Keira Montclair & Avelina Ramsay (from her next Novel) Interview and Giveaway

I was able to get an AWESOME interview from Keira Montclair, and the Heroine from her Current WIP (Work in Progress). Or we can say the last in the Clan Grant Series. No worries Grant fan like me. She has plans to keep us all happy.

To stay up to Date on Keira make sure to sign up to her Newsletter. She also has a Fan Friday game/Giveaway she does in her newsletter.
Also 
Keira is Giving away $20 AMAZON GC. At the end of this blog........

Author Interview

Me: Tell us about yourself

Keira: Thanks so much for inviting me, Kimi! As you know, I love to write historical and contemporary romance. I have two series: The Clan Grant Series set in medieval Scotland and The Summerhill Series which is set in The Finger Lakes of Western New York. I’ve been blessed with the best readers, and I really enjoy getting to know them.

Me: Tell us about your new book?

Keira: I just finished writing the 8th book in the Clan Grant Series- HIGHLAND HARMONY. It’s Avelina Ramsay’s story, and it’s the first novel I’ve written that has a faerie in it. Highland Harmony should be out in early October.


I’m also excited to start my new series, which is based on the lives of the children of the Grants and Ramsays in the first series. I’m moving ahead about fifteen years to tell their stories. The first one will be about Loki Grant.


Me: When you write, does your real life spill over into your book at any time? 

Keira: Only my nursing experience. I’m an RN so I often use my medical knowledge in my novels.

Me: Do you think about a book of yours, being made into a movie, or not when writing?

Keira: No, never.

Me: When naming your characters, do you give any thought to the actual meaning? 

Keira: Not so much to their meaning. I usually pick names that I think readers will like that are appropriate for the setting. For my Scottish medieval, I choose Gaelic names. I mean, who wants a hero named Horace or Clyde?

Me: What made you want to write and also what made you want to write the genre you are writing?

Keira: I decided to try writing because I love reading historical romance. One day I just sat down to see if I could do it, and I was surprised at how fast the story came out. Of course, I’m also a fast typist.

Me: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

Keira: Probably Eliza Knight. I’ve known her for quite a while, I love her novels, and she is always willing to help. Wonderful person. I also enjoy Margaret Mallory. She is also very helpful and is a gifted author.

I really enjoy meeting other authors, especially in the historical romance genre. As some of you know, I really enjoyed meeting the other Highlander’s Handmaidens-Emma Prince and Madeline Martin. We had fun in NYC at the last conference, especially our small stint as cover models.

Me: Do you have to travel much concerning your books?

Keira: No, though someday I hope to go to Scotland. I love traveling to the Finger Lakes, and I do plan to do that more often. I need to go to the wineries for my contemporary novels, The Summerhill Series.

Me: What was the hardest part of writing your book?

Keira: Two things. One was making the decision to self-publish, and I’m so glad I did. The second thing is learning to ignore the bad reviews. The characters feel like family after a while, at least mine do. And some reviewers are so nasty. But I’ve also learned a lot from my reviewers.

Me: When you start writing your book, do your H/H ever talk to you?

Keira: No, I wouldn’t say they talk to me.

Me: Do you ever experience writer’s block?

Keira: No, I really haven’t because of the lengthy plotting process I go through. I do full character arcs and 18 scene plots before I start writing. If I do that completely, I don’t get writer’s block. If I have a doubt, once I sit in the chair and start typing, the story is always there.

Me: Do you have any tips for our readers that might dream of writing?

Keira: Don’t be afraid to try it, and don’t make the mistake of rewriting the beginning over and over again-just keep going. Join an online organization (Romance Writers of America if you want to write romance) so you can start learning the ins and outs of your genre. I wrote an entire book before I joined. Then I started to learn all the things I was doing wrong. I had to go back and rewrite my first novel at least ten times.


Avelina Ramsay – the heroine of Keira's next novel, Highland Harmony


Me: What are your strongest/weakest traits?

Avelina: All of a sudden, I cannot speak to lads of a similar age. My voice freezes. Even when I try to speak, naught comes out.

Me: What are your fears?

Avelina: I’m afraid that I’ll never be married and never have bairns of my own. Who would be interested in me? I have no value. My brother’s wife and my best friend are both healers. My brother Logan’s wife is the best archer in all the land, and my other brother’s wife is the laird of her clan.

I am naught…

Do you mind if I ask why you wanted to interview me? I’ve never been special.

Me:  I think you ARE special, I believe everyone is special in their own ways. I want to know about you and what you are like. Just an FYI, I was the shy'est and sensitive child growing up. You could say hi to me and I would start crying. All the way through highschool.

Me: Most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you?

Avelina: The lad I dreamed about for many moons finally spoke to me, and I could not answer. I was so embarrassed. I turned red and wished to run away and hide, but I could not.

Me: What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

Avelina: I hate my large breasts because lads always stare at them. Even Drew stared at them. I had hoped he was different.

My motto

My faerie friend tells me that someday I will soar.

Interested in the 7 Book Clan Grant Series Series?

Amazon

The Clan

Grants

Laird Alexander Grant, and wife, Maddie (#1)

a. Twin lads-James (Jamie) and John (Jake)

b. Kyla

c. Connor

Brenna Grant and husband, Quade Ramsay (#2)
Torrian (Quade’s son from first marriage)
Lily (Quade’s daughter from first marriage)
Bethia
Gregor Robbie Grant and wife, Caralyn (#4)
Ashlyn (Caralyn’s daughter from a previous relationship)
Gracie (Caralyn’s daughter from a previous relationship)
Rodric (Roddy) Brodie Grant and wife, Celestina (#3)
Loki (adopted)
Braden Jennie Grant (#7)

Ramsays

Quade Ramsay and wife, Brenna Grant (see above)
Logan Ramsay and wife, Gwyneth (#5)
Molly (adopted)
Maggie (adopted)
Sorcha
Gavin Micheil Ramsay and wife, Diana (#6)
David Avelina Ramsay (Book #8)

 The Brightest Star in the Highlands

Chapter One

Autumn, 1260s Scotland

Dusk had descended, and Jennie Grant grabbed at her hair, twisting, tugging, and pulling it in an attempt to shake the pain from her head, but to no avail. She ached from the senseless violence, the constant blood, and the unending number of warriors who had passed in front of her over the last few days, many of them carried by friends because they could not move on their own.

Jennie and her brother’s wife, Caralyn, had set up a chamber off the great hall of the Grant keep to handle injuries from the latest skirmishes in the upper Highlands. Jennie spent most of her time here, tending wounds and stitching flesh whenever necessary. She was overwhelmed. There were so many horrible injuries that when it came time for sleep, she could not bring herself to rest. She knew the wailing would continue to assault her senses well into the night. The dreams had tormented her since the fighting began, and they made even her waking moments a nightmare.

“Jennie, why don’t you go to bed, lass?” her brother, Brodie, asked.

“I cannot. I will revisit these horrors in my mind all night long.”

Inga came over and wrapped her arms around Jennie. “Many thanks for saving my husband, Jennie. I would die without him. Our laddies would be so traumatized without their da.”

Jennie hugged Inga, then gave her a gentle push so she could weave around her. “I must see how Nicol is faring.”

“No, lass. He’ll be fine till morn. ‘Tis time to seek your rest.” Her brother grasped her shoulder.

But Brodie’s stern look did not sway her. She brushed past him, her skirts billowing behind her, not stopping until she reached the side of Nicol’s bed, arranged near three others presently resting. After sitting on the stool beside him, she set the back of her palm against his forehead. His body still raged with fever, attempting to fight off the trauma from the leg wound he’d acquired fighting in a valley south of them. Jennie had drained the pus out, freeing the foul-smelling liquid from his body into a basin, and Nicol had yelped, his fists swinging haphazardly—his first reaction in the two days since he had been brought back and stitched up by one of the three Grant healers. Jennie, Robbie’s wife, Caralyn, and one of the men oft helped with warrior injuries.

Inga wrung her hands as she stood behind Jennie, awaiting her opinion of the fate of her husband. Jennie could tell how much they relied on her. ‘Struth was, she did not know much more than they did.

And she was tired of it. She wanted to rest her head in her hands and sob, but she knew that would only upset Inga, and she loved the other woman like a sister. She and Brodie’s wife, Celestina, were the best of friends.

“Inga, I think he feels a bit cooler. Continue to mop his forehead with the clean cloth, give him broth if he will take it.”

“He fights with the covers. He wants naught on.”

“Then let it be. Best that he be comfortable, but let him know that you’re here and counting on him to get better. Bring the lads in to sit with him for a while.”

Inga nodded and swung around to do what Jennie bade her to do, but then paused. “Brodie, sit by his side for a wee bit, please? In case he starts swinging again.”

Keep up to Date with Keira through the following

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Website
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Keira is Giving away $20 AMAZON GC. 

What would you think would be a Good way to get that GC? Yea me too, Spending a day with a grant would be fun, but which one? If you could be written into one of her books (Hopefully you read them all) Which one would you want to be written into and who would you want to be? Side person, Heroine, or one of the evil bad person? Comment Below and Have fun with this guys.

Make sure to come back to see if you won. I hate asking for email addies on blogs. So come back in 3 days to see if you won.

Closes Tuesday at 11:59 PM PST, Winner announce WED in Comments.