Highland Barbarian by Hannah Howell is an exceptional romance novel. The love story is both captivating and highly amusing. A tale of a Lowlander (with Highlander blood in her veins) and a Highlander (whose warrior skills include brains), this is sure to be on your favorite shelf.
With his Laird on his deathbed, Sir Artan Murray cannot refuse the task of going to the Lowlands to lure Cecily, his Laird's niece, home again. Throw in her tempting dowry and the fact that his Laird wants to make him, the second son of twins, the heir and future Laird, Artan finds himself traveling south before he knows it. In his heart of hearts, Artan knows he could never marry a girl no matter how bonnie she is or how bonnie her dowry. He wants a marriage like his parents, as all the Murray's wed for love.
When he first lays eyes on Cecily Donaldson, Artan thinks he's seen an angel. Glorious red hair and beautiful green eyes have tempted him as no woman has ever tempted him. Stealing kisses, usurping her arranged betrothal's rights, and fighting off a few dozen men are all fun and games until Artan overhears a conversation from the girl's guardians between her betrothed. His questions and fears answered, Artan knows what he must do.
He will have to kidnap his future bride from the midst of wolves and take her back with him whether she wants to go or not. Cecily, hurt and betrayed, struggles against her passion for this Highland barbarian. Her struggles however are halfhearted, because when Artan touches her or kisses her or loves her, she burns for him with a yearning that can't be denied.
When you write a single novel, you’ve got to keep track of characters’ descriptions and “trademark gestures,” settings, special décor, funny quirks in neighborhoods or families, and the list goes on. If you write fantasy as I do, you suddenly have extraordinary quirks and “rules” to pay attention to. If you state in chapter seven that a creature summoned by a wizard for a training exercise in a special training arena must remain within the confines of that training arena, then you better present a good reason for a summoned creature stepping outside of that arena’s circle in chapter fifteen. Readers are going to notice if you break your own rules. They’re going to be confused if the matriarch of your family has green eyes throughout the first two-thirds of the novel, only to suddenly look at something with her blue eyes sparkling like an ocean’s surface on page 400+.
You get the idea.
Now imagine all these details multiplied by three for a trilogy. Or multiplied by four for a trilogy with a prequel (yes, that’s in the works for me). Or multiplied by five for a trilogy with a prequel and a sequel being written by one of the main characters. Criminy!
As an author with all that to keep track of, I keep files on the computer, but I don’t rely on them. I live a pretty paranoid life, so I consider the computer a fallible device. Corrupt files and crashes occur. Backing things up happens when I remember to do it because I haven’t been able to afford fancy dancy software to make backup instantaneous for a while. My systems seem almost archaic to me.
Instead, I keep folders and spiral notebooks where I’ve written out full of character sketches. My host enjoys the tactile sensation. I have a recipe box full of vocabulary words for my Ungol race and for place names in my fantasy world. I have print-outs of short stories and legends so I don’t have to hunt & peck on the computer to find them amid all the files of stories and novellas that are ongoing for the world of Onweald.
Then there are my visual aids. I have a large desk calendar covered with post-it notes and scribbles, white-out smears and taped-on notecards that lays out the events as they occur for the main story of the CHOICES series. It would probably be a mess for anyone to walk in and stare at, but I can turn to “our” September and pinpoint the days when both moons in Onweald are waning and tell you what the Arcanan Army is doing that evening. I also have that gorgeous map that the award-winning Southwest Florida artist Megan Kissinger made for me. She took a scribbly sketch of nothingness that I’d “drawn” and turned it into the world of Onweald. It now appears at the front of CHOICES MEANT FOR GODS, WHAT CHOICES WE MADE, and CHOICES MEANT FOR KINGS. You can see a full-color version of it on the “Worlds” page at my new Web site http://www.authorsandylender.com. And I can see a poster-size color version of it whenever I need direction because I’ve got it rolled up in a safe spot on my bookshelf in the writing den.
That’s how I keep track of details. Tons of notes, notebooks, notecards, visual aids, a few computer files…these are vital for consistency and speed when working. They’ll make the editing process go more smoothly as well!
“Some days, you just want the dragon to win.”
A Tense Little Excerpt From Choices Meant for Kings
By Fantasy Author Sandy Lender
*You won’t find this excerpt anywhere except Sandy’s current online book tour…
As the soldier stepped toward him, Nigel reached out his arm and caught him by the neck. He slammed the captain against the far wall. He pinned him there with his body, leaning against the man as if he could crush the wind from him with his presence.
He brought his face close to the soldier’s ear and spoke lowly, fiercely, so that no one could have overheard him. The menace and intent behind the words was as surprising to the captain as the words themselves.
“I asked you to accompany [Chariss] on this journey tomorrow because I have faith in your sword, and until this moment I trusted you to keep your distance from her. Now, I find her down here at your side with a look upon your face that suggests more than you realize. So help me, Naegling, the only thing that stays my hand is how displeased she would be if she learned that I sliced you open.”
“The look you see is merely my concern for her honor. Nothing more.”
“I’m not a fool. And I’ll use every last piece of Arcana’s treasury to pay the prophets to justify my reasons for marrying that woman, so you can unconcern yourself with her honor.”
Hrazon stepped off the staircase then and saw Nigel pressed against his guard.
“I still believe you’re one of the best soldiers Arcana’s ever seen,” Nigel continued, “and I want you at her side for this journey, but, so help me, Naegling, she comes back alive and well and not confused in the least about her affections for me, or I will string you up from a tree in the orchard and attach your intestines to your horse’s saddle before I send it—”
Hrazon cleared his throat. “Excuse me. Is there an issue here I should address?”
Rafael Lazzini, a Brazilian male model, was recommended as a candidate for our Fabio search by Lex Valentine. When you get the chance to take a closer look later in this post at the boy you'll see he's the epitome of salty goodness. At 6'2" and 176 pounds, Lazzini is a mean lean muscle bound machine! It's hard to tell, but this handsome devil has green eyes... and the most perfectly kissable lips... le sigh.
His look is very versatile; long hair, short hair, dressed up or dressed down. He can be your corporate love interest, perfect for a contemporary romance or your rich play boy, perfect for those Billionaire categories. He can even be your personal down to earth handyman, or your Cabana boy. I have the pictures to back me up too!
Here he is as the driven corporate executive. I love how the suit fits him with jacket or without! I'd like to get me some of that!
Rafael as the rich play boy and as the sexy handy man minus his tool belt. So hard to choose... which would you pick?
But that's not all... I even have some pictures to show off the yummy goodness going on beneath the great clothes. Not work friendly, and be warned you'll want to get a cup to drool in!
If you think viewing Rafael in still photographic form you should see him in motion. Check out the youtube video of some of his photo shoots:
If this is what is grown in Brazil - I'm going to start importing some seeds and grow my very own hunk garden tomorrow! Who's with me?
This week in the search for the next Fabio, Lex Valentine has submitted Will Chalker to our attention. Will Chalker is a British male supermodel and woo is he one gorgeous honey. Blond hair, green eyes, and ladies he's a Pisces. Chalker started modeling around 2000 and has been full-time since 2003.
He would make a great addition to any pirate romance novel. Don't you think? He pulls off the frothy white shirt very well. Move over Orlando Bloom! I bet Chalker's good with a sword...
If that weren't enough, check him out in the following two scrumptious photos. Yum! Yum!
Not only does he model underwear, Chalker is the new face of Paco Rabanne BlackXS. I personally haven't had a good whiff of it so I can't tell you what it smells like, but go ahead and take a look at him in his commercial. Not as wickedly delicious as Ian Lawless' commercial, sad to say.
Will Chalker on the Runway:
All in all Will Chalker is not a bad choice for the next Fabio. What say you? How many novels could he grace the cover of before we tired of him? Who do you nominate for the next Fabio?
Now imagine all these details multiplied by three for a trilogy. Or multiplied by four for a trilogy with a prequel (yes, that’s in the works for me). Or multiplied by five for a trilogy with a prequel and a sequel being written by one of the main characters. Criminy!
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. You can see a full-color version of it on the “Worlds” page at my new Web site 
This week in the search for the next Fabio, 
