Highland Master (50 page)

From the desk of Cynthia Eden

I love strong heroes. When I write my romantic suspense novels, I try to create heroes who can save the day while barely breaking a sweat. Men who aren’t afraid to face danger. Men who are comfortable taking out the bad guys—even while these heroes successfully romance their heroines. Oh, yes, I’m all about an alpha male.

And when it comes to my heroines, well, my response is the same. Give me a strong heroine. I don’t want to write about a heroine who needs rescuing 24/7. I want a woman who is strong enough to defend herself (and her man, if need be).

When I began writing DEADLY HEAT, I knew that my heroine would have to be a strong match for FBI Special Agent Kenton Lake. Since Kenton appeared in my previous “Deadly” book, DEADLY FEAR, I already knew just how powerful and capable he was. Kenton hunts serial killers for a living, so weakness isn’t exactly a concept he understands.

I didn’t want Kenton to dominate his heroine, so I made sure that I created a very strong lady for him… and firefighter Lora Spade was born. Lora is a woman who fights fire each day. She’s not afraid of the flames, but she is afraid of the way that Kenton makes her feel.

Physically and mentally, my characters are strong.
But emotionally? When it comes to emotions, both Kenton and Lora are in for a big shock.

After all… love doesn’t always make a person weak. Sometimes, it just makes you stronger.

Since Kenton and Lora are about to track an arsonist who enjoys trapping his victims in the flames, they sure will need all the strength they can get!

Thanks for checking out my Dish. If you’d like to learn more about my books, please visit my website at
www.cynthiaeden.com
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From the desk of Cara Elliott

Yes, yes, your eyes do not deceive you. Just when the brouhaha in Bath had calmed down a touch, a new scandal popped up. The Circle of Sin is spinning into action again. Alas, trouble seems to follow our intrepid heroines, when all they really want is a life of quiet scholarly study…. Actually, I take that back. They do
realize that there is more to life than books (a handsome rogue… but we’ll get to that later).

As you probably suspect, this time it’s Kate, the feisty free spirit of the “Sinners,” who has landed in hot water. She’s spent most of her life gallivanting the world with her American sea captain father—some high sticklers may call him a pirate—so it’s really no surprise that her life in London, where she’s come to live with her imperious grandfather, the Duke of Cluyne, is not sailing along very smoothly.

But honestly, it’s really not all her fault. That rascally rake, the Conte of Como—Marco, to his more intimate friends—is the one making waves. He’s an unexpected guest at her grandfather’s staid country house party, and when one thing leads to another… all hell breaks loose.

Trouble takes Kate and Marco from London to Vienna, where the various rulers of Europe are gathering to discuss politics now that Napoleon has been exiled to Elba. Now, now, don’t roll your eyes. It so happens that Vienna was the ultimate party town at the time. Anybody who was anybody wanted to be there, to rub shoulders (and other unmentionable body parts) with the kings, princes, emperors, and other high-profile celebrities.

The Emperor of Austria hosted many of the dignitaries at his magnificent castle, and his poor aides spent countless hours trying to figure out the room assignments, taking into account who was sleeping with whom, so that late-night tiptoeing through the corridors wouldn’t result in any embarrassing trip-ups.

Glittering balls, sumptuous banquets, fanciful medieval jousts, spectacular fireworks—the daily list of extravagant
entertainments was mind-boggling. Party girls Princess Bagration and the Duchess of Sagan vied with each other to see who could attract the most influential men to their soirees. As for other pleasures, well, let’s just say they all were intent on having a good time. In fact, the Tsar of Russia—a notorious skirt-chaser—had to have a whole new wardrobe sent from St. Petersburg because he gained so much weight partying every night!

But why, you might ask, is Kate plunging into the midst of such frivolous festivities? And how is a rake like Marco going to help her get out of hot water? Well, you’ll just have to read TO TEMPT A RAKE to find out!

From the desk of Amanda Scott

Most books grow from the seeds of isolated ideas. One reads about an unusual historical incident, or finds an odd phrase that triggers a string of thoughts, or overhears a comment on a bus or plane that stirs an idea for a situation or a character.

I was seeking such seeds as I began to plot HIGHLAND MASTER. I’d started with a vague notion of Romeo and Juliet, simply because I always want to create a basic conflict between the hero and heroine. But I did not want the simple “Capulets think Montagues are dreadful and vice versa.” When I found myself wondering what would happen if a Montague were dropped into a nest of Capulets with a mission to accomplish, the gray cells began churning. That is the moment when a writer begins asking herself, “What if?”

What if my Scottish Romeo had sworn to kill Juliet’s father? In medieval Scotland, blood oaths and blood feuds were common. What if someone in authority over that Scottish Romeo, knowing nothing about his oath or the feud, sends him on a vital diplomatic mission to the Scottish Capulets?

Then, since one also seeks to raise the stakes, what if Romeo has somehow managed to swear a second oath in direct conflict with his oath to kill Juliet’s father? What if he cannot keep either oath without breaking the other?

What if he meets his Juliet and falls for her without realizing that her father is the man he has sworn to kill?

Research soon drew me to the great Clan Battle of Perth in 1396, which was to all intents and purposes a trial by combat between Clan Chattan and Clan Cameron, the two largest, most powerful Highland clan confederations. Thirty “champions” from each clan fought on the North Inch of Perth before the King of Scots and his court. When I read that only one (unknown) Cameron had survived, and did so by flinging himself
into the river Tay, which swept him into the Firth of Tay and most likely on into the North Sea, I knew that I had found my hero.

In my story, Scotland’s finest swordsman, Sir Finlagh “Fin” Cameron, the last man of his clan standing against eleven men of Clan Cameron, escapes from the great clan battle, manages to avoid being swept out to sea and—calling himself simply “Fin of the Battles”—joins the service of Davy Stewart, the bedeviled heir to the Scottish throne. Seeking to ally himself with the Lord of the North and the Lord of the Isles against his scheming uncle, the Duke of Albany, Davy sends Fin of the Battles back into the Highlands to arrange for a secret meeting with the great lords, hosted by the powerful Captain of Clan Chattan, known to all and sundry as “the Mackintosh.”

Entering Clan Chattan territory, Fin is felled by a mysterious arrow and rescued by the lady Catriona Mackintosh, granddaughter of Clan Chattan’s captain and, yes, also daughter of the clan’s war leader, Shaw Mackintosh, the very man whom Fin swore to his dying father on the battlefield that he would kill.

I hope you enjoy HIGHLAND MASTER. In the meantime, Suas Alba!