Guest: Nancy Lee Badger - Why Time Traveling Hunks-in-Kilts?


Nancy Lee Badger loves chocolate-chip shortbread and wool plaids wrapped around the trim waist of a Scottish Highlander. Her stories tempt you with the clang of broadswords, and the sound of bagpipes in the air. With her notebook at hand, and her camera ready to capture the next example of a perfect ‘turning of the caber’, Nancy can be spotted at various Highland games and festivals ‘soaking up the culture’.

After growing up in Huntington, New York, and raising two handsome sons in New Hampshire, she moved to North Carolina where she writes full-time. Nancy is a member of Romance Writers of America, Heart of Carolina Romance Writers, Fantasy-Futuristic & Paranormal Romance Writers, Triangle Area Freelancers, and the Celtic Heart Romance Writers.  

Why Time Traveling Hunks-in-Kilts?

A reader recently asked me why I decided to write another Scottish time travel romance. My Lady Highlander, though the first in my Kilted Athletes Through Time series, is my fourth Scottish time travel. My answer was this: sometimes the characters write the story. I am not saying I have no control. I like historical novels…to a point, but I wanted to do something different.
Turning the Caber
Since I have attended Scottish Highland games and festivals from Canada to Georgia, I wanted to incorporate their festive atmosphere, mouth-watering foods, hunky men in kilts hefting telephone poles, and bagpipe-playing rock bands ‘bringing down the house’. Historically inaccurate as some things might seem, such as the kilted hottie with a cell phone in his sporran, adding real history to my stories blends the best of two worlds.
Seven Nations
The early seventeenth century was a world of upheavals and grim tales of hunger, piracy, battles, and death, but the people always found time to celebrate the harvest (Samhain) or the coming of spring sunshine (Beltane). Many of the feats of strength I see at modern-day games came into being quite naturally. The longbow competition, the hammer throw, and even wrestling are reminders of battle scenarios.
Today’s ‘battles’ are quickly ended, and toasted with a glass of ale, or a dram of Whisky. Why not show the battles and swordplay in my book, then remind my readers that they can see examples of these at Highland Games held around the globe.
My Lady Highlander Excerpt:
The fist landed on Bull’s left cheek, slamming his head against the tree. He saw stars, and his stomach lurched. As the dizzy spell worsened and his knees buckled, he wanted nothing more than to vomit on Niall’s boots. A rustling of branches and a flurry of Gaelic curses in a woman’s voice brought his head up.
Izzy? No!
“Leave him be, ye ornery, loud-mouthed, son of a defiler. He saved yer brother’s life, and this is how ye repay the man?” Izzy said, and walked slowly toward Niall.
Bull stared, shocked and worried that she’d left her perfectly good hiding place for him. With a smile on her heart-shaped face, her beauty was like the sun after a storm. Moonlight sparkled in her stormy eyes. Groaning, as she raised the sword he’d hidden with her, and rested the tip on the curve of Niall’s left pectoral muscle, Bull wanted to laugh.
Or, cry.
“She’s too close to him,” Bull muttered.
Her womanly fragrance of flowers, pine and moss, eased his body and calmed his stomach. Struggling to stand, he wished he could take her place. It should be him, who held a sword to Niall’s chest.
Her eyes flitted sideways, watching Bull rise and lean against the tree, then she turned back to Niall. He could grab the sword out of her hand, any second.
“Izzy, love. Why didn’t you stay hidden?” Sucking in more air, Bull’s voice croaked.
“The wildcat has risen from her den. What’s this ye say? Who be defiling who?”
My Lady Highlander is available at:
Amazon                              
AmazonPrint                     
NOOK                                
Barnes &Noble Print         

What’s next for you?
I was invited to join nine other authors in a boxed set titled ‘Ten Timeless Heroes’. Readers new to my writing can try My Honorable Highlander, which is in the boxed set, and is Book #1 in the Highland games Through Time series. I am also currently writing the second book in my new series, in between visiting Scottish Highland festivals.  

10 Timeless Heroes
Nancy Lee Badger’s My Honorable Highlander is one of the books where magic & destiny unite lovers across time and space in this epic collection of award-winning, chart topping tales. From sweet to sizzling romances, 10 Timeless Heroes has a little something for everyone. Over fifteen hundred pages!
 
Amazon    http://amzn.to/RuFTub
NOOK       http://bit.ly/1ntUSi5
What is your idea of the perfect ending to a day spent at a Scottish Highland festival? One person’s comment will win an ebook copy of My Lady Highlander. Contest ends. April 26th. (Please remember to leave your email address in some form so we can contact you if you win.)
Connect with Nancy Lee Badger
Blog                                      http://www.nancyleebadger.blogspot.com
Website                                 http://www.nancyleebadger.com
Twitter                                  https://twitter.com/NLBadger
Facebook                              http://on.fb.me/KMGS4z                    
Goodreads                            http://bit.ly/Vd1Usg
Amazon Author Page           http://amzn.to/13ICHLq

Thank you for being our guest today, Nancy!!

17 comments:

Kathy Heare Watts said...

What is your idea of the perfect ending to a day spent at a Scottish Highland festival? After everyone is done having a great day of games then we celebrate with music, dancing and great food and drink!

Books sound GREAT!

reeca said...

These books sound great!! Thanks for sharing!!

Terry Spear said...

Congratulations and great news, Nancy. Time travels are my favorite. :)

Unknown said...

Setting in the heather having a midnight SNACK !
Virginia Smith :-)

Unknown said...

Cuddled up with my handsome husband laying under the stars

Nancy Lee Badger said...

These are great ideas! Keep them coming! Thanks for having me here today.
Nancy Lee Badger

sharon said...

The perfect ending to a day spent at a Scottish Highland festival would be curling up with my hubby with some wine and just talk about the day. swolfe_63@yahoo.com

Unknown said...

Anything that involves a Highland hunk in a kilt!

sheila said...

Perfect ending would be a hunk in a kilt taking me back to his time to live in his castle. Of course he is also a smart Scot who has installed bathrooms and showers.

lindalou said...

Cuddled up with my kilted man (w/o his kilts or anything else, of course, at this point)

lindalou@cfl.rr.com

Dawn @pttravelingspirit@hotmail.com said...

Perfect end to festival: settling in while the breeze cools ya blowing through trees(preferably in the Smokies) good food with cool drink, and friends joining in for the Ceilidh with fiddles, bagpipes, drumming and singing from Albannach, Border Collies, Etc
Dawn

Ancient History said...

Looking at all the goodies I bought

Sky said...

GREAT post, Nancy! Your book sounds fabulous. Thanks for mentioning 10 Timeless Heroes as well. Such a blast working with you all! *Waves hello to Vonda and the Fierce Authors*

Cheers,
Sky

Vonda Sinclair said...

Thanks so much for being our guest, Nancy!

Hi, Sky! Thanks for dropping by!

Thanks, everyone, for your fun comments!

Mickey said...

My idea of a great evening after the festivities of the day are through is to sit down to a great dinner containing all those foods you mention in your stories. Bannock, Bridies etc.

Unknown said...

Great excerpt. The book sounds like a winner. Good luck with sales.

Vonda Sinclair said...

Congratulations, Dawn!! Nancy has chosen you as the winner of her book. Thanks so much to everyone who commented!!