Virtual Book Tour ~ Highland Quest by B.J. Scott with Guest Post and Giveaway

No longer content in the shadows of his older brothers and on a quest to find his destiny, Bryce Fraser's chosen path is fraught with danger, passion, and decisions. Can his unspoken love for spirited, beguiling Fallon be triumphant in a time of war and uncertainty, or will they both fall prey to the devious plans of a traitorous laird from a rival clan?

Buy Links: Amazon / B&N / Kobo / Soul Mate Publishing  

********* EXCERPT *********

 

Bryce closed the gap between them. She heard his footsteps, felt his warm breath on the back of her neck as he spoke, but didn’t turn around.

“Please dinna be angry with me, Fallon. I could not bear to think you held me any ill will. This is for the best.” He gently touched her shoulder.

“Dinna leave.” She dropped the sack and whipped around to face him, the words escaping before she could stop them. “Why must you go? Why must you risk your life?”

“You know why.” He yanked her against his chest and captured her mouth.

But this time she did not fight his advances. She wrapped her arms around his neck, responding with equal enthusiasm to his kiss. Her lips parted, welcoming the sweep of his tongue. As he deepened the exploration, her knees buckled, and she clung to his tunic as if her life depended on it.

Unshed tears stung her eyes, but she managed to blink them away. This might be the last time they would see each other and she suddenly found herself wanting a memory that would last forever. What she was about to ask was wrong, and could only lead to heartache. While she knew she should fight temptation with her last breath, she was only human.

“Join with me, Bryce,” she whispered against his lips.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

With a passion for historical romance, history in general, and anything Celtic, B.J. always has an exciting work in progress. Each story offers a blend of romance, adventure, suspense, and, where appropriate, a dab of comic relief. Carefully researched historical facts are woven into each manuscript, providing a backdrop from which steamy romance, gripping plots, and vivid characters—dashing alpha heroes and resourceful, beguiling heroines you can’t help but admire—spring to life. A member of RWA, World Romance Writers, Celtic Hearts Romance Writers, and Savvy Authors, B.J. also writes contemporary, paranormal, time travel, and romantic suspense.

C.S. Lewis first captivated B. J.’s imagination in the fourth grade, and her desire to write sprang from there. Following a career in nursing and child and youth work, B.J. married her knight-in-shining-armor, and he whisked her away to his castle by the sea. In reality, they share their century-old home in a small Canadian town on the shore of Lake Erie with three dogs and a cat. When she is not working at her childcare job, on her small business, or writing, you will find her reading, camping, or antique hunting.

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********** GUEST POST ********

 
Where the ideas came from for my series.

Thank you for having me on your blog today. I look forward to sharing my new release, Highland Quest, with you and interacting with your visitors.

You asked my how I came up with the ideas for my Highland Series. I have a lot of story ideas in my head and to be honest, they just come to me. Never know when it is going to happen so always have a paper and pen handy ;) I know it sounds cliché, but that is pretty well how it happens.

It has been a while since I first got the idea for Highland Legacy, the first book in my Highland series. I started it about three years ago and worked on it off and on for the next six months. I had been reading some books about the time period, had had done some research when the idea occurred to write the book. The names of the characters, while totally fictitious fit in nicely with the plot I had planned, while it enabled me to share some of the interesting information I had learned in my research.When it was finished, I decided this was the book I would submit as my first attempt at getting published. I knew the day I wrote the first chapter and it was reinforced the day I wrote the end that this was the first of at least three books I planned to write involving the Fraser brothers, their roll in the fight for Scotland’s freedom, and the women who changed their lives.

A history buff by nature, I am also a hopeless romantic. Ialways have my nose in a book, reading about the past. In my spare time, I love visiting antique shops, historic villages and museums. Had I not gone into nursing and child and youth work, I would have opted for museum studies instead. Given my Scottish, Irish and English ancestry and named after my Scottish grandmother, I am fixated on anything Scottish or Celtic related. Historical romances set in medieval Scotland have always been my favorites to read so writing in this genre made sense. They say to write what you know and love.

For me, one of the most fascinating time periods in Scottish history was during their fight for independence from England. Like many, the movie Braveheart piqued my interest. Even though many of the facts and events were not exactly as depicted it gave people a glimpse of what it would have been like in the day and the struggle faced by the Scottish people. Going back to this time period was not only exciting, but it got me thinking about other books that might enlighten the readers about the time period, as well as offer an escape and entertainment.

I knew I wanted to write a series so picked a time where there were a few key battles, fairly close together that could be woven into my stories and still make chronological sense. I discovered the events surrounding the battle of Methven to be very interesting and by having this as the main battle in Highland Legacy, it got the ball rolling. Close to a year passes between the battle of Methven in 1306—where the Scot’s suffer a defeat and Robert the Bruce went into hiding—and 1307 and the battle of Loudon Hill—when he returns to reclaim his thrown—the battle highlighted in Highland Quest.

I am currently working on a third book, Highland Homecoming, which tells the story of the third brother and it takes place in 1308 and touches on another major battle in Scotland’s fight for freedom.

********** GIVEAWAY **********

The author will award gifts of swag (including a canvas tote bag, a mouse pad, a pen, book thong, bookmark, can cooler, magnet, and key chain -- US/Canada only) to randomly drawn commenters from this tour and her Virtual Book Tour, and a grand prize of one $50 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn commenter from this tour and her Super Book Blast. Make sure to leave an email address in case you are a lucky winner. You can follow the tour HERE  for more chances to enter