What Every Woman Wants Under her Christmas Tree. Melissa Mayhue's Highlanders! Three autographed novels up for grabs!

It’s finally that time! Today marks the beginning of my What Every Woman Wants Under her Christmas Tree blog event. What does this mean? Four weeks worth of fabulous authors, talented jewelry artists and tons of giveaways!

This week it’s my pleasure to introduce award-winning paranormal romance author, Melissa Mayhue. I’m thrilled to announce that Melissa has graciously donated autographed copies of the first three novels in her Daughters of the Glen series to be put under this blog's Christmas tree. But of course everything put under this tree is up for grabs. In fact, I’ve got a little contest up my sleeve. One lucky winner will be drawn. How to win? Well, you’ve got to take a brief jaunt through cyberspace to  Melissa’s Book  page. Once there you’ll discover a blurb from the first book in the series titled Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband. In a comment at this blog you must answer the following: What is the most powerful magic of all?

Okay, I’d say it’s time to get to know Melissa a wee bit better...

SKY: Welcome, Melissa. Thanks so much for visiting!

MELISSA: Thanks for allowing me to come visit with your readers, Sky. I appreciate the invitation!

SKY: I’m familiar with your work and must say it’s spectacular. Before we dive too much into all you’ve accomplished I’d love to know a bit more about you. If you could pick one defined moment in your life that you knew you wanted to be a writer, what was it and why?

MELISSA: First off, thank you so much for that lovely compliment! I’m thrilled that you’re enjoying the series! I always wanted to be a writer… I just wasn’t impressed with how hard it was each time I started [and quit after just a few pages!]. I can tell you the exact moment I decided I was going to make it happen, though. I was in Scotland on vacation with my family. We’d hiked back into a place just north of Rosemarkie, called The Fairy Glen. I was relaxing after the hike into the glen [that translates as… I needed a rest after that long walk!]. Sitting there in the shade, beside a dark pool, listening to the waterfall pour down I realized that if I was ever going to make my dream come true, I had to take the first step and WRITE the book. I also realized that the very spot I was sitting in was going to be central to my story. I came home from that vacation and pounded out my first book, THIRTY NIGHTS WITH A HIGHLAND HUSBAND. And that’s how the Daughters of the Glen series – and my writing career! -- was born.

SKY: Scotland draws you. I can well understand that. If you could choose an area of Scotland you’ve yet to write of, always secretly wanted to…where would it be?

MELISSA: Interesting question… As the series has progressed, I’ve had my characters all over the country and even out onto the isles! So, in truth, I’ve pretty much covered whichever area tweaked my interest there, though my heart is always in the Highlands.

SKY: I can’t help myself; I want to dive right into your Daughters of the Glen series. What sparked the idea for this fabulous series?

MELISSA: From the moment I returned from vacation and sat down at the keyboard, I knew I was writing a time travel romance. I’ve loved reading romance for as long as I can remember. I’ve also loved fantasy. When I stumbled over my first time-travel, I was hooked. What could be better than combining fantasy and romance? Nothing! [Unless it’s fantasy, romance and a gorgeous Highlander!]

SKY: I couldn’t agreed more! *Blushing* In my book, there’s nothing better than a 13th century Highlander. Tell us more about Conner Mackiernan from Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband (Book I). If he were sitting in on this interview, what would he say about love? About Caitlyn Coryell?

MELISSA: Well, Sky, that’s going to depend on whether you’re asking Connor at the beginning of that book or now. THEN he didn’t believe in true love, especially not for him, and he didn’t trust any woman, anywhere, Cate included. But now? Now he knows for a fact True Love exists and he considers himself the luckiest man alive to have met his Soulmate – an absolute driving need for anyone of Faerie descent to be happy.

SKY: As you can tell, I’m all about crawling inside your character’s heads. Still talking about Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband, heroine Caitlyn Coryell is a 21st century woman. Wow! She sounds like a strong woman. Share a little bit about her. If she were sitting in on this interview what would she say about Conner?

MELISSA: I do like to think of Caitlyn as a strong woman… but that wasn’t always the case. Thirty Nights was all about Cate’s growth into the woman she could be. She’d be the first to tell you that Connor was the most arrogant, hard-headed, chauvinistic man on the face of the planet… just before she’d chuckle and confide that she’s tamed him now and he’s the best husband and father any woman could ask for.

SKY: Sarah Douglass, heroine of Highland Guardian (Book II), is a 30 something novelist. She’s in Scotland for a three month visit trying to recapture her ‘muse.’ If she could share three words with us about her current circumstances, what would they be? Why?

MELISSA: Beginning of the book? Blocked, frustrated, frightened. Now? Happy, happy, ecstatically happy. Okay, that’s four words. But they fit. Sarah, too had to accept who and what she was. Once she learned to accept herself, then she found the inner strength to become the heroine she was meant to be.

SKY: Ian McCullough (half-mortal descendent of fairies and Guardian of mortals and portals leading to the Faerie realms) has his hands full. When assigned to protect Sarah, he’s taken on more than he bargained for. If he could say three words that defined the way he felt when he first laid eyes on Sarah, what would they be? Why?

MELISSA: skeptical, intrigued, attracted.

SKY: Let’s chat about Soul of a Highlander (Book III). Mairi MacKiernan sounds like my kind of girl. Why? It strikes me she has to be stronger than most women (half faerie or not) should ever have to be. I think a lot of us can relate to characters like that. Tossed from the 13th century into the 21st century, she’s made due. Now she’s thrust back to the 13th century once again at her own request to save another then imprisoned by her enemy! I already label her a heroine by pure design. I’d like to crawl inside her head? Is she bitter? Does she have regrets? Would she change any of these happenstances if she could? Why?

MELISSA: She has tons of regrets and she’s absolutely filled with fear. But she’s also one of the most intensely stubborn characters I’ve written, so, like all my heroines, she has to learn to love herself and be the woman she was meant to be. Her biggest regret about leaving her own century is her fear that she’ll never find her one true love – because in her century, her fate was to die. But since she’s living in a time not her own, she can’t conceive of finding The One there. Like Cate and Sarah, Mairi has learn to move beyond her fears to find her own happiness.

SKY: Ramos Sevans, hero from Soul of a Highlander, has a mission. Tell us more. If Ramos was here, what would he say about his mission? What would he say about Mairi?

MELISSA: Talk about regrets! Ramos is a character with major, major regrets and an overwhelming need to make up for all the damage he feels he was responsible for in his past. He also has to come to terms with his relationship with his father – a truly evil Fae. Ramos’ whole life is guilt – should have, could have, would have. When he meets Mairi, he’s determined to save her [and the world!] at any cost…even if it means giving up his own life.

SKY: Thank you so much for sharing with us, Melissa! While we only touched on the first three of six released so far your Daughters of the Glen series sounds fantastic. I can’t wait to read A Highlander of Her Own, A Highlander’s Destiny and A Highlander’s Homecoming as well. I wish you the very best in all you do!

MELISSA: Thanks so much, Sky. Your readers can keep a sharp eye out for the next two in the series, as well. HEALING THE HIGHLANDER is set for release February 22, 2011 and HIGHLANDER’S CURSE is available on March 29, 2011.

If your readers have any more questions about the series, they can check my website, There’s a shout box on the left where they can leave questions or comments and I always answer!

It’s been such a blast having Melissa visit. Don’t forget there are three autographed books being given away, Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband, Highland Guardian, and Soul of a Highlander. To be enter to win click HERE to find the answer to the following question: What is the most powerful magic of all? Leave your answer in a comment at his blog. Contest closes Friday, December 3rd 12 PM EST.

ALSO, as previously mentioned, there will be a second winner drawn from every post now through December 24th. On Christmas day all winners will be announced and given a little something extra. My treat!

Thanks again for popping in. Be sure to swing back in this coming weekend as author Catherine Bybee shares some of her favorite holiday traditions and dishes out about her novels.

Happy Holidays!

~Sky