Published: May 12th, 2015
Cover Artist:– Regina Wamba
Scotia MacAlpin may be only eighteen years old, but she’s no stranger to trouble. Her latest incident—which resulted in a death and forced her clan into battle—has made her an outcast among her exiled people. Scotia is tired of being ignored and trapped in the shadow of her sister, a gifted Guardian of the Targe; and she’s become hell-bent on destroying the army out to capture the ancient Highland relic for their English king.
Duncan of Dunlairig has looked out for Scotia since she started to walk. She was as restless and reckless then as she is now—only the stakes have become higher and more perilous. While the rest of Clan MacAlpin ostracizes her, he secretly helps Scotia become the warrior she yearns to be. But the real test of her skills may come when Duncan needs her help—and her long-forgotten heart—in this thrilling and romantic Guardians of the Targe tale.
GUEST POST
No Damsel in Distress
I have a confession to make…I’m a wimp. Really. I hate conflict of any sort and I’m a wuss when it comes to pain, heights, things lurking in deep water below my feet, or physical challenges that might test my fortitude and strength (though “use it or lose it” is one of my daily motivational mantras these days!). On my bucket list I have: conquer a zip line (heights AND a physical challenge). Someday soon I hope to do that. Seriously (I say to my husband). Soon. He’s not holding his breath.
Another confession—even though I’m a wimp, don’t give me a damsel in distress in stories. Give me a well-intentioned brat, a troublemaker, a young woman everyone is shaking their heads over and no one knows how to rein in. Give me that sort of woman and I’ll give you a page-turning, romantic, Highland adventure with a heroine you’ll come to love as much as I, and the hero, do.
I am, despite my dislike of conflict, drawn to difficult heroines. I write women who, though seriously flawed in many cases, are strong, determined, smart, capable, and often have magic they don’t quite know what to do with. The more flawed they are, the more fun I have writing them, and the stronger and more interesting I find them to be.
Scotia MacAlpin from Highlander Redeemed would be flying through the trees on that zip line without a second thought or any hesitation, sword drawn, and the MacAlpin war cry on her lips. Of course she would inevitably cause trouble for someone with her rush to adventure, but then every story needs trouble. And getting her through that trouble and out the other side was a whole lot of fun to write!
So you might wonder how a conflict avoiding, physically timid writer can write these characters? Because I’m also no damsel in distress. I’m strong, determined, smart, and capable, but I was never one to rock the boat – yes, I was that annoying kid in elementary school who was a stickler for rules. My heroines though? They hate the rules. They don’t understand why the rules are what they are. They crash through the rules, taking their medieval Highlands fates into their own hands. And then they learn how to survive living outside the normal rules for women—usually learning the hard way.
I get a kick out of writing these women. Through them I can live out my inner brat, my inner rule breaker, my inner kickass warrior chick with magic. Through them I can rock the boat. Heck, I can roll the boat over and sink it and then figure out how to build a better boat. I can be the woman I never dared to be when I was younger, and through my characters and their harsh lessons I can embrace my strengths and my flaws and celebrate them equally, knowing that love can find even the toughest damsel. And maybe, if I channel my inner Scotia MacAlpin, I can conquer that zip line!
About the author:
Laurin Wittig was indoctrinated into her Scottish heritage at birth when her parents chose her oddly spelled name from a plethora of Scottish family names. At ten, Laurin attended her first MacGregor clan gathering with her grandparents, and her first ceilidh (kay-lee), a Scottish party, where she danced to the bagpipes with the hereditary chieftain of the clan. At eleven, she visited Scotland for the first time and it has inhabited her imagination ever since. She writes bestselling and award-winning Scottish medieval romances and lives in southeastern Virginia. For more information about all of Laurin’s books, visit her:
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