Download our Free Bloodlines  Family History Guide November 11 2018 HERE
and explore the past guided by your very own ancestors.

• The Why and How of Family History Research; with excerpts from the Scottish American Genealogy Mystery novels Bloodlines-Touch Not the Cat and Bloodlines -Traces,
  by McKerley & Schippers
• www.touchnotthecat.com

Family History Guide November 11 2018

Click the link to download for free

Trace the characters from the Scottish American Genealogy Mystery novels, Bloodlines-Touch Not the Cat (WYBT Publishing 11.11.11) and Bloodlines-Traces (WYBT Publishing 21.06.16),
in their quest through the labyrinth of family history research

It has been a while since you last heard from McKerley & Schippers and what goes on in the sometimes surprising world of family history research and genealogy mystery writing.

Tom McKerley is at present entangled in writing about his very own family history as a result of finding a newspaper article on a Scottish ancestor who turned out be a locally famous!

Events- Booksignings – Family History Writing

Tom has also been doing quite a few events in Scotland for our Bloodlines -Touch Not the Cat and Bloodlines-Traces genealogy Mystery Novels,ranging from book signings at Waterstone’s, to book readings at reading/writing circles and libraries.

To contact us for promotional activities, – including your local (Netherlands or Scotland) reading circle- send us a mail at info@touchnotthecat.com or use the contact form of this website.

The McKerley & Schippers Family History Document

Together we have been working on a ‘real- life’ family history document to use for ‘family history gatherings’, highlighting the main things-to-remember when researching your own (Scottish-American) genealogy. In Scotland Tom is available to speak about his own family history research; the do’s and don’t's and how to get to the core of your question.

For more information about family history writing document or to contact Tom, send us a mail through the contact form

Behind the scenes stories and personal pictures

While you are here, take a look around in the blog section and ‘the books’ page, revealing behind the scenes stories on how Bloodlines Touch Not the Cat & Bloodlines- Traces were unexpectedly and mysteriously written by two first time mystery authors.

Our webdesigner Remco Kalf created a lovely slideshow on the www.touchnotthecat.com homepage, also featuring our self-designed ‘GlenFroach home-made whiskey label’, exclusively created for Bloodlines-Traces!

We love receiving reviews!!!!! While in the past we have organized review contests, we will now donate a complimentary copy of either Bloodlines Touch Not the Cat of Bloodlines Traces to the author of the most in-depth (which also means you may be critical) review on or both genealogy mystery novels.

Send your reviews through the contact form or info@touchnotthecat.com

To conclude: Thank you all for your heartwarming responses to Bloodlines Touch Not the Cat and Bloodlines Traces. Especially since these are our first fiction writing ventures we did not know what to expect, but the ride so far has been an absolute joY and meaningful learning experience.

On behalf of us both, wishing you a great day,

Ingrid

“Normally I’m not one for different timeframes in fiction, but in Bloodlines – Touch Not the Cat, it provided more depth and suspense. To me the Bloodlines series are tales of courage, following up on chances paved by our ancestors through time, the quest to find what really matters. The Bloodlines characters work around the inevitable obstacles life brings while thinking out of the box. The pace of the book is one of a steady flow, like the river Spey, with surprising turns. Refreshing and enchanting!!

Read more on how to become the monthly winner of the Bloodlines Review Sharing contest.

Here’s how we found her;

One day Tom was volunteering at the Oxfam second-hand bookshop in Troon, Scotland, when he found a little inscribed bible with the name and address of a ‘St. John’s Church,’ in Brooklyn, New York.

Research showed the church still exists and when Tom contacted the current pastor, he was delighted, as they were just organizing an exhibition on the history of the church.

Thus, the bible was shipped to New York and Bloodlines -Touch Not the Cat found its way into the church magazine:

Mr. Tom McKerley wrote to tell me that a beautifully preserved Prayer Book, published in 1850, was found in a bookstore where he works with the following inscription:

“For Miss Clementina Dorrington, from the Pastor and Brethern in Church, George F. Seymour, God Bless and keep you my dear child. (something unclear then) near to cherish by living in this church.

I shall use this Book in solemnizing your marriage.

St John’s Church, Brooklyn NY, 25 Oct 1866″

Tom then mailed me the little book and it will be on display on June 10 at our Solemn Evensong when we celebrate our 186th Anniversary!  Incidentally, Tom is an author himself and has written a novel called Bloodlines – Touch not the Cat which looks very interesting and you can see more about it by clicking here. I am getting the book for my Kindle from Amazon!

Even though Clementina’s bible was shipped back to Brooklyn, a character by her name remained behind in Scotland. The fact that an 1850 bible ended up in a second hand bookshop in modern day Troon, could lead to a nice genealogy story in itself.

More research showed there had been an actress by the name of Dorrington in America in the 19th century.

With a little mystery writer’s privilege and genealogy imagination, we have now changed her into a character in Bloodlines Traces, estimated publishing date: April 2014.

I had ordered the two books together, because someone had told me that an advertising method of Amazon is to say…”People who ordered this book, also ordered… “ so I was hoping Bloodlines -TNtC. would pop up as an ‘also’ with people ordering Micro.

It wasn’t just a cheap trick to get attention to our novel, by surfing along on the fame of a big author.  Michael Crichton has been my big example ever since I accidentally discovered his autobiography, “Travels”. When I first saw Travels in a second hand book shop in Singapore, and read on the front cover: “by the author of Jurassic Park”, I was surprised as I never knew somebody had actually written Jurassic Park. I thought it was a product of Steven Spielberg’s imagination who had ‘some scriptwriter’ write the screenplay.

After reading “Travels” which was, for more reasons than I can explain in one blog, a life changing experience, I sought out Michael Crichton on the web and discovered he was also responsible for the television series E.R. and many other great books like Rising Sun, Disclosure and Timeline that were put into movies.

I also discovered Michael Crichton’s website held a message board. For about two years I stalked this message board, watching all the discussion that went on about MC’s work, meanwhile reading each and every book by Michael Crichton I could find in the world’s library.

When ‘State of Fear” was published I finally became bold, registered and placed my first post on the MC message board. It took me three days to write it, edit it, delete it, rewrite it, re-edit it and finally post it. It was to be the first post of the 395 still visible posts on the MC message board that I made to this day. Maybe, when I also post this blog, it will turn to 396. According to the websites members list, I’m heading the number of posts listed, preceding the number two with 90 posts.

I became infatuated with Michael Crichton. Not just because he was an extremely attractive man, but also because, in my opinion he had a prophetic- and the brightest author’s mind, I ever encountered. Posting on the MC Message board was like going to Authors University. Dissecting his books the way ‘us Crichtonians’ did on the board and discussing the themes ‘us Crichtonians’ discussed, the forum brought me the need to perfect my use of the English language, the necessity to think deeper than I normally would about the process of writing and dredged me out of my own degrading belief that “I could never be an author”. With Crichton anything was possible.

I also met people on the board that became great friends. One of them Oleg L.Gubarev, even made me travel to St Petersburg Russia, as we had been compiling a book about our experiences on the MC message board, titled “Soul Searching”. Two people, from totally different cultures and backgrounds who basically only had one thing in common: their love for Michael Crichton’s works.

We were about to publish ‘Soul Searching’ when MC passed away on November 4^th in 2008, a devastating experience for his ardent fans. I’m not ashamed to say I still mourn MC to this day.

So… that’s why it was so special for me to receive two books in one Amazon parcel; Micro and Bloodlines-TNtC.

The significance of it hadn’t dawned on me at first when I ordered both novels. MC’s book had been released 22.11.11, ours 11.11.11. It just seemed like a golden opportunity to get a ‘also ordered’ recommendation on Amazon. (which never happened by the way)

But when I opened the parcel today and found myself staring at two new releases, one co-authored by MC and Preston and one by McKerley & Schippers, the significance of it blew me away.

It is thanks to Michael Crichton that those two books ended up in the same parcel. MC has educated and inspired me to heights I cannot describe. He was an exceptional human being and I am forever grateful.

Ingrid Schippers