The Scottish Romance

I’ve visited Scotland hundreds of times during its turbulent history—in the pages of Scottish romance novels. During my young adult years, I read them fervently between college classes and at lunch breaks during work.

Over time they became more sensual than I liked, so I moved to Regency England and the American West for my historical fix.

Why did I and a lot of other women fall in love with clans, macho men who wore plaid skirts, and feisty lasses? The setting is beautiful and varied, from lowlands, highlands, stunning lochs, lush glens, and ancient castles.

The history is fascinating. From the Gaelic kingdom of the sixth century to the Jacobite rising of 1745, and all the clan fighting in between, Scots history provides plenty of conflict to carry a good plot.

The clan system is all important to the appeal of the Scottish romance for much the same reason Amish fiction is popular. There’s something intriguing about a closed society. In truth, the clan system declined rapidly with Bonny Prince Charles’s defeat in the Jacobite rising of 1745, but the cherished traditions remain to this day.

I confess one of the reasons I love these romances is the Scots hero. He’s definitely an alpha male, but he’s chivalrous at the same time. If you dig into Scotland’s history, you’ll find a higher regard for women than most cultures of the day.

Since the beginning, Scotland regarded female succession acceptable, and Scotsmen had no problem pledging allegiance to women rulers. Even in the area of religion, women gained important roles in the Calvinists sects, since they were deemed equal in God’s elect. Society was surely male dominated as in most of the world, but women were respected.

The Scotsman was viewed as brawny, but respectful of women—a natural romance hero.

Since I have this attraction for the Scottish romance, I had to write my own. The Chieftain’s Choice will introduce a new series, The Wolf Deceivers, so named since each novel deals with a group of people deceived by wolves in sheep’s clothing. Release date: February 27.

I wish there were more Christian Scottish romances. The last one I read was Masquerade Marriage by Anne Greene, an excellent selection. Does anyone have others they could recommend? Comment to enter our next giveaway, Carole Brown's Undiscovered Treasures.

    Alana McWayre is a lovely, docile lass of noble lineage, but no man will offer her marriage. She is the daughter of a notorious traitor who decimated the clan during a post-Jacobite uprising. Having grown up lonely and unloved, she’s astonished when the dying and much revered chieftain of Clan Carmichael chooses her to wed his younger son. She’s perplexed when the older son and heir, Gavin, arrives to claim her as his bride. Hasn’t her beautiful cousin, Vanora, the heiress of Gilmour Hall, boasted since girlhood she will marry Gavin to enjoin their bordering lands?

    Gavin expects nothing more from his arranged marriage to Alana than a compliant wife who will produce the future heir and an escape from her malicious, deceitful cousin. He underestimates Vanora's schemes, however. Trouble erupts between the Carmichael and Gilmour clans. With rumors swirling of tainted blood and witchcraft, Gavin realizes only a higher power can save Alana from the evil hidden behind the walls of Gilmour Hall.