HIGHLANDER TIME-TRAVEL ROMANCE by Maeve Greyson

“What if” game seeded my love for Time Travel Romance

Have you ever played the “what if” game? Like after an important job interview or a book pitch with that awesome editor you’ve been stalking…er…I mean researching, your mind rewinds, replaying every single word you said and you think, “What if I’d said…? What if I’d told them…?” Would it have made a difference? Would I have won them over? And then you think, “Well crap on crackers! I wish I could rewind time and say (insert witty and awe-inspiring words here) instead.”

Awkwardly shy introvert that I am, I am an expert at the “what if” game. Been playing it for years and wishing I could have any number of “do-overs” to better present myself in whatever situation I’d just muddled through. And I’ve decided that’s most likely why I’m so fond of the time travel romance genre—both reading it as well as writing it.

I love when the heroine from the future discovers that the past isn’t as romantically rustic as she believed. Instead, it’s uncomfortable, inconvenient, and vastly smellier than she ever imagined. Or the hero from the past finds the future confusingly loud, complicated and frightening. But then they find each other and learn that love is timeless and having that one special person capable of winning your trust and cherishing your heart is all that really matters—no matter the century.

My Highland Hearts series is about the Sinclair women. Granny and her four granddaughters. Time-runners. The females of the Sinclair bloodline are able to skate back and forth across time at will and also control a specific set of powers such as healing, premonitions, and the talent of looking through a person’s thoughts and memories like flipping through the pages of a magazine. And since Granny’s getting up in years, she’s determined to see each granddaughter happily married to the perfect Highlander—the Highlander that Granny has seen through visions that her granddaughters are destined to love. 

The only kicker is that these perfect Highlanders happen to reside in the thirteenth century. That’s the century in which the Sinclair women were born before resettling to modern day Kentucky to survive. No modern man could ever meet Granny’s standards and besides, fate has matched her granddaughters with Highlanders from the past.

My Seductive Highlander is my latest release and the final book in the Highland Heart series. Here’s a bit more about it:

In this scintillating novel from the author of My Tempting Highlander (“Another exciting and heartwarming time-travel romance.”—Vonnie Davis), the ladies’ man of Loch Ness meets a hot-tempered lass who sets his heart aflame.

Though part of a legacy of time-traveling sisters, Lilia Sinclair is planted firmly in twenty-first-century Edinburgh. Her granny’s matchmaking with thirteenth-century Highlanders isn’t about to lure her into the past, especially as ancient Scotland enters troubled times. After all, Lilia is blessed—or cursed—with dire prophetic visions. To protect herself, she’s put up an icy emotional wall no man could cross—until a pair of gorgeous, rippling arms breaks right through.

Graham MacTavish is pure trouble. Once the dragon bound to Loch Ness, he’s transformed into a philanderer of the first order. In fact, because of his dalliances with other men’s wives, a rival clan wants his head on a pike. Before he provokes an all-out war, Graham is banished to the twenty-first century, where he must win Lilia’s hand—or return to die. But after meeting a lass as fierce as any Highland warrior, Graham knows one thing: life with Lilia, in any century, is a fate to embrace.

Praise for My Seductive Highlander

“Ms. Greyson pens a masterpiece of visions, kilted passions, and humor to cast a spell of utter delight over her readers. My Seductive Highlander is a perfect romance you won’t want to miss.”—Vonnie Davis, author of both the Highlanders Beloved and the Black Eagle Ops series

“For lovers of Scottish time travel romance—I’m a new fan!”—USA Today bestselling author Angela Quarles

“Maeve Greyson weaves a magical tale. My Seductive Highlander will have you holding your breath and flipping pages late into the night.”—Lisa Kessler, author of the Moon series

MAEVE GREYSON

Maeve’s Bio:

No one has the power to shatter your dreams unless you give it to them. That’s Maeve Greyson’s mantra. When she’s not working at the steel mill, Greyson’s writing romances about sexy Highlanders and the women who tame them. She and her hubby of nearly thirty-seven years reside in a five-acre wood in rural Kentucky.

Find Maeve Greyson at these places on the web:

Website
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Twitter

Amazon Author Page

Heavy on the Scary, Light on the Gore

By Linda Lovely

I walked out on this "classic" due
to its graphic violence.

I love mysteries and thrillers—books and movies.  However, I try to avoid any entertainment medium that dishes up excessive violence and gore. While many people consider Clockwork Orange a movie classic, I walked out on that film when it premiered. I don’t need horrific, violent images polluting my mind and invading my nightmares. I’m not a fan of horror movies—even on Halloween.

I’m delighted when mystery/suspense/thrillers give me chills and goosebumps. I read/watch because, at least in my favorite books/films, the hero/heroine ultimately wins out over evil. For those of us who love these genres, the promise that right/justice can prevail (at least occasionally) is both comforting and inspiring.

I love books that make me eager to turn the page to find out what will happen next, to discover how the protagonists will escape what seems like inevitable doom. Dire situations are just dandy. But severed body parts, gallons of blood, and extended torture scenes are unnecessary and unwelcome for this reader/viewer. Spare me the chainsaw and slasher flicks. My imagination is quite adequate to feel the intense cruelty of a serial killer or psychopath without pages of gory description. 

Marathon Man is one of my favorite films
even though the torture scene made me squirm.

However, I have to admit one of my favorite movies, Marathon Man, includes an extended torture scene—though the instruments of torture can be found in most dentists’ offices. That seems to suggest my tolerance for violence extends well beyond PG.

The the people who die in my mystery/suspense/thrillers don’t exactly pass away in their sleep either. Since my killers tend to be smart, I figure they’re entitled to come up with ingenious methods to engineer their victims’ deaths. Their weapons have included everything from fire ants and dog collars to eye drops. If you haven’t read my novels, I don’t want to give details that could be spoilers.

So how do you feel about scary books/movies? Do you choose to pass on the gore? Where do you draw the line on violence? 

THINGS THAT GO "BUZZ" IN THE NIGHT by Sarah Raplee

Sometimes what scares you the most are concrete things that scared you as a child. Sometimes experiences you'd think would have left you scarred inexplicably don't. The human psyche is a rich and strange land.

I'm allergic to spider bites. We discovered this when I was bitten on the hand at the age of five. I remember how the pain kept growing, and how my hand swelled until I couldn't use it, and how I had to see the doctor for treatment. A later bite on my back left a scar and taught me the meaning of the verb, to lance.

Yet I'm not afraid of spiders. I loved the book Charlotte's Web. I tolerate one or two on the outside of the house in hopes they'll catch mosquitoes and flies.

Wasps, on the other hand, I am afraid of, although I'm not allergic to them. Go figure!

Last week I was staying with my ninety-year-old mother during a storm. Guess who showed up inside the house?

Yep, Wasps. Plural. Over a three-day period. They should have been dead or hibernating or hiding out in their nest - whatever wasps do in the winter - but instead, they kept appearing inside the house. They did seem sluggish, though - thank goodness!

Initially, Mom found one crawling on the hall floor one morning. Imagine her surprise! Then she spotted one on the edge of the bathroom waste basket. I later found one in the bathroom sink. At that point,we started looking for more. There were five or six behind the blinds in the living room window. That's when Mom realized how they'd gotten into the house.

Weather forecasters had predicted very high winds. I 'd walked around the house and yard, putting anything that might blow inside the garage. But I forgot the pillows on the deck swing. I went out the back door to get them and spotted a birdhouse made of bark on the deck. I snatched that up, too. It hardly weighed anything - definitely might blow away. Unfortunately I stowed the pillows and the birdhouse on the floor behind Mom's recliner.

Sure enough, wasps had built a cozy nest inside the birdhouse! The warm house must have awakened them from their winter sleep. Mom put the birdhouse back outside. We breathed a sigh of relief.

Next morning, there were two more wasps at the living room window. That night one was buzzing around the lamp. After searching the bedrooms for insect interlopers, we left the light on in the living room and shut our bedroom doors hoping any that remained would "go towards the light."

Apparently they did. We found a few more  near the window on the third day. I, for one, am afraid of things that go buzz in the night!

What are you afraid of? ~ Sarah

Sarah Raplee writes paranormal romance featuring underdogs, outsiders and survivors.She has published stories in two anthologies. Her first novel, BLINDSIGHT, Book1 of the Psychic Agent Series, will be available soon from Windtree Press. 

Visit Sarah at www.SarahRaplee.com

My Scary Trigger

By Courtney Pierce

Chills. Thrills. Tension. Danger. It’s not what I see, but what I don’t see that defines a scary novel or movie for me. I’m easily suckered into a good ghost story. Graphic images of severed body parts and gushing blood do nothing for me, but I love the suspense of an unseen force. Suspense makes my heart race. My imagination is so much bigger than what any special effects team could show.

For example, take The Haunting or The Legend of Hell House, both movies based on books. These classics ooze with the dire stakes of “Don’t go into the nursery” and “Do you feel that? A cold spot”. The only thing one sees is a door slam shut or the steam of a character’s breath. Yeah, the premise is predictable―characters gather in a presumably haunted house for a week with a can't-miss offer―but it’s such a great hook. Time for a potty break when a shadow of an erotic statue comes alive on the ceiling!

Skepticism morphs to fear; shock clarifies to belief. Finally, there is understanding and strength. All the emotions I want, and need, to feel take us to a satisfying conclusion.

One of the best romantic ghost stories is Rebecca by Daphne De Maurier (and the rare triumph of book-turned-movie version by Alfred Hitchcock in 1940). The implied ghost of Maxim de Winter’s dead wife, Rebecca, is everywhere, even in her embroidered monogram on a linen napkin and on her embossed custom stationary. Rebecca’s luxurious bedroom―off limits to all but the creepy maid―swirls with sheer curtains that billow with a breeze from the sea. The camera pans from the soft touch of furs and lingerie in the closet to a framed photo of Maxim on the dressing table. The maid even mimes the "hair drill" brushing of Rebecca's hair. The unseen ghost of Rebecca wedges herself right between Maxim and his naive young wife. The poor thing is so diminished by this ghost that the reader (or viewer) is never even told the new wife’s name. She’s only referred to as “Maxim’s wife” or “Darling”, much to the disdain of the mansion’s housekeeper. Rebecca's not a real ghost, but she's certainly an overwhelming emotional presence that drives the suspense.

Brilliant!

I was so taken by De Maurier’s crafty technique that I used the scaffolding of the story (sans the creepy housekeeper) to end my Dushane Sisters Trilogy series, only in reverse. In the upcoming final installment, Indigo Legacy, it is the ghost of my heroine’s dead husband that torments her male love interest. The presence lives in the wedding ring that my character can’t get off her finger. To overcome the challenges of a death bond is not only painful but suspenseful. A hacksaw finally severs the gold band in a hospital Emergency Room, but it’s not quite over. Invisible baggage makes my characters stumble and fall. I had fun infusing my own humorous take on the road map of De Maurier’s story. It’s due out in 2017.

I watch and read scary stories to vicariously experience the emotions of what the characters feel. It’s a break from the mundane work-a-day world, an escape when characters want so desperately for life to be normal while invisible forces get in the way. The characters must conquer their fear of something that is totally out of control. And when they do, their lives will forever be changed.

Like watching the news. That’s a scary story these days. We writers are better positioned to change lives by crafting a good book.

Courtney Pierce is a fiction writer living in Milwaukie, Oregon, with her bossy cat. She writes for baby boomers. By day, Courtney is an executive in the entertainment industry and uses her time in a theater seat to create stories that are filled with heart, humor and mystery. She has studied craft and storytelling at the Attic Institute and has completed the Hawthorne Fellows Program for writing and publishing. Active in the writing community, she is a board member of the Northwest Independent Writers Association and on the Advisory Council of the Independent Publishing Resource Center. She is a member of Willamette Writers, Pacific Northwest Writers Association, She Writes, and Sisters in Crime. The Executrix received the Library Journal Self-E recommendation seal. 

Check out all of Courtney's books at:

courtney-pierce.com and windtreepress.com. Both print and E-books are available through most major online retailers, including Amazon.com

The Dushane Sisters are back in Indigo Lake. More laughs, more tears...and more trouble. Protecting Mom's reputation might get the sisters killed―or give one of them the story she's been dying to live.

New York Times best-selling author Karen Karbo says, "Courtney Pierce spins a madcap tale of family grudges, sisterly love, unexpected romance, mysterious mobsters and dog love. Reading Indigo Lake is like drinking champagne with a chaser of Mountain Dew. Pure Delight." 

Colorful characters come alive in Courtney's trilogy about the Dushane sisters. Beginning with The Executrix, three middle-age sisters find a manuscript for a murder mystery in their mother's safe after her death. Mom’s book gives them a whole new view of their mother and their future. Is it fiction . . . or truth? 

Get out the popcorn as the Dushane Sisters Trilogy comes to a scrumptious conclusion with Indigo Legacy. Due out in early 2017.