Maggie Armstrong grew up enchanted by her father’s tales of blood feuds and border raids. In fact, she could have easily fallen for the man portrayed in one particular image in his portrait collection. Yet when her father reveals he was himself an infamous Border reiver, she finds it a bit far-fetched—to say the least—especially when he announces his plans to return to his sixteenth century Scottish home with her in tow.
After rescuing sixteenth-century Border reiver Will Foster from certain death at her family’s hands, time traveler Maggie Armstrong finally admits her love for the handsome Englishman, though she can’t rid herself of the sinking suspicion that her Scottish kin are not about to let them live in peace. What she doesn’t expect is the danger that lurks on Will’s own side of the Border.When news of their plans to marry reaches the warden, he charges Will with March treason for trysting with a Scot. Will and Maggie attempt to escape by fleeing to the hills, but when Will is declared an outlaw and allowed to be killed on sight, they can no longer evade the authorities. Will is sentenced to hang, while Maggie is to be sent back to her family. Heartbroken, she has no choice but to return to Scotland, where her uncle continues to make plans for her to wed Ian Rutherford, the wicked Scotsman who she now realizes murdered her father in cold blood.
With Will facing the gallows in England, and herself practically under house arrest in Scotland, she continues to resist her uncle’s plans, but her efforts are thwarted at every turn.Will’s family, however, is not about to stand by and watch their youngest lad executed simply because he’s lost his heart to a Scottish lass.
A daring plan is set into motion, but will it be in time to save Will’s life and reunite the lovers? Or will Ian’s lies prompt Maggie’s family to ensure the bond between them is forever destroyed?
With Will and Maggie’s wedding just a week away, the last thing they need to stumble upon is Johnnie Hetherington’s dead body tied to a tree, especially one that’s so close to their cottage. Recognizing it as a sure sign that Johnnie has betrayed the family once too often, Sergeant Richie Carnaby gathers Will and his family together for questioning, though it seems obvious only a fool would kill a man on his own land. Then who did murder the rogue, and why? 
Where did you come up with the names in the story?
Names fascinate me. They have to fit the character just right and bring a certain image to mind when I hear them. Since most of my novels involve a historical aspect of some kind, that’s where I turn to discover the names that were in use at the time. For the Thunder on the Moor series, I wanted names that were popular on the Borders. Fortunately, I located a book that was a record of charges filed against some sixteenth century Borderers, both English and Scottish. It was a treasure trove of names, and while reading through it, I discovered the popularity of nicknames. Names like Nebless Ned: the tip of his nose was actually cut off during a sword fight. Ouch! Anyway, I gave Will the nickname of Bonnie Will and John Hetherington became Johnnie O’Dell. Of course, I have a lot of characters, so I did look through old some older vital statistics records as well: birth records, marriage records, and even some tombstone inscriptions. Because of the popularity of certain names, and the naming patterns at the time, there are some repeats, but when there are, I try to throw in a nickname.
How did you come up with the title of the book?
The title is always a bit harder to come up with than the character names. I usually have the characters named right from the beginning, but I can sometimes be well into the novel before I have the title. I may even go through a series of words and phrases before I hit on the right one. Usually, it’s something in the story itself that hits me just right. With thunder on the moor, I wrote a line about the approaching reivers sounding like thunder on the moor, and the light lit up. That was might title. I loved it. Book 2 and 3 were a little easier and came from my research of the Border Reivers. I noticed a few phrases that seemed to be used over and over again when describing them – reiver phrases. They liked to ride with the moonlight, and when heading off on a foray, they set out to shake loose the border. When in hot trod, they rode with fire and sword, which will hopefully be Book 4.
Who designed your book covers?
I have a fantastic cover designer: Jenny Quinlan of Historical Fiction Book Covers. As you can see, she does a tremendous job and has the patience of a saint. She manages to convert my vague descriptions of what I’d like into a perfect cover. If you’re looking for a cover designer, I would definitely recommend her. You can contact her at jenny@historicaleditorial.com
Maggie lounged back amongst the fragrant blossoms, the soft sunlight no more than a golden glow along the horizon. Though the air remained damp, the promise of warmth comforted her, and she closed her eyes, letting its delicate cocoon engulf her weary body. A few yards away, a thrush welcomed the coming day, tweeting its morning song in perfect harmony with the steady bass of a croaking frog. The sweet melody soothed her cluttered mind and lulled her into a light sleep.
Images of beaches and warm summer days at the shore filled her dreams. Memories of sandcastles and dabbling her toes in the ocean sent her senses reeling. She could almost smell the salt air, hear the surf crashing against the shore. But wait—those were no breaking waves she heard, but something else, something far more menacing.
With a sudden jolt, she woke, the predawn tranquility shattered by a distant rumble. Maggie sprang up, her eyes widening as she recognized the thunderous beat of hooves rising from beyond the ridge. Behind her, about five hundred yards away, pressed against the graying sky, stood her uncle’s tower. He’d warned her about venturing from the safety of its walls, but she’d been too stubborn to take his words to heart. Perhaps she should have put her dislike of the man aside just this once.
Frantic visions of vengeful reivers sprang to mind, and she rose, determined to make a sprint for the distant peel tower. With the creak of leather armor already echoing in her ears, she struggled to gain purchase on the dew-covered ground, but she slipped and fell into the tall grass of the gentle slope.
Pushing herself up, she chanced a glance over her shoulder and froze. He was nearly upon her, his steel-blue eyes reflecting the mood of the moor. A wave of terror washed over her, for somehow she knew this time Will Foster wouldn’t turn and ride away.
She slumped back on her elbows, unable to move, the world around her fading into obscurity. Riders rode by on their way to the tower, their images blurred and distorted, for nothing could pry her attention from Will or the amulet he wore around his neck. He paused a few feet from where she’d fallen, tugging hard on the reins, hunger burning in his gaze.
Maggie swallowed hard, anger and fear lodged in her breast. She tried to embrace the former, but it was tempered by a sudden desire that caused her thighs to quiver and her mouth to long for the touch of the striking young reiver before her.
Will nudged his horse closer, the fire in his eyes intensifying, and this time fear surged to the fore, jarring Maggie back to her senses. No matter how handsome he may appear, he remained at heart a murdering barbarian, his intentions all too clear. Digging her heels into the soft earth, she pushed herself into an upright position and started running for the tower.
Andrea Matthews is the pseudonym for Inez Foster, a historian and librarian who loves to read and write and search around for her roots, genealogical speaking. She has a BA in History and an MLS in Library Science and enjoys the research almost as much as she does writing the story. In fact, many of her ideas come to her while doing casual research or digging into her family history. She is the author of the Thunder on the Moor series set on the 16th century Anglo-Scottish Border, and the Cross of Ciaran series, where a fifteen-hundred-year old Celt finds himself in the twentieth century. Andrea is a member of the Romance Writers of America, the Long Island Romance Writers, and the Historical Novel Society.You can keep track of Andrea's upcoming releases and tidbits about her books on the following sites:
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Sounds like a great series.
ReplyDeletenice series
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing the author's guest post and book details, this sounds like an awesome series and I am looking forward to reading
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think of the book details? Do you have any questions for the author?
ReplyDeleteA very good blurb
THX
Thanks so much for hosting my series. If you have any questions about the books you can email me at admin@andrea-matthews.com or borderreiverlass@gmail.com Andrea
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