A Highlander of Her Own by Melissa Mayhue

On Tuesday, January 27, my newest book is due to hit book stores everywhere. A Highlander of Her Own is the fourth book in my Daughters of the Glen series and, truth be known, I think I’m more excited about this release than any since my debut book.

Why is that?

Honestly, after thinking this through for hours, I finally decided it comes down to two issues – the ending and the characters in this story.

First off, I am definitely a Happy Ever After gal. I work hard to make sure my main characters get the happy ever after they deserve in each of my books. But, I have to admit, I’m pretty jazzed about the ending of A Highlander of Her Own. It came to me in sort of a flash as I neared the end, and I’m anxious to see what readers think of it.

The second reason I’m so fond of this book has to do with my characters. Now, all my books are character centered. I begin each one by deciding who my hero and heroine are, what problems and obstacles they face and how they fit together. It’s only at that point that I really start to work on the story. In fact, their stories develop out of who they are.

I have to picture my characters in my head. I have to hear them. Maybe it comes from being an only child and having spent all those years entertaining myself with just my imagination and my Barbies! But now it’s how I write. Sometimes the characters are easy to see and hear; sometimes they’re not. Whichever the case, for the time I spend writing that book, they are as alive in my imagination as people I actually know.

The more ‘alive’ they are, the easier it is to write their book.

After finishing Soul of a Highlander, the third book in the series, I knew I needed to follow up with Caden MacAlister’s story. I met Caden for the first time while writing Soul and by the end of that book, I already liked him and really felt concern for what his future would bring. He was a secondary character always there to take charge or lend a supportive hand. When I pictured him in my mind, it was a picture of man with a quick wit and a knowing smile. But I knew that what he’d gone through toward the end of that story would have to have a huge impact on the way Caden viewed life from that point forward. I also knew it would take a very special woman to be his match.

From the moment I began work on this book, Ellie Denton, the heroine in A Highlander of her Own, just clicked for me. I could see her. I could hear her voice. I think she’s the sort of woman I’d be friends with if she lived next door. It was easy to picture her home and the setting she grew up in… it was patterned after my relatives’ homes in rural Texas, particularly the one ranch I spent a few months on between my junior and senior years of high school.

I suspect this relationship with my heroine – how easily I could see and hear her – is what excites me so much about this particular book. I’m anxious for readers to meet Ellie and watch her story play out to see if they connect with her in the same way I did.

My question for all the readers out there is this: Are there books you’ve read where a particular character resonated with you? If so, are those stories that stuck with you long after you’d finished the book? Leave an answer and your email addy in the comment section to be entered to win one of two copies of "A Highlander of His Own" being given away.

I hope you’ll all be waiting to grab your copy of A Highlander of Her Own on Tuesday, January 27 and, once you do, I’d like to invite you to stop by my website at www.MelissaMayhue.com and leave me a message in the ShoutBox, letting me know what you think of the book. You can also contact me through my MySpace page at www.myspace.com/MelissaMayhue. I’d love to have you all come friend me and let me know your thoughts about the series!



A Highlander of Her Own
Book Four

TEXAS, PRESENT DAY. Ellie Denton’s world has spiraled out of control. A strange new birthmark, animals talking to her, and her mother’s ex-husband laying claim to the family ranch have her thinking life can’t get more complicated. But Ellie doesn’t know the birthmark’s connection to her Faerie ancestors. Complicated takes on a whole new meaning with her innocent wish to find her true love.

SCOTLAND, 1304. Caden MacAlister has more trouble than he can handle. With his brother held for ransom and the laird missing, the last thing he needs is another problem. But the Fae have other plans.

A mysterious woman shows up in his stables, sent by Faerie Magic to find her true love. Fighting his attraction, Caden insists she’s meant for one of his brothers. With his history, he has no desire for a woman in his life—especially a woman sent by the Fae.

Only the magic of the Fae can determine whether Ellie will find a Highlander of her own...