For This Knight Only by Barbara Bettis 💕 Behind the Scenes, Book Tour & Gift Card Giveaway 💕 (Historical Romance)

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He’ll do anything for land, even marry her; she’ll do anything for her people, except marry him. If only either had a choice. It’s a marriage only love can save.

Sir Roark will do anything to gain land, even beguile an unwilling lady into marriage. He knows she’s much better off with a man to take control of her besieged castle, to say nothing of her desirable person.

But it isn’t long before he discovers that, although her eyes sparkle like sunlight on sea waves, her stubbornness alone could have defeated Saladin.

Lady Alyss is determined to hold her family’s castle, protect her people, and preserve her freedom— until her brother’s dying wish binds her to a stranger. Still, she’ll allow no rugged, over-confident, appealing knight to usurp her authority, even if she must wed him. Especially since he thinks a lady’s duties begin and end with directing servants. Alyss has a few surprises for her new all-too-tempting lord.

But when a common enemy threatens everything, Roark and Alyss face a startling revelation. Without love, neither land nor freedom matters.

Thanks so much for having me here today! I loved the topic of Fun Facts/Behind the Scenes/Did You Know surrounding the book or the writing process. Trouble is, once I get started talking about that, any tidbits quickly become submersed in facts and details that I find absolutely fascinating, but maybe everyone doesn’t. I can’t imagine, however… ☺ ☺

So let me try to condense several pages into a brief Advice on Researching for Beginners.

--When you call all over three states searching for original documents, be specific.

I wanted as many reliable, documented, sources as possible for this novel set in 1194 which touched on an attack on Richard the Lionheart. My dream? Original documents. From 1194? Well, in other reading, I’d discovered references to a day-by-day itinerary of Richard’s journey, produced by a priest, Roger of Howden (Hoveden). My Pot of Gold at the End of the Research Rainbow! But where to find it?

After calling public libraries and consulting listings of university library collections in a surrounding three-state area, I discovered a copy of just that book, at my state’s flagship university, a short three hour drive from me.

Just to make sure, I called the library and, yes, it was on the shelves. Oh, the euphoria of finding that original source. So in the midst of a late July Midwest heat and humidity wave, I drove to the university. Parking, of course, was not close to the building. I finally found a spot, loaded the parking meter with quarters, and hoofed it a miserable, perspiring, quarter mile to the library.

Inside, the elevators were not working (of course!), so I climbed several flights of stairs to the correct section of the stacks. I finally found the properly numbered shelves back in a corner and--oh, my goodness, it was there! More than one volume! On the bottom shelf.

I eased down, cross-legged, onto the floor, paused a moment, then reverently drew out the published (and typed, of course,) copy of Roger of Hoveden’s 12th Century document.

Inhaling the lovely smell of books all around, I opened the pages to see the day-to-day activities of Richard I—

In Latin.

I don’t read Latin.

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It was a long drive home to be crying—and hot—so I had no alternative but to laugh at myself and the outcome of my pilgrimage to Hoveden.

The moral: If you intend to avail yourself of an old document in a library somewhere, make sure it’s in a language you read.

Once I got home, I did go back to the online listing of the book and found that the language was not indicated. At least, I hadn’t overlooked that salient fact.

There was a happy ending. I consulted a librarian friend at the college I retired from, and she helped me track down a copy of the translated version of that document. In California. Interstate library loans are wonderful.

Happy Researching. Remember, Be Specific. And keep your sense of humor.

She refused to cooperate. How did a man handle a woman so independent? If only he’d been more observant when his father spoke to his mother. If only he hadn’t been so young. Before the tragedy.

Alyss stood her ground and lifted her chin. “You didn’t summon me, you said you awaited me. Perhaps your knightly training did not include language. ‘I await you,’ is a statement. ‘Come to the hall,’ is a summons.”

Again, the lady had found a weakness in his armor. He had no language training at all, no reading, no writing but for his name. Most knights did not, but his inability rankled him.

“If my speech doesn’t move you, then I won’t bother with it.” He leaned down, grabbed her around the knees, and upended her onto his shoulder. A thought raced through his mind: This wasn’t, perhaps, the ideal way to scoop her into his arms.

The unexpectedness of the action brought a squeal from Alyss, and the sound of running feet from hall below.

“Put me down.” She smacked him on the back and squirmed, kicking out at any part of his body she could connect with. He clenched her legs with his right arm before she managed to unman him with a lucky blow.

“Hold still.” A smack to her bottom punctuated his words. “And that was a command.” God’s elbow. Another act guaranteed to increase her ire. Would he ever learn?

Award-winning author Barbara Bettis has always loved history and English. As a college freshman, she considered becoming an archeologist until she realized there likely would be bugs and snakes involved. And math. Through careers as a newspaper reporter and editor, then a college journalism and English professor, she’s retained her fascination with history. Give her a research book and a pot of tea, and she’s happy for hours. But what really makes her smile is working on a new story. Now retired, she lives in Missouri where she edits for others and spins her own tales of heroines to die for—and heroes to live for.