Born and raised in
Western New York, Laura Strickland has pursued lifelong interests in lore,
legend, magic and music, all reflected in her writing. Though her imagination
frequently takes her to far off places, she is usually happiest at home not far
from Lake Ontario with her husband and her "fur" child, a rescue dog.
Author of Scottish romance Devil Black as well as The Guardians of Sherwood
Trilogy, she is pleased to say that His Wicked Highland Ways is her eighth
title for The Wild Rose Press.
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Publication Date:
April 24, 2015
Widowed following a
marriage of convenience, Jeannie MacWherter has fled lowland Dumfries,
Scotland, for the highland cottage bequeathed to her late husband by his
brother-in-arms, laird of the glen. Though she’s never met the laird, local
rumor labels him both murderer and seducer—a wicked, dangerous man who Jeannie
learns is determined to chase her from his land.
Finnan MacAllister has
come home to Glen Mhor in order to right past wrongs. He doesn’t care that
Rowan Cottage is the beautiful Widow MacWherter’s only refuge. He’s convinced
she’s a wanton who deliberately broke the heart of his best friend, Geordie,
and he’s vowed to get even with her: seduction is his weapon of choice. But
will his own heart betray him?
Excerpt
The man arose from the
pool stark naked and dripping wet, like a god newly formed. Jeannie took
another half step backward and blinked, not entirely believing the sight that
met her eyes: some six foot of male, all rippling muscles, scars, and tattoos,
with a curtain of sopping red-brown hair that slapped his shoulder blades, and
a handsome, dangerous face. His eyes were tawny brown, almost the same color as
his hair, and spiked by wet, black lashes. But after one glance, Jeannie could
not make herself look there.
Instead her gaze
dropped—and dropped. Sweet, merciful heaven! Was that how men came equipped?
She might be a widow in name, but she had never seen her husband, Geordie,
naked. Theirs had not been that kind of relationship, or that kind of marriage.
But she had an eyeful
now, right enough, and for the life of her could not keep from staring. What a
ridiculous, daunting, and marvelous appendage! How did men ever manage to walk
around like that?
But this man did not
attempt to walk. He merely stood in the shallow pool with the water lapping
around his…Jeannie’s strained mind supplied the word “weapon”…and gazed at her
as if he found her as hard to fathom as she found him.
Ah, and she never
should have walked so far down the glen. But dearly as she loved Aggie, Jeannie
sometimes needed to escape her chatter, and the beautiful day had lured her on.
Into danger, clearly.
Who was he? Obviously someone of ill repute, a traveler, a dangerous outlaw, a
madman. What if he decided to use that terrible weapon on her, and she on her
own?
Instead he spoke the
way a man might to a frightened horse. “There, now, no need to be afraid. I’ll
not harm you.”
Jeannie took another
judicious step backward. If she ran, would he be able to catch her? No doubt,
given those long, muscular legs.
She shook her head, and
her hair tumbled about her shoulders. Never well-disciplined, the yellow curls
invariably escaped their pins, and she’d lost most of those on her walk down
the glen.
He spoke again, in a
voice smooth as warmed honey, lilting, and very Highland. “Where are you from,
lass? You’ll be a maid at Avrie House, no doubt.” Deliberately he snagged his
plaid, which lay on the bank, and wrapped it around his waist.
“Why were you lying in
the water?” Jeannie forced her voice past suddenly stiff lips. “I thought you
dead, drowned.”
Publication Date: March 31, 2015
Disgraced in her
father’s eyes, Isobel Maitland travels to Scotland, determined to purchase her
sister’s happiness at the cost of her own. But when her coach is held up and
she is abducted by a dangerous highwayman, she faces an unexpected choice:
suffer the loveless union to which she has resigned herself, or marry this
ruthless, Scottish outlaw who can ignite her desire with a single touch. They
call him “Diabhal Dubh” – Devil Black – and he spends his days terrorizing the
countryside, trying to outdistance the memories that torture him. The King has
decreed he must settle and take a wife. And when he steals the alluring woman
betrothed to his enemy, Dougal MacRae sees a way to both answer the King’s
demand and obtain the revenge he has sought so long …
Publication Date: February 27, 2015
Clara Allen needs a
husband in order to keep a roof over the heads of her assorted dependents, a
roof her nasty grandfather will re-appropriate unless she is married by her
21st birthday, only a few days away. Strong-minded, unwilling to take orders from
any man, she decides to solve her problem by raising a murdered prisoner from
the dead and marrying him. She expects an empty-headed puppet; she certainly
never dreams he’ll be so devastatingly handsome. Liam McMahon doesn’t recall
much about his life before his hanging in the prison yard, other than being
Irish. He does remember the kiss Clara bestowed as she brought him back to
life. Every time he looks at her, his desire gets out of hand. But his former
life is chasing him down like a steam engine, and when a couple of mad geniuses
decide he’d make a fine experiment, he wonders if he’ll live long enough to
claim Clara’s heart or if he’ll die all over again.
Publication
Date: July 23, 2013
Raised
in the kitchens of Nottingham Castle, Wren has no idea she is the daughter of
the legendary Robin Hood until she is summoned to Sherwood Forest. Since
Robin’s death many years before, the resistance against Norman tyranny has been
upheld by a magical triad, but now one of the guardians has died. With two
young men, Sparrow and Martin, Wren must form a new triad with a bond strong
enough to defend Sherwood’s magic. To one of them, she will also give her
heart. From the moment Wren bursts into his life, Sparrow loves her. But he
knows she may choose his lifelong rival, Martin, as her mate. Martin wants Wren
also, but Sparrow fears Martin is driven not by love but ambition. When Martin
is captured and held at Nottingham Castle, will the conflict between love and
duty destroy the triad?
Publication
Date: December 26, 2013
When Gareth de
Vavasour, nephew of the Sheriff of Nottingham, is captured by the outlaws of
Sherwood Forest and held for ransom, he knows he will be fortunate to escape
with his life. Amid the magic and danger that surround him, he soon realizes
his true peril lies in the beautiful dark eyes of Linnet, the Saxon healer sent
to tend his wounds. Granddaughter of Robin Hood, Linnet has always known she is
destined to become a guardian of Sherwood Forest, along with her sister and a
close childhood companion. She believes her life well settled until the arrival
of Gareth. Then all her loyalties are tested even as her heart is forced to
choose between love and the ties of duty, while Sherwood declares its own
champion.
Publication
Date: December 26, 2013
Curlew Champion, master archer, has always known his
destiny. With his cousin, Heron Scarlet, he will become a guardian of Sherwood
Forest and further his people’s fight against Norman Tyranny. But the third
member of the triad is still to be revealed, the woman who will complete the
magical circle and, perhaps, answer the longing in Curlew’s heart. Anwyn
Montfort has fled disgrace in Shrewsbury and come to Nottingham at her father’s
bidding. He wishes her to make a good marriage and settle down. But the
wildness that possesses her refuses to quiet. She knows she’s been searching
for something all her life, but not until she glimpses Curlew does her spirit
begin to hope it has found its home. Only the magic of Sherwood can bring them
together, and only their union can complete the spell woven so long ago …
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