We’re in the final countdown for the release of Defiant.  Hate the wait? Here’s a list of 11 ways to make these five remaining days go faster.


11. Make sure to register for the pre-release video chat party today hosted by Shindig Events! 

I’ll be doing a reading and giving away five signed copies of the book to participants. Click here to reserve your spot. Registration is free and takes all of 30 seconds. We’ll count down the final hours by have some fun together!


10. Re-read your favorite MacKinnon’s Ranger book, whether it’s Surrender or Untamed.

Okay, so maybe you've already done this. Twice. If so, skip to No. 9.

If not, it’s your chance to refresh your memory and enjoy once more everything that made you love the series.



9. Eat chocolate.

One of the best coping mechanisms ever, chocolate is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy — and to enjoy the sensual things in life.



8. Visit the websites for Fort Ticonderoga and the Rogers Island Visitor Center to bone up on the history. 

There is nothing like visiting these places in person and feeling the history that resonates through them — echoes of lives lived and lost. The real places will be fresh in your mind when you read Connor and Sarah’s story. Click here for Fort Ti or here for Rogers Island Visitor Center.


7. Hold a kitten.

It is a scientifically proven fact that kittens make everything better.







6. Memorize the Rules of Ranging.

It’s what any Ranger would have had to do. Are you up to the challenge? The bonus here is that if you ever need to know how to cross a marsh in a way that confuses your enemies, you’ll be prepared. Just click here for the full list.


5. Listen to my Defiant iMix via Ping and be inspired by the music that inspired me.

There’s nothing like music when it comes to getting myself in the right mood — or should I say write mood? The mix of songs that helped keep me going during the wee hours includes Scottish folk performed by Old Blind Dogs, the soundtrack to The War that Made America documentary — and lots of Georg Friedrich Händel. Go to Ping I-Tunes and ask to follow me. The URL for the Defiant iMix is here. (Faves are “St. Kilda” and “Loch Erne’s Shore.”)




4. Make ash cakes.

Nothing says 18th-century Colonial American frontier like corn cakes cook in the ashes of a camp fire. Click here for the recipe and instructions. It’s not hard, and your kids will have a blast watching you make a mess. (Scroll down to the bottom for an awesome buckwheat recipe.) 




3. Go to my previous blog post with the stills from the video shoot to stare at sexy Connor in the flesh. Remember: The live-action trailer will be out on July 3, too!

Wait, did that just make the wait even harder?


God, Karl is yummy!

2.  Re-enact sex scenes from the series with your lover. 

Just be careful if you try a reenactment of Iain and Annie’s shaving scene. Straight razors are an acquired skill. Just sayin’.




1.  Watch Last of the Mohicans with Daniel Day Lewis.


Although the film wasn’t the inspiration for the series — I loved the movie when it came out in 1992, and was inspired to write about Rangers from research I’d done for Ride the Fire — it’s the closest thing you can find to a visual window into the world of Connor MacKinnon and his brothers. Daniel Day Lewis isn’t a Ranger, but he is a frontiersman who would have likely known of the MacKinnon brothers and possibly have considered them friends. He might well have known Captain Joseph, too.

The soundtrack is among several I listened to while I wrote the first three books of this series, so you can also enjoy that fantastic and very evocative music.

And here we are — just a handful of days away from July 3 and the release of Defiant and the live-action Defiant trailer. I can’t wait to share it with you.

Now, tell me what you’re doing to beat the wait.