For as long as I can remember, I've dreamed of becoming a published author. Thanks to the encouragement of my grandfather, author Dudley Copland, I always believed one day that dream would come true.

The path to publication has been a long and incredible journey.

I was lucky enough to marry my own real-life hero, have three wonderful children, open several successful businesses, as well as collect the requisite number of rejections along the way. With the businesses sold, the children ready to leave the nest, and six completed manuscripts collecting dust in a drawer, I decided it was time to dust off not only the manuscripts, but the dream.

Because of my grandfather, who not only instilled in me a love of reading and writing, but a passion for everything Scottish, in 2006 my daughter and I took a trip to Scotland. But a slight detour had us touring the Isle of Skye instead of Peterhead.

Listening to the songs my grandfather sang to me as a little girl warmed my heart—and yes, made me cry—but it was the magic of the highlands and the legend of a fairy flag that captured my heart and my writer's imagination. From there my debut novel, Lord of the Isles, was born.

All this to say, never give up on your dreams. They really do come true. Maybe like me, all you need is a little fairy magic to help it along.