Elizabeth: I’m
the product of the Mad Men era. I grew
up in the 60’s and 70’s when doing things
like sneaking up on the roof of our suburban Richmond, VA home to read
Judy Blume books and drink Dr. Pepper out of glass bottles was considered fine
living. These days I still live in the ‘burbs only now I’m inside the
Washington, DC beltway in our mid-century home where I live with my husband of
29 years, our son, one old Australian Cattle Dog, and one privileged Maine Coon
mix cat. When not writing, I am trekking the wilds looking for birds and
photographing them, as well as doing urban archaeology by junking and turning
those cast-offs into dime-store/vintage
inspired creations for my etsy shop: Dime Store Chic. Oh, yes, and I still
read on the roof...of our tool shed.
Me: Tell us about your new book?
Elizabeth: “Warrior
and the Wanderer” is my foray into the Scottish-historical-romance-time-travel
genre. (That’s a mouthful!) I adore
time-travel stories. I find the development
of characters being thrust back in time, or facing a person from another
time, fascinating. “Warrior and the Wanderer” came about when I was watching
The Beatles “A Hard Day’s Night” and I wondered what folks five hundred years
in the past would have thought about music like that. I modeled the sarcastic wit
my hero, Ian MacLean, uses as a defense mechanism from old John Lennon interviews. My heroine, Bess Campbell, a
fierce Highlander, has enough on her plate when the story opens, and now she
has to deal with this very strange man named MacLean. Rather that burn him at
the stake, she finds it’s far better to use his odd ways to further her own
interests.
Me: When you write, does your real life spill over
into your book at any time?
Elizabeth: In
some very small ways. There may be a quirk here or a small encounter in daily
life that I might work into a story as long as it matches the book’s tempo and
theme.
Me: Do you think about a book of yours, being made
into a movie, or not when writing?
Elizabeth: I
love movies and I can’t help but thinking of my stories as little movies in my
head as I put them onto my computer screen. Sometimes they even have
soundtracks!
Me: When naming your characters, do you give any
thought to the actual meaning?
Elizabeth: Not
particularly. I like names that have a certain ring to them and are fairly
accessible for the reader to pronounce and remember.
Me: What made you want to write and also what made you
want to write the genre you are writing?
Elizabeth: When
I was ten, I read “Harriet the Spy” and loved the idea of keeping a notebook
like Harriet did. I looked forward to writing in it as often as I could.
Eventually I wrote short stories and then whole books of really bad fiction. I
was drawn to Scottish historical romance, because of my family’s origins and
the fact that I just love stories about relationships and adventure. I also
have to admit that I like doing the research for the books as well. I even
studied Scottish Gaelic in adult ed classes for three years.
Me: If you had to choose, which writer would you
consider a mentor?
Elizabeth: My sisterhood of writing friends are all mentors and inspirations to me. They are
hard-working, wonderful women who I aspire to be when I grow up!
Me: Do you have any tips for our readers that might
dream of writing?
Elizabeth: Don’t dream. Do it. I know that the blank page or screen can be a frightening prospect. Just get those thoughts down. Dance with your thoughts and ideas by putting words on the page. You can edit later. Remember that you have complete control over your story because it is just that: yours.
Me: Tell us anything you want?
Elizabeth: Thank you, for giving me the opportunity to meet your readers. It is an honor and a pleasure to introduce myself and my book to you. Cheers and Slainte! ElizabethMy Review of Warrior and the Wanderer ~ Elizabeth Holcombe
This is a great book. First I like to say that usually, at least for me, see time travel with women always going back in time. Having it reversed is a great aspect. It was great reading the heroine and hero bicker and hide their feelings. The idea of being around people who are, what you believe, not all there upsatirs. Both of them thinking this of each other. I couldn't put it down.
You got this arrogant guy, yet somewhat depressed from his fall from fame. Then you have the Hot tempered about to die female. Who thinks this man her enemy.
Try as you might, you cannot stop reading. You have mystery, revenge, laughter, and love all rolled into a simply well written book.
BOOK INFO
TITLE – Warrior and the Wanderer
AUTHOR – Elizabeth Holcombe
GENRE – Scottish historical romance/time travel
PUBLICATION DATE – December 23, 2014
LENGTH (Pages/# Words) - 249 pages
PUBLISHER – Amazon Kindle
COVER ARTIST – Fiona Jayde Media Designs
BOOK SYNOPSIS
An impossible adventure. A fierce, undeniable desire.
Infamous Scottish bad boy, Ian MacLean, takes a road trip to sort out his mess of a life and lands five hundred years in the past. He is taken hostage into what he is certain is a band of extreme Highland role players. The only bright light in this strange situation is his insanely beautiful warrior-princess captor who wields her claymore as well as her fiery feral charms.
To gain a strong ally for her clan, flame-haired Bess Campbell reluctantly married a powerful Highland chief who had no intentions of uniting the clans. After murdering her clan chief, he chains her to a rock condemning her to die in the rising tide, until a strangely dressed but startlingly handsome man emerges from the waves like a mythical selkie and rescues her. Bess learns her most odd savior has the same name as her murdering husband—MacLean—and makes him her prisoner.
Fearing she may have captured a madman, Bess forces Ian to journey through Scotland chasing down a killer. She finds Ian’s strange ways oddly endearing and uncommonly useful to her quest for revenge. Ian struggles to find a way back to his time, while being pulled deeper into his role in the past and his undeniable attraction for the fiery Highland warrior princess, Bess Campbell.
BUY & TBR LINKS
EXCERPT
She knelt at his feet and began smoothing the plaid across the cold stone floor, felt him watching her every move. “Ye’d best pay close attention,” she said, “because I’m no’ gonnae do this for ye again.”
“Too humiliating?”
“Should be humiliating for ye, to have me show ye how to properly dress yourself.” “Actually, I find it charming, in a weird sort of way.”
Bess ignored the last comment and folded the bottom third of the plaid into thick pleats. She slipped the rope under them.
“Lay on the plaid,” she said. “Place yer waist at the rope in case ye’ve forgotten.” “Oh, yer sarcasm tears me apart, Blaze.”
“If it would help to tear down yer arrogance then we’d be better served, and stop calling me Blaze.” He grimaced as he folded his body down to kneel beside her.
“Your wound…,” she began.
“Is nothing,” he said behind clenched teeth as he lowered his body on top of the plaid.He rested supine before her. Bess drew in a deep breath. She hovered over him, grasped the ends on the rope in her fists, tied it about his waist, and then adjusted the pleats under the belt.
Ian moaned from far back in his throat. Perspiration glistened across his forehead.
“Ye claim your wound is nothing, d’ye?” she chided, loosening the rope belt. Ian gave her a small forced smile.
She continued to dress him. Her fingers smoothed the wool over his hard waist, over his lean hips, and down the ridge of muscle on his thighs. Feigning indifference was the most difficult part of her task.
“Ye may stand now,” she said. “I’ll help ye.”
“No thanks,” he said struggling to sit up, “you’ve done quite enough.”
She ignored his protest.
“Bursting your stitches is no’ a sign of bravery, ’tis a sign of stupidity.” She took up his left arm and placed it over her shoulders. “Stand with me.”
“I can do it on my own,” he said.
“Ye’re just another arrogant bastard, a typical MacLean,” she said helping him anyway.“Have you ever thought that all MacLean’s aren’t forged from the same iron as your husband?” he asked.
“Ye betrayed my trust, so aye, I do think all MacLean’s are alike,” she said.
“But what sort of man would I be if I didn’t try to escape?” he asked.
She paused. He had her there. Of course she expected he would try to escape. That was why she had chained and tied him up in the first place.
Ian on his feet, Bess took a step backward. She could not help but allow her gaze to fall down the long length of his body and discovered her task was not complete.
She bent down, and scooped up the rest of the plaid dangling from his waist and tossed it over his shoulder. He remained silent, a blessing, as she tucked the end of the plaid under the rope belt. Task done, Bess surveyed Ian, and her knees suddenly weakened.
Dear God, she thought, he’s the Highlander of my dreams, of my heart. He is the one who could make love possible, if he wasnae so arrogant and odd, and I wasnae so bound to my clan. If ‘twas another time…
AUTHOR BIO
Elizabeth Holcombe’s background includes Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Fine Arts and Art History from Virginia Commonwealth University in her hometown of Richmond. She has taught elementary school and adult education courses on architecture in Rochester, Minnesota, and then worked as a fine arts museum registrar at the Flint Institute of Arts in Michigan.
Although she’s been writing since age ten, it wasn’t until after the birth of her son that she began penning book-length fiction. A past president of Washington Romance Writers, Elizabeth has also organized two highly successful seminars on romance for The Smithsonian Associates.
Elizabeth’s first published Scottish romance novel, Heaven and the Heather (originally published by Berkley/Jove of Penguin Putnam), was a finalist for Best Historical Romance in the Holt Medallion, nominated by Romantic Times
Reviewer’s Choice for Best First Historical Romance and the Dorothy Parker Reviewer’s Choice Award.
Elizabeth lives in Falls Church, Virginia with her husband and son. She is also the proud owner of Dime Store Chic, ranked in the top 50 for vintage shops on Etsy.com. When not writing or crafting her mixed media creations, Elizabeth frequents local estate sales and flea markets.
AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS
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BOOK INFORMATION
TITLE – Accepting Fate
SERIES – Others of Seattle: Book 3
AUTHOR – Brandy L Rivers
GENRE – Adult Paranormal Romance
PUBLICATION DATE – 2-23-2015
LENGTH (Pages/# Words) – around 70ish k
PUBLISHER – Brandy L Rivers
COVER ARTIST – Brandy L Rivers
BOOK SYNOPSIS
Accept fate, or it destroys you...
Michael Nights hides his true nature. To protect his first love, his magic broke free, terrifying Amanda so badly she left. That day convinced him he was the monster she claimed. Horrified by the damage he could cause, he’s vowed to keep his power locked away.
Gwen Fate meets Mike at a party. One look and she’s captivated. Inherently curious, she wants to discover all of his secrets. What she learns compels her to help, whether or not he wants to embrace what he is.
Amanda deLuna has changed, but was it for the better? She arrives back in Seattle and offers Mike what he always wanted.
BUY & TBR LINKS
AUTHOR BIO
Brandy L Rivers is the author of the Others of Edenton and Others of Seattle series. There are more Others of Edenton and Others of Seattle books in the works. As an avid reader, Brandy has always loved writing. She became serious about it as a stay-at-home-mother. She has a file full of manuscripts she plans to edit and put out there eventually. She lives in Western Washington with her husband and three kids, where she is already working on future stories in each of the series and several other projects.
AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS
Thank you for the wonderful Review and for participating in the Tour. Victoria at My Family's Heart
ReplyDeleteI love the Family's Heart Tour. You guys are awesome. <3
DeleteThank you so much for featuring my book and for the awesome review! Slainte!~~Elizabeth Holcombe
ReplyDeleteI really did love the book. I like time travels and seeing it in a mans view was so much fun. Thank You for that.
DeleteXXOO!~~Elizabeth
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