A couple of years ago my agent sent out a call for her authors. It was to write a duel-timeline novel. There was a need for them at the time, and though I was still fresh and had only signed my second contract, I decided to give it a go!!! Well, it didn’t go. The story wasn’t what that particular publisher was looking for, but the story was worth publishing.
Breaking McKinley’s Curse is the second novel in the Mountain Protectors series, and one that is very personal to me for a number of reasons. Each book in the series was inspired greatly by my life. Bones on the Mountain, (book1) was inspired by my own mountain and a set of bones the hubby and I found. Book three was inspired by a lake nearby I spend a great deal of time at and have since I was a young girl, but book 2 was inspired by my grandfather.
William McKinley Hammond lived an interesting life, and penned most of it in prose and poems. I won’t give any spoilers, but he did work on secret basement rooms in old churches, and he housesat a few times at a CASTLE!!!
My hero, Reed Montgomery takes quite the adventure to finding the family in a picture he finds, and his first clue to finding them, is the castle in the background of a picture taken in West Virginia. Most would have never expected a castle to be in West Virginia, but I have walked through it myself, heard the tales, and can attest that it does.
So what started out as me trying to write a duel-timeline novel including my grandfather, became Breaking McKinley’s Curse.
Read on and learn how Romance built a castle in the wild and wonderful state of West Virginia.
Berkeley Springs Castle
Castles are built for protection, to keep those safe within it’s walls, but the Berkeley Springs Castle, also known as Samuel Taylor Suit Cottage, is a product of love.
Born in 1832, Colonel Samuel Taylor Suit amassed a fortune through investments, politics, and a distillery. Yet in 1876, his life took a turn for the worse: His Washington, DC mansion was destroyed by fire, he filed for bankruptcy, he was unable to rebuild, and a divorce soon followed.
Legend has it, Suit instantly set his sights on Rosa Pelham, the 17-year old daughter of Confederate officer and Alabama congressman, Charles Pelham. In love at first sight, despite the 30 year difference in age, and Suit proposed marriage. Rosa declined, due to their significant age difference. Five years later, in 1883, they encountered one another again in the beautiful resort town of Berkeley Springs, by which point Suit had overcome his financial setbacks. When Rosa mentioned her affinity for castles, Suit seized the moment and pledged to build her one if she agreed to accept his hand in marriage.
They married three days later.
According to local historians, in 1885 Suit bought the land with the castle in mind. The initial design is rumored to have been sketched on a tablecloth at the Berkeley Springs Hotel by famed architect Alfred B. Mullett, and construction commenced.
Nestled among the cliffs and on the beautiful slope of Warm Spring Mountain, surrounded by primeval forests, it gives one the impression of the grand old Scottish castles we read of in history.”
Before the civil war began when this castle was being constructed, over 100 German masons were contracted to work on the Berkeley Springs Castle original design until they completed their work in 1891. The building was of locally quarried rough faced stone, hauled by horse and carriage. Nestled within the cliffs, on a slope of Warm Spring Mountain, the design gives most the impression of a gran old Scottish castle .
Unfortunately, Suit never saw the castle completed, as he died after a brief illness in 1888. After 6 years, construction was completed in 1891. Too bad Rosa had a need for spending. Lavish parties and unrestrained spending eventually lost her the castle of her dreams to the local bank.
Not the love story we wanted to hear, but since Rosa’s loss, the castle has seen many uses including retreats, a museum, paranormal research, tea rooms, and a boys camp. The castle was saved from dilapidation and lovingly restored by then-owner Andrew Gosline, starting in 2002. It is now privately owned by the Berkeley Castle Foundation.
