The Laird:
Andrew, a
wealthy Australian architect, takes life too seriously, whereas his PA
Elizabeth is outgoing and fun-loving; a perfect foil for her sombre boss. She
is passionate about Celtic lore and language. With great reluctance Andrew
answers a plea from his two elderly aunts to travel to Scotland before his
uncle dies. He has no desire to visit the land his father left under a
cloud many years ago, but Liz persuades him to take her along.
In the draughty and dilapidated castle, while exploring a
disused attic, the pair set off a course of events that propel them back in
time to 1050 where they meet Travis, coincidentally Andrew's double.
“I enjoyed every minute of this book. Tricia McGill perfectly pulls the reader back in time along with
Andrew and Liz, describing the castle and its inhabitants in such detail they
fully come to life. Andrew’s aunts, Tilda and Kitty, are gems whose unsolicited
advice made me laugh out loud! The dialogue in this story is one of its
strongest features, and coupled with an intriguing plot it is a winning
combination.”
Marlene FAR 4
Short Snip:
Suddenly the door opened wide.
He blinked as light streamed in. Before them a wide staircase
led down to a cavernous hall. Immense soot-laden beams held up a ceiling of
what appeared to be tightly packed straw, and the walls were timber pylons
reinforced with mud or clay.
A fire roared in a fireplace large enough to roast a whole
cow. Two large soot-encrusted pots containing what smelt like some sort of stew
hung over the fire. Peat blocks were stacked up at one side of the hearth and
enough wood to keep a fire going for a week was piled up on the other side.
People sat around on stools or rough wooden benches. It was
impossible to estimate at first glance how many there were. Everyone stopped
talking at once, and a sudden eerie silence filled the hall as they all gazed
up at them.
Liz crumpled in a heap at Andrew’s feet.
“Liz, for heaven’s sake!” Andrew went down on his haunches
beside her, pulling her into his arms. The boy who’d opened the door stood with
his mouth agape, staring at them as if they were apparitions.
A giant of a man slowly lifted himself from one of two
throne-like chairs that flanked the fireplace and, taking the steps two at a
time came to tower over them, mouthing words Andrew couldn’t understand.
“I’m sorry, but you’ll have to speak English.” Andrew
wondered how he’d managed to get the words out, as picking Liz up, he went down
the stairs and looked about for a soft place to set her down. The man followed
him, and then faced Andrew, his hand on a deadly looking dagger-type weapon
that was thrust through his belt.
The only likely place Andrew could put Liz was on a wide
bench. It didn’t look much more comfortable than the floor, which was strewn
with heather, lavender stems and rushes. As Andrew set Liz down he glanced up.
The man’s scowl was ferocious as he scratched at his dark head.
His mass of thick black wavy hair reached past his shoulders,
and his beard was just as black. He babbled on in the same strange tongue, and
the rest of the crowd began to mutter and whisper, moving closer and doing
little to disguise their almost childlike curiosity.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 |
| The Laird is available HERE. Travis HERE |
Travis:
Beth Anderson travels to Scotland
to help her Australian friends, Liz and Andrew, renovate the dilapidated castle
he inherited from his uncle. Beth shares Liz’s passion for all things Celtic
and knows the ancient language well. Liz tells her an unbelievable story of how
she and Andrew were swept back in time to 1050, to a hostile world, where
Andrew saved the life of Travis, his ancestor, a lovable rogue.
Beth decides to explore the castle
attics and unwittingly discovers their method of time-travel. But the Travis
she meets is a changed man, now driven by revenge and set on annihilating all
his enemies. He has too much violence and bloodshed to contend with and has no
time in his life for another woman from the future. Despite this a great love
grows, a love that must overcome many obstacles before reaching its conclusion.
In Book 1, The Laird, we met Travis, his family, and his clansmen in Book 2,
Travis, we are reunited with them.
"Multi-published author Tricia
McGill does it again! You can’t help but fall in love with her
Highlander chief, Travis, the masterful clan leader in 1051 Scotland from her previous
book.
Even without running water and
central heating this time-travel novel will make you wish you could be
transported back into Travis’ castle… for a good, old fashioned candle lit
romance. If you’ve ever fallen in love with a man in a portrait
painting, that’s what happened to Beth." JoEllen Congar
Short Snip:
"What is it about ye women from the future that makes ye
faint at the sight o' me?" a deep voice questioned in Gaelic as she opened
her eyes.
She was on the ground again, this
time with one of his arms about her shoulders.
"How do you know I'm from the
future?" she whispered, staring into familiar eyes. Similar eyes had
stared out at her from the portrait. There was no hint of mischief in these
eyes though. They looked forbidding. She should have stayed unconscious.
"Ye wear the same garment Beth
wore when she departed." He touched the collar of the cloak, his brow furrowed.
"Beth? You mean Liz?"
Groggily she pushed him away and sat up on her own. He went back onto his
haunches and stared hard at her.
"Elizabeth is the one we speak
of. Aye, that's the one. Did she send ye back here?"
"Send me..." Beth let out
a laugh. "No, believe it or not, I did it all on my own. I can't believe
this." She put a hand to her temple and pressed.
"Oh, I believe it all right.
Ye women seem to have the knack of flitting through time as a normal woman
would walk the forest."
"I..." Beth moved away
from him. His masculine scent filled her nostrils, despite the aromas of
bracken and earth. He smelled of the outdoors, sweat, and wildness. A
tantalizing combination.
Pushing the tangle of hair back, he
stood and strode away a few paces. Hands on hips, he took a few deep breaths,
then turned back. There was nothing of the mischievous rogue Liz told her
about. This man was frightening, his eyes as cold as the snow on Mount Everest.
"I went up to have a look at
the cloak and badge after Liz told me about how she and Andrew were swept back
to your time last year. I was just curious. Don't ask me what happened
but—" She shrugged and spread her arms. "Here I am. But don't worry,
I'll just rub this badge as I did before and get tossed back."
As she bent to do just that he
moved with the speed of a panther and stilled her hand. "No! Seeing as
ye're here, ye might as well stay awhile. I have a yen to learn how Beth is
faring."
"Why do you keep calling her
that? Her name's Liz. I'm Beth." She eyed him warily. His hold on her arm
was like a manacle. If she was truthful she had to admit he terrified her. He
was so big. Beth felt small for the first time since she'd been about ten and
started to spring up.
"Ye're Beth? Ye don't say? Well, here's a strange turn of
events." Finally he released her, but his look was penetrating as he
stared at her. "Are all the women in yer time called such?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please
visit these blogs for more Sunday Snips & Stuff
http://mizging.blogspot.com (Ginger
Simpson)
http://connievines.blogspot.com.au/ Connie
Vines
http://yesterrdayrevisitedhere.blogspot.com/ Juliet Waldron
 |
| All my Books We Love titles are here on my Author page |
 |
| My Web Page |
No comments:
Post a Comment