I’m tickled to help promote a friend and fellow RWA chaptermate’s debut novel: HIGHLAND HEALER. And yes, that IS Jimmy Thomas on the cover 
Blurb
HE NEEDS HER FOR HIS CLAN.
HE WANTS HER FOR HIMSELF.
CAN HE HAVE BOTH?
Toran Lathan never expected to become Laird, and never expected to meet a woman like Aileanna Shaw. Her healing ability is just what his people need, but Toran cannot resist her beauty. Yet will loving him destroy her ability to heal?
Aileanna Shaw has a healing touch – and a special talent she must keep secret. Stolen from her home by a marauding army, she’s kidnapped again by the Highland Laird she heals. Is she a prize of war, or the prize of his heart?
While Toran battles the invading lowland army, he also battles his desire for Aileanna. And Aileanna must decide if she can trust her secrets to this fierce warrior who needs her talent, but wants her love.
Excerpt
HIGHLAND HEALER
“What do you intend to do with me?” she asked at last, afraid and hopeful at the same time. It was too much like the last question he’d asked her this morning. “And what’s to be done with me?” She recalled the dismay that had filled her at his question – and her certainty that Colbridge would torture him for information, then kill him. But only after she’d healed him again and again, and only after he’d given up his secrets to his tormentor.
So now it was her turn to wonder. Despite his threats a few moments before, she had sensed no real animosity in him. She’d been treated well since arriving at the Aerie.
Her dream of a home, with people who cared about her, perhaps a family of her own, rose unbidden to her mind, and with it came a familiar lump in her throat. She was tired, she thought, to let that longing overwhelm her now. She folded her arms under her breasts and kept her eyes on the flames. She heard Toran move from the door to stand behind her. She tensed as his hands came to rest on her shoulders. He turned her gently, but irresistibly, to face him.
What should I do with so beautiful, so valuable, a prize?” he murmured, almost to himself.
Aileana was caught in his deep blue gaze as completely as she was in his hands. She knew she should be outraged at being called a prize. He’d done it before, on the way here. Was that truly how he saw her? She was not chattel, she told herself, and would not be treated that way. But she found she could not summon her ire. One of his hands left her shoulder and he lightly touched her cheek, then slowly slid his fingers down her throat to her collarbone. There, he hesitated, and Aileana held her breath until he moved the hand back to her shoulder.
A little about Willa Blair:
Willa Blair is the award-winning author of Scottish Historical and Contemporary Romance, both with a touch of the paranormal.
She grew up reading science fiction, but her best-loved books focused on the relationships between the main characters, who often had psychic talents. When she discovered Romance, she was thrilled to find that some of the books not only portrayed the journey of the hero and heroine, but included the special talents she’d always loved her characters to possess.
With her Scottish heritage, it was natural for her to write a Scottish historical and incorporate those special talents. The result is her award-winning debut book, HIGHLAND HEALER, the first in her Highland Talents series, due out in early 2013.
She realized her life-long dream of becoming an author after retiring from her day job to write, travel, and enjoy life. Married to her own military hero golf fanatic, she lives in the Texas Hill Country north of San Antonio where she writes, feeds hummingbirds year-round and has too many hobbies to count.
Rapid Fire Questions… Thanks for playing along Willa!!!
Me: What was the first book you read that grabbed you? What genre? Who is the author?
W.B: I grew up reading science fiction and SF fantasy, so I’d have to say anything by Heinlein, Clarke, del Rey, Bradbury, etc., until I discovered female authors such as Bradley and McCaffrey and fell in love with their characters. The first romance was probably a category romance by Rebecca York. I still read hers, along with lots of other authors and genres I’ve discovered since then.
Me: Is there an author that you get fan-girl crazy over? Have you ever met him/her? Do you want to?
W.B: Linnea Sinclair. She writes Science Fiction Romance. I’ve taken online classes from her but never met her in person. I love her books. And I just met Roxanne St. Clair last weekend. Total fan-girl afternoon. She gave an amazing workshop and was so nice, I’m even more of a fan than I was before I met her.
Me: What’s your:
- Favorite color? Deep turquoise. Teal. But also anything in the autumn palette – golds, oranges, greens, browns. Short answer: anything but pink, and I can tolerate some pinks if they’re saturated enough.
- Favorite season? Autumm.
- Favorite Hero – movie or book? Gabriel Ross Sullivan in Linnea Sinclair’s Gabriel’s Ghost. I love a wounded hero and he’s about as wounded as wounded gets.
- Snack weakness (food or drink)? Sweet. Salty. Both. I’m a walking, talking sweet tooth, and yes, I’ll admit it. I’m addicted to chocolate.
- What’s your Astrological sign? You know me. Can’t you tell? Leo!
- Do you write sweet and cuddly or toe-curling steamy lovin’ stories? I don’t do sweet. Cuddly, maybe. So that leaves steamy!
- Do you read sweet and cuddly or toe-curling steamy lovin’ stories? Steamy, definitely.
Me: What’s on your desk when you write?
W.B: Besides my cat, who does her best to get in my way? A glass of water, a “to do” list pad, a mug full of pens, a Blair paperweight with the crest and tartan. On the wall across from my desk is a brass rubbing I did years ago in England of Robert the Bruce. Somehow, I must have known even then that I’d write about Scotland someday. A different century, but still Scotland.
Me: Do you write to music or quiet? If you do write with music, can you share one song that’s significantly impacted this story?
W.B: Quiet. I get deeply into my head when I write and music distracts me. I love music – almost all kinds – but not when I write.
Me: What’s your favorite line from your most recent release? Why?
W.B: You really think I can answer that? I like them all! If I pick one, the others will get jealous!
Me: What’s next? You don’t have to get specifics – but feel free to leave a tantalizing snippet or cryptic hook.
W.B: The next book in the Highland Talents series is with my editor, along with a synopsis for the third. I’ve got ideas for more in this series, too. Some of those secondary characters are demanding books of their own. Plus a contemporary novel is in the works, and I have plans for an SFR series.
Thanks so much for coming on the blog and sharing Willa! I have already purchased Highland Healer and know what I’ll be reading tonight!
