Sunday 27 April 2008

Sandy Blair

INTERVIEWED: November 2007


Hi Sandy! Welcome to the Christmas Special!

Please tell us about the conception of your Christmas themed release, A Highlander For Christmas. Are there any familiar characters?

A: When my editor Hilary Sares asked if I’d be interested in writing a Christmas book, the initial setting— an antique shop—and heroine Claire MacGregor had been percolating at the back of my mind for some time.

As Claire came to life on the page, her emotional opposite--hero Sir Cameron MacLeod--quickly took shape. The fun in bouncing one personality off the other then began.

This book isn’t related to my In A Kilt series, (although I am working on book #4, A Warrior In Kilt. )

How long was this story in the pipeline?

A: I was asked to write the book in October 2006 and to deliver it by March 1, 2007. Three hundred and fifty pages, A Highlander For Christmas hit bookstore shelves October 1, 2007.

What do you think readers will enjoy about A Highlander For Christmas?

A: A Highlander is pure fantasy, my Christmas gift to both historical and contemporary Romance fans alike. The hero is a dyed in the wool 1745 Celtic warrior set loose in contemporary Boston. If they enjoyed the movie “Kate and Leopold” they’ll love Claire and Sir Cameron MacLeod.

Please tell us a little something about the hero and heroine. Why are they perfect for each other?

A: They’re experience and emotional opposites. Sir Cameron MacLeod is a man of his time. Testosterone loaded and 6 ft and 5 inches of solid brawn, he plays as hard as he fights, is honor bound by his word and has a deep sense of family/commitment to clan. Handsome as sin and politically favored by birth, the world—and women--have been his for the taking… until he ends up in Claire’s world.

Claire MacGregor, on the other hand, believes she doesn’t have many physical assets and has been forced by circumstances to be totally self-reliant. She trusts very few, and then not totally. Close to bankruptcy this Christmas Eve, she has little to smile about, is still clawing her way through life when the outrageous, seriously alpha man of her fantasies arrives and her world, much to her consternation, is suddenly turn upside down.

What did you enjoy most about writing this Christmas themed book?

A: I had a great deal of fun letting a seriously alpha warrior loose in our politically correct contemporary world.

Would you like to write more Christmas themes books in the future?

A: I’d love to write another. ‘Tis, after all, the time for sharing, of love and promise.

Where can readers catch up with you (and your latest releases, Christmas themed or not) on the net?

A: At www.SandyBlair.net. Readers will find everything from a movie trailer about A Highlander For Christmas and excerpt, to great prizes, a Auld Scot and Gael glossary to a photo gallery where they can see the castles I’ve stayed in and my rabbit in a kilt.

Many thanks for participating! Have a Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year!

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