Fall back into the time of Ancient Britannia, of the Roman invasion, and the Caledonii Highlanders who kept the Romans from advancing. Amid the turmoil, romance ignites! Get the first three books in the series in one box set, and if you pre-order, get this amazing pre-order digital reader pack free!
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Here is an excerpt from my upcoming holiday romance!
Would he move on his desires? Some men were able to control their baser desires more than others, and if his chivalrous nature spoke louder than his animal cravings, she wouldn’t push it any further.
But she had to ask. From the aching look of intensity on his face, Dawn believed she knew the answer to the question she was to ask. She tucked her fingertip under the edge of her léine, toying with it.
Toying with him.
“Do ye want me, Sebastian? Do ye want to lie with me?”
He nodded immediately, no hesitation.
Dawn swept forward onto her feet, pressing against his hard body that hummed under the weight of carnal expectation. She had to stop herself from grinning.
Rising up on her toes, she whispered as close to his ear as she could reach.
“I want ye. Join me in bed and let us see if what ye feel for me can be borne by the body as it is by the heart.”
*swoon! Grab this book while you can and get this awesome pre-order pack soon! Here are the details!
I have so much going on, and if you join my newsletter, you'll see more regularly!
First, want to meet me in person and buy signed copies?
I'll be at two events this fall:
Saturday Oct 1, 2022 -- The Historical Romance Retreat, Westgate Hotel, San Diego
Friday, Nov 18, 2022 -- RAVE booksigning at the Bally's Hotel, Las Vegas
If you are in the area, come by and say hi, get a selfie with me, get some fun bookish swag, and buy some signed books!
In addition to grabbing The Maiden of the Woods, be sure to check out all my upcoming books:
What books are releasing this fall and winter?
Here is what I have tentatively scheduled:
Christmas in the Glen -- The Glen Highland Romance short
Highland Breath -- book 2 in the Glen Coe Highlanders Romance
Book 4 in my fairy tale series
Then the next two books in my Historical Fevered Series:
The Highlander's Scarred Heart books 2 and 3
To keep up with me, check out my socials and my patreon:
Find my newsletter and all my socials here: https://linktr.ee/mddalrympleauthor
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Something else in the wood caught her attention, and she marched deeper into the trees with conviction. Then he saw it, and again he smiled despite himself.
Cherries. She must have a sweet tooth.
Suddenly, every sound in the woods fell away. Kiera must have noticed it as well, because she stopped collecting her fruit and turned her head around, looking for the source of the noise, then started back toward the glen. Right toward Cormac. He ducked behind a tree.
That’s why he didn’t see the Romans when they first came upon her. It wasn’t until he heard the depraved words of one of the soldiers that he crept around the tree and gripped his spear.
One of the red-throated soldiers had his hand on Kiera’s arm. Irrational fury unlike anything he had ever experienced surged in Cormac’s chest.
Thunder cracked at his back as he took aim and released his spear, then charged through the brush. The fallen man’s sword laid near Kiera’s feet. In a smooth movement, he reached low as he ran and swept the sword up as he slid in front of Kiera. Then he bounded onto his feet in a low crouch, shielding Kiera with his body.
The third Roman had drawn his sword and was charging on them, his face a grotesque mask of anger. He brought his sword in a hard arc over Cormac’s head, but Cormac twisted around on his heels and swept his blade against the Roman’s leather armor. With Cormac’s lowered angle, the blade’s edge slipped under the leather and sliced through the Roman’s belly with ease. The Roman gurgled blood from between his lips, dropped his sword, and moved his hands to his stomach as if to hold his innards inside. Then he crumpled to his side.
Cormac focused his attention on the remaining soldier as he rose upright. Thunder cracked again and rain began to fall, striking the leaves in a heavy patter that steadily grew louder. Cormac wiped his dripping hair off his face and leapt over the fallen soldier to the first Roman who had finally managed to stand.
Even at his full height, the Roman wasn’t as tall as a Cormac. Though he held his sword before him with a measure of confidence, the man’s eyes betrayed him. Alone, without his other soldiers, facing a wild Caledonii barbarian, and the doubt in his eyes showed. Cormac grinned, the rain plastering his hair against his cheeks, and inhaled his chest to appear larger. He would make this Roman regret coming to the Caledonii land, regret threatening a Caledonii woman.
“Show me what ye have, Roman snake,” Cormac taunted as he whirled his sword in arcing circles with ease.
The Roman roared and swung his sword in a cross strike.
Typical, Cormac thought as he dodged the swing. These Romans were nothing if not predictable in their battle movements.
Cormac waited until the Roman’s swing moved past him, then brought his sword around so it swept across the Roman’s red-scarfed neck.
Stupid Romans. Did they not realize their scarves targeted the most susceptible area of their bodies not covered in armor? Fools.
The soldier’s head flopped on his neck as Cormac spun around. As a final insult, Cormac kicked the man’s back, and he toppled forward in a pool of his own blood that the rain washed into the dirt.
Then Cormac raised his eyes to Kiera.
As we are getting ready for the holidays, I've been busy working on a holiday book for my Glen Highland Romance series. It is a throw back to our lovely character Dawn in the Warrior of the Glen. She's a woman who is content finding her passions where she may -- finding a man to marry is not at the top of her wish list.
Or is it? Has her desires in life changed without her realizing it? Or has the series of secret gifts she's received for the 12 days of Christmas made her realize what it is to care about someone.
And is that someone really Drummond Fraser? Or does someone else hold her heart?
The rough excerpt:
The kitchen door and its beckoning warmth was in arms length, and just as Dawn reached out a shivering hand to wrest the latch open, and hoping it wasn’t frozen in place, she saw a twinkling in the snow next to the door. Half buried and sure to be covered all the way with the snow fall expected that night.
Dawn flicked her eyes up the smooth stone wall of the keep. Had it fallen from somewhere? It must have been there only recently, otherwise it would have been buried in the snow completely. Releasing the door latch with a measure of reticence, Dawn squatted in the snow to get a better look at the mysterious item.
It was a small bronzed thistle brooch, small, and when she lifted it from the snow, it was stuck in a swatch of black and red plaid which had been completely buried by the snow. She held the pinned fabric gently, as if it might break in her hand somehow, and cast her gaze around the ice-locked gardens. In the afternoon light, dim as it was from the cloudy skies and forthcoming snowfall, few shadows fell and the snowy landscape was clear. Only a few brave birds twittering in the trees and herself.
Did someone drop it as they entered the kitchens? Dawn turned the fabric over in her hands. From the look of the fabric and how it was pinned, it didn’t appear to be part of someone’s clothing. Rather, it seemed like the fabric was present just to support the brooch so it might not have become completely lost in the snow.
To Dawn, the brooch and plaid appeared almost to be a gift.
But who would leave a gift out here by the kitchens? Who was the intended recipient?
Coming soon!
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Kiera glanced around the colorful woods as she delicately snapped berries from their stems. The leaves had lost much of their verdigris and were now multi-hued in oranges, yellows, and brown. In a few short weeks, she was certain, the woods surrounding Kilsyth would be bathed in the autumnal colors. A deeper red caught her eye — cherries hung in tight clusters on a tree farther in the woods. Oh, the sweet taste of ripe cherries! What a perfect treat for the upcoming feast!
The bushes grabbed at her skirts as she snaked past the branches and made her way to the cherry tree. As she moved, the sounds of the wood faded, and the birds’ chatter abruptly ceased. At first, she thought she had disturbed them with her presence, that she had been too noisy.
Then something else caught her ear.
Kiera gripped her basket and scanned the trees, trying to see through the brush and leaves. That something else, it was a sound that did not belong in the wood. It was a rustling made by heavy foot treads. The sky had darkened a bit more and her basket was nearly full. She had lost track of time and where she was. Has she moved too far to the south? She might not know who else was in this wood, but she was not waiting to find out.
Holding tight to her basket, she ran as best she could through the thorny bushes that scraped her legs and tugged at her skirts. The open glen was a few steps ahead —
Then she was yanked backward by her hair, stumbling to catch herself before she slammed into the ground and lost her berries. Shock hindered her for a moment as she tried to figure out what had just happened.
And who else was in the wood.
She need not have guessed. From their rough language and clanging armor, she didn’t have to raise her eyes to know it was the Romans.
Her stomach sunk to her feet. She had grown complacent, believing that this close to her village, she was safe.
Instead, she was alone, caught by leering Romans with the destruction of the Caledonii on their mind.
This was not going to end well for her.
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