The Seduction of Miss Amelia Bell (30 page)

“Pay fer our drinks. Do ya agree to these conditions?”

“Aye, Captain.”

Alex grinned at him. “Then welcome to
Poseidon’s Adventure
. We sail at dawn. Now, tell me who the hell we’re goin’ to see.”

“The MacGregors of Skye.”

“MacGregors.” Alex chuckled and shook his head. Of course his father would have chosen
them. “They are outlawed, are they not?”

“King William re-enacted the proscription against them when he gained the throne,”
Samuel reminded him.

“Their reputation of savagery precedes them,” Alex said, remembering tales he’d heard
about them.

“That is why we will need patience and precaution when we approach,” Andersen told
them.

“Ya just worry about gettin’ us there.” Alex cut his dark gaze across the room, to
the woman who had waved at him earlier. She crooked her finger at him now. He sprang
to his feet with the grace of a great cat and smoothed back any stray strands of chestnut
hair that had fallen over his forehead. “I’ll keep us alive once we arrive. Fer now,
Anderson, ye’re in charge of me coat and hat. Guard them well, or it will cost ya
a finger.”

He turned to his crew before he left. “I’ll meet ya all in an hour to stock the ship.
Until then, enjoy yarselves, men. Who knows when we’ll be ashore again?”

He smiled at the woman rising from her chair at his approach. She was eager to be
pillaged and he was willing to oblige.

Lord of Desire

Lord of Temptation

Lord of Seduction

Laird of the Mist

A Highlander Never Surrenders

Ravished by a Highlander

Seduced by a Highlander

Tamed by a Highlander

Conquered by a Highlander

A Highlander for Christmas
(ebook)

“Rich, evocative historical detail and enthralling characters fill the pages of this
fast-paced tale.”

—
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)

“Scottish romance at its best: captivating, tender, and sensual with characters readers
care about. While fascinating as a romance, it also delivers a message about moral
courage. Definitely a keeper.”

—
RT Book Reviews

“Exciting…delightful…what a conclusion to this fast-paced, adventure-filled story,
with characters that jump off the page and will capture your heart.”

—MyBookAddictionReviews.com

“Paula Quinn can write a Highland story with the best of them. [Her] writing really
places you right there beside the characters…When an author can write me into a virtual
reality, I know it’s as good as it gets!”

—FreshFiction.com

“Top Pick! Quinn’s talents for weaving history with a sexy and seductive romance are
showcased in her latest Highlander series book. This fast-paced tale of political
intrigue populated by sensual characters with deeply rooted senses of honor and loyalty
is spellbinding…Top-notch Highland romance!”

—
RT Book Reviews

“A winning mix of fascinating history and lush romance…Readers will be captivated
by the meticulously accurate historical detail…and Connor and Mairi’s searing passion.”

—
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)

“[A] must read…Paula Quinn weaves romance, suspense, and history into a story that
unleashes a smoldering desire within the heart of the reader. A breathtaking romance
full of history and heart-melting Highlanders.”

—NightOwlReviews.com

“This series is one hit after another and I enjoy it more with each book…Paula Quinn
keeps her books historically accurate, which adds to the depth.”

—GoodReads.com

“
Seduced by a Highlander
is sparkling, sexy, and seductive! I couldn’t put it down! Paula Quinn is a rising
star!”

—Karen Hawkins,
New York Times
bestselling author

“Top Pick! An engrossing story brimming with atmosphere and passionate characters…a
true keeper.”

—
RT Book Reviews

“Scottish romance at its very best! Deliciously romantic and sensual, Paula Quinn
captures the heart of the Highlands in a tender, passionate romance that you won’t
be able to put down.”

—Monica McCarty,
New York Times
bestselling author

“A rich tapestry of love, rivalry, and hope…the simmering passion made for very heated
scenes…I can’t wait to read more of the family in future books!”

—TheRomanceReadersConnection.com

“Five Stars! Reviewer’s Recommended Award Winner! Paula Quinn went above and beyond
my expectations…With a hero to make a heart sigh and a heroine who can match the hero
wit to wit, this story is one I highly recommend adding to your bookshelf.”

—CoffeeTimeRomance.com

“Deftly combines historical fact and powerful romance…There’s much more than just
sizzling sensuality: history buffs will love the attention to periodic detail and
cameos by real-life figures, and the protagonists embody compassion, responsibility,
and unrelenting, almost self-sacrificial honor. Quinn’s seamless prose and passionate
storytelling will leave readers hungry for future installments.”

—
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)

“4½ Stars! Top Pick! Quinn once again captures the aura of the Highlands. Here is
an amazing love story where characters’ deep emotions and sense of honor for their
countrymen will enchant readers.”

—
RT Book Reviews

“Incomparable…Paula Quinn expertly interweaves fact and fiction so well that you will
come to truly believe every one of her characters can be found in the pages of history…a
romantic adventure of the heart, where emotional confrontations leave an unforgettable
impact.”

—SingleTitles.com

“5 Stars! I found myself amazed…The writing style is so vivid, I could almost see
the scenery and hear the battles within the halls of Camlochlin Castle. This author
is one to watch!”

—HuntressReviews.com

Dear Reader,

I had a lot of imaginary boyfriends when I was a kid. My friend Kim and I read
Tiger Beat
magazine and chose our loves. I “dated” David Cassidy, a yesteryear heartthrob from
a TV show called
The Partridge Family
. Kim’s “boyfriend” was Donny Osmond, although she might have had a brief crush on
Barry Williams, better known as Greg from
The Brady Bunch
. I did a quick search online and discovered that
Tiger Beat
magazine still exists, but the stars for today’s preteens are Justin Bieber, Taylor
Lautner, and members of the boy band One Direction.

The idea of a big family and rock-star boyfriends really appealed to us. We traveled
in imaginary tour buses to imaginary concerts. We listened to the music and sang along,
pretending we were onstage, too. Of course, we invented drama, such as mean girls
trying to steal our famous boyfriends backstage.

Recently, I realized that the seeds of the families I create in my novels were sown
in my preteen years as Kim and I pretended to date our celebrity crushes. As I got
older, imaginary boyfriends led to real-life boyfriends in high school and college.
Eventually, marriage and kids led to an extended family, one that continues to grow.

In WHAT A RECKLESS ROGUE NEEDS, two close families meet once a year at a month-long
house party. As in real life, much has changed for Colin and Angeline. While they
were born only a week apart, they never really got along very well. An incident at
Angeline’s come-out ball didn’t help matters, either. Many years have elapsed, and
now Colin finds he needs Angeline’s help to keep from losing a property that holds
very deep emotional ties for him. Once they cross the threshold of Sommerall House,
their lives are never the same again, but they will always have their families.

May the Magic Romance Fairies be with all of you and your families!

www.VickyDreiling.com

Twitter @VickyDreiling

Facebook.com/VickyDreilingHistoricalAuthor

 

From the desk of Paula Quinn

Dear Reader,

 

As most of you know, I love dogs. I have six of them. I see your eyes bugging out.
Six?? Yes, six precious tiny Chihuahuas and all together they weight approximately
twenty-seven pounds. I’ve had dogs my whole life—big ones, little ones. So it’s not
surprising that I would want to write dogs into my books. This time I went big: 140
pounds of big.

In THE SEDUCTION OF MISS AMELIA BELL we meet Grendel, an Irish wolfhound mix, who
along with our hero, Edmund MacGregor, wins the heart of our heroine, Amelia Bell.
Grendel is the son of Aurelius, whom some of you might remember as the puppy Colin
MacGregor gave to Edmund, his stepson, in
Conquered by a Highlander
. Since this series is called Highland Heirs, I figured why not include the family
dog heirs as well?

I loved writing a dog as a secondary character, and Grendel is an important part of
Edmund and Amelia’s story. Now, really, what’s better than a big, brawny, sexy Highlander?
Right: a big, brawny, sexy Highlander with a dog. Or if you live in NYC, you can settle
for a hunky guy playing with his dog in the park.

My six babies all have distinct personalities. For instance, Riley loves to bark and
be an all-around pain in the neck. He’s high-strung and loves it. Layla, my biggest
girl, must “mother” all the others. She keeps them in line with a soft growl and a
lick to the eyeball. Liam, my tiny three-pound boy, isn’t sure if he’s Don Juan or
Napoleon. He’ll drop and show you his package if you call him cute. They are all different
and I wanted Grendel to have his own personality, too.

Much like his namesake, Grendel hates music and powdered periwigs. He’s faithful and
loyal, and he loves to chase smaller things… like people. Even though Edmund is his
master and Grendel does, of course, love him best, it doesn’t take Amelia long to
win his heart, or for Grendel to win hers, and he soon finds himself following at
her heels. Some of my favorite scenes involve the subtle interactions between Amelia
and Grendel. This big, seemingly vicious dog is always close by when Amelia is sad
or afraid. When things are going on all around them, Amelia just has to rest her hand
on Grendel’s head and it completely calms her. We witness a partial transformation
of ownership in the small, telltale ways Grendel remains ever constant at Amelia’s
side.

Even when Grendel finds Gaza, his own love interest (hey, I’m a romance writer, what
can I say?), he is still faithful to his human lady. We won’t get into doggy love,
but suffice it to say, there will be plenty of furry heirs living in Camlochlin for
a long time to come. They might not be the prettiest dogs in Skye, but they are the
most loyal.

This was my first foray into writing a dog as a secondary character and I must say
I fell in love with a big, slobbering mutt named after a fiend who killed men for
singing. I wasn’t surprised that Grendel filled his place so well in Edmund and Amelia’s
story. Each of my dogs does the same in mine and my kids’ stories. That’s what dogs
do. They run headlong into our lives barking, tail wagging, sharing wet, sloppy kisses.
They love us with an almost supernatural, unconditional love. And we love them back.

I hope you get a chance to pick up THE SEDUCTION OF MISS AMELIA BELL and meet Edmund
and Amelia and, of course, Grendel.

 

Happy reading!

 

From the desk of Kristen Ashley

Dear Reader,

 

Years ago, I was walking to the local shops and, as usual, I had my headphones in.
As I was walking, Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band’s “You’ll Accomp’ny Me” came
on and somehow, even having heard this song dozens and dozens of times before, the
lyrics suddenly hit me.

This isn’t unusual. I have to be in a certain mood to absorb lyrics. But when I am,
sometimes they’ll seep into my soul, making me smile, or making me cry.

“You’ll Accomp’ny Me” made me smile. It made me feel warm. And it made me feel happy
because the lyrics are beautiful, the message of love and devotion is strong, the
passion is palpable, and the way it’s written states that Bob definitely has Kristen
Ashley alpha traits.

I loved it. I’ve always loved that song, but then I loved it even more. It was like
one of my books in song form. How could I not love that?

At the time, however, I didn’t consider it for a book, not inspiring one or not to
be used in a scene. For a long time, it was just mine, giving me that warm feeling
and a smile on my face at the thought that there is musical proof out there that these
men exist.

Better, they wield guitars.

Now, from the very moment I introduced Hop in
Motorcycle Man
, he intrigued me. And as we learned more about him in that book, my knowing why he
was doing what he was doing, I knew he’d have to be redeemed in my readers’ eyes by
sharing his whole story. I just didn’t know who was going to give him the kind of
epic happy ending I felt he deserved.

Therefore, I didn’t know that Lanie would be the woman of his dreams. Truth be told,
I didn’t even expect Lanie to have her own book. But her story as told in
Motorcycle Man
was just too heartbreaking to leave her hanging. I just had no idea what to do with
her.

But I didn’t think a stylish, professional, accomplished “lady” and a biker would
jibe, so I never considered these two together. Or, in fact, Lanie with any of the
Chaos brothers at all.

That is, until this song came up on shuffle again and I knew that was how Hop would
consider his relationship with Lanie. Even as she pushed him away due to her past,
he’d do what he could to convince her that, someday, she’d accompany him.

I mean, just those words—how cool are they? “You’ll accompany me.” Brilliant.

But Bob, his Silver Bullet Band, and their music did quadruple duty in FIRE INSIDE.
Not only did they give me “You’ll Accomp’ny Me,” which was the perfect way for Hop
to express his feelings to Lanie; they also gave me Hop’s nickname for Lanie: “lady”.
And
they gave me “We’ve Got Tonight,” yet another perfect song to fit what was happening
between Lanie and Hop. And last, the way Bob sings is also the way I hear Hop in my
head.

I interweave music in my books all the time and my selections are always emotional
and, to me, perfect.

But I’ve never had a song, or artist, so beautifully help me tell my tale than when
I utilized the extraordinary storytelling abilities of Bob Seger in my novel FIRE
INSIDE.

It’s a pleasure listening to his music.

It’s a gift to be inspired by it.

 

From the desk of Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

Dear Reader,

 

When it came time to decide which god or goddess in my Accidentally Yours series would
get their HEA in book four, I sat back and looked at who was most in need of salvation.
Hands down, the winner was Ixtab, the Goddess of Suicide. Before you judge the title,
however, I’d like to explain why this goddess is not the dreary soul you might imagine.
Fact is she’s more like the Goddess of Anti-Suicide, with the ability to drain dark
feelings from one person and redeploy them to another. Naturally, being a deity, she
tends to help those who are down on their luck and punish those who are truly deserving.

However, every now and again, someone bumps into her while she’s not looking. The
results are fatal. So after thousands of years and thousands of accidental deaths,
she’s determined to keep everyone away. Who could blame her?

But fate has other plans for this antisocial goddess with a kind streak. His name
is Dr. Antonio Acero, and this sexy Spaniard has just become the lynchpin in the gods’
plans for saving the planet from destruction. He’s also in need of a little therapy,
and Ixtab is the only one who can help him.

When these two meet, they quickly realize there are forces greater than them both,
trying to pull them apart and push them together. Which force will win?