Pamela Clare is DEFIANT (And there’s a cool giveaway, too!) Back to Blog
Update: The winner of the $15 Amazon.com gift card is…Chelsea Rafferty!
Congratulations, Cynthia, on the release of Angel Betrayed, and thanks for hosting this rockin’ party!
I’ve got some celebrating to do as well. Exactly one week from today, the waiting will be over for MacKinnon’s Rangers fans. They’ve been (not-so-patiently) holding on since November 2008 for the third book in my MacKinnon’s Rangers series, and on July 3, Defiant, which tells Connor MacKinnon’s story, will finally be out!
To celebrate, I am holding a unique live video chat via Shindig Events. The event is free, and I will be giving away five copies of Defiant to five lucky participants. I will also be reading an exclusive excerpt from the book and answering your questions — live. To reserve your place, just click here: http://pamelaclare.eventbrite.com/ . And be sure to invite your friends!
Then on July 3, the day the book comes out, I’ll be having a party on my blog that will include release of the live-action trailer for Defiant, complete with a sexy shirtless musket-toting model in the role of Connor. I’ve seen the rough cut of the trailer, and I love it! I can’t wait to share it with you all.
If you’re new to the MacKinnon’s Rangers series, here’s a bit about Defiant, together with an excerpt.
DEFIANT
Charged with a crime they didn’t commit, the MacKinnon Brothers face a death sentence until they agreed to serve the British Crown in the colonies and take up arms against the French. Allied with the Indian tribes who live beside them in the wilderness, the Scottish Highland warriors forged a new breed of soldier…
Mackinnon’s Rangers
Major Connor MacKinnon despises his commander, Lord William Wentworth, beyond all other men. Ordered to rescue Wentworth’s niece after the Shawnee take her captive, he expects Lady Sarah Woodville to be every bit as contemptible as her uncle. Instead, he finds a brave and beautiful lass in desperate peril. But the only way to free Sarah is for Connor to defeat the Shawnee warrior who kidnapped her—and claim her himself.
Torn by tragedy from her sheltered life in London, Lady Sarah is unprepared for the harshness of the frontier—or for the attraction she feels toward Connor. When they reach civilization, however, it is she who must protect him. For if her uncle knew all that Connor had done to save her, he would surely kill him.
But the flames of passion, once kindled, are difficult to deny. As desire transforms into love, Connor will have to defy an empire to keep Sarah at his side.
Here’s an excerpt. Enjoy!
Sarah was still lying down, facing away from the door, when she heard him enter. She lay there unmoving, childishly feigning sleep, as if refusing to open her eyes would somehow keep the world at bay.
Major MacKinnon called to her softly. “My lady?”
Do not behave like a witless girl, Sarah. Where is your courage?
She wiped the tears off her cheeks, then slowly sat up, the dread in her heart seeming to weigh her down. “Major MacKinnon.”
“’Tis sorry I am to disturb your sleep, but I must speak wi’ you.”
She stood, turned to face him, whatever she’d been about to say momentarily forgotten as she took in the sight of him. His jaw was clean-shaven, his face startlingly handsome. His chest and belly were smooth now, the dark curls she’d seen before gone, his skin oiled to a fine sheen, the cut she’d stitched and the other smaller cuts he’d gotten during the fight giving him a dangerous air. His hair was damp, a striped brown feather tied at the end of one of his braids. His leather breeches rode low on his hips, a knife sheathed at his side.
But what she noticed most was the anguish in his eyes. It was a match for the anguish she’d heard in his voice when he’d spoke to Joseph outside.
“Please… Please sit, major.” She reached down out of habit to shift her skirts before she sat, only to feel doeskin against her hands. “I wish to apologize for my fit of temper earlier. You have risked much for me. It was wrong of me to—”
“Shhh, lady.” He pressed a finger to her lips and sat facing her. “You’re far beyond the world you ken, aye? ’Tis natural for you to be feelin’ afraid and angry about what has befallen you, but you must trust me if we’re to reach Albany alive.”
He looked away for a moment, his face growing more troubled as he seemed to consider what to say next, his brow furrowed. “I fear I have failed you, for it is on that same troublin’ matter that we must speak.”
She watched him struggle to find the words to tell her what he’d just told Joseph, something inside her touched by his obvious turmoil. “I… I overheard you speaking with Joseph just now.”
His head came up, his gaze meeting hers, seeming to study her. “That’s why you’ve been weepin’. I see the tearstains on your cheeks.”
She raised her palms to her face to wipe the telltale sign of weakness away.
“You understand the choice that lies before you, aye?”
She nodded, folding her hands in her lap. “I must decide whether to chance escape, knowing that you and Joseph will die terribly should we fail, or whether to marry you after the Indian fashion and spend tonight as … as your wife.”
“Aye, that’s the way of it. ’Tis a hard choice you’re bein’ asked to make, but life is no’ always fair.”
Sarah knew that only too well.
Major MacKinnon went on. “Is there augh’ you would ask me afore you decide? There is little time, I fear.”
She shook her head. “No, sir.”
She’d made up her mind before he’d entered the lodge.
She met his gaze, tried to keep the fear from her voice. “I cannot ask you to chance being burnt at the stake, major. You’ve already risked your life once for my sake. As highly as I value my virtue, it is not worth two men’s lives.”
What an irony that her father’s decision to send her away had led her to this — her true undoing. No doubt there were many in London who believed she had no virtue, yet she had left London as a virgin. She would not return as one.
He watched her through dark eyes. “Are you certain, my lady? For I willna take you by force. You must come to me as willingly as I come to you — each of us for the sake of the other.”
She hadn’t thought about it in quite that way, but when he spoke the words, some of the dread lifted from her heart. “Aye, major, I am certain. But…”
“You’re afraid.” He closed one big hand over both of hers, his thumb stroking her knuckles. “I promise I shall treat you this night wi’ the same care and devotion I would if you truly were my bride.”
Then to her astonishment, he cupped her cheek, lowered his lips to hers — and kissed her.
Softly, so softly he kissed her, brushing her lips with his again and again, the mere whisper of a touch making her shiver. She might have objected had the sensation not been so… enthralling. Slowly, his touch became more insistent, his lips caressing hers, nibbling them, her lips tingling, going pliant, yielding to his exploration, her eyes drifting shut. Then his tongue traced the outline of her lower lip.
Startled, she gasped, and her eyes flew open.
He was watching her, his blue eyes dark, his voice a whisper. “My lady.”
And she thought it was over.
But then one big hand slid into her hair to cradle her head, and he drew her against his bare chest, his mouth closing over hers. There were almost too many new sensations to take in all at once, her girlish notions of what it would feel like to be kissed by a man vanishing in a heartbeat. The iron-hard feel of his body surrounding her. The warm scent of his oiled skin. The firm pressure of his lips against hers as he tasted her, his tongue teasing its way inside her mouth with silken strokes.
Then his tongue touched hers, his lungs stealing her surprised intake of breath as he sealed her mouth with his. Her body seemed to melt, and she sank boneless against him, her hands sliding up the smooth skin of his chest, her lips parting to accommodate him, her tongue meeting his. She felt something pound against her palm, and realized that his heart was beating every bit as hard as hers.
Slowly, his kiss stilled, his lips brushing her cheek, her temple. “My lady.”
Breathless and amazed, she looked up into his eyes.
He drew back slightly, his arm still encircling her. “Now you ken the taste of my kiss. Think on that, and dinnae be afraid of what is to come, aye?”
© 2012 Pamela Clare
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Want to win a $15 Amazon.com gift card? Then tell me what you like most about historical romances.
Scottish Highlanders!!! Enough said!! I have to put this on my TBR list!!!
Thanks, Sheryl! I hope you enjoy it!
I like how you get to travel to a different time and place and experience what is was like then.
It’s almost magical to be in another time and place, isn’t it?
I like that they are less politically correct. They have their own social hierarchy but they adhere to an old-fashioned way of the relationship between the sexes. I like to see a heroine fight that traditional stereotype.
I like that, too, though I think the push to make them more politically correct has hurt historical romance. Things were different then, and setting a love story in that world is fun and romantic in part because of the way men and women related to each other then. And it’s fun, as you say, to see the heroine fighting the limitations placed on her.
I like that men treat women like women. Even when they’re madly, passionately in love there’s still an element of respect.
At least in romance novels, the men really feel driving to take care of the women in their lives, don’t they? There’s a sweetness in that I think.
I love reading about how proper men of history fell in love. I find it interesting to read.
I think the men in my historicals, being common frontier folk, aren’t all that proper, but I do love seeing strong alpha heroes fall for a woman. (It’s fun to write, too!)
I like how much more in-depth they are because of the historical background and they seem more ‘real’
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I prefer historicals that have real history, too. I like learning things I didn’t know, and I like thinking that real people lived through experiences like those. It really fuels my imagination.
I live in Scotland but visually it’s not the same anymore – they keep the kilts for special occasions now 😉
Ohh! Lucky you! I hope to visit Scotland one day soon.
I love that I get to imagine a time that I’ve never experienced. It easy to relate to stories set in modern times, but true escapism comes in the form of a historical romance.
I feel the same way. Historicals are my ultimate escape reads, Megan.
I like how the men treated their women
So romantic, isn’t it? 🙂
Hey Pamela – Congrats on the upcoming release. I have to say Highlanders are my favorite next to Pirate’s for historical 🙂
Thank you, Cindy O! I’m very excited! 🙂
What’s more like a fairytale than “once upon a time in Regency England/other historical time and place… “?
You’re right — historicals have a strong fairy tale feel to them. There’s something about them that is really freeing because nothing relates to the real world around you any longer.
What I like most about historical romances (besides the romance) is the history. It’s geeky, but I really like to look up events depicted in books to see if they actually happened that way.
Oh, Molly, I do that, too! I have an archaeology degree, so the research is something I really enjoy, whether I’m doing it for my book or reading the results of another author’s hard work. Truly, I am a real history geek.
I love historical because it takes you back to a time where life was simple. Not complicated. I love the clothes they wear and all of the fun stuff that goes with the historical days!! Would love to win…. 🙂 Thanks for the giveaway!
Life was simpler then, wasn’t it? Even if it was harder in a lot of respects — not having AC in the summer or not having antibiotics — it wasn’t as complicated as life is in today’s world.
CONGRATS!!! Hmmm, I love being zapped back in time. When an author can have me picture the book so vividly, I know I’ve hit a jackpot with that author!
There are a handful of authors who do that for me, Cindy. Kaki Warner is one. I love her books. Mika Waltari writes straight historical fiction, but he writes it so well I always forget what century I’m in when I read one of his books. Wait? You mean this isn’t ancient Egypt?!?
Wow! *fans self* What an excerpt!
I love the historical details and learning bits about history that I didn’t before (because I’m a history geek). This book looks fabulous.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the excerpt, Kaylea! Thanks!
I’m a total history geek, too. I could drown in the details and be perfectly happy.
I bought a 1756 model musket for the film shoot, and I just love it. It’s so heavy! I can’t imagine running through the forest with one of those, but that’s what they did.
Fun stuff!
Pamela, I love historicals because they take you on an adventure to a time when men and women were learning more about each other. A time where some women took the chance to be more that what society told them to be. I am so in awe of historical writers because they give us a world based on research and imagination. Also, I love the clothes…LOL
LOL! I love that, too! I recently posted a bunch of photos of historical gowns in museums on my blog to share the kind of wardrobe Lady Sarah would have had. Sometimes I wish we could just dress like that if we wanted to. Alas, no!
To escape back in time and read about all the different times and places.
love that excerpt… i want more!
my favorite thing about historical romances is how different the time, setting, manners, clothes, etc. are. it is so unlike today and i just like getting away from the modern stuff.
It’s a nice vacation from the stresses of modern life, isn’t it?
I love so many different genres of romance novels, but historicals hold a special place in my heart. It is exciting when an author can make everything come alive so realistically that I feel I’m there with the characters.
So thrilled the next book in your Mckinnon series is coming out – I’m one of those who’ve been patiently waiting for Connor’s story. YEAY!!!
Not long now, Joyce! Just one week from today! It’s been a long wait, I know. Thanks for being so patient!
I love the way they use to talk and how the men treated their women.
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There’s something that feels so much more interesting and romantic about it, isn’t there?
I love the locations, the accents (especially in the Highlander stories!), and the difference in society compared to modern times.
So do I, Brenda! I love the social differences especially.
Sigh, I will have to be honest, I’m not really a big fan of historicals, but I did see Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter over the weekend and loved it! Hopefully that’s enough to count me in. Thanks for the fantastic giveaway!
I haven’t been to see that yet although the trailer looked good. I’m glad to know someone loved it. I’ve been waiting to see SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN.
I love being in a different time period!
Until they create time machines, fiction is our only resort.
I like the feel of historical romances. They seem to be of a slower pace and sometimes I like that :).
Hi Pamela! I love your books 😀
To answer your question… what I love about historicals is the different world. The awesome clothes, and they’re almost always more glamorous. But also, the focus on the relationships. (Until recently with the historical romantic suspense or historical romantic paranormal) … it was more a focus on the hero and heroine and their developing relationship. Which is the reason why I read romance.
Hi, Limecello! Historical romance does tend to focus more on the couple, doesn’t it? Mine have a lot of history and action, too, but the couple is still at the center.
Historicals – well it is neat to see the difference between that period and now. Little things that we take for granted that they never had and simply dealt with. Plus you pick up kernels of knowledge of the past.
I find it really interesting to see how people did things — even simple things. Technology does so much for us now, but there was a kind of creativity people had that is really fun to learn about — for example, using a bundle of holly branches to scrape the soot from the inside of one’s chimney. Fascinating stuff!
I like historical romances because they seem to be more clean and clear cut. I also like the mannerisms and honor that the people had back then. It’s a different time and place that I think everyone loves to visit for a while through the magic of books and the wonderful authors who capture our imagination.
There was a very different emphasis on honor back in the day, wasn’t there? Today if you talked to someone about their “honor,” they’d probably think you were nuts. But those things used to matter. It is magic living through a time like that, as much as we can, through fiction.
I like being able to step into a world so completely different than my own. I like that men were gentleman and ladies wear ballgowns. I like that the slightest touch on the hand can give me shivers. It’s just amazing to be able to see how different life and times were.
I like all of that, too, especially just seeing another time. There are few ballgowns in my stories. I like writing the frontier because society’s rules were pushed to their limits. Sometimes it’s fun to watch them break. 🙂
What I love about reading is that it lets you experience a completely different world. Historical fiction epitimizes those experiences.
It’s not just time travel, but kind of like traveling to another country, too. You get to see things you can’t see — London, medieval Scotland, Rome. Thanks for your thoughts, Rachel!
I love the backgrounds, mannerisims, accents and heritage that is usually brought into them. It is fun to go get away and/or go back!
The world was in some ways so much more colorful back then, wasn’t it, Maria? One of the things I love about writing Colonial American romance is that all those cultures started coming together — clashing sometimes, but coming together. That makes it very interesting for me as a writer and hopefully for my readers, too.
I love historical romance! I like the rogue type men the best I love seeing them be tamed ;)!!
There is something fun in watching a hero brought to heel through love, isn’t there?
My attraction to Historical Romance is that it has some basis of truth to it. The story itself revolves around some historical happening or truth of that time period. While the story and most of the characters themselves are fictionalized, there are factual references to fall back on. The story comes to life as if you could open a history book or research the news sheets of that time and read the first hand accounts of eyewitnesses. Perhaps I am over-romanticizing, but, to me it is like traveling back in time with the characters and living the story vicariously through them. If a story, especially Historical Romance, is well-written it has the ability to transport me into the book, to escape into the world of the characters and see through their eyes.
You said it so well, Lora. It’s the closest to time travel any of us will get.
I can’t wait to read Defiant! It looks great!
Thanks, Cynthia! 🙂
Awesome excerpt! I am new to historical romances. But so far what I like is getting a sense of what it was like at those times.
It’s fun to try to relate what the world was like for other people a long time ago. That’s why I went into archaeology. I was always thrilled to be able to hold an artifact and think of the hands that had created it thousands of years ago.
Reading can take us anywhere. It’s really magical in that way.
Love the excerpt! 😀
Historical romances gave me the reading bug… I hated reading until I got my hands on some historicals romances… love visiting all the eras and their characters…
Thank you, Colleen! Historical romances are what really got my attention when I was a teenager. I read them voraciously.
Okay… just… WHEW! That excerpt seriously blew me away! I can’t wait to read this book! *Jots name down on must buy list*
What I love about Historical Romance is, well, the romance. I love that a simple touch of the hand, or a glimps of a hand, really, is meaningful and speical. Sigh! 🙂
Happy Release Day, Cynthia! Thanks for having me here.
And thanks to all of you for your comments. I found myself nodding in agreement as I read through them.
I love the adventure in historicals, the different relationship that men and women had with one another, the fantasy of living in another time. I’ve always said reading a historical romance is like sinking into a big tub of hot water — it’s just so relaxing and fun.
They’re my favorite romances to read, and I love to write them, too, of course!
Chelsea, I’m so glad you enjoyed the excerpt!
And you’re right — the rules they had about male/female relationships meant that smaller gestures carried much more meaning. Nowadays, it’s pretty much a free-for-all, and that tension is gone.
I love the difference in mannerisms and dialogue the best. I think every time I pick up a historical romance I learn something new from a time period that is intriguing to me.
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If only history classes in school were as interesting as historical romances, I might have fallen asleep less.
The thing I like about historical romance is the wording. I love how things are looked upon differently. I love seeing things done from a different perspective because of the time period.
It creates a special feel, I think — the speech, the vocabulary, the different world view. Thanks for your thoughts, Danni. I so agree!
I havent read a historical in a long time but when I did I used to like how modest people were. Women wouldnt throw themselves at men. Men would court the women and they would flirt alot before actually admitting they liked each other. I guess I like the chase of it. The sexual tension building up to two people admitting they’re falling for each other.
I like to picture the clothes & places.—Rachel
Hi Pamela,
I loved meeting Karl. I really like seeing how the different social classes interacted and the restrictions.
It’s my favorite genre. I want to be taken to a different world. I appreciate all the research done by the author and that way I get to learn things and enjoy a good story at the same time. I also like the sense of honor that there seemed to be at the time. How amazing is it that someone is willing to die for you 🙂
I like the romantic parts of it. Real life was no bed of roses but in a book it can feel like it lol Men treated women like treasures. They get to make their own rules up sometimes and who doesn’t like a alphaman in a kilt? Ok wait this may be reason why i like hihglanger historicals. lol
Love the excerpt!
Lisa B
Hiiiiiiiiiii Pamela–LOVE YOUR BOOKS!
My mind is a jumble after that exerpt, BAH!!!! I will be going on Amazon to find me those first 2 books before I read this one!!! No more putting this off!! Ok, I am now done chastising myself…..
Historicals, I love them for a change of pace for one, two for the creative ways they get past all those clothes in order to make love, and three to get a glimpse of the past.
Thanks for the offer! I found Cynthia on one of your release parties!!!
I like being able to experience the past. It is everything from the fashion, to the horse rides and the way food was made. History has always appealed to me and it’s great seeing how romance is just as important then as it is now.
I love the balls and fancy gowns, and I also love seeing the heroine overcome or fight against the stringent dictates of society during those times.
I haven’t read too many strictly historicals. I have read historicals with a paranormal element. I do have the first 2 books of the Mackinnon’s Rangers in my TBR pile. Can’t wait to read them.
I love reading about different times and places, as well as the many obstacles some couples years ago had to endure in order to be together.
OMG…I’ve been waiting for Connors Release day F.O.R.E.V.E.R! So excited! I love historical alpha males who love respect their women even tho at that time they didnt have to. i love being transported to a different time/place and though sometimes harsher conditions…much simpler times. LOVE the rangers!!!
I love to read historicals when I’m in the mood to read how things were in the past. My favorite historical era is the Civil War era. I think the southern belle and the southern plantations are just fantastic. Gone with the Wind still remains one of my favorite historicals ever.