Setting a time: an interview with Sandy Blair

Continuing the historical perspective interview process from last week, I emailed Sandy Blair, current president of the Dallas Area Romance Authors and author of time travel romances involving Highlanders. Her current release is A HIGHLANDER FOR CHRISTMAS, available from Zebra books.

Why Scotland?

"I fell in love with the Highlander mystique as a young woman only to visit Scotland and become totally enamored with the land and its people. The landscape--seeped in more history than one can possibly learn in a lifetime--is breathtaking, ranging from the stark to the majestic to the truly ethereal. As for the people, they're not only charming and gregarious but have a keen sense of the absurd, making them outrageously funny much of the time. And then there's the matter of my knees going weak whenever I hear a deep Scottish burr. Being married to a Scot might also have something to do with it."

Why Time-Travel?

"I think it's the elements of surprise that are inherent to all fish-out-of-water tales. How would I fare if I found myself suddenly dropped into another century? Would I find myself swamped by fear or would I rise to the challenge? (I pray it would be the later, but who knows?)

Too, I love writing about periods where men could be seriously alpha without worrying about political correctness, when a man had no clue he even had a feminine side, much less worried about getting in touch with it. As important was discovering medieval ladies were forces in their own right. Often well-educated and multilingual, many found themselves responsible for the health, wealth and safety of their keeps and septs whenever they're men went off to battle. If her husband died in battle, the Magna Charta ensured an English woman's hereditary rights to 1/3 of the land her husband held--and the clan system of the Highlands ensure a woman hereditary place. (That said, many a widow did find herself fighting for years in courts to garner those rights thanks to many a greedy son/relative.)"

Ah, the more things change...

Thanks, Sandy!