Wednesday Promo- Nancy Badger

First, I want to thank Paty for having me here today. Paty writes mainly WESTERN romance and all I can add is that my Scottish historical paranormal romance, DRAGON’S CURSE, takes place off the WESTERN coast of Scotland. Close enough?

When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?
Let me first say that I am a late bloomer. That is the most believable reason why I started writing toward publication only 3 ½ years ago, in October of 2006. I was in my 7th year of a super stressful job where the burnout rate is about 3 years. I was a 9-1-1 Emergency Medical Dispatcher for the state of New Hampshire and our one room took care of the entire state plus portions of Massachusetts, Vermont, and Maine. Shift work has its drawbacks and mine was boredom when scheduled to work the wee hours of the morning. Reading was allowed between calls and I have always been a voracious reader of romance since I picked up my first Harlequin novel. I wrote my first story in 30 days and I was off. Even after the rejection letters filled my mailbox, I knew this was what I wanted to do with my life.

Why do you write paranormal?
My early plans were to write a Scottish historical but the ideas would not come. The genre encompassing Regency England was and still is a very popular avenue trod by some of my favorite authors. My love of witches, dragons, and other creatures seeped out of my mind onto the pages and the stories took shape. DRAGON’S CURSE encompasses ordinary people of late sixteenth century Scotland thrown into the unknown due to an unwanted gift for premonitions and a witch’s curse. I still had to first choose a specific timeline and a location. I picked a real island off the Scottish coast called Staffa then researched historical facts to incorporate into my fiction. I think it works quite well. I am also working on a Scottish historical paranormal where a present day witch accidently falls back in time the Scottish Highlands of 1598. It is more of a straight historical…except that my heroine wants to go home!

What is your favorite thing about writing?
Writing gave me the courage to say “It’s my time, now.” I retired from my state job, hubby and I sold our home in New Hampshire, and we moved to a smaller home near family in North Carolina. I am working from home for the first time in over thirty years. I am my own boss. If I don’t work, I will not get paid. This freedom has allowed me more time to volunteer at the Science Museum, to attend my local writers group, and to help out at the New Hampshire Highland games. Our whole family still meets up in New Hampshire each fall to work amid the gaiety, music, and fabulous food. Plus, I get inspiration every time a kilted man walks by!

BOOK BLURB
Sometimes a special gift and an unwanted curse cannot keep destined lovers apart.
Brianna Macleod has accompanied a shipload of her guardian’s friends to a remote island off the coast of Scotland. She eludes these Highland hunters to keep her innocence…and her gift of sight. Her attitude against falling for womanly desires changes when she nearly drowns. Saved by the talons of a terrifying winged beast, she awakens—naked—in a cave, beside an unusual man.
Cursed by a vengeful witch to transform into a dragon at inopportune times, Draco MacDonald hides on this deserted island to live alone: until he plucks a servant girl from certain death. Fueled by jealousy, and tempered by fear for her safety, he succumbs to an unfamiliar desire to mate. Her kisses propel him to dare to make her his own.
Set in 1592 Scotland on the Scottish island of Staffa, the cursed hero battles a ghostly witch, a hunter set on rape, and his own growing desire for a young woman with premonitions of his death.

EXCERPT
As the sun peeked above the horizon, she kicked a pebble into a low bush. The air filled with a rainbow of colors as dozens of butterflies took to the sky, their lives rudely interrupted by her carelessness. She twirled another lock of hair as she laughed out loud.
“Now there is a sight.”
Brianna swung around to empty space. The voice reminded her of Draco’s soft, deep tone from the cavern. Panic and desire warred inside her chest.
“Show your face, ye beast,” Brianna demanded. Might a gaze into his eyes, in the light of day, quench her lustful thoughts?
“As ye wish, dear lady.” He appeared behind her. His arm shot out to steady her. “I spoke of the woman standing before me, of course. No woman has ever filled me with both dreams of better times and of regret. Until ye.”
He released her then circled like a beast on the prowl. She stood frozen. She barely noticed the skittering of small birds in nearby underbrush. Her heartbeat drummed inside her head and thumped beneath her bodice. The babbling rhythm of the waterfall soon faded as she struggled to listen to his voice.
Is he charming me? Has he cast a spell like some witch—
“I am no witch, and do no’ refer to my simple power as having anything to do with the likes of such vermin!”
Brianna stepped back. Anger darkened his eyes. His brow furrowed beneath rows of worry lines. Both fists rested on his hips, and his face reflected some inner war. When he strode toward her, she backed away.
“Do no’ touch me, sir. I will no’ endure another man’s hands upon me this day.”
Her words appeared to shake him from his mood. His fists relaxed, and his eyes glanced toward the rock-strewn earth of the path. He sighed. “I meant no harm. I will ne’er touch ye without your consent. Ye mean too much to me.”
His voice, a whisper, near broke her heart. As morning light streamed through his shiny, black hair, she also sighed. How beautiful.
He retreated, marching toward the cliff edge and the natural staircase. Without thinking about her actions, she hurried after him.
Something about this man tugged at her heart. She wanted the whole story. Why did he live on an uninhabited island inside a damp, musty cave? More urgently, why did she yearn for his embrace once more?
As if reading her thoughts, again, he stopped and allowed her to join him. Together, they made their way down the rough rocks to the beach. High tide had receded, leaving the sand damp and strew with broken bits of shell. Brianna removed her slippers and laid them on the bottom step. He waited then linked her forearm with his.
In silence, they walked along. Her heart raced with the knowledge he might kiss her once more. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. All too soon the image of Ranald and his hands and mouth upon her filled her thoughts. She groaned.
Nay. Draco groaned, no’ me.
He stared at her for a moment. When his onyx gaze lowered, Brianna’s breasts heated, feeling too large for her simple frock. She tugged on her shift, pulling it upward several inches.
He smiled.

BIO
Nancy Lee Badger writes fulltime and lives with her husband in Raleigh, NC. She loves everything Scottish. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, Heart of Carolina Romance Writers, Fantasy-Futuristic & Paranormal Romance Writers, Celtic Heart Romance Writers, and Sisters in Crime. She also writes contemporary romance and romantic suspense as Nancy Lennea: www.nancylennea.com. She stays busy celebrating the release of her Scottish historical DRAGON’S CURSE available from Whispers Publishing at www.whispershome.com
Visit Nancy’s website: www.nancyleebadger.com.
And her blog: www.RescuingRomance.nancyleebadger.com for excerpts and more information.