Jennifer Trethewey | What is it with Highlanders?

My friends often ask me, what made you choose to write romances about
Highlanders? My answer: I fell in love with the Highlands of Scotland, the
people, the history, and the landscape. But I have another secret reason that
I'll share with you.

I believe the myth.

I believe the myth of the Highland warrior, the myth born of legendary giants
like William Wallace, and Robert the Bruce, and most recently, Diana Gabaldon's
fictional character, Jamie Fraser. And thank you Sir Walter Scott and Robert
Burns for creating a poetic foundation for the Highland myth.

I love believing that Highland warriors were all seven feet tall, built like brick houses, ruggedly handsome, unbeatable on the battlefield, courageous to a fault, honorable, loyal, and, most importantly, amazingly skilled lovers. And I shamelessly perpetuate that myth in my most recent Highland romance, BETTING THE SCOT: Highlanders of Balforss Book 2. Let's start with the kilt. From an American girl's stand point, it takes cojones to rock a kilt. Wearing a kilt almost demands that a guy swagger a bit. It's a tease. We get to see some leg (always nice) and we know he goes commando so, we're waiting for that breeze. The heroine in Betting the Scot, Caya Pendarvis, is from Cornwall, England. To her, a kilt is a novelty, something a gentleman would never wear. Before traveling to Scotland, she's only seen bawdy drawings of bare-legged Highlanders. So, when her husband appears in a kilt and nothing else for the first time, she thinks it's very naughty. But she likes it. Another big part of the Highland myth is clan. A guy who is fiercely loyal to his clan—his family, his tenants, the people he protects—a guy who would fight to the death for his clan is damn sexy. In BETTING THE SCOT, there is a quiet scene in which Flora Sinclair, the matriarch of Balforss, explains what it is to love a Highland man. Here's the excerpt:

The brandy must have emboldened Caya, for she asked, "Were you always so brave?"

If Flora was surprised or offended by the personal question, she made no sign.

"When you marry a Highlander, you learn to be brave." She gave more thought to her answer and added, "A Hieland man is, and always will be, a warrior at heart. It doesnae matter if he wears a uniform or an apron, fighting is in his bones, ye see." She took another sip of brandy and leaned back in her chair. Addressing the fire this time, she said, "A Hieland man can be gentle as a lamb. Sweet as bees' honey." She smiled. "And charming. Very charming." Flora's eyes darkened. "But cross him, threaten his kin, or the ones he holds dear, and there will be blood." She looked up as if remembering she wasn't alone. "You cannae change that about a Hieland man. Dinnae even try. But know this, a nighean: he will love you with body and soul until the day he dies."

In BETTING THE SCOT, this is the core of who Declan is—gentle, sweet, and lethal. And, after all, doesn't everyone want a partner who would love them with body and soul until the day he/she dies?

I believe the myth because I want to believe there are men like Declan in the
world. Join me. Step inside a Highland romance, believe in the myth, and fall in
love with a Highlander.