Romance, Wine & Chocolate '18 Author Spotlight Q&A with Madeline Martin!

In August we begin a series of 10 Author Spotlights with a brief Q&A introducing each of the amazing authors attending  Romance, Wine & Chocolate '18 on August 31st in Orlando, FL.  Registration is FULL, but check for cancellations at rwc2018.eventbrite.com
Author #8: Get to know a little more about today's featured author, the charming Madeline Martin! 

Books by Madeline Martin

Madeline Martin is a USA TODAY Bestselling author of Scottish set historical romance novels filled with twists and turns, adventure, steamy romance, empowered heroines and the men who are strong enough to love them.

She lives a glitter-filled life in Jacksonville, Florida with her
two daughters (known collectively as the minions) and a man so wonderful he's been dubbed Mr. Awesome. All shenanigans are detailed regularly on Twitter and on Facebook.

Enjoy this Q&A with Madeline Martin:  

1. What genre(s) do you write? 

I write Scottish historical romance that goes from Medieval all the way through Regency.

2. Coffee or tea lover? 

Coffee

3. Name one thing on your bucket list.

Go to all seven continents. I’ve been to four (North and South America, Europe, and Africa) with plans to go to Asia in the next two years.

4. Do you have pets? 

Unfortunately we can’t have pets due to a pet allergy and severe time limitations.  However, a friend of mine is a kitten foster mom and so we get to go over and help her from time to time. I truly believe there’s nothing better in life than immersing oneself in snuggly kittens.

5. When I wake up every morning I...

Write. I still work a full time job in addition to writing and have two young daughters. I wake up at 4:30 every week day and 5:30 every weekend morning to write. It’s when I know I can be uninterrupted and coffee definitely helps the creativity flow.

​6. Weirdest​ or unique thing you own. 

Remember how I said we couldn’t have pets? Well, meet Nick, or every day skeleton. He started off as a Halloween skeleton (because we go ALL out for Halloween in our house!), but then we realized we loved him so much that we couldn’t bear to fold him up and tuck him in the garage (I mean, how awful, right?!)

So, we gave him an outfit and put him in various places throughout the house. My youngest daughter even found some perfectly Nick-sized googly eyes so now he can see!

Bonus: he’s fully allergy free ;) 

​7. Do you have ​any hobbies or particular skills? 

I love to do bath and body products. I got started a while back when I was writing about my healer heroine in Enchantment of a Highlander. I wanted to know what it was like to make herbal teas, salves, tinctures, etc. I got REALLY into it. LOL My yard was full of plants I harvested to dry, and my cabinets were crammed full of every essential oil you could imagine.

As I got busier in life, I forgot about it until a good friend of mine sent me her wonderful creations and shared some of her best recipes with me. It awakened the bug all over again. This last year, my daughters and I spent countless hours making lip balms, sugar scrubs, bath bombs and bath salts for all their teachers and for my co-workers, complete with adorable hand crafted stickers. It’s so much fun!

8. What do you hope readers will experience or gain when reading your stories? 

This one gets a little deep and is the reason why I write empowered heroines. Without getting too down into it, I’ll just say I found myself in a situation where I was made to feel like I didn’t count. I was made to feel that way for so long that I was convinced that I truly did not count.

After losing that negative influence in my life, I realized my own potential and found a confidence I didn’t think I’d ever possess.

I hope that in reading my empowered heroines, women who might be in a situation like I was in might be able to see their own potential and embrace the confidence and self-worth they so truly deserve.

9. What inspired you to write Highland Ruse?  

My inspiration for Highland Ruse was Delilah's character. When I first created her, I wanted her to be something of a dreamer, someone who saw all the beauty of the world and was desperate to savor it all. Except that while her head is stuck up in the clouds, the rest of her is relegated to a world of disappointment. She's a child of many, a poor relation to a scraping courtier and a woman whose means could never life up to expectation. Even when she becomes a spy, she is never given a mission on her own. Until now.
I saw Delilah as a woman who is so easily dismissed by others to the point she discounts herself. And yet she can't stop dreaming. I wanted to give Delilah a happy ever after, and put reality to all those lovely dreams.

 Highland Ruse

Buy

“A solid thread of teamwork and family, provided by the strong supporting cast of Ariana’s fellow spies underlies the romance…creating a community that will surely thrive as the series continues.” —Publishers Weekly on Highland Spy

Kaid MacLeod couldn’t protect his clan from an unimaginable slaughter that killed his father and took the lives of many of his people. Wracked with guilt, he knows retaliation will only bring more death, but his clan thirsts for revenge and all seems lost…until Kaid discovers his nemesis’s betrothed will be traveling through Scotland. Abducting this innocent woman will give him the leverage he desperately needs to end the continuing massacres and bring peace to his clan. Though he is loath to do so, it's the least bloody solution he can see.

Delilah Canterbury has been striving to make her own way for a long time. One of many children, with no money or noble blood to fall back on, Delilah dreamt of joining the court of King James. After her beauty earned her one tender night with the king, he spurned her on a whim, causing her to lose not just her chance at a better life, but her reputation. In dire straits, her life was saved when she was taken in by a group of female spies and taught their deadly skills. Now, testing her prowess, she is disguised as Lady Elizabeth, daughter of a well-known noble, betrothed of a Scottish laird, and a target in the war between clans.

Kidnapped by Kaid, Delilah's mission as a decoy is near completion, but when she finds herself attracted to the very man she's supposed to deceive, will Delilah lose control and risk her very life in the process? Will finding out who Delilah really is be Kaid's undoing, and that of his entire clan?

Friends! Are you attending Romance, Wine, & Chocolate '18? Do you enjoy Scottish set Historical Romance? Are you a fan of Madeline Martin or is she new to you? I'd love to know...

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