Love story told with a Scottish lilt. Need we say more?


New release from Sibylline Press today!

Mrs. McPhealy's American

A Novel

by Claire R. McDougall

Fiction | Trade paper $19 | ISBN: 9781960573940 | On Sale TODAY!

With a one-way ticket to Scotland, the story begins...

The entire rural town of Locharbert is abuzz because Hollywood director Steve McNaught is moving in. Putting two failed marriages, three sons, and a drinking problem behind him, he embarks on a quest for the uncomplicated life of his ancestors in the home of his distant relative, Mrs. McPhealy.

But from the start, the newcomer is eyed with suspicion, not least by local midwife, Georgie. Drawing on his well-honed charm, Steve tries to woo her, and though there is spark, she sends him packing... until she doesn’t. Everything would be on track, if Steve could only lose his tendency to see the world through a camera lens, if only the funny local characters, like the tinkers on the shore or the randy postmistress, weren’t begging to be put on the screen. Georgie warns him against turning her town into a film set, but the die is already cast. He makes matters worse by buying up the dilapidated cottage by the shore where Georgie grew up and which she has always hoped to restore. Rejected and dejected, his drinking back in full swing, he packs up his film reels and returns to California.

And then, months later, in the daft days of Hogmanay, Steve reappears, sober and brandishing his newly edited film. The secret life of Locharbert is about to tumble out.

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Book Trailer for Mrs. McPhealy's American

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“Linguistically charming prose—witty and acerbic, with the hint of a lilt… this is a tale told with warmth, humor, and appreciation.”

Kirkus Reviews


“This hugely enjoyable love story is very much a Scottish-American creation by a fine writer who is steeped in the culture of both nations.”

—Billy Kay, Writer/Broadcaster, winner of the Mark Twain award, Scots media person of the year


Claire R. McDougall

Claire R. McDougall was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and grew up in rural Argyll’s wild and rugged countryside. After receiving her MA from Edinburgh University, she moved to the United States where she authored four novels: Veil of Time, Druid Hill, Iona, and Hazel and the Chessmen. She lives in Colorado where she is often overtaken by cianalas, a profound longing for her homeland.

Claire R. McDougall reads the opening pages of Mrs. McPhealy's American

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