Welcome back one of our own, Blythe Gifford, who
has been blogging with Unusual Historicals since 2009. Her new trilogy from the
Harlequin Historical line, The Brunson Clan, continues this month with CAPTIVE
OF THE BORDER LORD. Set on the Scottish Borders during the early Tudor era, it
centers on a family of Border Reivers. This time, the heroine is Bessie
Brunson, only sister of the clan. Here's the blurb:
TO MARRY HIM WILL BE TO BETRAY HER FAMILY
Bessie, the selfless sister of the powerful but stubborn Brunson clan,
has sacrificed herself for her family’s honor and is at the mercy of the court
of King James. Ill-suited to court life, she must confront their mortal enemy,
Lord Thomas Carwell, dressed in nothing but borrowed finery and pride.
Underneath the relentless gaze of her captor, she’s enticed not only by
him but also by the opulence of a world far removed from her own. When the
furious king demands her brother’s head, Carwell is the only one to whom she
can turn. But she must pay the ultimate price for his protection….
**Q & A with Blythe Gifford**
Was
it easier to write the second book of a series?
“Easy” and “write” never seem to meet in the same
sentence for me. What came more smoothly
this time was the historical mindset and events. I knew the world, many of the key characters,
and how they might relate to each other.
But then what did I do? I took
Bessie Brunson away from the valley she – and I – knew so well and plopped her
in the middle of new corners of Scotland.
Ones I had to research all over again.
So
where does the story take place?
Like Cinderella, Bessie is whisked away from her
work-a-day world, first, to a royal palace, Stirling Castle, and then, to the
hero’s castle by the sea, modeled on Caerlaverock, the only triangularly shaped
castle in Britain.
Researching
a castle sounds like fun!
It was!
Stirling is one of the most famous in Scotland. It has now been restored beautifully and
there’s a beautiful website that brings the castle, and the people to
life. The only problem is that many of
those additions were made by the king AFTER the period of my story, so I was forever
checking dates.
I felt slightly less constrained about my hero’s
castle, since he is, I must remind myself, fictional. But Caerlaverock is well documented and now
sits at the edge of a nature preserve, so the muse had lots of fodder! Floor plans and photographs galore are
available online.
And
your heroine gets to meet the king! Just
like Cinderella!
Yes, we meet King James V and see a tournament and
dancing at the court. All very
glamorous, but also intimidating for a woman who’s never been so far from
home. We love the Cinderella story, but
it seems to me that Cinderella was a fish out of water, just like Bessie
Brunson. That couldn’t be as easy as
Walt Disney made it look!
So
what about the hero?
Lord Thomas Carwell, hero of CAPTIVE OF THE BORDER
LORD, appeared in RETURN OF THE BORDER WARRIOR.
He might (or might not) have betrayed the Brunsons and they certainly
did not trust him. I left the question
unresolved. In fact, I didn’t know the
truth myself until I wrote this book, so the uncertainty was genuine. He is a man of many secrets, as it turns out,
prepared to adjust to shifting tides.
That made him the opposite of blunt, plainspoken Bessie Brunson and so,
of course, they are perfect for each other.
Does
this book stand alone?
My intention was to make each story complete,
however, the stories are tight and sequential and there’s an arc to the series
as a whole which climaxes with a confrontation between the Brunsons and the
king. Harlequin scheduled them close
together: November/January/March, so
readers who love to gobble up a series in order can do so! I hope readers enjoy watching the evolving
relationships among the Brunson family members, too. Three siblings and, eventually, three spouses
allowed some interesting interactions.
What’s
up next?
TAKEN BY THE BORDER REBEL, will be released in
print in North America February 19.
Electronic and UK editions will be available March 1. As a bonus, starting February 25, I’ll have a
free, online read available on the Harlequin website. One of the secondary characters from CAPTIVE
OF THE BORDER LORD will get her own happy ending! (Title TBD.)
One lucky reader who comments on
today’s blog will be randomly selected to win a signed copy of RETURN OF THE
BORDER WARRIOR or CAPTIVE OF THE BORDER LORD.
Your choice!
Author photo by Jennifer
Girard. Cover Art Copyright © 2013 by Harlequin Enterprises Limited. Permission to reproduce text granted by
Harlequin Books S.A. Cover art used by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises
Limited. All rights reserved. ® and ™ are trademarks owned by Harlequin
Enterprises Limited or its affiliated companies, used under license.
