About the Book

Book: Collision Course

Author: Millie Norwich Inman

Genre: Historical Fiction

Release date: January 17, 2024

The shocking death of the popular Prince of Wales launches his young heir from innocent childhood into a roiling caldron of jealousy and intrigue. Set in all the glory of eighteenth century England, the young crown prince is urgently prepared for his aged grandfather’s throne. Under the wing of his godly mentor, the prince staggers through a minefield of hazards.

Parallel to the prince’s journey, is the story of a down-and-out firebrand statesman, considering retirement from the House of Commons because he’s under the king’s extreme disfavor. An alliance between the two ensures the prince’s safe ascension. It also renders his godly mentor and the statesman, the two most powerful men in Great Britain. Then, in the face of escalating war, a shocking twist changes everything.

Collision Course is a slice of real history with real people fleshed out and facing the real challenges of living in a fallen world. It shatters stereotypes as it treks through England’s finest gardens and dines with kings and statesmen all the while peering into the universal nature of the human soul and the heartbeat of corrupted constitutional government. This is the true, untold story of alliance, ambition, betrayal, war, loss, and recovery that set the world stage for the American Revolution.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Millie Norwich Inman holds a Bachelor of Arts cum laude from Washington University in St. Louis. She taught school and raised a family before dabbling in freelance for periodicals. A fair measure of success added to profound sorrow over the loss of Western Civilization culture and history, launched her into extensive research for this engaging slice of pre-American Revolution history. On two trips to England she read at the British Library and Richmond Records Office, and traipsed through fabulous architecture and scrumptious gardens. At home in Texas, she took advantage of the Trinity University, Rice University, and University of Texas San Antonio Libraries, as well as the amazing Inter-Library Loan System from her hometown Boerne Library. Similar to the research style of NYT bestseller, America’s First Daughter, some of the wittiest dialogue in Collision Course has been lifted and adapted from original letters.

More from Millie

Collision Course is a walk in the park to smell the roses compared to an all-nighter-adrenalin-rush. And the third Earl of Bute is a reluctant hero-protagonist. He’s far more interested in creating calming garden vistas than in jumping into the heart of a rough-housing political fray.

Lord Bute is John Stuart (b. 1713), a descendant of the Stuart kings of Scotland on his father’s side and the powerful Campbell Clan on his mother’s. Branches of the Campbell Clan were still known as the fiercest of highland fighters when Bute was in his twenties. The Highlanders identified as Catholics but knew little of Jesus, and I dare say, never seemed to have heard of the Bible. So, their war-like tendencies really went berserk, after the Bloodless Revolution of 1688. Whenever the banished Catholic heir, the debauched “Bonnie Prince Charlie,” felt sufficiently resentful to sail back from France and contend for the crown, he’d swing by Scotland and enlist belligerent Highlanders. On these occasions, the Campbells would take a respite from murdering the MacDonalds and bludgeoning Lowlander Presbyterians, to gleefully enlist for a bloody tromp into England.

However, by the third “Bonnie Prince” invasion in 1745, Lord Bute’s branch of the Campbell Clan had experienced a come to Jesus. Godly education had become a family priority. Since Lord Bute’s godly father had died when he was nine, his godly mother had tucked him under the wings of her two godly Campbell brothers. Bute’s Campbell uncles were entrenched in the Edinburg intelligentsia. Intellectuals were Christians. Enlightenment academics followed Christians. Bute’s Campbell family branch were Scotland’s civic leaders, innovators in banking, business, jurisprudence, and republican statesmanship in addition to their stellar reputations in science, theology, medicine, and literature.

Lord Bute’s Campbell uncles, along with his Stuart father, were instrumental in the forming the United Kingdom and in installing Protestant royalty, to act in the interest of all their subjects, on the throne of England. The value of the common man was a novel idea. Bute’s uncles ran the elections for nineteen Scottish representatives to Parliament in Westminster. So, it’s really no wonder, that in the third invasion of Prince Charlie tyrants, three contingents of militia from the Campbell Clan fought for British liberty under George II’s favorite son, the Duke of Cumberland. Campbells fought Campbells.

It was in this third invasion that the young protagonist prince’s uncle, the Duke of Cumberland, became feared as “The Butcher.” After Cumberland led the government’s final victory, and as the “Bonnie Prince” slipped away on his ship back to France, the Duke of Cumberland ran a genocide campaign of the most war-like Highlanders (30 something Campbells). That ended the north Britain invasions and turned thoughts to a walk in the park-like gardens. Let Collision Course begin.

Author Interview

What is your favorite genre of books? Why?

I must admit I sometimes read for information alone. And I devoured David McCullough’s biographies. But my favorite book genre is historical fiction. I like the trip in time that edifies and educates while entertaining. I choose authors with a classical worldview who research real events and populate them with real fleshed-out or imagined characters. Adding dialogue and sensory perceptions to a story intensifies the reader’s presence. In Collision Course, the dialogue is sometimes lifted and adapted from the speaker’s own letters. And even when it’s imagined, it’s consistent with a real character’s integrity: because nothing is more fascinating than the truth.

How has your life experience helped in your writing journey?

I could blog forever on this. Who publishes a debut at eighty-one? My grandkids call me, “the Grandma Moses of writing.” I’ve noticed there are few advantages to being this old — unless you walk with God in scriptural truth. My habit of intentionally following Him keeps my barns supplied with a harvest of wisdom from the sheer abundance of experiences. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. I’ve found joy in God’s grace abounding or abased. I know what it feels like to have the crowd following in cheers; I’ve stood alone while it ostracized with jeers. I can swim in the mud-banked lake or the country club pool.

I wrote great conversation around the dining table because that’s one of my favorite experiences. Because my dad was a dairyman, it was especially fun to write the Stuart’s Hampstead Heath milking barn scene. And because my grandparents owned a recreational working ranch, I thrilled to write the horse racing scenes along the Thames.

Where do you find your greatest inspiration?

I find the greatest inspiration in truth. And, in historical settings where I take comfort in my classical, Christ-centered worldview. I want us all to learn from history. I set out to discover the politics behind America’s fight for independence. So, I was delighted to find several committed Christian protagonists slugging it out in this fallen world. I pray Collision Course is courage for the saved and conviction for the lost, amid all the exciting pomp and glory of eighteenth century England. Collision Course offers a refreshed view of our British legacy. And this is the slice of history sets the world stage for the American Revolution. …because nothing is more fascinating than the truth.

Who is your favorite author? Why?

Probably Harper Lee. The slow pace and vivid details of the surroundings were reminiscent of my childhood. Add in the engaging character depth, and she convinced me she was Scout. This was her story. Jem was her brother. Atticus was her godly dad. He was a widower devoted to his children. But the thinking reader could see he was keenly aware of his first priority of accountability to God. Remember his habit was to not sit with family in regular Sunday worship? (I doubt the movie included that resounding detail). He had lots to pray about and sat before the Lord alone without the comfort or distraction of his children. Calpurnia also worshipped in spirit and truth. I cherished the visit to her church. All the players in the story have fictionalized names for their privacy. I could deduct from the book’s dedication, Cal’s real name was Alice. Harper Lee was privileged to have an excellent editor— who made her rewrite the whole book. O, reader, rejoice!

What do you need in your writing space to help you stay focused?

I like absolute quiet and a wall of windows full of glorious oak trees