.jpg)
Welcome to my stop on Lachlan's Bride Tour! Today, I'm pleased to be interviewing the author, Kathleen Harrington. I do hope you'll help me welcome Kathleen to the blog, and leave a comment that you dropped by!
Tell
me about yourself.
I'm a
native Southern Californian and retired from teaching in the
California Public Schools a few years ago. I thoroughly enjoyed
teaching First Graders how to read. Working in a school in an
immigrant barrio, I taught children who spoke English as a second
language. One year, I had five different languages in my classroom. I
loved the challenge, and I loved the children.
How
long have you been writing? How many published books do you have, and
what genres?
My
first book, CHERISH THE DREAM, was published in 1990. LACHLAN'S
BRIDE is my tenth. All my books are
historical romances and have been published by Avon. My stories vary
widely in setting. I've written stories set in the American West, as
well as Georgian and Regency London. And, of course, the Scottish
Highlands, which is the setting of my Highland
Lairds Trilogy.
Who
do you love to read? Favorite authors, favorite books.
Ken
Follett is one of my favorite authors. I'm presently re-reading THE
PILLARS OF THE EARTH, which is set in Medieval England and tells of
the building of the great cathedrals. I also enjoy Patrick O'Brian's
Aubrey/Maturin Series.
I recently finished
reading BLUE AT THE MIZZEN. Scottish writer, Dorothy Dunnett is
another favorite author. She wrote THE GAME OF KINGS series (not to
be confused with GAME OF THRONES, which I also loved!). I read lots
and lots of history, biographies, and autobiographies of people who
lived in the time period I'm researching. Some of my favorite romance
authors are Julie Garwood, Nora Roberts and Amanda Quick.
If
you could keep a mythical/paranormal creature as a pet, what would
you have?
Well, I
mentioned that I'm presently enthralled with GAME OF THRONES. I'd
love to have a baby dragon as a pet like the "Mother of Dragons"
in the series. Think of the power you'd have, carrying a dragon on
your shoulder! All your enemies would be toast!
Tell
me a little about your latest release.
In
LACHLAN'S BRIDE, the
love story of Lady Francine Walsingham and Laird Lachlan MacRath is
woven around the historic journey of Princess Margaret Tudor on her
way to wed the Scottish king, James IV. Margaret was the eldest
daughter of Henry VII. The contract for her marriage brought with it
the Treaty of Perpetual Peace, a cause of great rejoicing among the
common people of both England and Scotland. The two countries had
waged war against each other for centuries.
Very
shortly into the journey, a plot is discovered which puts Francine
and her young daughter in mortal danger. To ensure their safety,
Francine must pretend that Lachlan MacRath is her lover, even though
she knows him to be a pirate and a sorcerer.
This is
the second book in my Highland Lairds
Trilogy. The
first book, THE MacLEAN GROOM,
tells the story of the oldest half-brother, Rory MacLean.
I'm
presently working on the third book, with
the tentative title of KEIR'S STORY.
If
you could spend a day with anyone from history, dead or alive, who
would it be, and what would you do. What would you ask them?
Wow!
What a thought-provoking question! I read an biography of Jennie
Churchill, Winston Churchill's mother. Jennie was a drop-dead
gorgeous daughter of an American millionaire. She and her sister went
to London to find titled husbands. They both wed into the British
aristocracy, bringing their inheritances with them. (I'm reminded of
the current BBC series, Downton Abbey.)
Jennie
Churchill's marriage proved to be an unhappy one. I'd love to spend a
day with her. I'd like to ask her if she regretted her choice,
especially when her son became the renowned Prime Minister of Great
Britain during World War II.
What
are some of your other hobbies outside of writing?
I enjoy
gardening. I don't raise vegetables, but love to grow flowers. I'm
particularly proud of my roses. I also enjoy taking yoga classes at
my local community center. And I've taken a Floral Design class for
several years.
What
is something you've always wanted to do, but haven't done yet. Why
not?
Someday
I'd like to visit France. I've traveled quite a bit. I've been to
England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. I've also traveled in Germany,
Switzerland, and Northern Italy, including Venice. And I've taken
several cruises. Next I'd like to see Paris and the Eiffel Tower.
LACHLAN'S
BRIDE, an Avon Impulse, was released on April
30th.
Thank
you for inviting me to share my thoughts with your readers. I can be
found at the following places:
Twitter@kathleensbooks
Blurb
.jpg)
He
is Lachlan MacRath, laird and pirate. And he intends to be her
lover…Lady Francine Walsingham could not believe this fierce Highland warrior is to be her escort into Scotland. It is whispered that Lachlan MacRath has magical powers…how else do you explain why her countrymen call him the Sorcerer of the Seas? But trust him she must, for a treacherous plot is about to reveal all her secrets…and Francine has no choice but to act as his lover to keep her enemies at bay.
When Lachlan first sees Francine, the English beauty stirs his blood like no woman has ever before. As luck would have it, they must now play the besotted couple so he can protect her ….and Lachlan is determined to use all his seductive prowess to properly woo her into his bed.
Excerpt
PROLOGUE
May
1496
The
Cheviot Hills
The
Border between England and Scotland
Stretched
flat on the blood-soaked ground, Lachlan MacRath gazed up at the
cloudless morning sky and listened to the exhausted moans of the
wounded.
The
dead and the dying lay scattered across the lush spring grass.
Overhead the faint rays of dawn broke above the hilltops, as the
buttercups and bluebells dipped and swayed in the soft breeze. The
gruesome corpses were sprawled amidst the wildflowers, their vacant
eyes staring upward to the heavens, the stumps of their severed arms
and legs still oozing blood and gore. Dented helmets, broken swords,
axes, and pikes gave mute testimony to the ferocity of the
combatants. Here and there, a loyal destrier, trained to war, grazed
calmly alongside its fallen master.
Following
close upon daylight, the scavengers would come creeping, ready to
strip the bodies of anything worth a shilling: armor, dirks, boots,
belts. If they were Scotsmen, he'd be in luck. If not, he'd soon be
dead. There wasn't a blessed thing he could do but wait. He was
pinned beneath his dead horse, and all efforts to free himself during
the night had proven fruitless.
In
the fierce, running battle of the evening before, the warriors on
horseback had left behind all who'd fallen. Galloping across the
open, rolling countryside, Scots and English had fought savagely,
till it was too dark to tell friend from foe. There was no way of
knowing the outcome of the battle, for victory had been determined
miles away.
Hell,
it was Lachlan's own damn fault. He'd come on the foray into England
with King James for a lark. After delivering four new canons to the
castle at Roxburgh, along with the Flemish master gunners to fire
them, he'd decided not to return to his ship immediately as planned.
The uneventful crossing on the Sea
Hawk
from the Low Countries to Edinburgh, followed by the tedious journey
to the fortress, with the big guns pulled by teams of oxen, had left
him eager for a bit of adventure.
When
he'd learned that the king was leading a small force into
Northumberland to retrieve cattle raided by Sassenach outlaws, the
temptation to join them had been too great to resist. There was
nothing like a hand-to-hand skirmish with his ancient foe to get a
man's blood pumping through his veins.
But
Lord Dacre, Warden of the Marches, had surprised the Scots with a
much larger, well-armed force of his own, and what should have been a
carefree rout turned into deadly combat.
A
plea for help interrupted Lachlan's brooding thoughts. Not far away,
a wounded English soldier, who'd cried out in pain during the night,
raised himself up on one elbow.
"Lychester!
Over here, sir! It's Will Jeffries!"
Lachlan
watched from beneath slit lids as another Sassenach came into view.
Attired in the splendid armor of the nobility, the newcomer rode a
large, caparisoned black horse. He'd clearly come looking for
someone, for he held the reins of a smaller chestnut, its saddle
empty and waiting.
"Here
I am, Marquess," the young man named Jeffries called weakly. He
lifted one hand in a trembling wave as the marquess of Lychester drew
near to his countryman. Dismounting, he approached the wounded
soldier.
"Thank
God," Jeffries said with a hoarse groan. "I've taken a
sword blade in my thigh. The cut's been oozing steadily. I was afraid
I wouldn't make it through the night."
Lychester
didn't say a word. He came to stand behind the injured man, knelt
down on one knee, and raised his fallen comrade to a seated position.
Grabbing a hank of his yellow hair, the marquess jerked the fair head
back and deftly slashed the exposed throat from ear to ear. Then he
calmly wiped his blade on the youth's doublet, lifted him up in his
arms, and threw the body face down over the chestnut's back.
The
English nobleman glanced around, checking, no doubt, to see if
there'd been a witness to the cold-blooded execution. Lachlan held
his breath and remained motionless, his lids lowered over his eyes.
Apparently satisfied, the marquess mounted, grabbed the reins of the
second horse and rode away.
Lachlan
slowly exhaled.
Sonofabitch.
He
knew the English were a bloodthirsty race. But he hadn't thought that
included the murder of a helpless patriot on a deserted battlefield.
What
kind of bastard did such a traitorous thing?
Buy
Links
Author
Info
KATHLEEN
HARRINGTON, winner of the Colorado Romance Writers’ Award of
Excellence, has touched the hearts of readers across the country with
her sparkling tales of high adventure and unending love. Her
historical romances have been finalists for the Romance Writers of
America’s RITA, The Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Awards, the
Virginia Romance Writers’ HOLT Medallion, and the Phoenix Desert
Rose Golden Quill. Her fabulous heroes have garnered the KISS (Knight
in Shining Silver) Award. She lives in Southern California.
Author
Links
You can follow the tour here
Thank you for hosting today! Great Interview!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a wonderful read. I tweeted.
ReplyDelete