Melissa Mayhue shares her Highlanders

Hi, today I'm thrilled we have Melissa Mayhue here to tell us about her first two Scottish time-travel romances, out now.

Vonda Sinclair: Thanks so much for being a guest at Fierce Romance, Melissa. Welcome! Please tell us about your first book Thirty Nights With a Highland Husband. (What an interesting title and a magical cover!)

Melissa Mayhue: First of all, thank you so much for having me here! Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband was my first book and my first entry into the Faerie World. It’s a time travel romance with an insecure modern day woman traveling to Thirteenth Century Scotland – complete with intrigue, surprises and, of course, hunky Scottish Highlanders.

Here’s the book jacket blurb:

Scotland, 1272. Connor MacKiernan, a descendant of the Fae Prince, is a warrior who lives only for honor and duty. Though he’s vowed never to marry, that’s exactly what he must do to save his sister. Enter a little Faerie magic, and the search for a bride is on.

Denver, Present Day. Caitlyn Coryell is having a really bad day – she just discovered her fiancé with another woman! Imagine her surprise when she puts on some sexy lingerie and an antique pendant and Connor appears in her bedroom, begging for her help. He offers a simple yet outrageous adventure: travel to his time, marry him, and return home.

But nothing’s simple when Cate is trapped in the thirteenth century. The wedding’s delayed, someone’s trying to kill her, and in the middle of all this, she realizes she’s falling in love with a man who can only be her husband for thirty nights.

Vonda: Sounds yummy! I'm a big time-travel fan, and of course, hunky Highlander fan! :-) Do you have a review or two you could share with us?

Melissa: I’d love to! Here are a couple of my favorites:

4 Stars – Mayhue debuts with an enchanting time travel that follows the rules of the genre yet is infused with humor, engaging characters and a twist or two – Kathe Robin – Romantic Times Magazine

Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband is a wonderful time travel romance, even if time travel is not your preferred genre, it’s outrageously great! – Carolyn Crisher – Romance Reviews Today

4 ½ Roses - What a smasharoo debut! Newcomer Melissa Mayhue rocks the Scottish highlands with Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband... Fans of Janet Chapman and Karen Marie Moning will love Melissa Mayhue! – Bonnie – A Romance Review.com


Vonda: What wonderful reviews!! What did you find hardest about writing time travel?

Melissa: Writing time travel is really writing a historical, but coming in the back door! So the hardest part is making sure I stay true to the period as much as possible, double checking my facts so I don’t make errors like having my heroine eating some food that hadn’t been discovered yet or the hero interacting with a historical character who wasn’t on the scene!

Vonda: Please tell us about your second book, Highland Guardian and share any reviews you'd like.

Melissa: While my debut book was my first foray into the new Faerie world I’d created, Highland Guardian was the book that really fleshed that world out. This one was a departure from the series in that it wasn’t a time travel, but it introduced characters and concepts that will carry throughout the series. And I loved writing it!

Here’s the back cover blurb:

Sarah Douglas is a successful romance novelist who’s come to Scotland hoping to overcome her writer’s block and come to terms with her strange ability to sense the emotions of everyone she touches. But from the moment she arrives, her problems only intensify. From the stalker – who might be only a figment of her imagination – to her attraction to the darkly handsome owner of the cottage she’s rented, nothing goes as she had planned.

Ian McCullough is neck-deep in his own trouble. A half-mortal descendant of Faeries, he’s been a Guardian for more than six hundred years, but he’s never encountered a woman like Sarah. Assigned to protect her, he finds the job tougher than he could have imagined. Oh, he can handle the stalker, and even the renegade faeries trying to kidnap her. But falling in love means forsaking his role as Guardian – which is something he could never do.

But there is no denying the passion that exists between two souls fated to be together.

Reviews:
4 Stars – With her sophomore effort, Mayhue jumps into the magical world with a story of the power of love and bloodlines. She not only develops compelling protagonists, but her secondary characters are also rich and intriguing. An author with major potential! – Jill M. Smith – Romantic Times Magazine

Melissa Mayhue’s writing is magical. Unable to stop, I devoured Highland Guardian in one afternoon. Highland Guardian has dark suspense, wretched villains, and smoking hot romance. Highland Guardian is fantastic! - Annmarie – Joyfully Reviewed.com

5 Angels – Melissa Mayhue has an awesome story in Highland Guardian…This was a lovely getaway to fantasy land and I can be ready to go again in a moment. If you like Scotland and Highland Heroes and Faerie magic this is a must read for you. – Dana P. – Fallen Angel Reviews


Vonda: Sounds like another winner! What do you enjoy about writing books set in Scotland?

Melissa: There is a mystique to Scotland that few other places can claim. Whether it’s the turbulent history or the wild, untamed landscape, I can’t say. When I first visited there the first time, I just knew it was the perfect setting for my characters.

Vonda: I agree! What do you find most difficult and most rewarding about writing paranormal?

Melissa: I love paranormal…both reading it and writing it. Most rewarding is easiest, so I’ll start there. It gives me the freedom to suspend belief, to create my own world and really immerse myself in my characters and their lives.

Most difficult? Staying true to the world I’ve created. And reining my imagination in!!!

Vonda: Please describe your journey to publication?

Melissa: I really was one of the lucky ones. I wrote Thirty Nights having no idea how difficult it is breaking into the publishing world. Once I finished the book, I joined RWA and my local chapter [Colorado Romance Writers] and it was through that association that my book ended up in the right hands at the right time.

Vonda: Wow! What do you wish you'd known before becoming published?

Melissa: Good question! I wish I’d known how much time and effort would go into promoting my work and the importance of having begun that process long before that first book was even in an editor’s hands. For everyone out there on the road to publication – get your website, your blog, your MySpace, your contacts in place NOW. You’ll be so glad to have that platform under you later on, I promise!

Vonda: Excellent advice! Would you like to ask blog readers a question?

Melissa: I was a reader long before I was a writer, so I’m always on the lookout for wonderful books I might have missed – especially now that I have so much less time for reading! Paranormal of all types, and especially time travel have long been my favorites – which is why I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for the reviewers who’ve compared my work to Lynn Kurland, Janet Chapman and Karen Marie Moning!

So my question – would you share some of your favorite, must read paranormal romance books? AND [here’s the hard part] What did you like best about that book that makes it one of your favorites?

Thanks so much to you and to all your readers for having me here today! Please stop by my website [ www.MelissaMayhue.com ] for more information on my work and on my upcoming release, Soul of a Highlander, due out May 20.
Feel free to email me with any comments or questions – I absolutely love to hear from readers and I do my best to answer quickly. . . well, except when I’m writing to deadline. :-)

Vonda: Thanks again, Melissa! This has been fun!