Above painting: Louis Jean Francois - Mars and Venus an Allegory of Peace

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Sunday, January 31, 2016

Release Day: HIGHLANDER UNDONE! (Plus Excerpt)

It's finally here!!! So excited for you all to read the next installment in the Highland Bound series! In the last book, Highlander's Touch, we learned about Rory, but we never got to meet him! It's time to find out where he disappeared to!

Check out another fun new excerpt from the book!

ABOUT THE BOOK:



The USA Today Bestselling Highland Bound series continues in Book Five -- Highlander Undone. 

Continue Ewan and Shona's tale... And find out what happened to Rory! 

With Logan and Emma away from the castle, Shona and Ewan are left in charge. The passion of their honeymoon is interrupted by an unexpected visitor seeking revenge on Rory MacLeod, who leaves them in desperate need to find the missing man. Unbeknownst to them, Rory has been transported to the future, where he is reunited with his long lost love, Moira, twin sister to Shona. Their attraction to each other still burns bright. As fate would have it, the four of them end up on a journey through the Highlands in an attempt to clear Rory's name, and solve the mystery behind Moira and Shona's birth. Passion. Love. Adventure. Danger. And a little bit of humor.

View of Edinburgh from my room--plus a little bubbly :)
© 2016 Eliza Knight

Excerpt:



Present Day

Everything was loud. Very loud.
Rory MacLeod resisted the urge to cover his ears as he slowly stood and turned in a circle.
The smells… They were from another world. Smoke, but not like that of the peat fires he was used to. Cooking, but oddly oily. And ale. He smelled that, too.
Searing pain seeped through Rory’s head, from one end to the next. He reached up to touch his temples, rubbing at the sensitive flesh covering his skull.
What in bloody hell happened?
He blinked opened his eyes to see that the world was dark, but not.
The sky above his head was black, dotted with a few sparkling stars and the occasional wisp of a cloud. But it should be completely dark, and yet the world seemed lit up by lights.
Shite.
He was back.
Suddenly on alert to what he thought might have happened, the pain in Rory’s head grew, but he shoved it aside. Leaping to his feet, his leather boots thunked on the stone walkway. He reached for his sword at his hip, but it was gone, and he sort of remembered having yanked it from the scabbard when he’d first started to travel, believing he was under attack.
With a glance up and down the street, he took in the looming city buildings, and the lights that shone artificially inside and out. People were laughing and chatting. Carriages—nay automobiles?—whizzed past. There was an occasionally shouted, “Wanker!”
Turning slowly, he made out Edinburgh Castle, lit up in blue on the north side of the Royal Mile.
Dressed in his traditional Highland garb, he wouldn’t be out of place with the other men who paraded themselves for these oddly modern people wearing the strangest clothes he still couldn’t fully fathom—and this his second journey here. Their limbs were covered in fabric. It was neither hot nor cold.
JourneyLord, but that word made it sound so normal. So usual for a man from the year 1541 to pass through time and land here, on the cold stone, five hundred some odd years in the future.

HIGHLANDER UNDONE © 2016 Eliza Knight.


Want to read more??? 

Order your copy today from one of the below etailers!

Highlander Undone

Amazon
B&N
ITunes
Kobo

Check out Eliza Knight's New and Upcoming Releases!


Releasing February 16th!
Taken by the Highlander
(in the Captured by a Celtic Warrior Anthology)

Releasing March 31st!

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Top Ten Reasons Time Travel Would Be Awesome!

One of the reasons I like to write historical fiction so much, is because it allows me to theoretically time travel. Yes, if time travel were real, I'd be ALL over it. I would miss the internet (because I'm probably addicted), my cell phone, hospitals, showers and deodorant. BUT I would get to SEE so much that smelly armpits, the threat of death and no connection to the rest of the world would be worth it. For a few days. Then I'd have to go back home until the next time...

Me at Edinburgh Castle--pretending I was in another era!

Here's my: Top Ten Reasons Time Travel Would Be Awesome!


10. To see the land before it was industrialized and artificial light brightened the night sky.
9. To see what ancient grains are actually supposed to taste like.
8. To see a king or queen riding in procession through the town.
7. To wear the clothes!
6. To taste their wine!
5. To see the castles the way they really were.
4. To meet William Wallace, King Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth, Joan of Arc, and every other amazing person that has changed history.
3. To see blackbirds jump out of a pie.
2. To attend a feast and dance and drink and be merry!
1. To experience life the way it was back then, and to meet the people I spend my days with.


The USA Today Bestselling Highland Bound series continues in Book Five -- Highlander Undone.

Continue Ewan and Shona's tale... And find out what happened to Rory!

With Logan and Emma away from the castle, Shona and Ewan are left in charge. The passion of their honeymoon is interrupted by an unexpected visitor seeking revenge on Rory MacLeod, who leaves them in desperate need to find the missing man. Unbeknownst to them, Rory has been transported to the future, where he is reunited with his long lost love, Moira, twin sister to Shona. Their attraction to each other still burns bright. As fate would have it, the four of them end up on a journey through the Highlands in an attempt to clear Rory's name, and solve the mystery behind Moira and Shona's birth. Passion. Love. Adventure. Danger. And a little bit of humor.

Highlander Undone

Amazon
B&N
ITunes
Kobo

Check out Eliza Knight's New and Upcoming Releases!


Releasing February 16th!
Taken by the Highlander
(in the Captured by a Celtic Warrior Anthology)

Releasing March 31st!

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

The Setting Behind the Highland Bound Series

I'm a very visual writer. I like to see the scene in my head, like a movie. So when I'm doing research, I like to gather pictures of the places. If I can go myself, I will. Sometimes I find alternatives to the places I'm writing about, and other times I find pictures in research books and online. For the Highland Bound series, because its time travel, I made up my own castle -- Castle Gealach -- but I based it on Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness. Below are some of the inspiring pictures for the series!


A view of Loch Ness from the castle, and the lands beyond.
© 2016 Eliza Knight 

The top of an arched doorway at Urquhart.
© 2016 Eliza Knight  

The main gate of Urquhart Castle.
(I don't know the person in the picture)
© 2016 Eliza Knight 



A forest! This was taken new Dunstaffnage Castle.
 © 2016 Eliza Knight 

Standing in the ruins of Urquhart looking toward the tower.
© 2016 Eliza Knight  

An arrow-slit window at Urquhart. © 2016 Eliza Knight 

This is a window inside Urquhart Castle, and I used this for
the scene in my book where Moira, Emma and Shona are looking at the bailey below. © 2016 Eliza Knight 

Circular stone stairs at Urquhart Castle.
 © 2016 Eliza Knight  



This is actually a creek in Maryland, where we went on a hike!
But it was so pretty and the woods so inspiring, that I've used
this image for when my characters stop to water their horses. © 2016 Eliza Knight 

Urquhart Castle, the Loch and the mountains beyond. Isn't it gorgeous? © 2016 Eliza Knight 


*~*~*~*

I'm so excited for the 5th book in my Highland Bound series to release! Highlander Undone is going to reveal even more secrets than the first four books! Only four more days!!!

Want to read more??? Pre-order your copy today from one of the below e-tailers!

Highlander Undone

Amazon
B&N
ITunes
Kobo

Check out Eliza Knight's New and Upcoming Releases!


Releasing February 16th!
Taken by the Highlander
(in the Captured by a Celtic Warrior Anthology)

Releasing March 31st!

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

What Would Time Travel Feel Like? (Excerpt from HIGHLANDER UNDONE)

Less than a week until HIGHLANDER UNDONE releases!!! What do you think it would feel like to time travel? I think it would be almost painful... Below is an excerpt from the book in which Moira is experiencing time travel for the first time. Enjoy!

(**Note, cuss words were symboled out for this excerpt, but are present in the book!)

ABOUT THE BOOK:



The USA Today Bestselling Highland Bound series continues in Book Five -- Highlander Undone. 

Continue Ewan and Shona's tale... And find out what happened to Rory! 

With Logan and Emma away from the castle, Shona and Ewan are left in charge. The passion of their honeymoon is interrupted by an unexpected visitor seeking revenge on Rory MacLeod, who leaves them in desperate need to find the missing man. Unbeknownst to them, Rory has been transported to the future, where he is reunited with his long lost love, Moira, twin sister to Shona. Their attraction to each other still burns bright. As fate would have it, the four of them end up on a journey through the Highlands in an attempt to clear Rory's name, and solve the mystery behind Moira and Shona's birth. Passion. Love. Adventure. Danger. And a little bit of humor.

A picture I took at Urquhart Castle--the inspiration for
Castle Gealach in the Highland Bound series.

EXCERPT:

...the moment she turned around, the room started to pulse in an out, as though some unseen force pressed in on her space. Her foyer started to fade. The faces of Rory, Shona and Ewan, too. What was happening? She put her arms out, bracing for a swoon. But she didn’t feel faint. She felt… heavy. As though she wore a suit of rocks, holding her in place and pushing her down. Her vision blurred, and then the space around her turned black. She screamed, falling forward, and reaching out her hands to brace herself but not landing. From somewhere off in the distance she could hear Rory and Shona calling to her, telling her to remain calm. To breathe easy. How the hell did they expect her to breathe easy when the world around her had literally disappeared? Then she heard Shona’s panicked words, muffled, and the soothing tones of Ewan as he tried to comfort her.
“What the hell is happening?” Moira cried. Was it an earthquake? Did a bomb rock their street? Oh, poor Mrs. MacArthur! Not even her broom could save her from this.
There was wind, like a tunnel. Birds. Then nothing. Then birds. Then nothing. Then wind and the rustling of… Were those trees? Trees?
They didn’t sound at all like the small trees on her block… No, this rustling sounded like the great oaks of the Highlands where she liked to hike in the Cairngorms.
The blackness started to fade, and nausea kicked in as the world around her continued to pulse. Faster and faster. The world grew brighter. She felt like she was being birthed—as gross and weird as it was—as if she was being pushed from one world to the next. But that was impossible.
They must have drugged her. Must have done something. This was all a setup.
And then she was falling forward again, growing intense, and she had just enough time to brace herself as she landed in warm grass.
There were several thuds around her. She didn’t waste time in scrambling to her feet, shoving off the ground as though it were on fire. Grass. Trees. Brush. She was in the woods. The bloody woods! She turned in a circle—okay, it was a clearing in the middle of the woods. No signs of civilization.
“What the f@*& just happened?” she shouted, not one for cussing normally. But whateverthef@*& just happened warranted a lot of f@*&ing cussing!

HIGHLANDER UNDONE © 2016 Eliza Knight


Want to read more??? 

Pre-order your copy today from one of the below etailers!


Highlander Undone

Amazon
B&N
ITunes
Kobo

Check out Eliza Knight's New and Upcoming Releases!


Releasing February 16th!
Taken by the Highlander
(in the Captured by a Celtic Warrior Anthology)

Releasing March 31st!

Monday, January 25, 2016

Video of the Week: Urquhart Castle Loch Ness

Castle Gealach in my Highland Bound series is based on Urquhart Castle. Check out this awesome video and fly over and through the setting of the HB world!




Check out Eliza Knight's New and Upcoming Releases!

Highlander Undone

Amazon
B&N
ITunes
Kobo

Releasing February 16th!
Taken by the Highlander (in the Captured by a Celtic Warrior Anthology)

Releasing March 31st!

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Castle Window View & Excerpt from Highlander Undone!

Highlander Undone, Book 5 in my Highland Bound series will be releasing in one week! Today I'm sharing with you an excerpt of the opening chapter!

ABOUT THE BOOK:



The USA Today Bestselling Highland Bound series continues in Book Five -- Highlander Undone.

Continue Ewan and Shona's tale... And find out what happened to Rory!

With Logan and Emma away from the castle, Shona and Ewan are left in charge. The passion of their honeymoon is interrupted by an unexpected visitor seeking revenge on Rory MacLeod, who leaves them in desperate need to find the missing man. Unbeknownst to them, Rory has been transported to the future, where he is reunited with his long lost love, Moira, twin sister to Shona. Their attraction to each other still burns bright. As fate would have it, the four of them end up on a journey through the Highlands in an attempt to clear Rory's name, and solve the mystery behind Moira and Shona's birth. Passion. Love. Adventure. Danger. And a little bit of humor.

A view of the Loch Ness from inside Urquhart Castle--the inspiration for Castle Gealach
in the Highland Bound series. Imagine Shona here!


EXCERPT:


Scottish Highlands
Nearly spring, 1544

Winter had been quiet. Too quiet.
Shona Fraser ran a finger over the frost-slickened stone outside of her bedchamber window, the crystals melting in the wake of her heated fingertip. Below, in the courtyard, the castle was slowly coming to life. The blacksmith and tanner, the armorer and the fletcher, all trudging toward their work huts, their footsteps leaving prints on the frosty ground. Servants stumbled their way toward the castle, their breaths puffing in clouds. Workers headed toward the fields to tend the thawing earth.
Spring was coming. The days were growing warmer. No longer was a fur-lined mantle required unless the sun had set.
A misty film covered the ground as the sun slowly burned off the remnants of frost. Within a few hours the rising sun would warm the air by twenty degrees or more.
Why, just yesterday, Shona had traipsed barefoot in her small medicinal herb garden, though not for too long.
“It’s quiet,” her husband Ewan said, coming up behind her. He pressed his lips to her bare shoulder, his hands sliding over her hips, settling into place.
Moments like this, tender and comforting, made her pause and give thanks. A slow smile crept on her lips as she leaned her head back onto his shoulder. She knew all too well that precious moments such as this could be shattered like a hammer hitting glass. “Our enemies have been hibernating just like the animals.”
“Aye. With spring dawning, they will soon awaken.”

Shona nodded, leaning her head back and reaching up to dredge her fingers in her husband’s luscious hair. “But maybe we dinna have to awaken just yet."

HIGHLANDER UNDONE © 2016 Eliza Knight


Want to read more??? Pre-order your copy today from one of the below etailers!


Highlander Undone

Amazon
B&N
ITunes
Kobo

Check out Eliza Knight's New and Upcoming Releases!


Releasing February 16th!
Taken by the Highlander
(in the Captured by a Celtic Warrior Anthology)

Releasing March 31st!