Scribblings of Book #2: The Leprechauns of Markree Castle
- Scribblings of Book #2: The Leprechauns of Markree Castle
- Where do you get your story? How about from the source?
- This is going to be fun.
It only takes a spark to start a fire.
Are there leprechauns in the cellar? Only the little kids will find out.
I’ve been pondering book number two in the Li & Lu series and the spark was ignited this morning over scrambled eggs and strong tea. I asked the groom what his kids would have liked to do had they come to the wedding. He gave it a second, but then said that they had wanted to see the birds of prey that nest on the thousands of acres of grounds around the castle. But they were most curious about the leprechauns. At ages 8 and 10 (the same as Li & Lu), they weren’t quite sure if leprechauns were fact or fantasy just yet.
These are just my scribblings and Notes to Self to make sure I do this thing. But also so there’s a record of it when it hits the big time and we can come back here and say that this was where it all began.
The boys didn’t come to the wedding and my boys didn’t come either. Probably a good thing especially when I noticed the plates hanging on the walls that were brought from a descendant from one of the owners and dated back to who-knows-when-but-older-than-you-could-buy-a-replacement-at-the-local-spar-market. I can see the skeet shooting practice in the lobby now. Probably a good thing they didn’t come. But why not let them come? Let them wreak havoc, let them do what they want and adventure and explore and find passageways and open doors and learn some of the spookier history of the castle? Let them sneak into the chapel, try to mount a horse, maybe see a falcon–or better yet: a leprechaun.
What would they talk about? The boys? The leprechauns? Allowed to roam free in and around a 500-year old castle? Four boys of ages 8 and 10? It’s a adventure come true. So let’s make it happen. Maybe something like this:
Li & Lu are headed to a wedding. Boooooorrrring! How many 8-year olds like weddings? (Math quiz answer: zero.) But the wedding is in a 500-year old castle in Ireland and their favorite buddies from Beijing are coming too! Swords, horses, baked beans, dusty attics, falcons and leprechauns. Wait, did that say leprechauns? We’re in! Next stop: Markree Castle.
Could it work? I can tell you this: it certainly won’t work if I don’t give it a chance. I’m going to give it a happy seedling and see if it takes.
