She said: “I have always thought Dumfriesshire is a beautiful part of the country which must inspire painters and writers. It certainly inspired Robert Burns with both nature and romance.
“I see some spectacular sunsets from my window looking over Criffel and the Galloway Hills, and beautiful dawns towards the Solway Firth. The undulating landscape, with hills, streams and rocks are much more interesting than acres of flat fields.
“Then there are misty mornings which are quite magical with the tree tops apparently rising out of a white sea near the Lochar Moss. We do get grey skies, but we need rain to keep our fresh green fields, flower filled gardens and to grow our trees and woodlands. When the skies are blue with cotton wool clouds floating high it lifts my spirits and makes me want to capture it all.”
Gwen describes how she often mentions local scenes in her books and is spoiled for choice when it comes to potential characters and locations: “This area is steeped in history, from wars, raids, and hangings to romance, including Lady Devorgilla and Sweetheart Abbey and the many runaway couples who came to Gretna Green.”
She added: “I mention some of the towns, Dumfries, Annan, Lockerbie, by their real names but farms, villages and characters are all fictional – sometimes a combination of different aspects from real places. “One of my early books, a short romance, is set around Langholm and Common Riding. The village of Muircumwell is a fictional combination of Mouswald, Ruthwell and Cummertrees. My 25th novel, last year’s Beyond Reason, is set in the 1840’s in a fictional village using the principles of Ruthwell Savings Bank but replacing Rev Henry Duncan with a fictional minister.”
