Traitor’s Legacy, the sequel to award-winning historical romance novel, Enemy of the King, is finally out in eBook and print!
Journey back to the drama, intrigue, and romance of the American Revolution, where spies can be anyone and trust may prove deadly.
Traitor’s Legacy Blurb:
1781. On opposite sides of the War of Independence, British Captain
Jacob Vaughan and Claire Monroe find themselves thrust together by
chance and expediency.
Captain Vaughan comes to a stately North Carolina manor to catch a
spy. Instead, he finds himself in bedlam: the head of the household is
an old man ravaged by madness, the one sane male of the family is the
very man he is hunting, and the household is overseen by his beguiling
sister Claire.
Torn between duty, love, and allegiances, yearning desperately for
peace, will Captain Vaughan and Claire Monroe forge a peace of their own
against the vagaries of war and the betrayal of false friends?
Traitor’s Legacy is available at Amazon, The Wild Rose Press, Barnes & Noble, and other online booksellers.
Writing historicals is a way of time traveling and connecting with
the past. Rather magical, really. Being drawn to the paranormal, I can’t
resist adding a ghostly touch to some of my stories, but the history is
carefully researched. I also write actual time travels. To date, I have 1 short story, 3
novellas, 9 novels, and two works of nonfiction published either by The
Wild Rose Press, or myself. I greatly value my editor and publisher, but
sometimes I enjoy the freedom of writing whatever and however I want.
Daughter, Elise, formatted my nonfiction titles for print, also historical/paranormal novel, Somewhere My Love,
(won the 2008 Preditor’s & Editor’s Readers Poll for best Romance
Novel) the first book I had published with the Wild Rose Press. I later
took back the rights and expanded the story. Elise does my Indie covers.
Mom assists with editing, as do friends.
I have several critique partners. But when it comes to creating a story, I mostly talk amongst myselves. Authors are a little crazy. I
have a theory about writers, those who are on medication and those who
should be. Characters are all important and I’ve learned to listen well
to them, because if I don’t, they won’t speak to me. How authors who
plot out every step of their stories in advance manage, I don’t know. I
try to plot. I do. Then I start writing and the story doesn’t go as I’d
foreseen. EVER. I do my research, so I have a reasonable idea of what is
and isn’t possible in a particular era. When the characters depart from
the norm, at least I know what the norm is. And heroes and heroines by
definition invariably march to their own drum.
I suffered the worst writer’s block of my life midway through Traitor’s Legacy
when I failed to heed the characters. There was nothing for it, other
than to wait until the muse returned. I even wrote a different story in
the interim, time travel romance, Somewhere in the Highlands, the latest in my Somewhere in Time Series (awaiting its sequel). My editor must’ve despaired of me ever getting back to her with the manuscript for Traitor’s Legacy, and was delighted when I did.
To appreciate Traitor’s Legacy, I must first touch on its predecessor, award-winning historical romance novel, Enemy of the King (ranked third in the top ten BHB Reader’s Choice Best Books of 2009 at Publisher’s Weekly, voted book of the week at Long and Short Reviews, and on the 2010 Best Romance Novel List at Buzzle).
Set in late summer and fall of 1780, Enemy of the King opens
in an elegant plantation home outside Charleston, then swiftly moves to
Carolina Backcountry. This adventure romance focuses on the Southern
front of the Revolution and culminates in the Battle of King’s Mountain.
Years before the idea for the novel emerged, I was researching my early
Scots-Irish ancestors in the Shenandoah Valley and surrounding
mountains during the French and Indian War. My fascination with Native
Americans led to my Native American Warrior Series. As my
research progressed past the early settlement days, I kept coming across
references to Kings Mountain, noting how proud the Virginia men were
who’d gone over to take part in the battle. I made a mental note to
return later and do further research, which launched me into the
American Revolution. I’ve walked the battle grounds at Kings Mountain
twice. Very moving.
One account I came across regarding my ancestor’s involvement in the
Battle of Guilford Courthouse, NC, was recorded in a journal by my
Great-Great-Great-Great–Grandfather Sam Houston, uncle of the famous Sam
and father of another Sam. To differentiate between the two cousins,
his son was called Sad Sam, because his wife died young of consumption.
The other Sam (not yet famous) was called Bad Sam because he was rather
wild. Also interesting, the wife of Sad Sam, Mary Russel Rowland, was a
copious letter writer. We learned the ‘Dear Uncle James’ she refers to
in her writing is James Madison.
The Patriot hero in Enemy of the King, Jeremiah Jordan, is named for my colonial ancestor, a captain during the Revolution. The antagonist in Enemy of the King,
British Captain Jacob Vaughan, serves with the 17th Light Dragoons in
Tarleton’s Legion. Vaughan was such a multifaceted and intriguing
character, I decided to write a sequel featuring him. It was always my
intent to give both points of view regarding the American Revolution,
although I ultimately come out on the side of the Patriot’s. And still
do.
I’d begun work on the sequel and even had the title, Traitor’s Legacy,
and basic plot in mind, but wasn’t happy with my Virginia setting. It
didn’t work for the story and I wasn’t certain what would, so I set the
manuscript aside and focused on other books.
Then in late spring 2012, I received an email from North Carolinian, Ann See, raving about how much she’d enjoyed Enemy of the King
and insisting she had the perfect location for a sequel. Historic
Halifax, NC. She also very much wanted me to feature Person’s Ordinary.
So persuasive was Ann, that my husband Dennis and I undertook a visit
and were given a tour of this charming glimpse into the past. I decided
she was right; Halifax was exactly what I needed for the story, as was
the old Ordinary. I’d been seeking just such a place. The British
Legion, soon joined by Lord Cornwallis with the rest of the army,
occupied Halifax in May 1781. This episode in history drew me and I read
all the accounts I could find. The bulk of Traitor’s Legacy takes place in the Halifax area during the British occupation, and culminates in colonial Williamsburg and Yorktown.
While also being adventurous, Traitor’s Legacy is more of a mystery than Enemy of the King, with spies, turncoats, a coded letter, intrigue, and above all, romance. I am at work on the sequel to Traitor’s Legacy, entitled Traitor’s Curse. With Traitor’s Curse,
I’m back into ghostly historical romance with a lot of mystery. In
capturing a reader’s attention, I lead them back to a time and place
they may know little or nothing about. It’s my hope, they will go on and
do more research on their own, even visit the sites featured in my
stories.
These three novels will comprise what my editor terms The Traitor’s Legacy Series. Because Enemy of the King was written before the series was conceived, it doesn’t bear that imprint. But leads the way.
Journey back to the drama and romance of the American Revolution, where spies can be anyone and trust may prove deadly–Traitor’s Legacy.
***Traitor’s Legacy is coming out on August 13th, from The Wild Rose Press.
***My titles are available from various booksellers, but Amazon has them all.
Person’s Ordinary pictured above.
Traitor’s Legacy, the sequel to award-winning historical romance novel, Enemy of the King, is finally out in eBook and print!
