Susan: Hello Dr. Forester, and welcome to Love Romance Passion. Please, feel free to make yourself comfortable. We have a beautiful, cream- colored Victorian sofa. You can tell us all about any concerns you may have, but first I’d like you to review LRP’s counseling policies. I’m kidding, of course! Amanda Forester holds a PhD in clinical psychology. Hence, my poor attempt at humor.

Susan: The cover gods were verra kind to ye Amanda. What was your reaction to the cover for The Highlander’s Sword?

Amanda:  Hi Susan!  Thanks for inviting me to the couch!  Now, where to begin… oh yes, the cover.  Well, beforehand I had a lot of anxiety about what it might be.  Fortunately, when the cover was sent to me I was quite happy, and I’m sure you can see why.  Sourcebooks did a great job!

Susan: When did you decide to become an author?

Amanda:  I’ve always had stories floating around in my head, but I never actually thought of being an author.  It wasn’t until a few years ago when my husband was deployed to Iraq and I was a bit stressed (utterly neurotic) that a friend recommended I try reading romance novels.  Now I have to admit to being a snobby twit – I said I didn’t read those kind of books.  After some justified chastising I decided to give it a try.  I found what must be one of the best kept secrets in the literary world; romance novels are actually really good!  The stories also reminded me of my own romantic daydreams, giving rise to the thought that maybe, just maybe, I should try writing one down.  I gave it a go, revised it a billion times, and here we are!

Susan: What books do you read aside from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manuals?

Amanda:  Ah the DSM-IV, what lovely reading... for anyone suffering from insomnia!  My first choice in reading material is usually historical romance.  I recently found Georgette Heyer and have been gobbling up her books – thank goodness she was prolific!  I also enjoy straight history books.  Sometimes the actual historical events are even crazier than any plot I could devise!

Susan: What’s sexier? (Please choose only one.)

• Kilts
• Breeches
• Black leather pants

Amanda:   Kilts hands down… or is that hands up??  (Sorry – couldn’t resist!)

Susan: Who looks sexier in a kilt? (Please choose only one.)

• Sir Sean Connery (My choice)
• Kiefer Sutherland
• Ewan McGregor
• Gerard Butler

Amanda:  Oooooo, tough call.  I’m going to have to go with McGregor on this.

Susan: Speaking of sexy men in kilts, tell us a little about your hero, Padyn MacLaren.

Amanda:  Laird MacLaren is a well-formed chap who does justice to the kilt he wears.  He has shouldered responsibility from an early age, and has been a warrior all his life, earning him entry into the knighthood.  He travels to France to fight the English at the dawn of what we now consider the Hundred Years’ War.  Yet his confidence is rocked when he discovers his French fiancé is only using his brawn for her own enrichment, not for love.  He returns home to Scotland to find his clan impoverished, and accepts a marriage contract with Lady Aila Graham since her dowry will do much for his clan.  Trouble is he has no idea how to relate to a wife.  Despite his nagging fears of betrayal he can’t help but slowly fall crazy deep in love…

Susan: I want you to analyze, Padyn MacLaren using the Psychodynamic school of thought. Tell us the underlying cause for MacLaren’s distrust of women. (Lol)

Amanda:  Fun question!  From the psychodynamic perspective (I’m particularly thinking object relations here), it’s important to note that MacLaren had a healthy childhood and developed a strong attachment to his mother as a young boy.  These relationships are important because (according to the psychodynamic theorists) the forming of strong attachments within the first six years of life form the basis for all healthy relationships in the future.  Though the adult MacLaren has grown battle-weary and distrusting of women based on his previous experience (and shows a common tendency of men in that era – and sometimes even in this era – to blame women for all their problems) he does have the innate capacity to love deeply… but it’s going to take one special heroine to uncover it!

Susan: Historicals are a beautiful sub-genre. Why historical, and not paranormal for example?

Amanda:  I love history.  I love doing the research for it, I love envisioning myself living back during those times (while I sit in my heated home, typing on my laptop).  For me, if I am going to spend the kind of time it takes to write a novel, I want to be swept up in history.

Susan: (Shameless self-promotion here.) Why should readers pick up your romance novel?

Amanda:  I could really use the cash.  What?  Not quite what you are looking for?  Let me try again… If you are looking for a Scottish medieval romance that is fast-paced, has lots of action, with a little mystery and a bit of humor, try The Highlander’s Sword.

Thank you Amanda, for spending the day with us at Love Romance Passion. We’ll be billing your insurance company directly. (Giggles) Joking aside, please come back and visit us anytime! It’s been great fun!

Thanks for having me – I had fun with your questions!!

THE HIGHLANDER’S SWORD BY AMANDA FORESTER—IN STORES MARCH 2010

A quiet, flame-haired beauty with secrets of her own...

Lady Aila Graham is destined for the convent, until her brother's death leaves her an heiress. Soon she is caught between hastily arranged marriage with a Highland warrior, the Abbot's insistence that she take her vows, the Scottish Laird who kidnaps her, and the traitor from within who betrays them all.

She's nothing he expected and everything he really needs...

Padyn MacLaren, a battled-hardened knight, returns home to the Highlands after years of fighting the English in France. MacLaren bears the physical scars of battle, but it is the deeper wounds of betrayal that have rocked his faith. Arriving with only a band of war-weary knights, MacLaren finds his land pillaged and his clan scattered. Determined to restore his clan, he sees Aila's fortune as the answer to his problems...but maybe it's the woman herself.

Buy: The Highlander's Sword

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Amanda Forester holds a PhD in psychology and worked for many years in academia before discovering that writing historical romance novels was way more fun. She lives in the Pacific Northwest outside Tacoma, Washington with her husband, two energetic children, and one lazy dog. You can visit her at www.amandaforester.com.

Take a Look at These Fun Posts

• Review: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
• Romancing Trashy Novels #5
• Cell Phone Novels!
• Review: The Highlander’s Sword by Amanda Forester
• Review: Raven on the Wing by Kay Hooper

Potentially Related Websites

• Woodstock Percussion Folk Guitar
• Chris Brown Puts His Spin On Nicki Minaj's 'Your Love'
• Outer Limits Sport Fishing
• Review Daisies Never Lie by Lynn Byer
• Love Happens starring Aaron Eckhart and Jennifer Aniston

Online Stores

• Cover Fire Pits Outdoor Cooking & Eating Yard, Garden & Outdoor Living Nursery
• Forester Subaru Hybrid Cars & Trucks
• Alternative, Underground Graphic Novels, TPBs Comics Collectibles
• Screen Cover Greenhouses & Terrariums Garden Structures & Fencing Yard, Garden & Outdoor Living
• Horror, Sci-Fi Graphic Novels, TPBs Comics Collectibles

Categories:

Author Interviews, D-F

Tags:

Amanda Forester, best kept secrets, chastising, clinical psychology, dsm iv, first choice, forester, Georgette Heyer, goodness, Highlander, Historical Romance, history books, insomnia, poor attempt, reading material, reading romance novels, romance passion, romantic daydreams, snobby, Susan S., victorian sofa, world romance