Susan here, with two newly released e-books to tell you about--my Border Rogues trilogy is at last complete (and wait 'til you see these gorgeous covers!)
Rogues and rakes and romantic tales –- they often go together, though in the technical sense of the term, “rakes” and “rogues” probably shouldn't be the most most appealing of guys. But when these tawdry, rowdy sorts are conjured in the pages of a romance novel and cast as heroes, sometimes magic happens, and dictionary definitions are tossed on their ear. Rogues in the romance sense often can be powerful heroes, handsome, intriguing, compelling guys with dark secrets, with grievances and burdens nobly carried and kept close to the vest. These are men who have something to learn about life and love, and have some character growing yet to do. He's quite likely to be doing something downright illegal, but for good reasons that balance out in the end. A rogue can be a delicious challenge for the author as well as the heroine. If he doesn't come to terms with his own secrets and burdens, he might never change, find himself, find love.
Books II and III of the "Border Rogues" trilogy is set in the 16th century Scottish Borderlands. The Raven’s Wish, the first book, is set in the Highlands, where its Lowland hero encounters a quirky Highland lass with a whopping case of The Sight. It was released in e-book a couple of years ago, and recently it got a great new cover.
Now the other books in the series, The Raven’s Moon and The Heather Moon, are finally out too. These were bestselling, award-winning historical romances years back, and now they are all finally available in e-book editions -- with stunning new covers. I also had the chance during production (an advantage of the old book to e-book process) to edit the books again. They're freshened up, tightened up, and ready for new readers.
The Raven’s Moon and The Heather Moon are, like Raven’s Wish, set in Tudor times in Scotland. Wrting these, I dove in with relish to explore the Scottish side of the Tudor thing, and both Raven’s Moon and Heather Moon are set along the Scottish-English Border during the 16th century.
No more rough-and-tumble place existed in 16th c. Britain than the Border region. Mary Stuart, from infancy, was on the throne of Scotland and the Tudors, Henry VIII and Mary Tudor and finally Elizabeth I, ruled England. Scottish and English rogues had free rein and notorious reputations as cattle thieves and rascals, a rowdy bunch who could be pretty nasty—and sometimes very noble. These “naughty men,” as they were often called then, were the Border reivers, the men of the “riding clans”—Scotts and Johnsons, Elliotts, Maxwells and Armstrongs and a host of other Lowland names. They dominated the Borderlands in ways that strongly parallel the American Old West. It was wild time in Scottish history, populated by men who were never, ever tame. And I wanted to know more.
So I conjured up three stories with Border heroes who seemed, for all intents and purposes, to be bad boys and rogues—but were far from it. “The Border ballads and legends have cast a gloss of romance over it,” wrote George MacDonald Fraser in The Steel Bonnets, his study of the Scottish Border reiving society, and “there is a tendency to regard the high midnight of the Border reiver as a stirring, gallant episode in British history.” True, this was not a romantic era—heinous acts and incidents occurred, and men fought and died over territory that was bitterly disputed and could not be sorted out in maps and documents and loyalty to anyone’s satisfaction. But it was yet peopled with strong, fascinating characters who strongly believed in their own right to land and liberty, from their own perspectives.
Of all my heroes—warriors and knights, lawmen, healers, aristocrats, engineers—my Border reivers hold a special place in my heart. Yeah, I know, we say that a lot, we romance writers. But I really fell in love with Border laird William Scott in The Heather Moon and my Border officer Rowan Scott in The Raven’s Moon. They presented challenges that I had not encountered in my other books. Raised in a rough society, they had rowdy pasts and came from tough riding famililes, and they had made serious mistakes when younger. Yet William and Rowan had real heart, compassion and passion that they were reluctant to expose. And I had to not only rescue and remake them, but find them the perfect heroine and the perfect set of story hurdles.
Rowan Scott, former outlaw turned reluctant lawman, is bent on revenge despite his better instincts. Yet he soon finds himself with a small child to protect—and that begins to melt emotional walls Rowan has spent years constructing. Enter Mairi Macrae, a Highland girl determined to free her captured brother. She's been raiding the Border highways, and clobbers Rowan Scott, taking him prisoner--but once he turns the tables, she begins to uproot everything Rowan has ever known to be true, including his deep-seated unwillingness to love. Between the little boy thrust into his arms and the frank, wayward Highland girl with secrets of her own, Rowan has to rethink every perception he has.
William Scott in The Heather Moon has something noble and special to defend, a past to hide and a precious secret to guard which could threaten the very throne of Scotland. He’d rather tend to his lands and steer clear of rogues and rascals—he’s done with that part of his former life, or so he thinks—until he encounters Tamsin Armstrong, the half-gypsy daughter of a notorious Border rascal. An old promise binds William to Tamsin, and he has to take her under his protection. The girl is cut of her rascally father’s cloth, and has grown up as fierce and untamed--and as unrepentant--as the worst of her Border kinsmen. But Tamsin has a secret too, one that makes her deeply vulnerable. She is physically deformed, a flaw that has made her defensive and fiery in order to survive. She’s never felt loved for herself, without pity or rejection. But when she is arrested and placed in the custody of William Scott, he not only accepts her as she is--he enlists her in a scheme to protect the infant Queen of Scots, expecting more from Tamsin than anyone ever has. That trust and responsibility--and that very compelling, sexy man--catches her completely off guard.
These two Border couples were wild, passionate romance characters in an equally wild setting, unruly and romantic and a real pleasure to write about. These books do hold a very special place in my writer’s heart. I'm truly happy to have them available again as digital books.
"A wonderfully dark and delectable read. Susan King evokes the Lowlands as few writers have—with all the passion, intrigue, mystery and beauty of the land—and tells a unique, well-crafted romance." ~Kathe Robin, Romantic Times
"A marvelous Scottish tale. Absolutely wonderful characters, breakneck pacing, and a great setting. I couldn’t put it down." ~Patricia Potter
For excerpts from Raven’s Moon and Heather Moon, please click here.
Some thoughts to ponder --
In Scottish romance, would you rather read about Highland hunks, Lowland lovers, Border rogues, Edinburgh professors -- or will any ol' Scotsman, kilted or not, do nicely for you?
Scottish or not, have you read many romances where a main character is physically flawed, enough to alter their personal story?
There's a free digital copy waiting for some lucky commenter to this blog! I'll be giving away an e-book copy of Heather Moon or Raven's Moon to the winner. Thanks for your comments!
Susan