Medieval Monday Spring 2020

Welcome to Medieval Monday for Spring 2020!

Our theme for this season is Nature.

​In historical novels, nature touches lives in so many ways. Nature can be beautiful, dangerous, inspiring.

What will it bring for this round of Medieval Monday excerpts?

I'll be featuring excerpts from my and DD's newest novel, The Prince's Highland Bride, which releases May 13!
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Maggie MacLaren has an island. Phillipe de Poitier has protected her on her journey to the isle, but when he sees its lack of defenses, he decides to remain long enough to be certain she comes to no harm.
Nature can provide beauty and inspiration. It can also bring danger. Maggie’s island is a place of solace and great beauty, but it is also completely without defenses, something Phillipe must correct before he completes his task of protecting the woman he has come to love—and says good-bye to her forever.

Excerpt:
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The sight of Phillipe and Balgair drew Maggie’s steps to a halt. She waved Asatrus and Gils on. The soldiers and men of Hola hesitated only a moment at her bidding then vanished down the trail between the cliffs. She set her gaze on Phillipe. Balgair pushed away from his stance against a rock and sent her a respectful nod.
“M’lady.”
He clapped Phillipe’s shoulder then followed the others down the trail. Phillipe’s gaze lingered on Balgair a moment before he faced Maggie.
Her heart raced. “Is aught amiss?”
Phillipe shook his head and ventured a brief smile which did not reach his eyes. “Not at all. Balgair and I have assessed the defenses of the isle and I wish to offer a proposal. Will ye walk with me?”
Not for the first time did Maggie note the sorrow in his eyes, at odds with the reassurance he offered. She bit her lip, halting the impulse to draw her fingers over the short beard covering the long scar running along the side of his face. To smooth the lines of worry on his brow.
“Aye.” She sent him an encouraging look and paced at his side to the opening in the abbey wall where he halted.
“Ye must have a way to defend yourself and the people of Hola. The people of the isle are not warriors, and I have no desire to change them. But I would have ye safe.” He lifted a hand, indicating the path they’d just trod.
“’Tis the only easy access to the abbey. Though it winds between two cliffs which are not overly tall, the narrow passage allows no more than two men to pass through abreast.”
Maggie glanced at the path, framed by the tall stones. “That ’tis helpful.”

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Join me next week on Mary Morgan's blog for the next snippet:  http://www.marymorganauthor.com

Blurb:

Phillipe de Poitiers, a prince of Antioch, finds himself a breath away from wrongful execution. Risking everything, he leaves behind his crown, his family, his country—and a body sworn to be his by the Bishop, himself.
 
Free of court intrigue and drawn to Scotland by memories of a woman who once possessed his heart, Phillipe sells his sword to pay for his travels and accepts the task of guarding the daughter of Laird MacLaren.
 
When Maggie MacLaren’s abusive marriage fails, she wants nothing more than to retire to her childhood home on the banks of Loch Lomond. Trouble follows her, putting her clan in danger, and she travels to the Isle of Hola, placing her safety in the hands of a mysterious mercenary with a haunted smile and a kind heart.
 
As Maggie and Phillipe struggle with their pasts, love blooms. But when a pirate’s treasure offers a seductive lure, will it free them—or prove the downfall of all they hold dear?

Buy links:
Amazon: https://www.amzn.com/dp/B086Z153VH
Kobo: https://bit.ly/TPHB_Kobo
B&N: https://bit.ly/TPHB_B_N
 
Preorder now for only 99 cents!
Book releases May 13, 2020