Author Interview: Blythe Gifford

Today, we welcome Blythe Gifford, a long time contributor to the Unusual Historicals blog.  After eight novels with the Harlequin Historical line, Blythe has just self-published for the first time.  She’s going to talk about this book’s long, unusual road to publication.  She’s offering a free, Kindle version to one commenter, so leave a note at the end for a chance to win.

First, here’s a bit about the book.

Scotland, 1661

He's a haunted man.

Alexander Kincaid watched his mother die, the victim, they said, of a witch's curse. So he has dedicated his life to battling evil. But in this small, Scottish village, he confronts a woman who challenges everything he believes. She may be more dangerous than a witch, because she's a woman who threatens his heart.

She's a hunted woman.

They called her mother a witch, but she was only a woman made mad by witch hunters like Alexander Kincaid. Having escaped to the Border hills, Margret Reid is seeking a safe haven and a place to hide. But when the witch hunter arrives, not only is her heart in danger.

So is her life.

**Author Interview with Blythe Gifford**

How did you come to write the book?

Sandra Brown has famously been quoted on the subject of conflict in a romance:  “If your heroine is an arsonist, your hero better be a fire fighter.  I could think of no conflict stronger than that of a suspected witch and a man whose mission was to stamp out what he perceived as evil.  I started noodling around with the concept before I was even published and was still thinking of it ten years later, so it had enormous power for me.  I shared the idea with my editor at Harlequin and she encouraged me to go ahead.

But you are self-publishing it instead.  Why?
For the simplest of reasons.  After I had completed the manuscript, Harlequin rejected it. 

That must have been a jolt.
It was, particularly since the proposal had been approved.  But I don’t fault my editor.  The book is very dark and very historical and I think she believed that it would not meet the expectations of the typical Harlequin Historical reader, despite the happy ending.  But I still loved the story, so I got my rights back from Harlequin and went on to write the Brunson Trilogy instead.  When I had a little breathing room, I pulled the story out again and readied it for publication in print and e-versions myself.

Why?
First and foremost, because I think it’s some of the best work I’ve done.  Second, as a learning experience in the brave new publishing world we live in.  And finally, as a sort of marketing experiment.  I’m interested to see whether there’s a market for a book that treats the history and the romance as equally important.

How was self-publishing compared to traditional publishing?
Harder than I expected.  And I was well prepared.  But I hired professional editors, a professional cover designer, and an expert in formatting…and there are still venues that I plan to make the book available and haven’t yet.  Now comes the challenge of marketing!  But I’m still glad I did it.  And I especially enjoyed being able to select my own cover design.  And Kim Killion did a wonderful job.  It really expresses the feel of the book.

So, what makes it unusual?
Subject, character, and setting.  It’s a book about witches that is not a paranormal, though the hero actually does believe witches exist, as even the most educated people did at that time.  The 17^th century was on the cusp of our modern era and pre-Enlightenment superstition and modern logic often existed side by side.

Talk about an unusual time period!
I had not written a story set in the 17^th century before.  As I got into it, I understood why you seldom read romance set in that era.  England and Scotland were torn apart by complex civil and religious wars.  Even keeping track of the backstory and the players made my head spin.  Finding a happy ending amidst all the chaos was a challenge.

This is your fifth book set in Scotland.
It surprises me, too!  I’ve now written Scottish Border books set in the 14^th, 16^th, and 17^th centuries.  I came to Scotland as a setting with some reluctance, originally.  And when I started thinking about where to set this book, I researched the medieval and Inquisition time periods first.  Then, I thought I would set it in England, where the most famous witch finder of them all, Matthew Hopkins, lived.  But I discovered that the witch hunts in Scotland were among the most virulent anywhere.  And by then, I was familiar with the geography and history, so it was easier to do.

What’s been the reaction so far?
Well worth my doing it!  I’ve been so gratified by four and five star reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.  They are saying things like “amazing…couldn’t put it down…does the near impossible.”  So glad readers are taking it to heart.

What’s next?  Self-publishing or traditional?
At the moment, I’m happily “hybrid,” which is the new term for those who do both.  I’m still under contract with Harlequin.  My next two books, royal wedding stories, take me back to 14^th century England and the court of Edward III.  SECRETS AT COURT will be out March 2014 and WHISPERS AT COURT later in the year.  Both are tied to real historical events, as all my books seem to be.

Leave a comment below for a chance to win a Kindle version of THE WITCH FINDER.   

After many years in public relations, advertising and marketing, Blythe Gifford started writing seriously after a corporate layoff. Ten years and one layoff later, she became an overnight success when she sold her first book to the Harlequin Historical line.  Since then, she has published eight romances set in England and on the Scottish Borders.  The Chicago Tribune has called her work "the perfect balance between history and romance."  For more information, visit www.blythegifford.com or www.facebook.com/BlytheGifford.

Excerpt Thursday: THE WITCH FINDER by Blythe Gifford

This week, Unusual Historicals contributor Blythe Gifford shares an excerpt from her newly released book, THE WITCH FINDER, a dark historical romance set on the Scottish Borders.  On Sunday, she’ll be chatting with us about the book and offering a chance at a copy.  Here’s the blurb:

Scotland, 1661

He's a haunted man.

Alexander Kincaid watched his mother die, the victim, they said, of a witch's curse. So he has dedicated his life to battling evil. But in this small, Scottish village, he confronts a woman who challenges everything he believes. She may be more dangerous than a witch, because she's a woman who threatens his heart.

She's a hunted woman.

They called her mother a witch, but she was only a woman made mad by witch hunters like Alexander Kincaid. Having escaped to the Border hills, Margret Reid is seeking a safe haven and a place to hide. But when the witch hunter arrives, not only is her heart in danger.

So is her life.

An excerpt from Chapter One

     Margret nodded her thanks. Shielded by her scarf and plaide, she walked back out onto the hard-packed dirt of the lane to see the witch finder looming before her, blocking her path.

     He was just as menacing in daylight, cloak swirling above bucket top boots, all in colors somber enough to please the Kirk. Yet if she had not known who he was, she might have suspected him of practicing dark arts.

     His deep-set eyes snagged hers. Even in daylight, she saw a haunted look there. As if he were the one carrying the demons.

     She cast her gaze to the ground, hoping he would not notice her.

     Too late. “Good day, Guidwife.”

     She tried to step around him, turning her face toward the hills.

     His hand touched her shoulder. "I said, 'Good day!'" His voice was firm as his touch. “Will you not look at me and give a civil reply?”

     Against her will, she turned, slowly, and watched his expression change, the same way they all did when they saw her full for the first time.

     “My God.” Startled into blasphemy, he drew his hand away from her shoulder. “I was not blinded.”

     She met his eyes, knowing he saw something very different when he looked at hers.

     “They’re . . . ,” he stumbled over the words. “One is blue, the other . . .”

     She let him look. No reason to hide what he had already seen. One eye was blue, clear and bright like her mother’s. The other was altogether different, with a patch of brown filling part of the iris.

     “And yours,” she began, when the silence stretched taut. Shadowed by his brows, his eyes looked near black. “One is brown, the other, brown.” Calm words, when she wanted to scratch his eyes out and cover her own so no one would ever see them again and wonder.

     Down the street, the two women from the alehouse had stopped at the edge of the common green to watch. He looked at them, then to the alehouse and back to Margret. “You know who I am.”

     He must know enough of village life to know that news of a stranger traveled fast.  “I do not know your name.” In her dread, she must have missed it.

     “Alexander Kincaid. And yours?”

     She did not answer. “They say you find witches.” His boots were fine leather, the fabric of his cloak a deep black not faded with time. Together, they must have cost a woman’s life. Maybe two. “It seems you find a lot of them.”

     Surprised, he leaned away. She took a deeper breath. She should not have insulted him, but now that he had seen her, the best she could do was resist. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes the man would hesitate long enough for her to run.

     “I don’t do it for money.”

     She raised her eyebrows. “But they do pay you.”

     “To do God’s work. To stamp out evil, yes.”

     Was that what haunted him? Had he seen too much evil and chosen to fight it? “How many? How many witches have you found?”

     He looked toward the fields and made no ready answer. What lay behind his silence? Days, weeks, months of confronting them in too many towns, killing too many witches to remember?

     “Not enough,” he said, finally, facing her again. “They still surround us.”

     She thought she had seen them all, all the hunters. Some, with pursed lips and Bibles, were convinced they were servants of God. Others, with lascivious eyes and slack lips, had more earthly motives.

     But this man was different. He spoke of God, but the pain he carried was his own.

     “You haven’t told me your name,” he said.

     “Margret.”

     “Margret what?”

     It was a common enough name. It would mean nothing to him unless he was from Edinburgh.

     “Reid. Margret Reid.”

     “I will see you again, Guidwife Reid.”

     She hurried away without answering, wishing it were not true.

Copyright © Blythe Gifford 2013

After many years in public relations, advertising and marketing, Blythe Gifford started writing seriously after a corporate layoff. Ten years and one layoff later, she became an overnight success when she sold her first book to the Harlequin Historical line.  Since then, she has published eight romances set in England and on the Scottish Borders in the medieval and early Tudor time periods.  For more information, visit www.blythegifford.com or www.facebook.com/BlytheGifford

Author Photo:  Jennifer Girard