Writerly Wednesday Welcomes Amy Ruttan

Welcome Amy Ruttan to Writerly Wednesday!  

Thank you Amy for letting me do this.

BUY LINKS:

Amazon

Eternal Press

All Romance E-books

 

Bio: Amy Ruttan started writing at a very young age. Life and responsibility got in the way and writing was put on hold. It wasn’t until the birth of her second child and spending countless hours in a NICU she realized that life is precious and it shouldn’t be wasted.

Now years later –and a healthy baby later–Amy has realized her dreams. She was first published in 2007 and she hasn’t looked back.

Blurb: Try as he might he cannot leave his past behind…

It’s been ten years since Liam McFarland stepped foot on his native soil, since he disobeyed his father’s wishes and joined the army, and it’s been ten years since he gave up his birthright as Laird McFarland and the woman that he loved.

Isobel McLaren gave up on a life of love and passion when Liam McFarland chose the army over her. She settled into her mundane existence with a husband who has no interested in the fairer sex. Her life was predictable and structured, until Liam McFarland the rightful laird of Kingorn returned and then nothing was predictable anymore.

Excerpt:

“Ah, Captain McDonnell is it? Welcome to McFarland Keep. What can I…” Liam turned around and his brother’s words faded away as their gazes locked across the small expanse of the room.

“Liam?” Robbie’s voice wavered with uncertainty, his face going paler than it already was.

“Aye,” he answered, trying to swallow the lump forming in his throat. “How have you been?”

“Well,” Robbie said turning away to close the door behind him. Liam watched as he placed a hand on the door, as if to steady himself, his back stiffening. “I’ve been well, Liam. And you?”

“Fine.”

Robbie walked towards their father’s desk. Liam saw the disbelief in his brother’s eyes. “Are ye? Don’t lie to me.”

Liam rubbed again at the knot in the back of his neck. His throat constricted with the effort to keep his emotions under check. Ten years of pain and heartache threatened to spill out at his brother’s gentle prodding. Robbie could always see past the lies, and the kind cadence of his inquiry was more than Liam had hoped for, more than he deserved.

“No, I am not fine,” he said, letting out a long ragged breath. It felt like just admitting that defeat to his brother had lifted a burden from his shoulders.

Robbie’s face fell, and he looked down at the blotter on the desk. He had aged, and whatever ailed him was apparent in his countenance. His skin was sallow; his eyes hollow with pain and weariness. Yet, there were aspects that had not changed. Lean
and tall, Robbie possessed the fine bone structure of their mother. His light brown hair was slicked back, his thick sideburns neat and trimmed, as was the handlebar mustache.

Robbie sat down behind the desk, a pained expression crossing his face. He leaned back in the chair and laced his fingers neatly together on his chest. “What brings you back, Liam?”

“You tell me. I received your missive from last year, asking me to come home.”

Robbie’s mustache twitched and humor laced his words. “I did wonder if it had got to you. I did not know if you were dead or alive.” He looked up at him, his blue eyes glassy. “You’ve changed your name as well.”

“Aye, wasn’t really a McFarland anymore was I?” The pain from his leg shot up through his hip and he gripped the back of the nearest chair. Digging his fingers into the wood eased the pain momentarily. Robbie didn’t respond, or didn’t seem to notice or care.

Taking a deep breath, Liam closed his eyes and tried to forget about the pain. When it eased, he lessened his hold on the chair. “Why did you want me back, Robbie? Why am I here?”

“Are you angry to be back?”

“I didna say that.”

“Are you vexed I pulled you away from your duty?” Robbie’s voice was laced with bitterness, his eyes narrowing into a glare.

“I am not in the army any more, Robbie.” Raising his walking stick, he tapped his leg. “I was injured in South Africa, in the Anglo Zulu War.”

Robbie looked stunned, his face whitening. “You were there?”
“Aye, it’s what I wanted.” Liam limped around to the front of the chair. “Do you mind if I sit? My leg, it pains me.”

Robbie held out his hands, motioning him to sit and Liam eased himself down into the chair. The throbbing ceased for a moment as he stretched his legs. The sound of chuckling made him look up. Robbie’s head was bowed and he was laughing to himself.

“What is so amusing?”

“Look at us,” Robbie said between chuckles. “You with a game leg, me…dying.”

Liam felt his body numb, his heart lurching as his stomach dropped to the soles of his shoes. “Dying? What do you mean dying?”

Interview
1. In three days, all power will go off, everywhere for a very long time. What will you include in your author survival kit? Notepads and pens because I know a battery pack on my laptop wouldn’t last long. An old fashioned typewriter, lots of paper (good to burn to stay warm up here in Canada) and Diet Coke.

2. Where did the idea for the work you are promoting arise? Funnily enough it was a dream. It woke me up and I jotted down everything I could and went back to sleep. In the morning I started researching and filling in the holes.

3. What do you like to read? Almost anything. I really can’t pin it down to a genre any more. I read anything which strikes my fancy, both fiction and nonfiction.

4. Tell us about the most exciting place you have ever visited? San Francisco for RWA in 2008. I’ve always wanted to go there since my Nana always wanted to, but she never got to. She had a huge painting of the Golden Gate Bridge in her dining room and I would stare at it for hours. It was pretty amazing when I got to see it and cross it, but I think the City by the Bay is going to be replaced this coming summer. We’re planning on a cross country family vacation. We’ll be gone for almost a month and will be visiting Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and back home to Ontario. I’ve almost convinced my hubby to take me to Yellowknife Northwest Territories when we’re in Alberta. Almost. LOL!

5. What is the most mundane, day to day, thing you can share about yourself? Mundane would be the school routine. Up at 7 a.m., get my three kids ready, take the oldest to school, make a lunch, pack bags. Take my oldest to school for 9 a.m., bring the other two home and then take the middle guy to school for 12:45 p.m., a couple hours to edit or write if the youngest lets me and then back at the school for 3:00 p.m. Very mundane day.

6. What scares you the most? Losing one of my children hands down. Nothing much scares me anymore, except that. I came close enough with my middle guy.

7. Tell us anything but keep it G rated. I have an unnatural love for Diet Coke. It’s my vise. The only time I couldn’t drink it was when I was pregnant with my youngest. It was disgusted by it for 9 months, but once he was born BAM I wanted it again. When I’m in the zone writing I’m constantly guzzling the stuff. It’s habit, like a chain smoker.

BUY LINKS:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lairds-Return-ebook/dp/B005G91PSG/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1327502443&sr=1-1

Eternal Press: http://www.eternalpress.biz/book.php?isbn=9781615724536

All Romance E-books: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-laird039sreturn-585347-162.html

WHERE TO FIND ME:

Websites: Amy Ruttan: http://www.amyruttan.com

A.C. Ruttan (alter ego): http://www.acruttan.com

BLOG: http://amyruttan.blogspot.com

TWITTER: http://www.twitter.com/ruttanamy

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000468098634

Keywords:
Amy Ruttan, Laird’s Return, Eternal Press, Scottish, Historical Romance, Queen Victoria, Prodigal Son

BUY LINKS:

Amazon

Eternal Press

All Romance E-books