Dangerous Desires (38 page)
So, soldiers? I was there. I just had to give them heroines.
That was when it really got fun.
My first book is BARELY A LADY, in which a companion named Olivia Grace recognizes the gravely
injured soldier she stumbles over on the battlefield of Waterloo. The problem is that this soldier is actually her ex-husband, Jack Wyndham, Earl of Gracechurch (You expected a blacksmith?). Worse, Jack, whom Olivia hasn’t seen in four years, is dressed in an enemy uniform.
Jack and Olivia must find out why before Jack’s enemies kill them both. Did I mention that Jack also can’t remember that he divorced Olivia? Or that in order to protect him until they unearth his secrets, she has to pretend they’re still married?
I didn’t say it would be easy. But I do say that there will be soldiers and country estates and lots of danger, bravery, chiseled features, and romance.
It certainly works for me. I hope it does for you. Stop by my website and let me know at
www.eileendreyer.com
. And then we can address the role of soldiers in the follow-up book, NEVER A GENTLEMAN, not to mention my other favorite thing—marriage of convenience.
Happy reading!
From the desk of Dee Davis
Dear Reader,
I have always loved run-for-your-life romantic adventures:
King Solomon’s Mines, The African Queen, Logan’s
Run, Romancing the Stone
, and
The Island
, to name a few. So when I began to conceptualize a story for Drake Flynn, it seemed natural that he’d find himself in the middle of the jungles of Colombia. After all, he’s an archeologist when not out fighting bad guys, and some of the most amazing antiquities in the world are hidden deep in the rainforests of South America. And since Madeline Reynard was involved with a drug dealer turned arms trader, it was also easy to see her living amidst the rugged beauty of the high Andes.
There’s just something primal about man against nature, and when you throw two people together in that kind of situation, it seems pretty certain that sparks will fly. Especially when they start out on opposite sides of a fence. It’s interesting, I think, how we all try to categorize people, put them into pre-defined boxes so that we have an easy frame of reference. But in truth, people aren’t that easy to classify, and even opposites have things in common.
Both Drake and Madeline have had powerful relationships with their siblings, and it is this common bond that pulls them together and eventually forces Madeline to choose between saving herself or helping Drake. The fact that she chooses him contradicts everything Drake thought he knew about her, and the two of them begin a tumultuous journey that ultimately breaks down their respective barriers and leaves them open to the possibility of love.
So maybe a little adventure is good for the soul—and the heart.
For a little more insight into Madeline and Drake,
check out the following songs I listened to while writing:
“Bring Me to Life”—Evanescence
“Lithium Flower”—Scott Matthew
“Penitent”—Suzanne Vega
And, by all means, if you haven’t seen
King Solomon’s Mines
(with Stewart Granger and Deborah Kerr), Netflix it! As always, check out
www.deedavis.com
for more inside info about my writing and my books.
Happy Reading!
From the desk of Amanda Scott
Dear Reader,
Lady Fiona Dunwythie, the heroine of my latest book, TEMPTED BY A WARRIOR, was a real person, the younger daughter of fourteenth-century Lord Dunwythie of Annandale, Scotland. She is also the sister of Lady Mairi Dunwythie, the heroine of SEDUCED BY A ROGUE [Forever, January 2010] and cousin to Bonnie Jenny Easdale, the heroine of the first book in this trilogy, TAMED BY A LAIRD [Forever, July 2009].
Writing a trilogy based on anecdotal “facts” from an unpublished sixteenth-century manuscript about events
that took place two hundred years earlier has been fascinating. From the manuscript, we know that Fiona eloped with a man from the enemy Jardine clan, and as I learned from my own research, the Jardine lands bordered Dunwythie’s.
We also know that Fiona’s sister inherited their father’s title and estates, and that Lord Dunwythie died the day Fiona eloped, while he was angrily gathering men to go after her. Since we know little more about her, I decided that Fiona had fallen for her husband Will’s handsome face and false charm, and had ignored her father’s many warnings of the Jardines’ ferocity, lawlessness, and long habit of choosing expediency over loyalty.
To be sure, she soon recognized her error in marrying Will. However, when she meets Sir Richard Seyton, Laird of Kirkhill, she is not interested in romance and is anything
but
eligible to wed. Not only is she married to Will and very pregnant with his child but her father-in-law is dying, her husband (the sole heir to the Jardine estates) is missing, and his father believes that Will must be dead. Worse, Old Jardine believes that Will was murdered and is aware that Fiona was the last person known to have seen him.
Old Jardine has summoned his nephew, Kirkhill, because if Will
is
dead and Fiona’s child likewise dies, Kirkhill stands next in line to inherit the Jardine estates. Old Jardine has therefore arranged for him to take them over when Jardine dies and run them until the child comes of age. Jardine also informs Kirkhill that he has named him trustee for Fiona’s widow’s portion and guardian of her child. Jardine dies soon afterward.
Kirkhill is a decisive man accustomed to being in charge and being obeyed, and Fiona is tired of men always telling her what to do, so she and he frequently disagree. In my humble opinion, any two people thrust into such a situation
would
disagree.
The reactions of a woman who unexpectedly finds herself legally under the control of a man she does not know seems consistently to intrigue writers and readers alike. But in a time when young women in particular were considered incapable of managing their own money, and men with land or money were expected to assign guardians to their underage heirs and trustees for their wives and daughters, it was something that happened with regularity. I suspect, however, that in many if not most cases, the women and children did know the guardians and trustees assigned to them.
In any event, I definitely enjoyed pitting Kirkhill and Fiona against each other. The two characters seemed naturally to emit sparks. I hope you enjoy the results. I love to hear from readers, so don’t hesitate to fire off a comment or two if the mood strikes you.
In the meantime,
Suas Alba!
Sincerely,
