A Special Tidbit from BRIDE FOR A KNIGHT

Dear Reader,

There's just something about a man in plaid. As a dedicated, card-carrying Scotophile, I'm certainly smitten with them. Especially when they're 6'4” and dashing, every magnificent, kilt-clad inch of them bursting with charm. Add a twinkling-eyed smile and a deep, buttery-rich burr and women swoon.

Jamie Macpherson of BRIDE FOR A KNIGHT is such a Highlander. Also known as Jamie the Small, a misnomer if ever there was one, he first appeared in UNTIL THE KNIGHT COMES, leaping to life the instant he stepped onto the page. Authors speak of gift books, stories that are easy to write because everything flows so beautifully.

Jamie is a variation of that theme. He's a gift character.

As with gift books, magic happens with such vibrant, full-bodied characters. Often secondaries, they can be so appealing that it can be difficult to keep them from stealing the stage. If they have an issue in their lives, something that makes them truly deserving of a happy ending of their own, the only solution is to promise them a book.

Preferably the next one.

Unless the author wishes to be haunted by such a character until she relents and pens his tale.

Such was the case with Jamie.

His book was a joy to write and even now, months later and deep into other deadlines, glancing at the end of BRIDE FOR A KNIGHT gives me a misty-eyed smile. A great soppy-kind of smile that makes my heart swell and lets me know I did my best for him.

But Jamie's magic didn't stop there.

Readers know that my stories have elements of Highland magic. Those who know me as well, also know that I believe in that magic. I spend a lot of time in Scotland every year and each visit confirms my belief that Scotland is extraordinarily special.

Magical.

Things happen there that I doubt would occur elsewhere.

Often these things are related to a book I am currently writing, or recently finished. In Jamie's case, several such magical moments come to mind. Especially, something that happened when I was in Scotland during his deadline.

I was hill walking in a remote area near Glencoe when a fierce rainstorm swept the hills. The sky blackened, thunder boomed, and gusting wind blew teeming rain across the path. I was quickly drenched, with no shelter in sight.

Shoulders hunched and head bowed, I plodded on, thoroughly soaked, chilled and shivering. Even my walking boots filled with water.

Then I spotted a small stone chapel, surrounded by tall Celtic crosses and moss-grown grave slabs. I took refuge there, huddling inside the dim, ancient-seeming chapel until the deluge lessened.

In BRIDE FOR A KNIGHT, Jamie and Aveline shelter in a similar chapel during a storm. Imagine my surprise, upon leaving the chapel, to discover that it was called St. Bride's – just like in my book.

Coincidence or Highland magic?

You can already guess what I think.