Hi Michelle,
Just wanted to say that I'm hooked up! My profile worked so I am in the loop. Looking forward to blogging here.
Nikki (AKA Bronwyn Scott).
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Where do your ideas come from?
Sometimes that’s a hard question to answer, but not in the case of INNOCENCE UNVEILED, my June release.My second “royal bastard” romance was sparked by a very specific incident in 1337, reported by the chroniclers. As King Edward III was trying to gain support for his claim to the throne of France, he sent an “embassy,” or diplomatic mission, to the Continent to recruit allies. Along with the diplomats traveled a number of “bachelor” knights, each wearing an eye patch and swearing not to speak until he had performed some deed of arms in France.
My hero is one of those knights, but instead of staying with the group, I imagined him riding off alone. Of course, I had to follow him, and he led me into a web of secrets, deceptions, and lies, where to trust anyone, even a beautiful woman, could lead to betrayal. And death.
Where did all this happen? In Ghent.
I can hear you now. Where????
Ghent is a beautiful city in Belgium, but in the 14th century it was in the duchy of Flanders and the cloth-making powerhouse of the Continent. Responsible for the second of the basic necessities (food, clothing, and shelter), the city imported raw wool from England, wove it into cloth, and exported it back across the Channel.
Because of the close economic ties between England and the Flemish cloth makers, the burghers, or the middle class, found their economic and political interests tied to England’s, while the Count of Flanders was tied to the Court of Paris and the French king. Even language divided them, with the burghers speaking Flemish and the nobles speaking French.
So in a city swarming with suspicion, my story took shape.
He is a man of secrets. He shares a king’s blood, but his mother’s shame means he’ll never claim his birthright. Now, disguised as a smuggler, he is a spy in a city of enemies.
She is a woman of lies. She hides her hair under the veil of a married woman to protect her father’s weaving business. Desperate for the banned wool, she opens her home to the alluring smuggler.
Sleeping under the same roof, they fight temptation at every turn. In a town where no one feels safe, she makes him yearn for things long forbidden, but can he trust her when the truth may mean betrayal---and death?
Their tug of war, and that of the factions in Flanders, changes the course of history.
For more about the book, and the place, visit me at http://www.blythegifford.com/.The Graslei in Ghent. Picture by http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:China_Crisis
License by http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/
Thursday, May 01, 2008
HH May Release: Notorious Rake, Innocent Lady by Bronwyn Scott
Determined not to enter into a forced marriage, Julia could see no way out—unless she were to become a ruined woman! Notorious rake Paine Ramsden was reputed to have no qualms about seducing innocents, so maybe he would help with her…predicament. Certainly, Paine deserved his rakish reputation, yet Julia was so achingly pure, one night with her might just ruin him! Awakening Julia's sensuality aroused unfamiliar feelings in him—was it too late to make them both respectable?
Read the excerpt
Buy
Notorious Rake, Innocent Lady
HH May release: Western Weddings Anthology
Rocky Mountain Bride by Jillian HartSavannah Knowles arrives in Montana expecting to marry Nate Brooks, but he has never heard of her! Can this quiet man find room in his heart for lonely Savannah?
Shotgun Vows by Kate Bridges
Milly Thornbottom has a crush on Mountie Weston Williams, and one stolen kiss changes their lives! After they're marched straight to the altar, can her crush possibly develop into more?
Springville Wife by Charlene Sands
Grace Lander returns to Springville to pick up the pieces of her life and become the town's schoolmarm. Single father Caleb Matlock's kiss may be just what Grace needs to mend her heart and make a home!
Read the excerpt
Buy
Western Weddings
HH May Release: Cooper's Woman by Carol Finch
Alexa Quinn wanted much more from life than a society wedding. She was determined to make her busy father see her true worth. So when secrets and lies threatened the good work he was doing, Alexa seized her chance to save not only her father, but herself as well.Enter Wyatt Cooper—ex-lawman, legendary gunslinger and a fine-looking man! He was the best in the West for stopping trouble in its tracks, but for Alexa he meant excitement, adventure and danger. Just what she was looking for….
Read the excerpt
Buy
Cooper's Woman
HH May Release: Taken by the Viking by Michelle Styles
A Viking raidThey claimed they came in peace, but soon Lindisfarne was aflame. Annis of Birdoswald fled in fear, but she could not escape the Norse warriors.
An honorable captor
One man protected her—Haakon Haroldson. The dark, arrogant Viking swept Annis back to his homeland, taking her away from all she held dear.
A new life—as his mistress!
Now Annis must choose between the lowly work that befits a captive, or a life of sinful pleasure in the Viking's arms!
Read an excerpt
Buy
Taken By the Viking
If you are intereseted in Vikings, Harlequin ebooks are offering a three book bundle of some of the earlier Viking/AngloSaxon books!
HH May release: A Wealthy Widow by Anne Herries
Elegant, beautiful and inordinately rich, Lady Arabella Marshall is used to fending off fortune-hunters' unwanted flattery—but now such attentions have become deadly!Lady Arabella is quite alone in the world, so she turns to the aloof and enigmatic Charles Hunter for protection. She instinctively trusts this quietly handsome gentleman. But, for safety's sake, Arabella cannot let her heart rule her head….
Read an excerpt
Buy:
A Wealthy Widow
HH May release: Talk of the Ton by Mary Nichols
Her name was on everyone's lips. They were agog to find out what Miss Elizabeth Harley had been doing down at the East India Docks. And in such shocking apparel! Why, her uncle's generosity in giving her a London season had been thrown back in his face.Elizabeth had not meant to sully her good name. All she'd craved was a chance to travel. Andrew Melhurst had come to her rescue when she needed him most, but should she consider marrying him to save her reputation?
Read an excerpt
Buy:
Talk of the Ton
Sunday, April 13, 2008
A Week at Romance Vagabonds...
Harlequin Historical Authors will be busy all this week at Romance Vagabonds! There will be competitions, chat, questions and prizes. Medieval Authors set the ball rolling on Monday 14th April...
Do visit!
Picture of the Medieval castles of Lastours, South of France.
Friday, April 04, 2008
The Canadian Wild West and the Mounties...by Kate Bridges
I write Westerns. Some of them are set in the American West, but since I live in Canada, a lot of them are set here, with Mounties as the heroes. This is a photo I took when I visited the Yukon, on the road to Alaska.
Last year, I was interviewed by a German magazine called LoveLetter. They wanted me to tell their European readers about Canada’s history and the Mounties. These are some of my notes from that discussion, which were later translated into German.
Dressed in crisp red uniforms with wide brown Stetsons, the Mounties galloped across the prairies and symbolized everything romantic about how Canada’s West was tamed. These were resourceful men, quick to make decisions, respectful, handsome and daring.
Because of the sheer volume of population, America’s West was settled fifty years before Canada’s. The U.S. had sheriffs and marshals, whereas Canada had the North-West Mounted Police. They were formed in 1873 by the government in order to settle the prairies, rid the land of whisky traders, make peace with the Indians, and maintain a lawful border with the States. In 1904, King Edward VII renamed them the Royal Canadian Mounted Police—bestowing the title of ‘royal’ because they fought so bravely in the Boer War for England.
At that time in Canada’s history, anyone from a commonwealth country was allowed to join the Force. Many signed on from the United Kingdom and the United States. Marriage was restricted. These men were expected to lead solitary lives, policing great distances on horseback, months away from home and sacrificing personal lives to serve their country. It was argued that if a Mountie constable had a wife and family, his duties would be diminished in order to protect his own homestead and family. Officers, on the other hand, weren’t so restricted.
The photos you see were taken in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. That's me in front of an actual Mountie cabin that was used during the Klondike Gold Rush. Inside the cabin, check out that ball and chain!
My current novel, out now, Klondike Fever, takes place in the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush. It’s a reversal of fortune story when the heroine, the richest woman in the Klondike, is robbed on a stagecoach headed to Alaska and chained to a man she used to work for as a servant. He’s a Mountie, disguised as a drifter and alcoholic, working incognito.
Kate
www.katebridges.com
Last year, I was interviewed by a German magazine called LoveLetter. They wanted me to tell their European readers about Canada’s history and the Mounties. These are some of my notes from that discussion, which were later translated into German.
Dressed in crisp red uniforms with wide brown Stetsons, the Mounties galloped across the prairies and symbolized everything romantic about how Canada’s West was tamed. These were resourceful men, quick to make decisions, respectful, handsome and daring.
Because of the sheer volume of population, America’s West was settled fifty years before Canada’s. The U.S. had sheriffs and marshals, whereas Canada had the North-West Mounted Police. They were formed in 1873 by the government in order to settle the prairies, rid the land of whisky traders, make peace with the Indians, and maintain a lawful border with the States. In 1904, King Edward VII renamed them the Royal Canadian Mounted Police—bestowing the title of ‘royal’ because they fought so bravely in the Boer War for England.
At that time in Canada’s history, anyone from a commonwealth country was allowed to join the Force. Many signed on from the United Kingdom and the United States. Marriage was restricted. These men were expected to lead solitary lives, policing great distances on horseback, months away from home and sacrificing personal lives to serve their country. It was argued that if a Mountie constable had a wife and family, his duties would be diminished in order to protect his own homestead and family. Officers, on the other hand, weren’t so restricted.
The photos you see were taken in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. That's me in front of an actual Mountie cabin that was used during the Klondike Gold Rush. Inside the cabin, check out that ball and chain!
My current novel, out now, Klondike Fever, takes place in the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush. It’s a reversal of fortune story when the heroine, the richest woman in the Klondike, is robbed on a stagecoach headed to Alaska and chained to a man she used to work for as a servant. He’s a Mountie, disguised as a drifter and alcoholic, working incognito.
In May, I’ve got another Mountie story in the anthology Western Weddings, which I share with fellow authors Charlene Sands and Jillian Hart. If you’ve been following my Gold Rush series, you’ll recognize the heroine, Milly, and her family, the Thornbottoms as they go through the unfortunate circumstance of “Shotgun Vows.”
Kate
www.katebridges.com
Thursday, April 03, 2008
HH April Release: Klondike Fever by Kate Bridges
Sexy Mountie Dylan Wayburn is having a bad day. Disguised as a drifter, he fetches up in the same stagecoach as Lily Cromwell, a beautiful redhead who was once a family servant. She could blow his cover sky-high. Then their stagecoach is held up at gunpoint—because everyone knows that Lily has struck gold. Pretending to be married to search for the gang who've stolen Klondike Lily's fortune leaves Dylan very, very close to the woman he should protect. He'll try and fight the flames of his desire...but how can he ignore the full lips begging to be kissed?Read excerpt
Buy
Klondike Fever
Available as an ebook. Part of e-harlequin's It's raining men promotion.
HH April Release: No Place for a Lady by Louise Allen
Miss Bree Mallory has no time for the pampered aristocracy! She's too taken up with running the best coaching company on the roads. But an accidental meeting with an earl changes everything....Soon, beautiful Bree has established herself in Society. She hopes no one will discover that she once drove the stage coach from London to Newbury...or that she returned unchaperoned with the rakishly attractive Max Dysart, Earl of Penrith.Bree's independence is hard-won: she has no interest in marriage. But Max's kisses are powerfully—passionately—persuasive!
Read the excerpt
Buy
No Place For a Lady
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