Highland Guard #1 April 2010 On Sale: March 23, 2010 432 pages ISBN: 0345518225 EAN: 9780345518224 Mass Market Paperback $7.99 Add to Wish List Romance Historical Buy at Amazon.com The Chief by Monica McCarty AN ELITE FIGHTING FORCE UNLIKE THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN . . . Scouring the darkest corners of the Highlands and Western Isles, Robert the Bruce handpicks ten warriors to help him in his quest to free Scotland from English rule. They are the best of the best, chosen for their superior skills in each discipline of warfare. And to lead his secret Highland Guard, Bruce chooses the greatest warrior of all. The ultimate Highland warlord and a swordsman without equal, Tor MacLeod has no intention of being drawn into Scotland’s war against the English. Dedicated to his clan, the fiercely independent chief answers to no one—especially not to his alluring new bride, bartered to him in a bid to secure his command of the deadliest fighting force the world has ever seen. The treacherous chit who made her way to Tor’s bed may have won his hand, but she will never claim his heart. Although her husband’s reputation is as fierce as his manner, Christina…
Tim Barney was the first boy I ever dated. The first boy I ever kissed. I met him when I was eighteen — a freshman in college. I’d never been on a date. Didn’t go to high school proms or dances or hang out at parties. I read Harlequin romances. I worked. I wrote. And then, in geology class in 1977, I met Tim. I fell so hard and so fast and had so little experience, I was completely out of my element. Tim broke my heart. Twenty-seven years later, when I was living in emotional isolation, Tim sent me an email. He wondered if I remembered him. He claimed that I broke his heart back in college. Did I remember him? A girl doesn’t forget her first kiss. Or her only true love. And as for breaking his heart, I didn’t think so. But twenty seven years had passed. Life had taken its toll. For me, the price had been heavy. I’d been attacked by darkness. Lived in darkness. I wasn’t the same naïve young girl Tim had held in his arms all those years ago. HCI books heard about our story from an author friend of mine. This…
October 2009 On Sale: October 1, 2009 Featuring: Akira Neish; Calin MacLeod 352 pages ISBN: 1420104411 EAN: 9781420104417 Paperback $4.99 Add to Wish List Romance Historical Buy at Amazon.com Highland Dragon by Kimberly Killion A love born of fire… A desire that defies all limits… and a love that was meant to be… Scotland 1502. Akira Neish has been raised as a peasant, her belly often empty and her family subject to the cruel whims of her clan’s laird. To the clan’s children, the horned shaped birthmark she bears means she is a witch. But she is neither peasant nor witch—and now the man who knows the truth has returned to claim her for his own. Calin MacLeod has kept Akira’s secrets and to avenge his father, the sensual young laird must marry her. He is more than a match for the fiery nature of the woman he adores. Yet the passion they share—and truths that can no longer remain hidden— could rip all of Scotland apart…. Excerpt Scotland Highlands, 1484 Hidden behind a false panel, ten-year-old Calin MacLeod covered his ears with sweaty palms. The screams echoing throughout Brycen Castle were loud enough to loosen his teeth. Lena Kinnon…
Hello Fresh Fiction and thank you for having me back again! I always enjoy talking to the fabulous readers of this blog! I’m here today to celebrate the re-release of my very first book, BENEATH THE THIRTEEN MOONS, in mass market paperback, and I have to say, I just love the new cover. The book takes place on a landless planet where enormous trees grow up from the ocean floor, supporting all life within their canopies. The world was inspired by my love for the jungle (Tarzan, anyone?), for the ocean, and the city of Venice. If you’d like to know more about the creation of the world, please visit my website, but for today, I’d like to talk about my hero & heroine and how they are so opposite, and yet so perfect for one another. My hero, Korl Com’nder, is the crown prince of Sea Forest. Used to wielding great political power, he is also a victim of murderous schemes for the throne. He lives a life of luxury, is quite arrogant, and accustomed to living with rules and order. Mahri Zin lives in the wild swamplands of Sea Forest, beyond the city trees, which are larger and…
October 2010 On Sale: October 5, 2010 Featuring: Garron of Kersey; Merry 336 pages ISBN: 0399156755 EAN: 9780399156755 Paperback Add to Wish List Romance Historical Buy at Amazon.com The Valcourt Heiress by Catherine Coulter Set in medieval England, this lively historical romance delivers the trademark wit that fans have come to know and love from the #1 New York Times-bestselling author. When Garron of Kersey returns home from the king’s service to claim his title as Baron Wareham, he’s shocked to find Wareham Castle very nearly destroyed by a man called the Black Demon. According to the last starving servants still clinging to life inside the castle walls, the Black Demon was looking for gold belonging to Garron’s brother Arthur. Among his remaining servants is the enigmatic Merry, the bastard child of the castle’s priest. Garron quickly realizes that she is much more than a servant: She reads and writes and makes lists, just as he does. Together they bring Wareham back to its former splendor. But this is only the beginning. Did Arthur have a cache of gold? Who is the Black Demon? And the biggest question of all: Who is Merry? This unique medieval romance has some surprises…
I have a thing for small town romance, which I’ve always found kind of interesting since I didn’t grow up in a small town. I grew up in St. Louis. Big city. Professional baseball and football teams, lots to do, major commerce, heavy traffic—all the big city things you would expect of a—well, a big city. But here and there I’ve lived in small towns. And oh, I love them. I raised my sons in what was then (but isn’t now) a small town. The kind of small town where if you lived there long enough, you’d run into people at the grocery store who knew who you were, or knew you were the parent of one of their friends. People on the street where I lived used to have block parties. No one stayed in their houses keeping to themselves. Everyone knew everyone else. If you went out at night, you knew your neighbors were watching your house (or your teenagers, much to their dismay). I live in a small town now, on an acre and a half of land, but still live on a street where I know my neighbors, where people watch out for you, where high…
Scots #3 July 2010 On Sale: July 1, 2010 Featuring: Sir Richard Seyton; Lady Fiona Jardine 384 pages ISBN: 0446561320 EAN: 9780446561327 Mass Market Paperback $6.99 Add to Wish List Romance Historical Buy at Amazon.com Tempted By A Warrior by Amanda Scott Lady Fiona, wed in haste, has never known marital peace. When last she’d seen her cruel husband Will, he’d struck her – and she has no memory of what she did next – only that she woke later alone in her bedchamber. Will has gone missing, and Fiona fears that in her rage and terror she might somehow have killed him. When her husband’s cousin Sir Richard comes to search for Will, Fiona is touched by his warm nature. A knight and warrior, Richard is drawn to Fiona’s brave manner, quickly seeing in her an equal measure of inner courage. Confessing that she fears having killed Will, Fiona accepts Richard’s offer to help her. Pursuing together the mystery of Will’s disappearance, they fall in love. Meanwhile the English are reinforcing their garrison in the Scottish Borderlands, putting Fiona, Richard, and Scotland in peril…. Lady Fiona is accused of murdering her husband…did she? Excerpt Annandale, Scotland, 5 June 1377…
I liked complicated men. They tend to be a bit (okay, a lot) more high maintenance, but they’re also a lot more intense, which means life with them is more passionate. And I like that. When it comes to writing my heroes, of course, I tend to go with what I like in real life. Not always. But usually. One of the first full-length manuscripts I ever wrote was an epic fantasy. This story had its origins in the idea that even a villain can have someone who loves him. My evil sorcerer started out life as a truly good guy who was corrupted by magic and turned evil almost against his will. I hoped to build empathy for him as a young man, so that when the magic twisted him, the reader would see the tragedy of his transformation and continue to view him sympathetically. While writing this story, I had the great good fortune to have the input of a very experienced Science Fiction/Fantasy editor who had spent twenty years at some of the biggest houses in the genre. She read the first draft of the manuscript and said of my villain’s trauma… I don’t care. Which meant…
June 2010 On Sale: June 1, 2010 Featuring: Senna de Valery; Finian O’Melaghlin; Lord Rardove 352 pages ISBN: 1420106538 EAN: 9781420106534 Paperback $6.99 Add to Wish List Romance Historical Buy at Amazon.com The Irish Warrior by Kris Kennedy Nothing can stop him… Inhibited, accountant-minded Senna de Valery comes to Ireland to finalize a deal that will save her faltering wool business. What she gets instead is a cunning English lord with dangerous ulterior motives. Forced to rely on her wits, not her ledgers, Senna frees an Irish warrior chained in the prisons, and together they flee across the war-torn land of medieval Ireland. But Finian O’Melaghlin is more than a charming, roguish warrior. He is councilor to his king, on a grave mission to recover military secrets, and has a dangerous agenda of his own. Neither is prepared for the powerful forces arrayed against them. Neither can resist the fiery passion igniting between them. They cannot imagine the sacrifices they will face, nor the choices they will be forced to make. King and outlaws, weapons and war: Can love indeed triumph over all? An incredibly enthralling, delicious, and salacious medieval romance! Excerpt They floated off, the old man watching them,…
Ah, the holidays! Chestnuts roasting, stockings hung by the chimney, city sidewalks dressed in style, people laughing, mulled cider spices warming the blood… Yes, blood. I have to think of the vampires. They enjoy the holidays, too. One of my favorite things about this time of year is snuggling by the fire with a good book. What does an author of vampire stories read during the holidays, you ask? Some childhood favorites: 1. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss. Sometimes shopping makes me feel like a Grinch, but the Whos down in Whoville always bring out the best in me. My heart grows three sizes with every read. Bring on the roast beast! 2. The Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Like lead character Sara Crewe, I’ve always been a princess in my own mind. The magic of Sara’s imagination in keeping the hard times from getting to her always reminds me, in a way, of the magic of Christmas. And of course, she has her own sort of Christmas miracle at the end. Did you know that The Little Princess was originally based on Charlotte Bronte’s abandoned manuscript Emma, about an heiress being abandoned penniless at a…