Today I would like to welcome back to RFTC author Eliza Knight. Eliza is celebrating the recent release of her book The Highlander's Lady and has stopped by to chat. Please give Eliza a warm welcome.
Eliza Knight is the multi-published, award-winning, Amazon best-selling author of sizzling historical romance and erotic romance. While not reading, writing or researching for her latest book, she chases after her three children. In her spare time (if there is such a thing…) she likes daydreaming, wine-tasting, traveling, hiking, staring at the stars, watching movies, shopping and visiting with family and friends. She lives atop a small mountain, and enjoys cold winter nights when she can curl up in front of a roaring fire with her own knight in shining armor.
Places to find Eliza:
Thanks so much, Danielle, for hosting me once more on your blog! I’m glad to be rambling with you today
I’m thrilled to announce the release of the third book in my Stolen Bride series, THE HIGHLANDER’S LADY!
Here’s a little about the book…
A Highlander tamed…
Laird Daniel Murray seeks adventure, battle and freedom for his countrymen. Putting off his duties as laird—with a promise to his clan he’ll return come spring—Daniel sets off with his men to fight alongside William Wallace and the Bruce. But soon he stumbles across an enchanting lady in need. She tantalizes him with an offer he simply can’t refuse and a desire he attempts to dismiss.
A lady’s passion ignited…
Escaping near death at the treacherous hands of a nearby clan, Lady Myra must find the Bruce and relay the news of an enemy within his own camp. Alone in a world full of danger and the future of her clan at stake, she must trust the handsome, charismatic Highland laird who promises to keep her safe on her journey—and sets her heart to pounding.
Together, Daniel and Myra will risk not only their lives, but their hearts while discovering the true meaning of hope and love in a world fraught with unrest.
I love first meets. The impressions we get from people right off the bat, show us how much appearance and behavior shape someone’s opinion of us—and our opinions of them. No matter how shallow it seems, it is natural reaction to judge someone from appearance. And in fact, this is mechanism we’ve used to protect ourselves and our “clan” since caveman times. Knowing whether or not to give someone the benefit of the doubt, or to wait until you actually speak to them before you form a solid opinion is how we can refrain from being shallow.
Have you ever had a particularly funny first-time meet that you look back on and laugh about now? I have one from just a couple weeks ago—not sure I can face my new neighbors! I hope you all get as much of a kick out my experience as I did!
We don’t get many people ringing our doorbell in the evening—when it’s dark. During the day we get plenty of visits from UPS/FedEx, kids wanting to play with the princesses, etc… Not many solicitors and we don’t have random friends dropping by.
So a week or so before Christmas, about 7:30pm, we all finished up dinner and were sitting around chatting when the doorbell rang. All five of us went silent and stared at one another for at least thirty seconds. Who would ring the doorbell? The dog went nuts. The kids peeked out the window—claimed they had no idea who it was. “Random adults,” the oldest says.
Random adults? Creepy…
The hubs peeked out the door peephole. All of us chewed our lips like we were about to be invaded by aliens or robbed.
Unintentionally, we all lined up behind the Husband – Me, then each princess in line behind me, even the dog eagerly awaited to see who lay in wait.
Then DH opens the door slowly. We all peer around him like a bunch of weirdos…
It’s our new neighbors, come to say hello with cookies and a Christmas card.
Doh!!! We all laugh nervously and try to remain normal, but the impression we gave is just too out there and the new neighbors shuffle off giving each other, “What the hell is wrong with those people,” looks…
Oh, well. I think its hilarious now, and I can only imagine the things they told people after meeting us for the first time—cracks me up! We’re normally quite social creatures and very outgoing, it was the oddity of the situation that had us reacting so out of sorts. Oh, irony. Lol.
Now, I’d like to share with you a first impression excerpt from THE HIGHLANDER’S LADY.
The fun part about Daniel and Myra’s first meet is that he happens to come upon her during a particularly rough time in her life—hence she is not quite herself. It was fun to watch him—in a later scene—discover that.
The rider looked decidedly like a woman…
She was bent low over the horse—a very dexterous horse. One used to running fast, slimmer in body and longer of leg than his own massive horse.
Demon would have a hard time catching her, but Daniel was determined.
He spurred Demon on, shouting out for the rider to stop, but his own words whipped back toward him, not carrying over the wind. The rider was a good quarter mile ahead of him and with each passing moment growing further away.
Suddenly, she stopped and veered to the left into the trees. Had she seen him behind her? She hadn’t bothered to turn—not that he could see anyway. But what other reason would she have to go into the trees?
Perhaps she had a shelter there. Or worse.
This was an ambush.
Damn. That thought hadn’t come to mind until now.
The devil had coerced them into the woods and then taken flight, hoping he would follow. And now he was a good mile or two away from his men.
Hopefully they’d already realized it was a trap and were hastening toward the direction Daniel had taken. He pulled on the reins, slowing Demon’s pace and turned into the woods too. Daniel was good at walking silently through the woods and had trained his warhorse to do the same. ’Twas an important skill to have ever since he’d become a man—the English were always afoot.
Daniel wanted to groan aloud, but kept silent. What if the lass was leading him straight into an English camp?
He stopped Demon altogether.
Following her was not worth the risk.
He had a mission. A plan. He was going to the Wallace camp. There was no time for an ambush. While he was in the mood to fight, and could use a little sport, ’twas probably not for the best.
Reluctantly, Daniel whirled his horse around, intent on returning to his men, when a loud sob stopped him.
’Twas faint, but sobbing all the same. Heart-wrenching sobs. And decidedly female.
He glanced with weariness from the direction of the cries and longingly back toward his men. Was it possible he’d gotten it all wrong and this was no ambush at all?
Mo creach! His ballocks were stuffed between a rock and a mountain rise. What the hell was he supposed to do? If the person weeping—a woman—was in need, could he truly leave her to her own defenses? And if it was a trap, surely he could hold them off until his men arrived.
Decision made, he uttered an oath under his breath and forged ahead, broadsword in one hand and sgian dubh in another. Weapons readied, he tensed as he edged through the trees, making sure to steer Demon with his knees in a way that would make the horse’s carefully placed hooves as silent as possible.
The scene he came upon made his heart twist. He clenched his jaw, gritting his teeth and peered through the trees around the woman who knelt upon the ground crying her soul to the heavens. There did not appear to be any signs of danger or of a trap. He studied the surrounding area for anything out of place, a glint of metal from the sun. Nothing. She was quite alone.
Daniel sheathed his weapons and dismounted, his boots making a soft whoosh within the leaves.
The woman gasped and he heard a shuffle and crunch of leaves and sticks as she scrambled to gain her footing. Her hands and the front of her gown where her cloak opened were covered in blood, a dagger was pointed in his direction. She must be hurt. He had to help her.
Her truffle-brown eyes were wide, wild, like that of an animal that had already been speared once and only wanted to be left in peace to lick his wounds. Beyond the blood, her gown was covered in mud making the color indiscernible. The garment looked in bad need of repairs. Her face was smeared with dirt and streaked with tears. A lot like Rose’s face had been. Leaves and other debris clung to the cloak draped over her delicate shoulders. There was something familiar about her, but Daniel wasn’t sure where he would have come across her. Perhaps at one of the inns while he was traveling. Judging from her gown and cape, she was not of noble stock, meaning that he could have bedded her or she may have only served him ale.
“Lass.” He held out his hands, showing he bore no weapons. “I’m not here to harm ye. I’m here to help ye. I heard ye scream and followed ye.”
Her throat bobbed and her eyes searched all around, assessing, weary.
He continued, speaking softly, “I am alone now, although I’ve a dozen men sure to follow me. Dinna be afraid, we willna harm ye.”
“’Tis what the others said.”
“Others?” Now Daniel glanced around. Had he missed them?
The woman nodded, her tangled hair clinging in her eyelashes. “They tried…” Her words were breathless, ending on what sounded like a choke. She flailed her arms out of a sudden, and stared at him, eyes filled with fright. “I killed him.”
Want to read more? Amazon (Print and Ebook)/ Barnes and Noble / Smashwords (all e-formats)
Leave a comment for your chance to win an ecopy of THE HIGHLANDER’S LADY!
A Highlander tamed…
Laird Daniel Murray seeks adventure, battle and freedom for his countrymen. Putting off his duties as laird—with a promise to his clan he’ll return come spring—Daniel sets off with his men to fight alongside William Wallace and the Bruce. But soon he stumbles across an enchanting lady in need. She tantalizes him with an offer he simply can’t refuse and a desire he attempts to dismiss.
A lady’s passion ignited…
Escaping near death at the treacherous hands of a nearby clan, Lady Myra must find the Bruce and relay the news of an enemy within his own camp. Alone in a world full of danger and the future of her clan at stake, she must trust the handsome, charismatic Highland laird who promises to keep her safe on her journey—and sets her heart to pounding.
Together, Daniel and Myra will risk not only their lives, but their hearts while discovering the true meaning of hope and love in a world fraught with unrest.
Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords |
Check out the Stolen Bride series:
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Up For Grabs:
- 1 lucky winner from the win a eBook copy of The Highlander's Lady
To Enter:
- Please answer Eliza's question: Have you ever had a particularly funny first-time meet that you look back on and laugh about now?
- Please fill out the Rafflecopter form.
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Good Luck =)
Have you ever had a particularly funny first-time meet that you look back on and laugh about now?
ReplyDeleteYeah I have a couple of times...
I've had too many however some have created some life long friendships.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
lorih824 at yahoo dot com
First time I met my husband.
ReplyDeleteHi Eliza! *waving* That's a very funny first-meet story.
ReplyDeleteThe first time I met my sister's boyfriend (now her husband) was at our house. I didn't know he was there and walked into the living room wearing my PJ's...and stopped dead in my tracks. I was beyond mortified. Of course we laugh at it now.
jenalang(at)live(dot)com
Oh, most definitely! I went swimming with a friend some 20 odd years ago and when we got back home I had taken off my wet bottoms and put on a pair of panties and some dry shorts. We were out riding around later that day and stopped by her aunts house who happened to have a pool.(I still had my bathing suit top on.) Her entire family was there having a cookout so we decided to jump in the pool. I stood there in front of everyone taking my shorts off and there I was standing in front of everyone with these lacy panties on while all the guys were hooping and hollering and I, red faced, pulled up my shorts and went to the car. LOL! I had totally forgot that I had changed. Needless to say I never faced those people again!
ReplyDeleteThe first time I met the man who would become my husband. It was a set up and after being scared by my doberman he saw my dads gun cabinet he as so freaked lol.
ReplyDeleteflanagan@mebtel.net
Oh yes. I met my hubby in a Shari's restaurant. I was there in the middle of the night reading a book. He apparently tried approaching me and talking to me repeatedly and thought I was ignoring him. I was not, I was just REALLY into this book. He kept trying. I still am not quite sure what made him want to. I was in the middle of moving, so was wearing overalls, no make-up and had my hair sort of flopped up. Whatever it was... here we are more than 10 years later. He is about a foot away from me playing late night video games while I indulge in late night blogging...
ReplyDeleteI know that my friends and I have had some funny moments, but I am not sure about a first time meeting. Nothing is really standing out.
ReplyDeleteI can't think of any that have been funny. What I think is funny that is that when I meet my best friend I did not like her at all. Just goes to show you that you can't judge a book by its cover.
ReplyDeletethanks for the fun post! I'd have to say when I "met" one of my good friends. He had tormented me relentless through HS and I loathed him. Right after graduation, I ran into him w/ a good friend of mine at a bookstore and I said to heck w/ it, I'm gonna let him have it. So I sat w/ them and we traded barbs all night long and my friend, who hates confrontation was dying. The next day, we both ended up calling her at some point and remarking how the other was as bad as we thought. We become good friends after that :)
ReplyDeleteLove the cover. I cant wait to read the book!!! Adding this book to my buy list. I really dont have a funny first time story,but some of my best friends I have met were the first time I met them.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway.
lauratroxelatyahoodotcom
I don't think so. Thanks for the chance to win!
ReplyDeleteI can't think of any either. I know of several books that I've read that had wonderful beginnings that were very funny.
ReplyDeleteI think the funniest meeting with someone was when I met my husband at a wedding rehearsal for his brother and a good friend of mine. He was staring at me, and all I could think of was "Lord, please let me out of here." All his relatives could talk about nothing more for weeks other than "Did you see the way Dan and that girl looked at each other?" He said he thought I was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and I didn't like the way he was looking at me. Lol!
ReplyDeleteOops! Forgot my email.
ReplyDeletekscathyATyahooDOTcom
The first time I met my husband (just before I started my freshman year in college), one of my friends came up to me and introduced me to this guy that was chained to her (through their belt loops - not as kinky as it sound!). I figured he was taken because of that, but turns out she was just playing around and trying to make him look good to the other guys he was with!
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't.
ReplyDelete