Enter to Win a
Print Copy of THE WINTER LAIRD
THE WINTER LAIRD
Mists of Fate #1
Nancy Scanlon
Releasing November 17th, 2015
Diversion
THE
PRESENT
Successful matchmaker Brianagh
O’Rourke believes in happily-ever-afters...just not her own. She’s convinced
passion only exists in her dreams. When she reluctantly accepts a marriage
proposal, Bri decides she needs a vacation―but she didn't expect it to be in
13th century Ireland.
THE
PAST
Laird Nioclas MacWilliam just wants
peace for his clan. The time for him to marry has come, and after waiting years
for his ally to present their daughter, he’s agreed to marry another. But on
the eve of his nuptials, a daring rescue brings his missing betrothed right
into his arms.
THE
FUTURE
Brianagh has to return to the
future. Nioclas has to marry. He offers a solution for the both of them: She
marries him and stays for three months, and they work together to convince his
clan they are a love match. In return, he vows to safely return her home. But
as the days turn to weeks, they both begin to see what a happily-ever-after
could be. And when the time comes, does Brianagh return to the life she’s
built, or does she remain in the past for a chance at true love?
BUY NOW
Amazon | B& N | GooglePlay | iTunes | Kobo
“In my clan, when you marry
for love or fall in love with your wife, you are not expected to marry once
she’s dead.” At her gasp, Nioclas shook his head. “No, do not misunderstand me.
I have no reason to hurt you. You wish to return to the life you’ve built in
your country, and I need to marry, if only to stop ambitious sires with very
young girls whom I have no interest in taking as a lover or a wife. If you
agree to stay for three months, which is enough time for other clans to hear of
our nuptials, and enough time for my clan to perceive us in love, I will return
you to your home, unscathed. And I will arrange travel with men who will verify
your status as a clan widow.”
She considered that; he
would believe that she’d need the protection of widowhood to get along in the
world, and she appreciated his kindness in thinking of it. She nodded, then
asked, “Do you know of Newgrange?”
Obviously not the answer he
expected. “I cannot say that I am familiar with it.”
Brianagh flashed back to
the brochure in the car and remembered reading it was “rediscovered” in 1699.
She wasn’t sure about Dowth, though. “How far are we from Dublin?”
His impassive mask stayed
firmly in place. “Four, perhaps five days’ ride.”
Brianagh hadn’t built a
thriving company based on indecision. She had a great aptitude for assessing a
situation and making executive decisions as fast as she could gather all
pertinent information. And in this situation, she knew she couldn’t get
anywhere near Newgrange if they were that far from Dublin.
She would need this man’s
help to get home. There wasn’t any alternative. She had no money, no
transportation, and no sense of direction, as James repeatedly pointed out to
her whenever she called him, lost on some back road in the suburbs of the city.
She let out a sigh, then
nodded. “If you promise to bring me to Dublin, I will agree to this.”
She could see he didn’t
understand why she wanted to go there, but all he responded with was, “As you
will. And, as we’re to be married...you may call me Nioclas.”
She inclined her head. “I’m
Brianagh. But my friends call me Bri.”
“Those closest to me call
me Nick.”
“Shall I call you Nick?”
“I prefer Nioclas,” he
replied dryly, “but I suppose, as you’ve accepted my hand for the next three
months, you may call me whatever you wish, as long as it remains ‘my laird’ in
front of any clansmen. Shall I call you Bri?”
“I prefer ‘my lady,’” she
said, fighting a smile, “but you may call me ‘my lady Brianagh.’”
“You’re rather feisty,”
Nioclas said, fighting his own smile. “I do think we’ll get along quite well.”
“Talk to Reilly,” she
suggested as they headed back to the main building. “He’ll tell you all about
how feisty I am. Just don’t believe it.” Brianagh cautioned herself not to let
her guard down, but she already felt her heart lighten. She just prayed he was
true to his word, for she fully realized she needed someone’s help to get home.
A fake wedding and marriage
for three months?
She was a matchmaker by
trade. She knew all the signs to look for in a match. She could certainly
pretend most of them to uphold her end of the bargain. It seemed a small price
to pay to get back to her life.
Born
and raised near Boston, Massachusetts, Nancy Scanlon wrote her first romance
novel at age 16, when she realized that fictional boyfriends were much easier
to figure out than real ones. In the time since, she managed to earn a degree
in English, obtain a graduate certificate in creative writing from the
University of Cambridge, and marry the man of her dreams (but she still holds
tight to her fictional boyfriends).
Currently,
she resides in Puerto Rico with her husband, two children, and two dogs. When
not writing, Nancy spends her time reading, reviewing and blogging about
romance novels, watching too much HGTV, and taking care of her family.
Thank you for hosting THE WINTER LAIRD! Happy Thanksgiving!
ReplyDeleteThanks for having me on your blog! I hope you had a great holiday :)
ReplyDelete