Welcome to Teaser Tuesday, where I share snippets from new and past releases and works-in-progress and occasionally cajole an author buddy into doing the same.

Like today!

But first, news from the Hein House.

I missed my Serenity’s Song deadline. I hate that so much. Fortunately, the publisher has been very kind and given me an extension. Which means there’s nothing happening in the house except the sound of typing, usually accompanied with much moaning and muttering.

Chocolate crackle biscuits

And cooking. I’ve been doing a lot of cooking, especially baking because it’s something I love and it gives me a break from the computer. I’m also self-isolating due all the immune-suppressant drugs I’m on and there’s bugger-all else to do. Besides clean, which is no fun at all.

So far I’ve experimented with a new pizza dough technique (first was a bit of a dud, second not too bad – my biggest issue is not owning a proper pizza oven but I’m working on that), chocolate crackle biscuits from the April edition of Delicious magazine (total win!), sour cream banana cake (another winner), a new technique for

Plum and Hazelnut tart

getting super crackly crackling on roast pork, also from the latest Delicious mag (it worked!), a new stir-fry recipe using chilli jam (nothing to get excited about) and Neil Perry’s recipe for plum and hazelnut tart (very nice).

I hope you’re faring well and keeping safe and looking after your physical and mental wellbeing. It’s a stressful time and it’s important to be as kind to ourselves as we are to those around us.

Speaking of kind, today we’re being treated to another gorgeous guest. Please give a huuuuuge welcome back to Teaser Tuesday regular Anna Campbell!

Anna’s latest, The Highlander’s English Bride, released last week and looks and sounds fabulous. Luuuurve that kilty cover. Reviews so far have been glowing too. I already have a copy on my e-reader and am looking forward to getting stuck in.

It’s always a delight to host Anna on Teaser Tuesday. Her posts are such fun and often there’s a giveaway. Will there be one this week? You’ll have to read on to find out!

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Hi Cathryn!

Lovely to be back on Teaser Tuesday. Thank you for having me as your guest today.

One of my favorite tropes as writer and reader is the marriage of convenience. It works particularly well in a historical setting where divorce was so difficult that it was basically impossible. I’ve written a few MOC stories, and they’re always fun.

Sometimes, but not always, the marriage of convenience comes about because the couple are caught up in a scandal and a wedding is the only way to restore the heroine’s reputation. That’s the case with my new release, The Highlander’s English Bride, book six in my bestselling Lairds Most Likely series. Hamish Douglas and Emily Baylor are discovered in a compromising situation at a public event, and they have no choice but to walk up the aisle together.

The problem is that Hamish and Emily have always had a volatile relationship – in fact, they fight like cat and dog. What on earth will become of them, this incompatible pair locked together for a lifetime?

Well, if you’re an old hand with romances, I think you can guess. Snicker.

But of course, it’s the journey that makes a romance fun – and Hamish and Emily have a long way to go before they get their happy ending, including a setting shift from London to Hamish’s estate in the beautiful Highlands of Scotland. This scene below takes place when Emily pursues her husband to Glen Lyon to try and convince him that they need to become more to each other than wary strangers. Hamish answers the door naked except for a bedsheet – which starts this topsy-turvy reconciliation off in high style.

By the way, if you’ve got a yen to read some of my other MOC stories, check out Lord Garson’s Bride, What a Duke Dares, Captive of Sin and Her Christmas Earl.

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Glen Lyon, the Western Highlands of Scotland, September 1823

For a long moment, they stared at each other. Emily wondered how different things might have been if Hamish had stayed in London. She had an inkling that he was thinking exactly the same thing.

Eventually he straightened in his chair and sent her a direct look. “Just what are you doing here, Emily?“

She swallowed. The moment arrived, and she was nervous. Which made no sense at all. Her explanation should be easier, now she knew that Hamish had missed her and that he’d stayed faithful. But those revelations remained too astonishing for her to rely on them.

She swallowed again and cursed that her voice emerged reedy and unsteady. “I decided my place was with my husband.”

If she expected him to react to that announcement with any gratification, she was to be disappointed. The chiseled features remained unreadable as he said slowly, “Did you indeed?”

She rose, hoping it might make her feel less at a disadvantage. “I did.” When he didn’t immediately respond, she forced out the hardest bit. “I hoped…I thought if you were willing, we might try to find some common ground in this marriage.”

Hamish stood up, hitched the sheet higher, and wheeled toward the steps.

Speechless, Emily watched him go. She felt as though she’d sliced out her heart and laid it at his feet, and all he did was run away. Again.

“Hamish?” she asked shakily. “Did you hear me?”

“Yes,” he said without turning back.

“So what do you say?”

At least she no longer sounded like a complete ninnyhammer. Shock receded under the more familiar urge to biff him with the nearest stick.

He didn’t look back as he started to descend the stairs. “I say that if this is what you’ve come all this way to talk about, I need to be wearing more than just a bedsheet.”

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You can read a longer excerpt and the blurb on my website.

or get instant satisfaction by purchasing The Highlander’s English Bride from any of these stores:

Amazon.com | Amazon.au | Amazon.uk

Apple Books | Kobo | Barnes & Noble

Thanks so much, Anna! This one gave me a lovely laugh. Not to mention a very pleasant mental image of Hamish in a bedsheet.

Now, my darlings, the moment you’ve been waiting for. Yes, we have a…

GIVEAWAY!

Here’s Anna to tell you what you need to do to play along.

So who would you like to see answering the door in only a bedsheet? If you read The Highlander’s English Bride and you picture Chris Hemsworth as Hamish, you won’t be far off the mark, so I’ll vote for CH. And if he’s otherwise occupied, I’ll take Jason Momoa. How about you?

I’ve got a download of The Highlander’s English Bride to give away to someone who leaves a comment on this post. No geographical restrictions.

Rah! We do love a good giveaway on Teaser Tuesday and this question is a beauty. I do find myself hard pressed to choose anyone beyond Mr Hemsworth because… HEMSWORTH!

Mr Momoa is rather delicious too. Funny you should bring him up. He gets a mention in Scarlett and the Model Man for his deliciousness too.

Hmm. I think I’d also be quite happy with a semi-naked Sydney Swans star Buddy Franklin. Actually, I’m not particular. Give me any Sydney Swans team member and I’d be a happy, happy girl. I love my boys. Sigh.

It’s over to you now, my darlings. Let us know in the comments who you’d like to answer the door in a bedsheet and we’ll pop you into the giveaway draw to win an ebook download of The Highlander’s English Bride.

Please note: Giveaway draw closes midnight Friday Australian Eastern Standard Time, 10^th April 2020. Open worldwide.

If you’d like to learn more about Anna and her wonderful novels, please visit her website. You can also connect via Facebook and Twitter using @AnnaCampbelloz.

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