Sometimes the smallest discoveries reveal the greatest secrets. And sometimes, a story written about the dead has a surprising amount to say about love.

When I began writing The Mourning Ring, I wanted to try something different.

By then, Coby McTavish and his family had already taken me through haunted manors, Scottish mysteries, restless spirits and some rather extraordinary adventures.

But I didn't want every novel to follow exactly the same path.

I wanted to introduce new characters, explore different relationships and experiment with the way the past and present could come together in a supernatural mystery.

And somewhere along the way, a small gold ring became the centre of a story about love, secrets and a tragedy that had waited decades to be understood.

A new cast and a different approach

One of the pleasures of writing a continuing series is that familiar characters begin to feel like old friends.

Coby, Gracie and Ewan had already become an important part of my fictional world.

But I also wanted to introduce fresh personalities who could challenge them, surprise them and perhaps complicate their lives in ways I hadn't entirely anticipated.

Among the new arrivals was Detective Inspector Iona Reid.

Iona brought another perspective to the story, with her investigative instincts and her own personality.

And, as it turned out, perhaps a little more than professional curiosity where Coby was concerned.

I don't think I fully appreciated that possibility while I was writing her.

It was only later, when I began reading the reviews, that I noticed how readers had interpreted some of her interactions with him.

Apparently, our detective inspector might have been looking at Coby from more than an investigative point of view.

Which raises a rather entertaining question.

Did Iona know something that her author didn't?

I shall leave readers to decide.

The drone that changed everything

Then there was Ewan.

Like many youngsters, Ewan develops an enthusiasm for something he simply must have.

In this case, a drone.

And, like many parents faced with a determined child, Coby and Gracie eventually give in.

It seems such an ordinary family moment.

A boy wants a new gadget.

His parents agree.

Life carries on.

Except that in The Mourning Ring, this apparently insignificant decision becomes something much more important.

Because it is Ewan's drone that leads to the discovery of a spy ring.

And that ring holds far more than a secret.

It connects the present to a tragedy from the past.

I enjoyed the contrast between those two worlds.

A modern piece of technology, operated by a young boy, becomes the means of uncovering something that has remained hidden for generations.

It was a wonderful opportunity to bring Ewan into the mystery in a meaningful way.

And it reminded me that, in fiction, even the most ordinary family moments can lead to extraordinary consequences.

A romance that time could not bury

At the heart of The Mourning Ring lies something more personal than a hidden message or a historical mystery.

There is love.

An old romance that went terribly wrong.

A story shaped by secrets, circumstances and the consequences of events that could not be undone.

I've always enjoyed combining the supernatural with human relationships.

To me, a ghost becomes far more interesting when there is a reason for that spirit to remain.

Perhaps someone was betrayed.

Perhaps a promise was broken.

Perhaps love was interrupted before the people involved could say everything that needed to be said.

In this novel, the past is not simply a collection of historical events.

It is a story of people who loved, hoped and suffered.

And although decades have passed, the emotional consequences remain.

That was one of the things I most wanted to explore.

Not merely what happened.

But what it meant to the people who lived through it.

Bringing yesterday into today

When I wrote The Mourning Ring, I experimented with weaving events from the past into the present-day mystery.

I wanted the two timelines to feel connected rather than separate.

The events of 1945 needed to matter to the characters living decades later.

And the discoveries made in the present needed to give new meaning to what had happened long ago.

It was an approach I enjoyed.

But what pleased me most was discovering, through reader reviews, that others had enjoyed it too.

Several readers commented on the way the past and present were brought together.

That was particularly rewarding because it was one of the storytelling choices I had consciously set out to explore.

As writers, we can never be entirely certain how an idea will be received.

We may know what we're trying to achieve, but the reader experiences the finished story through their own imagination.

When that experience connects with what we hoped to create, it is a wonderful feeling.

A review I will always treasure

One of the most memorable responses to The Mourning Ring came from a reader who awarded it five stars.

The review opened with an extraordinary suggestion:

"Iwan Ross’s novel, THE MOURNING RING, should become a movie or mini-series..."

And then came three words that made me smile.

"It’s. That. Good!"

The reader went on to praise the atmosphere, the Gothic mystery, the paranormal elements and the way the past and present supported the plot.

There was even a rather delightful confession about hiding from shadows while reading late at night.

And the reviewer added that they would never look at their rings quite the same way again.

I couldn't have asked for a more entertaining response.

For an author, reviews like that mean a great deal.

Not because every reader must love every book.

They won't, and that's perfectly natural.

But because someone has taken the time to enter a world that existed only in my imagination, experience the story, and then share what it meant to them.

That is a remarkable privilege.

And the suggestion of a film or miniseries?

Well, a writer can dream, can't he?

The characters sometimes surprise their creator

Looking back, I think one of the things I enjoyed most about writing The Mourning Ring was the way different elements came together.

A young boy and his drone.

A detective inspector whose interest in Coby might not have been entirely professional.

A ring containing a secret.

A romance that ended in tragedy.

And a supernatural mystery connecting people separated by generations.

Some of those ideas were deliberate experiments.

Others developed as the characters found their places in the story.

That is one of the joys of fiction.

You begin with an idea, but the journey doesn't always unfold exactly as expected.

Sometimes a character reveals an unexpected side of their personality.

Sometimes a small detail becomes central to the plot.

And sometimes readers notice something you hadn't consciously intended.

I find that fascinating.

More than a ghost story

Today, when I think about The Mourning Ring, I don't think only about its haunting or the mystery surrounding the ring.

I think about the different approach I wanted to try.

I think about introducing new characters into a familiar fictional world.

I think about Ewan's drone and the surprising role it plays in uncovering the past.

And I think about the readers who told me how much they enjoyed the connection between the two timelines.

Most of all, I think about the love story at the heart of the mystery.

Because beneath the supernatural events, the historical secrets and the Gothic atmosphere lies something profoundly human.

The desire to love and be loved.

The pain of losing someone.

And the hope that, somehow, a story interrupted long ago might finally find its ending.

Perhaps that is why ghost stories continue to fascinate me.

They allow us to imagine that some things are too important to disappear completely.

Not even with the passing of time.

Not even with death.

Sometimes the past returns, not to frighten us, but because a love story is still waiting to be told.

Discover The Mourning Ring

A Scottish Gothic mystery of wartime secrets, supernatural encounters and a romance that refuses to be forgotten.

Explore the historical mystery behind the novel

https://iwanross.com/blog/love-historical-ghost-mysteries-discover-the-wartime-secret-of-the