characters Archives - Denise M. Colby

Meet My Scottish Hero

October 28, 2025October 28, 2025 Denise M. Colby

I love reading novels with nobility in them, but I’ve been a little intimidated to write one, until now. Get ready to meet Alex Sinclair. The Scottish hero in my new novella, No Plan at All, which releases Tuesday November 4, 2025.

No Plan At All book cover. this is the prequel novella in the best-laid plans series by denise m. colby and is a travel romance with hidden identity, strangers to lovers, and forced proximity tropes including a scottish hero

Alex is from Scotland. He has come to America for eight years to live on his own, before he’s to return and marry. He speaks with a brogue and uses words such as lass, aye, and nae. He’s a peddler selling wares to small communities he travels through, in his wagon with his best friend – his horse Berrymin. He also plays the guitar, reads his Bible, and writes in a journal every day.

When he meets Sarah, she is drenched from the rain, her hair hanging in her eyes.

book quote in No Plan at All, by denise m. colby from the scottish hero Alex

And she only knows him as Mr. Smith. Because he doesn’t want anyone to know he’s Lord Berrymin from the town of Bruin (yes I went with an entire bear theme as a nod to our dog Bear, who was still with us when I wrote the first draft).

I had a lot of fun writing a Scottish hero. Particularly my hero, Alex Sinclair. He’s kind, good-hearted, and wants to help people, including protecting Sarah’s reputation.

Scottish Hero Research

In May of this year, I was fortunate to go to Scotland and see Edinburgh, tour the castle, and find goodies in the gift shops that got me excited to launch this book. See, when I picked the last name Sinclair, to me it was a Scottish name that fit my character. I had no idea the crest included a rooster.

The Sinclair Scottish Hero Crest, which fits perfectly in line with Denise M. Colby's best-laid plans series

For those that have read my debut novel, When Plans Go Awry, you all know how much a connection this is, with my character Bert. I love the way God connects things. (and thankful it didn’t take too long for me to see it!).

I also love the insignia on the crest – Commit Thy Work To God.

Which is exactly what Alex is doing in California in 1867.

I also learned highland cows are BIG in Scotland and I was so excited to find a variety of merchandise to choose from.

highland cow stuffed animals in Scotland stores

I now have my own collection, causing me to call it my highland cow era.

I’m loving how easy it is to find highland cow merchandise everywhere now, I may or may not have gotten a few goodies for my launch team members and I also have this flag waving in my front yard, to remind me of my trip to Scotland and my Scottish hero, Alex.

fall Highland cow front yard banner makes me think of my scottish hero in my book No Plan at All

All of this is to say how excited I am for you to meet Alex (and Sarah), and read about their journey together as they travel from town to town, camping in the outdoors, and selling his wares.

If you want to find out more about No Plan at All, check out my book page. If you’d like to learn more about the series, I share more on the series page. You can order any of my books, print or e-book, on Amazon, and after release day on Walmart.com and Barnesandnoble.com.

Faith, Hope, & Love

How a Homemade Bible Verse Gift Inspired Scenes In My Story

May 7, 2025May 7, 2025 Denise M. Colby

This is a fun and special post for me to write. To share about a homemade Bible verse gift and how it became a story inspiration.

Blog header with A Slight Change of Plans book cover and title with old sepia train in the background and a homemade gift featured

Before I had edited and published When Plans Go Awry, I had written the rough draft for A Slight Change of Plans. At the time I hadn’t decided to do a journal entry in every book for this series, so I was looking for different ideas of what to do.

As I was cleaning out a corner of my bedroom I found a jar filled with Bible verses inside. It was a gift, made by a friend of mine several years earlier. Inside the jar were carefully folded pieces of colored paper. Each folded piece held a different Bible verse printed and glued to the colored paper. A homemade devotional that could be used over and over.

The homemade Bible verse jar along with the verses used in
A Slight Change of Plans, Book 2 in the Best-laid Plans Series

Homemade Devotional in Action

I pulled out one. Then another, when the idea came to me that I could possibly have these be at the beginning of each chapter as sort of a devotion journal entry used by my hero, Ren. More time passed and as I flushed out the journal entries to be from the teachers, I still wanted to include this idea for Ren. And so this is where the list of Bible verses his mother gives him before he left home comes from.

Since this story was set in 1870, I translated them to the King James Versions in the story. At first I picked them at random and wrote out a scene to include the verse. I felt this was God’s way of directing my story. That’s how a few came to be.

Then the others were chosen based on how I could implement them into the existing story plot. I had so many verses to choose from that I wanted to use, but I didn’t have the room in the story to use all of them. Maybe some day I can write extra scenes using them for my VIP section I want to create. You’ll have to let me know if you like that idea or not.

Adding A Mother’s Touch

I feel this part of Ren’s background and the verses his mom sent him is a great reminder for how us parents desire to encourage our children, even when we are not near. Now we can text a verse every day. But back then there would’ve been no way for them to communicate unless they wrote letters. So Ren’s piece of paper he carries with him is a reminder of his Mother’s love, but also a reminder of God’s word. And he keeps it close to his heart, just as I hope my kids keep God’s word close to theirs.

the backstory behind the jar and how it is used in the story A Slight Change of Plans by Denise M. Colby

You can now pre-order the e-book A Slight Change of Plans for $3.99. The e-book price moves to $4.99 when it releases on May 27, 2025. Printed books can be purchased at that time as well.

History

Meet My Rooster Character I Named Bert

July 2, 2022July 2, 2022 Denise M. Colby

I have found myself quite partial to roosters ever since I added a colorful rooster character to my story. I named him Bert (for many reasons), and his main role is that of Schoolhouse Protector. More specifically, defender of schoolteachers who teach in the schoolhouse.

Character drawing of a my rooster character named Bert, illustrated by Kyle Colby — My Rooster Character’s name is Bert.
My son Kyle brings him to life in this
first ever shown depiction!

After researching the creatures I had learned I could have quite a bit of fun with him. Did you know that roosters make a bunch of different sounds? I thought they only crowed. But as I researched further, I learned roosters are very protective of those in their care and they have different noises they make to call out warnings or to get someone’s attention.

Why A Rooster Character?

I wanted an animal in my Going West story, but I wanted to do something other than a dog. Since my story includes ranches and the west in 1869, I googled different types of animals including roosters. One of the most interesting thing about a rooster is that they crow all throughout the day, not just the morning. I liked that. I could have a rooster tell time both before school and after.

As I researched roosters, I came across Chinese Astrology and the meaning behind the rooster. Then I came across an article with how the rooster has been used as a symbol in Christianity. From Peter’s denial and ultimate remorse and repentance, to the crowing at dawn representing the light over darkness, to the emblem on weathervanes respresenting a Christian’s attitude of watchfulness and readiness for the sudden return of Christ. All of it intrigued me, and since I’m writing Historical Inspirational, helped solidify my choosing the rooster as my animal character.

Digging into a Rooster’s Personality

Once I decided on the rooster, I wanted to understand it’s sounds. I learned there are several breeds of roosters and they all have different noises and personalities. They love to be the center of attention. I found a fun blog from someone who writes about her roosters and their shenanigans. The fun and differing personalities she covered, provided ideas of what I could create and inspired a rooster character I couldn’t wait to expand on.

It was also helpful to pay attention to some other famous rooster characters and how unique, memorable and fun they are.

a compilation image of 4 rooster characters from Moana (hey hey), Robin Hood (Alan-A-Dale), Looney Tunes (Foghorn), & Three Caballeros (Panchito Pistoles) — Other famous rooster characters include Hey Hey from Moana, Looney Tunes Foghorn Leghorn, Alan-A-Dale from Disney’s Robin Hood, and Panchito Pistoles from Disney’s The Three Caballeros.

Wouldn’t it be fun if my Bert became as famous as these colorful roosters?

Character Names Mean Something

I wanted to name my rooster something meaningful. As I was flushing out his character, I wanted to honor my mom, who liked roosters. And I wanted a short name. Something easy for the kids and townfolk to call him. My mom’s name is Beverly (she went by Bev), so I wanted a name that started with a B. One of my all-time favorite movie characters is Bert, from Mary Poppins. After writing out a bunch of alternates, I kept coming back to this one. And so I named my rooster character Bert.

Writing an Animal Character

I’ve had a lot of fun writing Bert and can’t wait for you to meet him. He’s spunky, colorful, loyal, caring, observant and very smart. And he stands by my heroine’s side whether she wants him to or not.

Since writing him, I now notice roosters everywhere, and it immediately brings to mind, Bert. Last year at the Knott’s Berry Farm Berry Festival, there were roosters sitting amongst flowers in key spots. I found myself on a rooster hunt, since every single one was a different style and color palette. I’ve been saving these pictures till I wrote a blog post about it. And look forward to sharing more about roosters and Bert in the future.

large rooster character is colorful amongst the flowers at Knott's Berry Farm — This colorful bird stood out

rooster character found at Knott's Berry Farm — This colorful bird stood out

Journaling

Incorporating a Character Journal Into My Story

July 29, 2020July 29, 2020 Denise M. Colby

Blog Post Header with the words My Heroin's Character Journal Captures Her Journey by Denise M. Colby

Some writers write a character journal for their characters to help them see things from their character’s perspective. But for me, I wanted my heroine to actually have a journal in my story. Not quite sure why, but capturing her journey through a journal stuck as I brainstormed my scenes.

Do you write in a journal?

If you do, do you ever worry about someone reading what you wrote?

My heroine gets handed a journal upon her start as a teacher.

Character Journal cover created for my story by Denise M. Colby

In it, she’s instructed to write down the events of her days to capture what happens as a female teacher who moves West to teach in small pioneer towns.

Olivia finds her journal to be a close confidant. She enjoys documenting her observances about the places she’s been and the people she meets. Given that it’s 1869 and traveling by train across the country is a new and unprecedented event, the importance in capturing the momentous occasion is not lost on her.

She’s also very protective of her book. It never leaves her side and she would never leave it out so that someone could read it. But even if they did, she is very careful what she writes, never putting to paper her own thoughts and opinions, just in case someone else might read it and pass judgement on her.

See judgement stings and her fear of being judged stems from…well…I don’t want to give too much away.

I write prayers in a journal almost every morning.

Some entries are one full page. Others are short paragraphs. I sometimes wonder what someone would think of my shortest entry.

“Dear God. Help me today.”

Yes, I admit. I have written it just like that.

I’ve been writing down these prayers for so long, I don’t think about it anymore. It’s really between me and God, and the benefit of writing the words weighs more important than the fear of someone reading it and judging me.

And see, that’s what happens to Olivia in her character journal. Over time and with a few encouraging words from one of her pupils, Olivia’s heart slowly changes and her journal changes right along with her. It’s been exciting to flush out her journal entries so that the reader can see this change.

Olivia's Character Journal with entries from 1869 as I imagined them for my story, by Denise M. Colby

I even created a small diary in Olivia’s hand, so that I could think like her and feel what it might’ve been like all those years ago to have a small diary to write down words that could be read one hundred fifty years later. What she was doing was historic in 1869.

Which was why I wanted to create a character journal for her.

Something that captured all these historical events – Traveling across the country, coming west to teach in a one-room schoolhouse in order to make a difference in the life of a child, and for herself as well.

I wonder, in real life, how many of them kept a journal? And if they had any idea that we would be reading what they wrote so many years later?

This is why the act of writing in a journal is so precious to me. Over at A Slice of Orange (an outside blog I write for), I wrote a blog post on how a handwritten note can be a gift, one that lasts forever. Journals can be that type of gift.

I’m excited to finish editing Olivia’s story and her journal entries. If you’re interested in learning more about my stories check out my Going West Series page.