Author Spotlight and Giveaway: Eva Scott…

Welcome to the Author Spotlight, Eva and congratulations on the release of ‘Barbarian Bride ’.  What was your inspiration behind this story?

The heroine, Klara, appears as a minor character in my first historical novel, The Last Gladiatrix.  I hadn’t considered writing her story until Kate Cuthbert of Harlequin Escape asked me to tell it.  Klara is feisty, funny and fierce – a real joy to write.  She’s the daughter of a Hun chief who gets mixed up in the middle of a murder mystery with an unconventional bad-boy Roman named Lucius.

What is it about ancient times that attracts you as a writer and has this period always held your interest?

I’ve always been interested in history.  My mother is a history buff and my grandfather kept stacks of National Geographic magazines lying about filled with tales of long lost civilisations.  I found them irresistible.  They appealed to my romantic nature.  I even went as far as applying for a place at uni to study archaeology before settling on anthropology and still toy with the idea of studying ancient history.  Like I have the time!

How do you go about researching your novels so as to make setting and events authentic?

Loads of rather dry academic books on history and culture.  Not as much fun as you may think.

What is your favourite historical event during ancient times?

I don’t have an all-time favourite.  It keeps changing as I discover new things.  I’m very taken with the city of Ai Khanoum, which translates as Lady Moon, in what is now Afghanistan.  The city was fundamentally Greek and for a brief time in history became a cultural crossroads between the East and the West.

What does your writing space look like?

Chaotic.  I do have a writing room but somehow it’s never used in favour of the kitchen bench.  I can keep an eye on my three year old from there.  My husband is a writer too and he’s set up his writing space next to mine.  There is stuff everywhere!

How do you manage a young family with writing?

Red wine.  Only kidding.  Kind of.  My little boy is an easy child to look after and likes to play elaborate games by himself so I am frequently dismissed.  “Go and work on the ‘puter Mummy.”

Can you tell us a bit about your works in progress?

I am currently editing a contemporary outback romance which I hope to release this year and I’m over half way through the third book in the Romancing The Roman series.

If ‘Barbarian Bride’ was to be made into a movie, who would be your ultimate cast?

Definitely Lucy Liu for Klara without question.  The right look and the right kick-arse attitude.  As for our hero, Lucius, I’d pick Aaron Eckhart.  Totally perfect – just the right amount of cheeky with gorgeous.

Finally, could you give us a sneaky peek at one of your favourite parts of ‘Barbarian Bride’, please?

Lucius couldn’t stop grinning like a fool.  Klara was here, actually here, and looking more beautiful than he remembered.  She had haunted his dreams since the day they had met.  Did she know Irnik intended to marry her to his son, after presenting her with Lucius’ head?  If she did now would not be the time to mention it. 

She sat regarding him. Her obsidian eyes and high cheekbones reminded him of a statue of an Egyptian cat belonging to his father.  Inscrutable and feminine.  There was no reason they couldn’t explore the magic which arched between them.  She’d felt it too, he was certain.  How they came to be in the same tavern miles away from her camp Lucius took for nothing more than happy coincidence.  No doubt Rugila thought to get his daughter far away while her husband’s murder was dealt with.  Made perfect sense. 

Remembering her beads he fished them out of his pocket and held them out to her.  “I believe these are yours.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. She hesitated for a moment before taking them, turning them over with nimble fingers.  Watching her, he imagined what those fingers would feel like tracing patterns on his skin.  Which led him to wonder what it would be like to trace patterns on her skin, an altogether uncomfortable thought given they were in public.  Quickly taking a swig of beer Lucius tried to distract himself from his burgeoning arousal.

Klara ran her thumb over the beads.  He’d kept them in his pocket the whole time?  They were still warm from his body.  Winding them around her finger she made to put them in her pocket then suddenly slipped them over her head instead.  They hung low, nestling between her breasts.  Klara watched as Lucius swallowed hard, his eyes following the line of the beads.  A sense of satisfaction infused her.  He wanted her as much as she wanted him. 

The thought of lying in his arms, flesh against hot flesh, set her tingling in secret places.  Would it be so awful to make love to a man who made her feel something?  She had no passion for Bleda, just a sisterly affection.  Perhaps there would never be another man to make her feel this way.  Klara contemplated her situation.  She couldn’t get away from the fact she suspected Lucius of killing Bleda even though there was nothing about his demeanour indicated a murderer.  Could she be wrong?  Rugila said Lucius killing Bleda didn’t make sense.  Yet she had seen what she had seen.  Right now the only the only thing Klara was certain of was her confusion.

“Another drink?” Lucius nodded towards her empty cup.  She nodded.  Another drink would give her time to think.  Lucius rose and hailed the serving woman.  Klara admired the long, lean lines of the man, the way his broad shoulders strained the material of his tunic and the pleasing form of his thighs.  A molten need set up between her thighs, a need only Lucius could fulfil.  In that moment she knew she could not kill him.  How could she kill a man who, in a momentary encounter, had made her feel more alive than she’d ever felt before?  Perhaps she should have listened to her father.

“Here you go.”  Lucius placed a fresh cup of barley beer in front of her.  He took a long draught of his and gave her another one of his dazzling smiles.  “Where are you staying?”

Klara felt a little fission of excitement run along her skin.  “Here.”

Lucius raised his eyebrows.  “So am I.  Then there is no hurry to get you back to your room before dark.”  Klara blushed at the image of their tangled naked limbs which his words evoked. 

Lucius noted the bloom in her cheeks.  “Unless you would like me to escort you to your room and tuck you up in bed.”  His voice was low so no one else could hear what he said.  “I would be most honoured.”  He watched her intently.  Did she understand his meaning?  He thought so.  The next moment would tell.

Her eyes met his, dark searching light, as if she looked for something deep within him.  She must have found it.

“Yes,” she said simply.

And Lucius’ heart soared.

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Eva is kindly gifting one e-copy of Barbarian Bride to one lucky reader. To be in the draw to win, just leave a comment for Eva below.

This competition will be open world wide.

Posted by Sarah Belle on February 8, 2014

https://romanceaustralia.wordpress.com/2014/02/08/author-spotlight-and-giveaway-eva-scott-2/