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Thank you so much for inviting me to your blog, VJ. These last weeks have been busy ones, with the re-release of Scottish historical romance, The Devil Take You. I’m delighted to once again share this story with readers.
I love a good historical romance, don’t you?
Traditionally, the male protagonist in historical romance is portrayed by a character who is admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities. He rides in, swoops in, or sails in, to save the day.
Now, even I have read historicals where the male lead starts out as a rake or a bounder, but once he rescues the heroine, slays the villain, or solves the problem, he then finds love with the female lead and he is all of a sudden reformed, forgiven, and or held in high esteem.
I wanted to write an anti-hero, a severely flawed, cruel and malevolent character with no hope of ever being rehabilitated.
anti-hero: noun—
a central character in a story, movie, or drama who lacks conventional heroic attributes.
Yep, that’s Gard Marschand in a nutshell—evildoer of epic proportions. Marauder, murderer, thief—prepared to do anything, no matter how heinous to accomplish his goals. But even in his own wickedness, he still holds to his own moral code, skewed as it may seem to decent folk. Gard is nobody’s hero.
And I had an absolute ball creating this character, and the woman who could stand up to such a deplorable character. I hope you enjoy them, too.
The story is set in 1307, during the Scottish Wars of Independence.
Here’s the blurb:
Known in the Highlands as the legendary devil, Gard Marschand raids his way across Scotland and England amassing power and property in his malevolent wake. He will stop at nothing in his pursuit to regain what is lost— even conceal his true identity and associate with his enemies. His determination is all-consuming until he and his men lay siege to Ross-shire and one feisty Scottish lass obliterates his single-minded purpose.
Can Gard abandon his deep-seated need for revenge for a love that just might save his rotten soul? Or will he succumb to the demons that hound him and surrender to the devil within?
Add it to your Goodreads TBR List
Excerpt:
From atop his steed, Marschand lifted Llach right off his feet. Dangling, he choked and gurgled.
“Marschand! Caisg! Ma’s e do thoil e!” Brae cried, beating on his thigh with her fist. “Stop. Please.”
He dropped Llachlan into the dirt.
Not waiting to see if his man was all right, Marschand grabbed Brae by the front of her dress, then dragged her up onto the horse into his lap. Unconcerned about gentleness, he urged the animal into motion.
Barely harnessed fury radiated through his tightly coiled body. The tension transferred to her and manifested in more tears.
“Why do ya feel the need to humiliate me time and again?” She tried to straighten her dress. “Is it no’ enough for ya ta have all these men thinkin’ tha’ I am your...”
“Ya are,” he roared. “Ya are mine, and ya will comport yerself as such.”
The vehemence in his voice shocked her, along with the realization that he was not angry with whatever Llachlan was about to confide regarding Marschand’s personal crusade—whatever that might be. Instead, Marschand was furious with her for conversing with Llach.
“Ya mean to tell me there are rules ta actin’ the whore?” she spat.
“Ya are no’ a whore. They see ya as me mistress.”
“Aye, because there be much distinction.” She craned her head, to look him in the eye. “And we both ken, I am no’ either o’ those things,” she refuted.
A nerve in his jaw jumped. He inhaled sharply and kicked the horse into a run.
In a panic, Brae fisted one hand into his cloak and dug the other into his rock-hard thigh. She held on for dear life as they flew past the others.
At breakneck speed, he raced into a copse of trees. Wind whistled by her ears. Without warning, Marschand stopped the charger.
Before Brae could think, he dragged her from the animal, then flung her against the trunk of a tree, the force knocking the breath out of her. Her vision tunneled for a fraction of a second before the mad man sandwiched her between the tree and his firm body. The tree’s rough bark bit into her shoulder.
Marschand grasped her chin in a bruising manner. “I can remedy tha’ any time I wish.”
It took her a moment to catch up to what he referred.
“Ya have no idea wha’ I could do to ya. Wha’ I’ve already done ta ya. Wha’ I want ta do ta ya, evra second ya are near. I can take it any time I want it, and ya couldna stop me. I can make ya my whore righ’ now.” He shifted hips, threatening physical violence. He forced her chin higher, his lips hovered just out of reach.
Even over his anger and her fear, she wanted nothing more than to taste his lips.
Copyright © 2019 H.K. Carlton
I hope you enjoyed the extract!
If you'd like to sample another snippet, head on over to my blog Pick a Genre Already for another sneak peek.
Thank you again for hosting, VJ!
Happy Reading, folks!
Cheers,
Kymmie
xoxo
Purchase Links:
Now available @ Apple, B&N and Smashwords
Coming to other vendors soon
Also available in Print
Author Bio:
Variety is creativity’s playground—It’s where you’ll find me
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Thank you so much for hosting The Devil today, VJ.
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely weekend, everyone.
Happy reading!
Cheers,
H K