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| Do you recognize this shop? A clue: Claire in ep. 1 of Outlander |
Readers, I have discovered, are drawn to the mystical, dreamy
highlands of Scotland as the backdrop for contemporary romance. As a writer, I
heartily agree with that sentiment. Tall, Dark and Kilted, features a sexy
laird Ruairi (Roo-ary) Urquhart who has to fight to safeguard his land and
inheritance. In Scotch
on the Rocks, kilt-wearing
American, Brodie arrives on Eilean na Sgairbh on the back of a storm wind and
turns my heroine's life upside down.
Both novels have gone down a storm in countries where there are ex-pat Scots
– USA, Australia, New Zealand or Canada; it appears that second and third generation
Scots are eager to learn about the old traditions and their former homeland. And
if they learn through my novels, then so much the better. My novels are
meticulously researched and, as a true born Scotswoman, I write with complete authenticity
about the land and its people.
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| Falkland, in the Kingdom of Fife where the first scenes in Outlander were shot |
Romance readers simply love a novel which features a man in a
kilt. The element of ‘costume’ (ie the kilt), especially in a contemporary
setting, removes the hero and the reader from the here and now and transports them
into the realm of fantasy. And, in the case of a kilted hero, there is also the
tease of whether he’s followed tradition and gone ‘commando’.
The kilted hero in my novels is, generally, aristocratic – a
laird, at the very least. And, while he does not have to work to earn his daily
crust, he carries the weight of his inheritance and the welfare of his tenants
and family on his shoulders. He often has emotional scars which only the
heroine can heal. All of my novels have a happy ending and readers can close
the book with a satisfied sigh knowing that all the obstacles which have
prevented the hero and hero from leading a happy life, have resolved.