Paula Quinn's B&N Q&A

You started writing about the MacGregor family in your book LAIRD OF THE MIST, using the real-life history of the clan MacGregor from Scotland. What originally drew you to the MacGregor family?

A series of odd events drew me to write about MacGregors. It began long before my first book LORD OF DESIRE was published. I've always had an affinity for Scotland. I suspect many people do. But each time I tried to write a Scottish romance, it never felt right. I had no hero who fit the part and no idea where to begin to find him. Fortunately, he finally found me. It's said that some stories need to be told, and for me LAIRD OF THE MIST was one of them. My hero, Callum MacGregor was born of dreams that woke me to Ewan MacGregor singing in the movie “Moulin Rouge”, and Liam Neeson stating his name with Highland pride in “Rob Roy”. The name hit me like some profound revelation and I dove into every book and every website I could find to research this mighty clan. What I found shocked and appalled me and made me cry over my keyboard. Their three hundred year proscription was brutal and the thought of writing something that could capture their anguish and at the same time their stubborn resistance against extermination overwhelmed me. I wrote and published three medieval books before attempting it. Finally LAIRD OF THE MIST was born and it's been a fantastic and rewarding journey for me ever since.

You’ve done a wonderful job in these books of seamlessly weaving 17th c. Scottish history with King James I and the intrigue at his court with the family you’ve created and the beautiful romances that blossom. How do you do your research?

I love the library. Honestly, there is nothing more satisfying for me than sitting among thousands of books. I have dozens of Scottish reference books in my own personal library and have read them all cover to cover. Of course, the internet is a temptation I've succumbed to time and time again. It's easy to get sucked into little details that don't have anything to do with the book I'm writing, but every bit of information can be saved for another time. I love researching Britain's kings and I often try to find little tidbits about what kind of men they were beneath their crown. For instance, while researching King William I, I discovered that he didn't like being called William the Conqueror and on his deathbed, was afraid to meet God for all he had done. Things like this humanize these great symbols of power and make my imagination run wild.

As you were writing Callum and Kate MacGregor’s love story in LAIRD OF THE MIST, did you plan to create a series around them and their children? If not, what about them as characters or what about that writing experience encouraged you to expand their world and their family?

No, I didn't plan to expand the family at all. LAIRD OF THE MIST was difficult to write because of my own emotions involving the MacGregors. But I fell in love with the clan's resiliency and determination. They became Scotland for me. I really don't know if I could write another clan. As characters, Callum and Kate were so dimensional, so rich and profound. They brought the MacGregor proscription to life for me. Writing A HIGHLANDER NEVER SURRENDERS was a bit easier, given the fun loving rogue that was Graham Grant. I didn't want to forget these heroes and heroines and I felt that there were more stories to be told. I was thrilled to be given the chance to continue writing about them. The “Children of the Mist” series takes place after the proscription had ended, but there was enough intrigue in King James's court to create more stories and give the MacGregors the chance to be heroes in history. Even if some of that history is fictional. :)

Callum and Kate MacGregor have four children, each of whom is the star of their own book. How did you create these four distinct personalities? And was it strange for you to see Callum and Kate through their children’s eyes?

Kate and Callum's children were a pleasure to write. Honestly, I loved every minute of it and I loved seeing their parents through their eyes and in the actions. The four, Rob, Tristan, Mairi, and Colin, are all distinct but their personalities, their way of life, and their ways of thinking are all a product of their parents. I take genealogy very seriously. I love digging deep into my characters' lives and finding what makes them tick, and because these four main characters have the Devil MacGregor as their father and a mother who loves tales of Arthur Pendragon, there was just so much to work with. We have Rob, the firstborn, a man who has been reared to one day become chief of his clan. His duty in protecting his clan always comes first. He's relentless, like his father, without the dark baggage of being an outlaw. Tristan was so much fun to write, although he did give me a hard time in the beginning. He's the prodigal son, the one who doesn't agree with the motto "honor in vengeance". He helped me see another side of Callum as he fought his inner dragons to find "honor in compassion". Mairi, Kate and Callum's only daughter, is fashioned with her father's pride and her mother's tender heart. (Although she'd never admit to being tender) I loved seeing Callum go soft around her. The same way my dad always did with me. Finally, Colin is a mixture of all: born to battle, unafraid to face any army, loyal to a fault to Scotland and the Highlands. He's the son parents worry about every time he leaves the house. He adores his sister, tolerates his brothers, and admires his parents. They're not a perfect family, and that's what makes them so genuine to me.

In romances, we expect happily ever after for all of our beloved characters. But in SEDUCED BY A HIGHLANDER, you made the very bold move of killing a fan favorite. What inspired that? And how have readers responded?

Oh, gosh that was hard to do. Robert Campbell was one of my favorite characters and having him die in SEDUCED BY AHIGHLANDER was so difficult to write. But I think it added to the realism of the times. I mean, people die. It also added a depth to Tristan that I didn't know he possessed until I really began to examine him more closely. Robert was a man of honor, a true knight and his influence in Tristan's life was huge. Losing him at a young age changed Tristan's life, his path. It made his struggle with who he was and who he had become more realistic. What better way to honor a man you love then by trying to emulate him?

I thought readers would hate me for killing off Robert, but they saw him in Tristan and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. :)

Where do you draw inspiration for your characters?

I draw inspiration for my characters from a number of different places. I always have to know what they look like so I often search the internet for the face that matches how I see my character in my mind. For me, a face is a work of art. There has to be depth, profound expressions that tell a story. Sometimes, a picture of a certain person will inspire me on its own. Sometimes, it's a song I hear that brings my hero or heroine to life, or a beautiful painting like “Meeting On The Turret Stairs”, which helped inspire the book I'm working on now, the last in the “Children of the Mist” series, CONQUERED BY A HIGHLANDER. There are times when one character inspires another; what kind of friends would this person have? What would their child be like? In the end though, all my characters come from history. The more research I do, the more people I find.

All my heroines have bits and pieces of me in them. You have to draw on what you know to make a character believable. I couldn't write a heroine I didn't like for some reason or another. If I had to pick one heroine though that I related to the most, it would be Kate Campbell from LAIRD OF THE MIST. She knows her own mind but she's not so stubborn that she can't be persuaded to change it. She saw the best in the man she loved, even when the rest of the world saw the worst. She stood by him despite the dangers of doing so. She took the time to look deep into his character and find the hero she knew him to be.

I think the heroine least like me would be Davina Montgomery. She has this incredibly strength. I don’t know if could have been that strong if I lost my entire family.

You’ve written about all kinds of heroes from silver-tongued charmers and unrepentant rogues like Tristan MacGregor in SEDUCED BY A HIGHLANDER to steadfast and trustworthy, natural-born leaders of whom much is expected like Robert MacGregor in RAVISHED BY A HIGHLANDER and every kind in between. Of the heroes you’ve created, which one is your favorite and why?

Oh, I love this question--although it's the most difficult to answer. Callum from LAIRD will always be first in my heart. After all the research I'd done and the journey of finding him, I felt as if I lived in that book, loving him, watching him surrender his wounded soul to a woman who offered him what he needed the most; redemption. But really, I love all my heroes. They each possess something different that I find irresistible in a man. With Graham from A HIGHLANDER NEVER SURRENDERS, it was his sense of humor and cocky self-confidence. Rob from RAVISHED stole my heart with his sense of duty and commitment to his family. Tristan, ah Tristan, I loved his unrepentant grin, his unswerving charm, and most of all his deep sense of honor. In TAMED BY A HIGHLANDER, Connor Grant won me over with his honesty and loyalty to a woman he tried to stop loving, but never did. Of course, right now, I love Colin MacGregor the most. I just adore a man who thinks he's invincible in battle and in love, and then finds out his heart is just as soft as every other flower-picking man in his clan.

I’ve noticed a recurring theme in your books—the struggle between duty and desire. In your books, duty is usually an allegiance to your king or your clan. Do you think we still experience that same kind of struggle with our romantic relationships in modern times? Do you think modern love can conquer all?

Because of my own relationship with my husband, whom I've been with for 35 years, I'd have to say yes, modern love can conquer all. But it takes more work now to keep that commitment alive. It's just too easy to pack up and leave. I'd like to think that people have the same struggles between duty and desire that men and woman had a few hundred years back, we just don't see it as often, which is why, I guess romance novels are such a wonderful escape.

In your brand new book, TAMED BY A HIGHLANDER, you tell the beautiful story of Connor Grant and Mairi MacGregor, childhood sweethearts who were ripped apart by his duty to the king and now confront one another for the first time to find the desire is still there. What inspired you to create their story?

Having married my childhood sweetheart, my favorite stories are about love that lasts through time. There's something terribly romantic about loving someone since childhood, growing up together, enjoying life without the restrictions and responsibilities that come with age. You never forget that first kiss that set butterflies fluttering around your belly, the way your mouth goes dry or your knees melt when you see that person. I imagine it would be difficult though, to grow up loving someone and then having them betray the trust you've both built together over the years. How could it ever be repaired? Especially when the heroine is a staunch Scottish patriot, and the hero is a captain in the King's Royal Army?

I knew Callum's only daughter would be a force to be reckoned with. You don't grow up in the cold, harsh mountains with a bunch of warriors to look up to without learning how to keep yourself safe from danger...and heartbreak. I was curious to discover how a proud, strong, stubborn woman would react coming face to face with the person she'd once loved more than the Highlands. And how a duty-bound man, who thought he was well over the lass who plucked out his heart when he was twelve and hid it in the rocky mountain face of Sgurr Na Stri, would react when he realized she still had it. As I imagined, sparks flew!

Yes, it will be very difficult to end this series. The MacGregors hold a special place in my heart, and in the hearts of my readers. I'd love to continue, perhaps with Rob and Davina's bairns, or any of the other MacGregor grandchildren. The people of this clan led an exciting, often perilous existence, inspiring many poets, including Sir Walter Scott and William Wordsworth to write about them. Their history is rich and filled with heroes like Rob Roy who fought in the Jacobite uprising. There are more stories to tell, more battles to be fought and more warrior hearts to be won. Hmm, I'm inspired already.