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.

You’ve read excerpts, gotten a glimpse of Lady Sarah Woodville’s world, and you’ve told me you can’t wait to get your hands on Connor MacKinnon. Today, you’re going to get as close as you can get to him until July 3, when Defiant is finally on bookstore shelves.

You haven’t read a word I’ve written, have you? Your eyes are glued on the amazingly handsome man with the freaking fantastic body in the image above. Can’t say that I blame you. I spent Saturday with him. I even drew on his skin. Whoa! That got your attention! Now follow along...

As I was saying, I’m going to give you a glimpse of Connor MacKinnon today, and there he is. It goes like this...


Author and photojournalist Jenn LeBlanc of Illustrated Romance is a friend of mine. We met at the journalism awards ceremony where I was given my Keeper of the Flame Lifetime Achievement Award in May 2010 and Jenn picked up an award for photojournalism. Only we didn’t actually meet. We probably ended up competing for space at the very small bar at the Denver Press Club, but I didn’t stay long that night, hitting the town with my posse for champagne and overpriced food.

Jenn and I met again at Lady Jane’s Salon in Denver. I was there to read. I walked in, and this woman with lovely blond hair said, “Oh, my God! You’re her!” I was confused, and Jenn introduced herself, explaining that she’d been there that night and had heard my acceptance speech (which is on YouTube for those of you who are bored out of your minds at work on a Monday morning). 


Long story short, we both write romance. And she does something that I really appreciate: She takes photos of extremely sexy male models and couples for her books and for romance novel book covers. Jenn is the photographer who brought you the cover of Skin Deep — all that chiaroscuro and man muscle. Yes, that’s her work.

A few weeks back, she sent me a photo of ripped, half-naked man with the text, “Connor?” My response was something like, “Yum!”

The half-naked man turned out to be Karl — who was much hotter in person than that smartphone image could possibly convey. His presence, the fact that he largely fits the description of Connor, and my son’s film degree kind of coalesced into an idea: make a live-action trailer for Defiant.

And that, my friends, is what we’ve spent this past weekend doing.


Benjamin and I set out early Saturday — shortly after fuck-o’-clock in the morning — with some props, including my Brown Bess 1757 musket, lead balls (ammo for the gun), a powder horn, a leather medicine bag to use as a parfleche, and some other junk. We headed south to meet Jenn, Karl and Cora, another photojournalist who assists Jenn and often models for covers, at a park outside Lakewood where there was a lake. (Jenn had scouted out locations earlier in the week.)

Benjamin and I got there a bit early and sat there in the cool morning air watching a rabbit hop around and talking about firearms. Then Jenn pulled up in her Jeep with Karl and Cora. We were supposed to follow them, but I had left the lights on, so my car wouldn’t start. A sexy Ranger came along and gave us a jump — gotta love sexy Rangers — and we were off.


Now, when you’re in public and your grand plan is to get someone mostly naked in strange public places and to brandish firearms, you do wonder whether you’re going to end up getting arrested and making very awkward phone calls to family. We had this in mind as we reached the lake and hiked back to a less public beach. While Jenn, Benjamin and Cora talked about lighting, Karl took off his clothes, stripping down to a pair of swim trunks, and walked into the water.
 
God, I love my job!


The forest shoot lasted the rest of the morning and into the early afternoon as Karl was put through the paces of being Connor MacKinnon. Even though the costume was not historically accurate and the whole operation was ultra-mega-low-budget, there came a moment where Karl was running full-tilt through the forest when both Jenn and I got goose bumps.

There running through the trees was Connor MacKinnon, in the flesh. As Jenn later wrote on Facebook, it was like being in the forest with my muse.



 After we were finished, I took everyone to lunch and got to talk with the man I’d spent the past six hours staring at. Karl is intelligent and concerned and fun — not at all self-centered or arrogant like some male models can be. We all had a great time.

And on July 3 to celebrate the release of the book, Reel Films (that’s Benjamin’s film company) together with Illustrated Romance (that’s Jenn), and I will bring you a live-action trailer for Defiant. I’ve seen the rough cut edit of the footage, and it’s fantastic. We’ll be getting together for some pickup shots next week — we’re adding Wentworth and Lady Sarah to the trailer — and then we’ll be down to sound and the soundtrack.

Only 15 days to go until Defiant is finally out and you get to read the book and see Connor in action!

Here’s a little something Benjamin and I worked up this weekend to keep you company. Enjoy!

And so it begins — the 30-day countdown to the release of my 10th novel, the fifth book in my I-Team series — Breaking Point. I never set out to write romantic suspense, but once I started, the project took on a life of its own. What began as an idea in my agent’s head — I had only ever read or written historical romance — has turned into a series that had been called the new gold standard in romantic suspense (and not by me).

Welcome to a month-long festival of trivia, games, interviews, prizes and giveaways!

Coming this week:
Monday: MTM — The Return of The Jed
Wednesday: I-Team Trivia
Friday: I-Team Trivia answers — Prizes
Saturday: I-Team Reading Challenge final push check-in

Coming next week:
Monday: MTM — Men of the military
Wednesday: An interview with the I-Team heroes
Friday: I-Team Reading Challenge comes to a close — Prizes!!!

We kick off the celebration with the world premiere of the trailer for Breaking Point. So put on your glitziest gown, borrow some bling, and take a walk down the virtual red carpet for a sneak peek at Natalie and Zach’s story!

Thanks to Jenn J. of Sapphire Dreams for putting the trailer together for me. I really appreciate her help. Please support the release of the book by sharing the trailer with friends!

Please “Like” it, tweet it, share it with your readers groups, and put it on your own blog. And keep track of the number of times you share it! Each time you share, your name goes into a pool for a prize. The more sharing, the higher the odds get in your favor. The winner gets a signed copy of Breaking Point, a $25 Amazon.com gift card and a personal phone call from me.

Let the insanity begin!