Monday 19 November 2012

Monday Moments welcomes Willa Blair




 Wild Rose Press author, Willa Blair, has brought along her latest novel today.



Highland Healer

That's a very Scottish looking cover, Willa!  Being Scottish, I have to approve of the tartan and the...hmm...all the rest! Willa's not been on my blog before so I asked her some nosey questions to get to know her a little better. 
 
Did you always plan to be a writer or was it something that just happened? 

I think I was born to write.  I was my state’s winner in a national essay contest in the 7th grade, I wrote essays, articles and poems for school publications, and even started some books.  I still have a few of those books--handwritten in pencil that is fading away.    

What’s your favourite scene in Highland Healer? 

Toran shows up at the door of Aileana’s chamber after he’s kidnapped her from the lowlander army where she’s spent the last two years as the healer and taken her to his keep.  He can’t believe his eyes when he sees her backlit by the hearth fire.  She can’t believe his nerve, showing up at her door.  Neither knows whether to trust the other.  Both have a lot to gain, and to lose, by what they reveal by their words and actions.  

Do you have plans for a new book?  

Yes! 

That’s a beautifully positive answer, so is Highland Healer part of a series? 

Yes!  Book 2 is already with my editor, along with a synopsis of book 3, which I’m currently writing.

What message do you hope readers take away from Highland Healer?

The theme of this book is trust.  Toran has to learn to trust Aileana’s strange abilties (yes, there’s more than one) and that her expertise deserves as much respect as his.  Aileana has to learn to trust Toran, a man who has complete control over her life and well-being, despite having spent the last two years as the prisoner of another powerful and dangerous man.  They both must learn to trust that the other is their perfect partner before they can move forward and live happily ever after.  

It sounds like a great series, and being Scottish how can I not like you writing about Scottish heroes!

Buy link to Amazon:  http://ning.it/PbhhUB

Blurb:  
HE NEEDS HER FOR HIS CLAN.
HE WANTS HER FOR HIMSELF.
CAN HE HAVE BOTH?
Toran Lathan never expected to become Laird, and never expected to meet a woman like Aileana Shaw. Her healing ability is just what his people need, but Toran cannot resist her beauty. Yet will loving him destroy her ability to heal?

Aileana Shaw has a healing touch – and a special talent she must keep secret. Stolen from her home by a marauding army, she’s kidnapped again by the Highland Laird she heals. Is she a prize of war, or the prize of his heart?

While Toran battles the invading lowland army, he also battles his desire for Aileana. And Aileana must decide if she can trust her secrets to this fierce warrior who needs her talent, but wants her love.

Excerpt:

Despite his threats a few moments before, she had sensed no real animosity in him. She’d been treated well since arriving at the Aerie. Her dream of a home, with people who cared about her, perhaps a family of her own, rose unbidden to her mind, and with it came a familiar lump in her throat. She was tired, she thought, to let that longing overwhelm her now. She folded her arms under her breasts and kept her eyes on the flames. She heard Toran move from the door to stand behind her. She tensed as his hands came to rest on her shoulders. He turned her gently, but irresistibly, to face him.

“What should I do with so beautiful, so valuable, a prize?” he murmured, almost to himself.

His deep blue gaze ensnared Aileana as completely as his hands. She knew she should be outraged at being called a prize. He’d done it before, on the way here. Did he truly see her that way? She refused to be chattel any longer, she told herself, and would not allow him to treat her so. But she found she could not summon her ire. One of his hands left her shoulder and he lightly touched her cheek, then slowly slid his fingers down her throat to her collarbone.

There, he hesitated, and Aileana held her breath until he moved the hand back to her shoulder.
His simple touch sent shivers dancing and nearly undid her.


Willa Blair is the award-winning author of Scottish Historical and Contemporary Romance, both with a touch of the paranormal.    
 She grew up reading science fiction and loved books about psi talents.  With her Scottish heritage, writing a Scottish historical and incorporating those special talents made perfect sense to her. The result is her award-winning debut book, HIGHLAND HEALER, the first in her Highland Talents series. The official release date is 4 January 2013, but it’s already out on Amazon Kindle.

Married to her own military hero golf fanatic, she lives in the Texas Hill Country north of San Antonio.



HIGHLAND HEALER w/a Willa Blair, available NOW on Amazon Kindle http://ning.it/PbhhUB
Available January 4, 2013 from The Wild Rose Press
Twitter @willablair

Thank you for featuring on Monday Moments, Willa. Good luck with that great sounding series. 

Slainthe!

11 comments:

  1. I stopped drooling over the cover to say that trust is so important in romance stories. The H/H must learn to trust in order to find love.
    Her special gift of healing makes the story more than just another historical!

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    1. Hello Marianne. I agree the cover is definitely droolworthy!

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  2. Great interview and the story sounds great! And yes, who doesn't love a hot Scotsman????

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  3. It's great to be in Scotland, if only virtually. Thanks, Nancy, for giving me such a warm welcome!

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  4. You have a very nice, easy to read voice, Willa. I loved reading your excerpt. And, who doesn't love a Highlander. Best of luck to you with lots of sales.

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  5. Thanks, everyone. Highland Healer was fun to write. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

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  6. Yay, I'm going to Scotland for the holidays. I'll keep my eyes peeled for a highlander....
    One thing I'm really looking forward to is the scenery - all types of scenery. :):):)

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  7. Promising blurb and exciting excerpt ... I think I'll give it a try :)

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  8. Thanks for the great comments, everyone. And thanks, Nancy, for having me here today. I enjoyed my visit to Scotland!

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  9. Good to have you all visit! Christine-enjoy your time here. Willa - thank you for being a lovely guest.

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  10. Great excerpt, and interview.
    I love Scotland. Did a fabulous trip to trace my roots. The scenery in Northern Scotland is amazing. I'd go back in a second if I could afford another trip. : )

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