Inspiration
Behind The Laird’s Christmas Kiss
By Anna Campbell
It’s so great to be back on Myths, Legends,
Books & Coffee Pots today. Thanks to Mary Anne for inviting me here to talk
about some of the inspiration behind my Christmas novella, The Laird’s Christmas Kiss, book 2 of my Lairds Most Likely series,
which launched last July with The Laird’s
Willful Lass.
The setting for this new story is once again
Achnasheen Castle on the west coast of Scotland, with its spectacular views across
to the Isle of Skye. Fergus and Marina, the hero and heroine of The Laird’s Willful Lass, are hosting
their first Christmas house party for friends and family. The guests include
Fergus’s roguish cousin, Brody Girvan, Laird of Invermackie, and Hamish’s bluestocking
sister, Elspeth Douglas, who has been madly in love with Brody since she was
fifteen, although she’s well aware that he doesn’t know she’s alive.
This romantic story incorporates fairytale
elements from Cinderella and the Ugly Duckling. The first book in the series
bristled with sexual tension and the push and pull between the lead characters.
The next full-length story, The Laird’s
Lost Lady, out early in 2019, is a dark and dramatic tale about a runaway
bride.
So I wanted this Christmas novella to act like a
sorbet between two substantial courses, something light and sweet to suit the
season of goodwill and add a touch of comedy to proceedings. Readers can
revisit characters who appeared in the first book. It’s a chance to check in
with Fergus and his artist bride, and also find out a bit more about Diarmid
Mactavish and Hamish Douglas, the heroes of future entries in the series.
While this is the eighth Christmas story I’ve
written (clearly I enjoy doing them!), I’ve never before set a seasonal novella
in Scotland. This is a little strange, as Scottish heroes feature in The Winter Wife, His Christmas Cinderella,
Her Christmas Earl, and A Pirate for
Christmas.
One of the problems I ran into with this current
story is that mistletoe is rare north of the border. As you can imagine,
kissing under the mistletoe makes for a lot of fun in a Yuletide historical
romance, and it’s something readers look forward to finding when they pick up a
seasonal love story. And while mistletoe features in Norse mythology, and the west
coast of Scotland has a long Viking history, most of the references I found said
that the modern folklore about mistletoe originates from the other side of the
border. Which makes sense, given mistletoe is a parasitic plant common in the
Midlands and further south.
What was a resourceful historical romance writer
to do? Manage without her mistletoe? Never!
Luckily, in Marina Mackinnon née Lucchetti, I
had a half-English hostess for the high jinks at Achnasheen. While she was
brought up in Florence, her late mother was English, so I thought it highly
likely that mistletoe featured in family Christmas celebrations in Italy. (It’s
suddenly occurred to me that this series, while set in Scotland, is actually
quite international!) Cue Marina’s father arriving with his new bride Julia and
bringing as his gift a crate full of mistletoe imported from the land of the
Sassenachs.
Bravo! My Christmas novella was saved! So if you
enjoy a serving of mistletoe kisses with your Christmas cheer, I hope you’ll
pick up The Laird’s Christmas Kiss either
as a pre-order now, or after it’s released on 27th October! It’s
only 99p/99 cents on Kindle!
Christmas in Australia coincides with our summer
holidays – although that doesn’t stop most of us from doing the whole European massive
roast dinner thing with plum pudding to follow, or from sending out Christmas
cards festooned in snow and holly and robins. Seems odd, I know! But it’s also
a great time of year to settle down and watch Christmas movies (usually from
the other side of the world and usually featuring snow!).
Do you have a favourite Christmas film? I’ve got
quite a few, mostly old-school (I love classic cinema). They include Christmas in Connecticut, An Affair to
Remember, and The Shop Around the
Corner. Not a Scots hero in any of them!
There’s a Kindle download of my new novella, The Laird’s Christmas Kiss, up for grabs
today to someone who comments. No geographical restrictions. Good luck!
Giveaway
*Giveaway is now closed.
*Giveaway is now closed.
Do you
have a favourite Christmas film? I’ve got quite a few,
mostly old-school (I love classic cinema). They include Christmas in Connecticut, An Affair to Remember, and The Shop Around the Corner. Not a Scots
hero in any of them!
There’s a Kindle download of my new novella, The Laird’s Christmas Kiss, up for grabs
today to someone who comments. No geographical restrictions. Good luck!
Giveaway Rules
• Leave your answer in the comments
at the bottom of this post.
• Giveaway ends at 11:59pm BST on October 31st.
You must be 18 or older to enter.
• Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY.
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• 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.
The
Laird’s Christmas Kiss:
A
Lairds Most Likely Christmas Novella
Down with love!
Ever since she was fifteen, shy wallflower Elspeth Douglas has pined in vain for the attentions of dashing Brody Girvan, Laird of Invermackie. But the rakish Highlander doesn’t even know she’s alive. Now she’s twenty, she realizes that she’ll never be happy until she stops loving her brother’s handsome friend. When family and friends gather at Achnasheen Castle for Christmas, she intends to show the world that’s she’s all grown up, and grown out of silly crushes on gorgeous Scotsmen. So take that, my gallant laddie!
Girls just want to have fun…
Except it turns out that Brody isn’t singing from the same Christmas carol sheet. Elspeth decides she’s not interested in him anymore, just as he decides he’s very interested indeed. In fact, now he looks more closely, his friend Hamish’s sister is pretty and funny and forthright – and just the lassie to share his Highland estate. Convincing his little wren of his romantic intentions is difficult enough, even before she undergoes a makeover and becomes the belle of Achnasheen. For once in his life, dissolute Brody is burdened with honorable intentions, while the lady he pursues is set on flirtation with no strings attached.
Deck the halls with mistletoe!
With interfering friends and a crate of imported mistletoe thrown into the mix, the stage is set for a house party rife with secrets, clandestine kisses, misunderstandings, heartache, scandal, and love triumphant.
Ever since she was fifteen, shy wallflower Elspeth Douglas has pined in vain for the attentions of dashing Brody Girvan, Laird of Invermackie. But the rakish Highlander doesn’t even know she’s alive. Now she’s twenty, she realizes that she’ll never be happy until she stops loving her brother’s handsome friend. When family and friends gather at Achnasheen Castle for Christmas, she intends to show the world that’s she’s all grown up, and grown out of silly crushes on gorgeous Scotsmen. So take that, my gallant laddie!
Girls just want to have fun…
Except it turns out that Brody isn’t singing from the same Christmas carol sheet. Elspeth decides she’s not interested in him anymore, just as he decides he’s very interested indeed. In fact, now he looks more closely, his friend Hamish’s sister is pretty and funny and forthright – and just the lassie to share his Highland estate. Convincing his little wren of his romantic intentions is difficult enough, even before she undergoes a makeover and becomes the belle of Achnasheen. For once in his life, dissolute Brody is burdened with honorable intentions, while the lady he pursues is set on flirtation with no strings attached.
Deck the halls with mistletoe!
With interfering friends and a crate of imported mistletoe thrown into the mix, the stage is set for a house party rife with secrets, clandestine kisses, misunderstandings, heartache, scandal, and love triumphant.
Anna Campbell
Australian Anna Campbell has written 10 multi
award-winning historical romances for Grand Central Publishing and Avon HarperCollins,
and 20 bestselling independently published novellas. She’s also written 2
full-length independently published novels, Lord
Garson’s Bride, the last instalment in her bestselling Dashing Widows
series, and The Laird’s Willful Lass,
the first book in The Lairds Most Likely. Look out for her novella, The Laird’s Christmas Kiss, in late
October, the second story in this new Scottish-set series.