I have very fond memories of this book, because this was when I learned to listen to my readers.
My original plan (after I found out Rescued was selling) was to have a series of five books for Clan Grant, one for each of the Grant siblings. It would have been simple: Alex, Brenna, Brodie, Robbie, and Jennie. Easy-peasy, no problem. But I hadn’t anticipated something.
The arrival of Logan Ramsay.
The moment Logan Ramsay stepped onto the page and his character came to life, everything changed.
Yes, readers loved Quade with Brenna, and they fell in love with wee Lily, Torrian, and Growley too (of course).
But then there was Logan. His personality was larger than life, and he just took over.
I received emails and comments and reviews everywhere begging for more of Logan. Some said they wished Brenna would have married him. Others said it should have been his book. As a new writer, I didn’t know what to make of all the comments. But Quade and Logan did have a brother and a sister, right? Hmmm….
And so I happily added three more novels to Clan Grant. Although it was too late to change the series title, I expanded my original plan to include not only Logan, but Micheil and Avelina. Clan Grant became a series of eight novels instead of five.
Brenna was a great character because she fed that part of my brain that was still committed to nursing. She quickly became the most renowned healer in all the land. I love writing about her and her daughter Jennet, who shares her abilities.
This book was also when my brand as a writer became clearer to me. If you’re not exactly sure what my brand is, please notice how many of my favorite scenes from this book contain bairns and a dog. A verra big, lovable dog who stole our hearts.
SPOILER ALERT!!! DON’T KEEP READING IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE BOOK!
My favorite scenes:
- LILY AND HER STONES. Not sure why this tickled me so when I wrote it, but I giggled all the way through the scene when Lily hides her stones for her brother, Torrian, and proceeds to “find” them herself. Fortunately, since her brother isn’t strong enough to walk on his own yet, Torrian doesn’t care.
- LILY RUNNING. I love when Lily is finally strong enough to walk on her own and to attempt running. Of course, wee Lily has never been able to run before, so she considers any fast walk running. Do you remember how she asks Alex Grant to watch how fast she is?
- BRENNA/ALEX. Which brings up another reason why I love that scene. Brenna knows the only way she can get her brother Alex to allow her to stay is if she brings Lily downstairs—wee, bonny Lily who makes him wistful for the daughter he doesn’t have yet. Alex reveals his soft side, and I love that part of him.
- QUADE STANDING TALL AGAINST THE GRANT WARRIORS. Quade is a calm, commanding chieftain who’s always able to make decisions. I love it when this part of him wavers, and he goes alone to greet the cavalry of Grant warriors ready to tear his castle apart at Alex’s orders for kidnapping Brenna. Quade admits the fault is solely his (really, Logan?), and vows to accept responsibility for his actions. But the best part of this scene is how Quade can’t take his eyes off Brenna riding her horse across the meadow. We ALL knew he’s madly in love with her, but does he? And I love how intelligent and unassuming Brenna is throughout the book.
- QUADE AND THE ARROW. I love the scene when Quade has to make the decision to help Brenna. He’s never had a tough stomach, but when the woman he loves insists he be the one to dig the arrow out of her flesh, he’s able to do it.
- QUADE STANDS ON HIS HORSE. It may be rare, but some practiced riders are able to stand on their horses. It’s a skill that is possible if practiced enough, but using your bow and arrow while standing on the back of a horse AND hitting your target? It’s fiction, folks. And that’s all I’m going to say about that. It was fiction and FUN.
- LOGAN/BRENNA. Logan steals her beloved mother’s book, but as angry as we all are with him, he makes up for it at the end when he bends his knee in front of Brenna, returns her book, and vows to protect her forever. And we all know how he feels about Lily and Torrian. He’s grateful enough to Brenna to stand at the base of the stairs on her wedding night, keeping everyone away. Yes, he owed her one.
- THE CRYING SCENES. This novel is full of them. I cried when Lily asks her father if she can call Brenna “Mama.” And then I cried again when Torrian says he thinks she should because she never knew her mama. Let’s not forget the scene when Torrian says he had wished to die once. (By the way, they did put unwanted babies out in the forest to die in medieval times). And of course, there is one scene that made me sob from start to finish, but you must read on to find out which one that is…
- THE BIG FAVE. This scene and a couple of others still rank as my all-time favorites of ALL my books: TORRIAN MEETS GROWLEY. I mean, how could you not cry when the big lovable deerhound helps the wee laddie learn how to walk? Growley won everyone over and still lives on in my heart. I just love dogs, especially big ones.
Other notable characters:
Lady Arlene. I would have given starving Lily a piece of pasty, also.
Iona. This was the first time I dropped a character into a book and left that thread dangling. She returned, didn’t she? I’ve been known to do that in other books…and it can be such fun to bring a character back—either because it’s a beloved character or a character we love to hate.
This book was a major accomplishment for me in another way. I felt like I had nearly mastered the art of suspense. I was proud of the mystery I played out with Brenna’s attacker. I found I really enjoyed writing suspenseful scenes, and it gave me the confidence to do it more often.
Fun facts: I had many, many emails from people who suffer from celiac disease who thanked me for writing this story. Even I was shocked when I researched the devastating effects of unchecked celiac disease. Loved receiving those heartfelt messages.
I’ll own up to one mistake I made in this book: I used the incorrect name for the priest. How could this happen?
Father MacGregor was Father Sinclair in Rescued by a Highlander until two weeks before release when I read another author’s book and found she had named the priest the same thing: Father Sinclair. Paranoid that I’d be accused of copying her, I quickly chose another name and changed the priest’s name to Father MacGregor.
The problem was that I was still working a full-time job, and I hadn’t expected Rescued by a Highlander to sell. I didn’t start Healing a Highlander’s Heart until much later, and I remembered the priest as Father Sinclair. After all, that was his name for two years through all the rejections and rewrites. He was only Father MacGregor for a week in my mind.
I published Healing a Highlander’s Heart without giving it any thought until a reader made the comment in a review at Barnes and Noble. How did Father Sinclair become Father MacGregor? I never would have known if someone hadn’t pointed it out to me.
That’s why I read all readers’ reviews, although I’ve learned to stop after the first sentence on those really nasty ones.
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Happy reading,
Keira Montclair