The Inspiration Behind
The Highlander’s Defiant Captive
By Anna Campbell
Hi
Mary-Anne! Thanks so much for having me as your guest today on Myths, Legends,
Books & Coffee Pots. I love visiting your blog!
I’m
here today to talk about my latest release, The
Highlander’s Defiant Captive, which came out on 27th September.
It’s the fourth book in my bestselling Lairds Most Likely series, which started
last year with The Laird’s Willful Lass.
This
one was a bit of a surprise baby! Sometimes that happens when you’re writing. A
story pops up out of the ether and insists you tell it. And what is a writer to
do but follow the command?
In
my original plan (original plans often go west, as you’ll know if you read last
month’s post here on the joys of writing series), the book that was meant to
follow The Highlander’s Lost Lady,
Book 3 in the series, was The
Highlander’s English Bride. THEB will now be released next year and what
I’ve written instead is a story that’s a bit off-piste.
All
my published stories have been set in the Regency period, basically the first
quarter of the 19th century. The
Highlander’s Defiant Captive reaches way back into the late 17th
century when the Scottish Highlands were a wild and dangerous place.
The
idea for the story came from a “getting to know you” conversation in Willful
Lass when my hero Fergus Mackinnon is showing the heroine Marina Lucchetti
around Achnasheen Castle, his home. In the picture gallery, he points out a
portrait of a beautiful red-headed woman called Bonny Mhairi. He then tells
Marina the family legend about a long ago Laird of Achnasheen kidnapping Mhairi
from the enemy clan.
That
was as far as this particular tale was meant to go. Until I started to wonder
about Bonny Mhairi, snatched as part of an ongoing feud between the Mackinnons
and the Drummonds. What sort of man could persuade a stalwart lassie to forsake
a lifetime of clan prejudice and fall in love with him?
I’ve
had enormous fun with Callum and Mhairi. From the first, I had a vivid picture
of what they looked like and how they interacted. He’s big and brawny with a
sly sense of humor – think Jason Momoa – whereas she’s a classic smart-mouthed
historical romance heroine. I kept picturing gorgeous Maureen O’Hara who was
strong enough to stand up to any man. One flash of those spectacular green eyes
and the hero was toast.
That’s
pretty much what happens to Callum when he steals Mhairi away from her father
for political purposes and immediately finds himself under his captive’s spell.
Mhairi, however, is far from enchanted, which makes sense given the kidnapping
thing, and he has a battle on his hands to win her.
As
you can probably tell, this is a swashbuckling tale of two strong characters
clashing their way through to a happily ever after. Are you a fan of
swashbucklers? I love them. They’ve got such verve and spirit and humour. A
couple of my favourites are The Sea Hawk,
the Tyrone Power version of The Mark of
Zorro, and The Scarlet Pimpernel.
Either Leslie Howard or Anthony Andrews, I’m not fussy with that one!
The
Highlander’s Defiant Captive
By Anna Campbell
Peace in the glens means war in the bedchamber!
Scotland. 1699. In a time of heroes, the greatest hero
of all is Callum Mackinnon, Laird of Achnasheen. Brave, reckless, canny, and
handsome enough to turn any lassie weak at the knees, Callum is a legend in the
wild corner of the Highlands where he rules. Now the young laird is determined
to choose a new path for his clan and end the violent feud with the Drummonds,
a conflict that has painted the glens red with blood for centuries. This means
taking Bonny Mhairi Drummond, the Rose of Bruard, as his wife. When
negotiations with her pig-headed father break down, Callum seizes matters into
his own hands and kidnaps the fairest maiden in Scotland, swearing to make her
his own.
Bonny Mhairi is the adored only child of Clan
Drummond’s doughty chieftain and she’s inherited all her father’s courage and stubbornness.
Not to mention his undying hatred for anyone called Mackinnon. When the
Mackinnon chieftain steals her away from her home and vows to woo her into
accepting him as her husband, she swears that she’ll never consent to be his
bride. But trapped inside her foe’s castle, Mhairi finds it hard to cling to
old certainties. She detests her arrogant jailer, even as he sparks a fierce,
forbidden hunger in her soul.
Loving the enemy…
As Callum and Mhairi wage their passionate war of
hearts, danger, treachery and desire circle closer and closer. When her
father’s army masses at the gates of Achnasheen, will Mhairi prove herself a
Drummond now and forever? Or will new allegiances trump ancient hatred, as the
desperate laird battles to win the lass he loves more than his life?
Giveaway
Do you have a favourite swashbuckling movie from the
Golden Age? Anna is giving away a download copy of The Highlander’s Defiant Captive to help you buckle your swash
today.
All you need to do is leave
a comment at the bottom of this post
Giveaway Rules
• Leave your answer in the comments
at the bottom of this post.
• Giveaway ends at 11:59pm BST on November
1st
You must be 18 or older to enter.
• Giveaway is only open Internationally.
•Only one entry per household.
• All giveaway entrants agree to be
honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by
blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our
discretion.
•Winners will be announced in the
comments.
• Winner has 48 hours to claim prize
or new winner is chosen.
Pick up your
copy of
The
Highlander’s Defiant Captive
Anna Campbell
ANNA CAMPBELL has written 10 award-winning
historical romances for Grand Central Publishing and Avon HarperCollins and her
work is published in 22 languages. She has also written 23 bestselling
independently published romances. Anna has won numerous awards for her
Regency-set stories including Romantic Times Reviewers
Choice, the Booksellers Best, the Golden Quill (three times), the Heart of
Excellence (twice), the Write Touch, the Aspen Gold (twice) and the Australian
Romance Readers Association’s favorite historical romance (five times). Anna is
currently engaged in writing the Lairds Most Likely series which starts
with The Laird’s Willful Lass (2018). When she’s not
travelling the world seeking inspiration for her stories, she lives on the
beautiful east coast of Australia.
Connect with
Anna: Website • Facebook • Twitter • BookBub • Goodreads.
Love how you came up with this. The side stories you didn't intend to write are always the most fascinating.
ReplyDeleteCryssa, they often have a special energy, don't they?
DeleteLove the back story! And a picture of Eilean Donan!! Plus a chance to win! Thanks for the interview. Fun to read!
ReplyDeleteLisa, so glad you enjoyed it. You know I love Eilean Donan. The hero's castle Achnasheen is based on it which explains why I put in the picture!
DeleteLove the back story. And a picture of Eilean Donan. ❤️Plus a chance to win! Thanks for the interview. Fun reading.
ReplyDeleteAnna, I love the way characters have a way of telling on their own story. That's what I feel stories come out the best. Thank you so much for the giveaway. The supporters of already done so much for me I like you like a Scarlet Pimpernel. But I like so many such as the Man in the Iron Mask, the Musketeers, and so many more.
ReplyDeleteTeresa, so agree about the characters taking control. I loved the Man in the Iron Mask. There's an old version with Richard Chamberlain and I liked the one in the 1990s with Leonardo di Caprio too.
DeleteScarlet Pimpernel! I actually just bought the A&E series on DVD
ReplyDeleteHey, cool! Hope you enjoy it.
DeleteThanks so much to the people who swung by to comment. I'm delighted to announce the winner of THE HIGHLANDER'S DEFIANT CAPTIVE is Cryssa Bazos. Congratulations, Cryssa, and thanks to Mary Anne for having me as her guest.
ReplyDelete