Travel to Scotland with Lizbeth Selvig

 Hi Everyone! I’m Lizbeth Selvig and I write contemporary western, small-town and Scottish! romance. Thank you so much for inviting me to share the day with you! I’m excited to introduce you to the fun and family in my newest novel Never and Forever Scotland, the first of my series “The Heirs of Craigwarren” set in the beautiful Scottish highlands. 

I’m certainly not the first author to have a fascination with Scotland. I admit, it isn’t shirtless Highland clan chiefs who’ve captured my heart (although, seriously, I have zero problem with shirtless Highlanders!); it’s contemporary Scotland, its legends, beauty and people that fuel my obsession. And, of course, modern men in any kind of kilt! In 2017 my husband and I traveled to Scotland to hike the popular, one-hundred-mile West Highland Way. When I was done, I knew I had to try and capture spectacular Scotland in a story.

I switched things up a little in Never and Forever Scotland—instead of a modern-day Jamie Fraser, our hero, Ewan Portman, is a successful American businessman who has no desire to travel to Scotland. His heroine, Ainslie Campbell, is the Scot—a feisty Highland veterinarian with cats named for Beatle songs and a dog named David Tennant. She’s also in debt, is about to lose her home, and has responsibility for her pregnant, teenaged sister.

The non-human main character in Never and Forever Scotland is Craigwarren—a three-hundred-year-old Scottish homestead that’s been in Ewan’s family for generations. It’s a stunning place with its own loch and its own unbelievable legends and mythical residents. When Ewan is begged by his great aunt Catrione—someone he never knew existed—to take his place as next in line to inherit Craigwarren—his reaction is an unequivocal “no thanks.” 

Lizbeth and husband along the West Highland Way

But when he meets Ainslie, Catrione’s goddaughter, and hears the ancient legends of a kelpie in the loch, a brownie in the barn, and a family curse only he can break, Ewan is immersed in a world that leaves his heart vulnerable to Highland magic...especially the magic of love. 

Even if he wants to believe, however, he can’t stay in Scotland. He has a job. Ainslie has too much on her plate to settle down. And Craigwarren has too many problems to fix. Highland “magic” has its limits after all. Doesn’t it?

Readers are so kindly saying this story is a perfect escape and transports them right to Scotland. While I was writing it, I sure fell in love with the country all over again. If you get a chance to check out the book, I hope you’ll fall in love, too, finding out if Ainslie and Ewan find their HEA and sharing the romance and beauty of Scotland with me!

I’d love to know where YOUR favorite escape is—either by book or by actual travel. Is there a book setting that’s an automatic read for you? 

Thanks, again, for having me on Romancing The Genres! Please visit me at my reader group on Facebook or contact me anytime to stay in touch.

Award-winning and No.1 Bestselling author Lizbeth Selvig writes heartwarming contemporary romance. Whether set in the Scottish Highlands, a huge ranch in Wyoming, a small town in Minnesota, or a Kentucky racetrack, her strong, fun and funny characters will never do the expected while finding their ways home to family and love. 

Her novels have won the Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® and been nominated for the organization’s prestigious RITA® award. Lizbeth shares life in Minnesota, where her first book series is set, with her husband, Jan, her pretty horses Jedi and Largo, three human grandchildren, and her four-legged grandbabies of which there are over thirty, including two goats, two alpacas, a mammoth-eared donkey, two miniature horses, a pig, and multiple dogs, cats, and regular-sized horses. In her spare time, she loves to hike, quilt, read, and horseback ride.

Where to learn more about Lizbeth:

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https://www.facebook.com/lizbethselvigauthor

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Happy Chocolate Day! *throws confetti

National Brownie Day isn’t until December 8^th but who can wait that long? This treasured holiday should be celebrated more than once a year, in my opinion. Does anyone eat brownies only once a year? Besides, today is Chocolate Day so you’re not really breaking any rules.

Also, I have visions of a brownie sundae dancing in my head because summer = ice cream and what goes better with ice cream than a yummy brownie? 

There are two camps when it comes to brownie texture – fudgey and dense, or lighter and more cake-like. I fall in…both camps. I confess that I more-often-than-not bake a fudgey brownie but I wouldn’t refuse a cakey brownie if offered one. (Full disclosure, I won’t refuse any sweet baked good. And if it’s chocolate, there had better be another portion with my name on it.)

Here’s the recipe for brownies I make most often. Actually, this is the brownie recipe in my recipe box. Super easy and super chocolatey. Quite often…ah, most of the time…erm…all the time I put icing (frosting) on these babies. Vanilla icing is good. Vanilla icing with the addition of finely grated orange zest and a few tablespoons of orange juice instead of milk or cream is even better. (Makes a chocolate-orange kind of flavour – yum!)

Cocoa Brownies (adapted from Bon Appetit)

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 ¼ cups white sugar

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

½ kosher salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, beaten

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat over to 325F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a one-inch overhang, pressing firmly into corners, and spray with non-stick oil spray.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over low heat. With a spatula or wooden spoon stir in white sugar and cocoa powder until blended (sugar will not melt). Remove from heat, stir in salt and vanilla. Allow to cool for 5 minutes then stir in eggs, beating well. Stir in flour and chocolate chips (and pecans if using). Pour into prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until centre is set.

Remove from oven and cool completely on wire rack. Using edges of parchment, lift from pan and cut into squares. Makes 16 (for normal people) Makes 8 in our house - ha!

Are you a fudgey brownie or a cakey brownie person?

Cheers!

N.B. If I’m absolutely positive the majority of the brownies will be eaten as a component of a sundae, then I won’t bother with the icing because, I mean, that would be excessive, right?

(A previous version of this blog post first appeared in December, 2017.)