Cirrus@Austlit

'Rory:

'Heaven’s breath, is the girl real?

'I’ve been sent to Doral Castle to fetch a lassie and bring her home; she is promised to my brother. But the lass I find is a surprise. She’s nothing like the woman I was expecting. Straightaway, she refuses to answer to her rightful name. She insists she’s someone other than Moira, someone called Lily. ‘Tis a ploy, a lassie’s trick to avoid her wedding day. The girl has my sympathies because who wouldn’t want to wriggle out of wedlock with Goswin, even if he is Laird of MacTavish Castle?

'‘Tis obvious how feisty and full of trouble the lass is, yet I’m strangely drawn to her. Just as our journey begins, the blizzard strikes so we’ve no choice but to seek shelter together. We’re forced to spend our nights alone, in a hunting hut in the snow.

'My brother must never find out what happens between us during that freeze. Goswin has a temper. He is not the understanding or the forgiving sort.

'Lily:

'I’ve followed my friend into the past. It was an accident and the very last thing I meant to do. If I knew how to leave this place, I would. But for now, I’m stuck in the year, 1362, in snowy, medieval Scotland, trying to cope any way I can. And then I discover that I’m to marry a medieval laird, a man that no one can stand.

'The Problem:

'Rory might be the most sought-after man in all of the Highlands but his brother is Laird and will not be denied anything. Laird Goswin has his eye on the fresh-faced stranger that Rory has brought home. She’s a beauty. Looks like hers are not easily found, especially not in these troubled times. The Black Death has just ravaged Scotland killing far too many. Laird Goswin is not about to let a healthy, fine breeding woman like Lily escape. She mightn’t be the woman he’s promised to, but no matter. This girl will do nicely.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'“Want to be in a movie?”

'Not particularly. I might be the only person in Scotland that’s not fussed, one way or the other. But my friend, Lily, loves the idea. That’s how I wound up on the set, cast as an extra in a low budget movie set in a castle. I’m a freshly-trained history teacher about to begin my new career. History’s my passion and soon I’ll get to teach it all day long. There are so many other, more important things I should be doing right now, rather than standing in line waiting for a costume, then waiting for hair, then waiting for makeup.

'When I agreed to this, to be part of the crowd scene, Lily was thrilled and promised me a special time. She delivered on that promise—rather too well. Sure, I love history, but that doesn’t mean I’m prepared to be thrust back in time, into our dark past. That’s what happens to me though. I suddenly find myself living the humble and horribly dangerous life of a Scottish lass in 1263. I was not ready for this. I’m a modern woman who likes modern things. I love the idea that there’s a doctor around the corner waiting to cure me. If I had to choose a place and time in history to stop for a while, it wouldn’t be medieval Scotland. That's the end of the Viking era. It’s a tumultuous time in history when the Vikings still own small bits of Scotland, and are determined to hold on, no matter the cost. The Scots are equally as stubborn.

'Nevertheless, this is where I end up, forced to deal with lawlessness, disease, lack of education, and an entirely foreign sort of man. In these wayward times, men are not like they are in my own century. Here, they’re wilder and a whole lot more frightening.

'I need to find my way home before something really bad happens to me. I’m not blending in well in the past. Laird Bern is curious and itching to know more. He plans to keep me indefinitely, I think. But that’s not happening because I’m determined to get home again, back to my own time, to the place I belong.

'Someone else has noticed me too—Storr, the Viking leader. It’s bad enough to be caught between warring Vikings and Scotsmen, but somehow I also find myself trapped in a tug of love. Do I want an ambitious Viking leader or a rugged, Scottish laird, one that is hellbent on getting his own way?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Scottish Highlands

'1245

'English Juliette is sent to the Scottish Highlands on a charity visit, a mission that’s to last two hundred days. Her job is to pull a valuable warlord out of his black hole. The king wants Laird Tam out of the doldrums and back doing what he does best: killing in the name of Scotland. Juliette reluctantly agrees to the king’s task, because she has no choice.

'Lady Juliette is sweet, sassy, and determined, but also a little spoilt. She knows she’ll cope with the bleak north, the boredom and the barbarous Scotsmen, but when these two hundred days are done, she’s bolting back to England as quickly as her silk slippers will take her.

'Juliette underestimates the Scottish Highlands. She greatly underestimates Laird Tam. And there’s something else she doesn’t realise: the Highlands are never boring ...

“We’re going into the sea, Juliette.”
“No, no, no . . .”
“Aye, we are. You’re a strong Sassenach, remember that. You’ll survive this shipwreck.”
“No. I won’t . . .”
“I’ll find you, my darling, I’ll always find you . . .”
Then the wave hits.

'Now Lady Juliette must survive the sea, the Irish outlaws, runaway nuns, and the ancient Caledonian Forest. Not to mention her growing attraction to Laird Tam ...'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Scottish Highlands

'1244

'A great sickness is striking down the Highland folk of Caithness Castle. They are dying from ergot poisoning, from eating infected crops. But this is the year 1244, and almost no one has heard of this condition, a disease later called St. Anthony’s Fire.

'Desperate to save his clan, Laird Gus turns to a soothsayer for answers. The mystic tells him to hunt down and capture a special Sassenach woman with God-given healing gifts.

'Laird Gus tracks down Lady Sybilla and kidnaps her. Only trouble is, she keeps insisting that she has no magical abilities, nor healing skills of any sort. She’s not even clever with herbs. He has captured the wrong lass.

'English Lady Sybilla might not have the ability to break curses and cure a castle of folk, but she is clever. And cleverness turns out to be exactly what he needs.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Winter has made up her mind: she will kill her husband. Out of necessity, his death must be long and slow and blame-free. Problem is, as Bruno is dying from steroid poisoning, he will become even more irrational and dangerous. There is much that could go wrong with her plan, but no matter what happens, she will not run. She owes her sweet dead sister that, at least.

'Winter's husband, Bruno, is one of Australia's wealthiest steroid dealers. Believing that his wife is up to no good, he lays a trap to test her loyalty, and dark family secrets emerge. When Winter's former lover, Dominic, a forensic psychiatrist, enters into this turbulent mix, the results are both passionate and catastrophic.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'In 1889, the Northern Australian Rainforests are cruel and prejudiced places to live.

'Hunter, born from an English mother and a native Australian father, does not fit well with either group. He is an outcast. The new English settlers fear and demonise him because he is dark skinned, unpredictable, and frighteningly strong.

'Long ago, Hunter survived his mother’s murder. An Aboriginal witch doctor found the dying boy and used tribal magic to save his life. Hunter grew fearfully strong, but this gift of ferocity and strength came at a cost.

'Now, as an adult, he wanders the rainforest at night venting his anger and frustrations. He is not safe to be around.

'But wayward Alice thinks otherwise.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.