Shielagh

In much of my research about Druids, it was often reported that only men could be Druids but that did not make sense to me. To me, the Druids represented 'The Old Ways', which claimed the Goddess as a key component of that spiritual culture. As a form of rebellion to what I read, I created Shielagh, who is a powerful 'druidess' and daughter of Arthur and his great love, Fiona of Missive, Ireland.

So many of my characters inhabit two worlds and Shielagh is no different. As a child, she lived a sheltered life in the forest of Ireland, befriending the forest creatures but the part of her that was her blood father, craved more. In her dreams a loving shadow followed her and this entity was borne out to be Merwyn, her grandfather. He came in answer to her yearnings and brought her in as a novice to the Druidic Brethren. She learned how to use the power of her mind, learned to 'shapeshift' into the creatures she revered. In this enclave, she knew acceptance, power and protection but she also knew her love for her father must be hidden. She also learned that love for any one close to her was dangerous.

Shielagh is a character I could not get close to. And yet she impacted Kate, a modern day woman and a character that is a great deal 'me'. I wondered if she was more of a guardian angel than a human being. Yet in Black Harvest, if she was an angel, she was one with a twist...