My connection with Adam:

Quite simply this book would not exist but for a chance meeting on the Royal Mile between Adam and I.

I had finished writing the first draft and was doing my annual pilgrimage to my favourite city before sending the manuscript off to publishers in the hope that someone would take a chance on a new author.

I stopped to take a photo as so many have done and Adam asked me: "Had I ever heard of the Jacobites?" I was amazed, the book had taken over a year to write and I had immersed myself completely in everything to do with "The 45" in order to research it.

But this was only the first of a series of coincidences (or were they?!) that led to my book being read by the Baron of Prestoungrange. He happened to be launching a new publishing arm and was looking for new authors and books on the rebellion. An offer to publish followed. It was quite simply a dream come true for me.

I have been up to Prestonpans and have met some really fantastic people associated with the battle of Prestonpans (1745) Heritage Trust. And I have walked the Riggonhead Defile at 4am in the morning and have watched as the members of The Alan Breck Regiment faithfully re-enact the events of the battle.

I still find it unbelievable how one chance meeting with a complete stranger can bring about something like this and I advise anyone who has a dream to never give up on it. Because you just don"t know what, or who, is around the corner.

Thank you Adam.

About the book

Helen Taylor has been haunted by nightmares since her early childhood. But it is not until she makes an astonishing discovery whilst visiting Edinburgh, which leads her to the Scottish Highlands, that she begins to realise their true relevance.

This is not just Helen"s story however. It follows the lives of two young people who have known each other since childhood and who are to live through the 1745 Jacobite rebellion, a period of history that very nearly changed the destiny of the British nation. It follows the fortunes of one of the greatest Scottish clans who marched under the banner of Prince Charles Edward Stuart who defied the odds to win every battle but one.

From childhood Isabel Cameron"s family has served clan Cameron well. Those she loves most have risked and lost their lives for its honour. But with the Prince"s call to arms at Glenfinnan in August 1745 Isabel and the man she loves are propelled to the forefront of the campaign, from the taking of Edinburgh, the victory at Prestonpans, the march to Derby and finally to the horror that was Culloden.

The life stories of Isabel and Helen"s are inseparably intertwined as they both take great risks to discover what links them and to ensure that promises once made are kept regardless of consequences.

About Sharon

She lives in Lincolnshire and works in Public Relations. She has a passion for Scotland and its history and has just completed the first of two years studying the subject with Dundee University.

She says she fell in love with the country for many reasons: not least of all because within its borders are some of most beautiful and awe inspiring landscapes in the world. She says she also has great admiration for the fact that Scots have kept their own identity and pride and a concept of nationhood through centuries of hardship and change, even when forced to leave the shores of their homeland.

As to "the 45": what fascinates her about the story of the men of the Bonnie Prince"s army is that they so very nearly succeeded against odds that were stacked against them. She has read many books in researching this story, some from authors contemporary of the time and some from a more modern perspective and all agree on one thing, what those men achieved was remarkable. But for the decision taken at Derby the history of Britain may well have been very different indeed.