Researching the Dingle Peninsula

The new book I’m working on, Slave to Her Desires, is set in the Dingle Peninsula of Ireland. We drove through the peninsula last August, and the scenery was just stunning. The mountains were literally purple with heather, and the roads barely wide enough for a single car to pass (one tour bus coming from the opposite direction nearly gave us heart failure). On one stop, we saw prehistoric stone dwellings that you could go inside. I left my husband and father-in-law to go take pictures of the coast while I wandered through the dwellings. They weren’t much wider than ten feet in diameter, but I was amazed to see structures that were literally thousands of years old.

I’m setting this new story near Castlegregory, where we stayed. The beaches were so beautiful, and the towns were a great deal of fun. I had to switch to a regular camera, and I think something went off with the film, but in a way, I think this photograph of the view outside our B&B is rather interesting. Can you sense the mystery?

So for me, this was the perfect setting to bring a broken hero to redeem a life of tragedy. I made him a slave, and he has a long way to go in this story. This is also my woodworker hero, but although he is amazingly skilled with his hands (wicked grin), he has a mysterious past. I am also going to bring in one of the later Viking invasions. Did you know that the Vikings had settlements all over Ireland? Dublin was the biggest settlement, but there was also a Viking presence in Waterford, Cork, and some other minor cities. Their ships did arrive in County Kerry, and there is a documented Viking landing on the Dingle Peninsula. I’ll be taking a few fictional liberties, but I think it will work for what I want. Truthfully, I’d love to spend a week in Dingle, getting more specific details. But I doubt they’d let me on the plane in my current condition!

I’m about 81 pages into the book right now and I’m participating in the 70 Days of Sweat challenge where you write 4 or more pages a day. I did 7 pages yesterday and I’ve done 5 so far today. Last summer I managed to work my way up to 10-12 pages a day, but I think it’s like training for a marathon. You can’t go flying out of the gate right away–building up to it works better.

Only six more days until The Warrior’s Touch, book #2 in the MacEgan Brothers series, goes on sale at eHarlequin! Can’t wait.

Have you ever been to the Dingle Peninsula before?