautiful, both the lands and people, and everyone should visit if able. You can learn more about Castle Irvine/Necarne here: https://www.castleirvine.com/

Castle Irvine

Note the D'Arcy crest on the castle from a marriage between D'Arcy and Irvine.

Looking out from the front of the estate.

The view from a footbridge on the property.

When doing research for this book, I knew I wanted a Scottish Clan to be involved and briefly considered using Clan Irvine/Irwin, but then decided against it as there is another author who writes romances using Clan Irwin, https://pin.it/2kHULH2ql and didn't wish to steal her thunder. Now, her books are Regency, not contemporary, but still. So, I chose another, settling on Clan Gunn. Their motto is "Either Peace or War." I liked that one, liked their long history, and that they, like Clan Irvine, had been enemies with/clashed with Clan Keith. Plus, they have a strong Viking association and my personal ancestry is definitely from the Scandinavian side.

Selfie, because I had to, beside Castle Irvine wall.

Clan Gunn fit all that I needed Liam to represent, so chose them for his character. And, as I've shared on previous posts, THREE of the items in my upcoming giveaway are to do with Clan Gunn: the crest sticker, the tam o'shanter hat, and the scarf. Clan Gunn, can be read about here: https://www.clangunnsociety.org/

I hope you've enjoyed learning a little about these two clans, and maybe you'll be interested in learning more. Don't forget about that awesome giveaway that I have starting on the 20th of this month. For details about that, click here:

https://www.elirwin.com/post/blog-post-and-giveaway-news

And, in case you missed the other announcement, Written is now available for preorder: https://a.co/d/d4asuOR

You guys take care, and thanks for stopping by. As always, be kind and courteous--this world NEEDS it.

Happy reading,

Your Lady of Literature