Last of the Mohicans – Vanessa Kelly, Author

Today’s featured author is the fantastic Pamela Clare. Pamela, as most of you know, writes both romantic suspense and historical romance, and she’s adept at both. Her I-Team series, about a group of crack investigative reporters, is enormously popular. Breaking Point, the fifth book in the series, was named one of the Top 10 romance novels of 2011 by the editors of Amazon.com and readers voted it the Best Romantic Suspense book of 2011 in All About Romance’s annual reader poll, making this the second year in a row she’s won that category.

But today I want to highlight Pamela’s historical romances, which are every bit as exciting as her romantic suspense novels. Her new release, Defiant, is book three in The MacKinnon Rangers Trilogy, and is set during the conflict known in the United States as the French and Indian War — the war made famous by the film Last of the Mohicans, which starred Daniel Day Lewis.

The trilogy tells the stories of three brothers — Iain, Morgan and Connor MacKinnon — transplanted Highlanders who came to North America as boys when their father was exiled from Scotland. Raised on the frontier, they know several Indian tongues and count themselves kin to the Mahican Indians of Stockbridge. Having learned how to track, fight, and hunt from their Mahican friends, they’re at home in the wilderness.

Defiant is already getting great reviews, including 4 stars from RT Book Reviews and a Blue Ribbon Review from Romance Junkies. Here’s the blurb from Defiant:

Major Connor MacKinnon despises his commander, Lord William Wentworth, beyond all other men. Ordered to rescue Wentworth’s niece after the Shawnee take her captive, he expects Lady Sarah Woodville to be every bit as contemptible as her uncle. Instead, he finds a brave and beautiful lass in desperate peril. But the only way to free Sarah is for Connor to defeat the Shawnee warrior who kidnapped her—and claim her himself.

Torn by tragedy from her sheltered life in London, Lady Sarah is unprepared for the harshness of the frontier-or for the attraction she feels toward Connor. When they reach civilization, however, it is she who must protect him. For if her uncle knew all that Connor had done to save her, he would surely kill him.

But the flames of passion, once kindled, are difficult to deny. As desire transforms into love, Connor will have to defy an empire to keep Sarah at his side.

This is just the kind of meaty historical I love to read. If you liked Last of the Mohicans, you will love this book! As far as I’m concerned there aren’t enough historical romances set in this period of American history, and I’m really glad Pamela helps fill the gap with her wonderful books.

Speaking of movies, Pamela has made the most incredible book trailer for Defiant. Trust me when I tell you that you’re going to want to watch it. It’s live action, with the hunkiest guy I’ve seen in a LONG time playing Connor MacKinnon. You can watch it here on YouTube.

Be sure to visit Pamela’s website to learn about all her books, to read excerpts and to catch up on her latest news. You’ll also want to pop by her blog, which has tons of smart, fun content.

For my readers today, I’m giving away a copy of Defiant and a copy of my first historical romance, Mastering The Marquess. One person who leaves a comment will win both books. Let’s talk about historical settings. Some settings, such as Colonial America, are under-represented in historical romance. What settings and periods do you wish got more coverage? Tell us about it for a chance to win!

I have a very talented historical romance author featured on the blog today. She’s Margo Maguire, and she’s got seventeen novels published in twelve different languages, including manga-animated books in Japan. How cool is that?

After several years as a nurse—during which she says she drew enough blood to keep the hungriest vampire satisfied—Margo decided to go back to college to study history. She fell in love with her studies, which eventually led to the creation of her own fictional characters placed in historical settings. Her first books were Medieval romances, released by Harlequin Publishing. Margo even has some cool paranormal books, featuring sorcerer-warriors who must time-travel to England to save their race. Fun!

You can check out all the details on Margo’s Book Page.

Margo’s more recent books are published by Avon, and with those she’s moved into the Regency era. Her Regencies have gotten lots of acclaim and one of those, Seducing The Governess, was recently nominated for Best Regency-Era Romance of 2011 by RT Book Reviews.

Seducing The Governess was the first of Margo’s two releases in 2011. The heroines of these books are the granddaughters of the Duke of Windermere. Their mother was disowned by the hard-hearted old duke years before, so they’ve never met him. Now that the duke is on his deathbed he wants to make amends, and sends out Captain Gavin Briggs, a trusted former army officer, to find them.

Margo’s second book in this series, Brazen, has just come out, and it’s already getting great reviews. Publisher’s Weekly had this to say about it:

“With affable characters and plenty of emotional tension, this sizzling, suspenseful Regency will hold great appeal for fans of the genre.”

RT Book Reviews called it “an exhilarating tale,” and gave it a K.I.S.S. designation (Knight In Shining Armor). Here’s the blurb for Brazen:

Lady Christina Fairhaven is devoted to her adoptive family – and most protective of her wayward brother. So when a battle-scarred and world-weary Captain Gavin Briggs arrives at her cottage bearing shocking news – that she is the granddaughter of an aged, bad-tempered duke, Christina is stunned… temporarily.

She will not meet the duke who abandoned her when she was a child; Gavin will not receive his significant – and much needed – reward. However, should the good Captain agree to help her locate and rescue her endangered sibling, then perhaps…

But with a fortune at stake, the road to London is paved with peril. Treachery awaits them… not to mention attraction, temptation, and a most unanticipated passion.

To regain his soul, to protect his lady, Gavin must be more than brave.

To win his love, Chrtistina must be positively… Brazen.

Sounds yummy, doesn’t it? You can find all the details on Margo’s website, including an excerpt.While you’re visiting Margo’s website, make sure to stop by her media link to watch her video, which features her beautiful covers and the stirring music from that uber-romantic move, Last of the Mohicans.

For my readers today, Margo will donate a copy of one of her wonderful books. Since Margo has such great, sexy covers, let’s talk about that. What’s your favorite kind of book cover—clinch, manly chest, or something a little more discrete? One person who comments will win a copy of one of Margo’s books.

Guest Author: Pamela Clare & Giveaway!

Guest Author: Margo Maguire & Giveaway!