Frances Housden

From best–selling author Frances Housden comes a brand new historical romance about a Spanish señorita and a strapping Scottish hero... 

Celestina is a survivor: she escaped the firestorm of the Armada, she outwitted superstitious sailors bent on her murder, and she swam through a vicious storm after leaping into the sea. When she comes to her senses on a beach, wrapped in the arms – and plaid – of a huge, Scottish laird, she needs only embrace one small lie to ensure her existence: impersonate the mythical Selkie that her rescuer believes her to be. But falling in love with her big Scottish Highlander might be the one thing she won't be able to survive.

Since he first heard the stories from his nurse as a child, Niall has known that Selkies are real, and when he finds one on his own beach, it seems as if she is there to answer his prayers, to cure his loneliness, to bring magic into his life. But Selkies aren't meant to be land–bound, and when Niall finds himself falling deeply in love with his Celi, he knows that he must make the ultimate sacrifice: his happiness for her life.

From the bestselling, RITA nominated author Frances Housden comes the gripping, sensual, suspenseful follow–up to The Chieftain's Curse...

Gavyn Farquhar's marriage is forged with a double–edged blade. Along with the Comlyn clan's lands, a reward from the King, he is blessed with an unwilling bride, Kathryn Comlyn, and an ancient fort with few defences that desperately needs to be fortified before it can act as a sufficient buffer between Scotland and the Norsemen on its northern borders.

Gavyn needs wealth to meet his king's demands, and he knows of only one way to get it – with his sword. Leaving his prickly bride behind in the hands of trusted advisors, he makes his way to the battlegrounds of France and the money that can be made there.

Two years married and Kathryn is still a virgin. A resentful virgin, certain that, like her father before her, she is perfectly capable of leading the Comlyn clan. In her usurper husband's absence, she meets the clan's needs, advising and ruling as well as any man.

But she is an intelligent woman, and she knows the only respect and power she will ever hold will be through her husband. And to wield it, she needs to make him love her. An easy task to set, but impossible to complete, when said husband has been gone for two years, and there is no word of his return. But Kathryn is undeterred. After all, a faint heart never won a Chieftain.

The award–winning Chieftain series continues in a new, full–length novel about duty, determination and the power of love to heal all wounds.

Rob is the McArthur heir and is determined to prove himself, a resolve that leads to his capture in a battle on the wrong side of the Borders where he is held for ransom at Wolfsdale. He never expects to fall in love with Melinda La Mont, his Norman captor's daughter, but payment of the ransom means their separation.

And though Rob may have lost his heart, he has kept his head and his secrets: La Mont's manor belonged to his grandfather and Rob knows all of its mysteries.

It takes another battle and the death of the Scottish King to return Rob to Wolfsdale and Melinda. Abduction and capture is the only way to bring Melinda back into his life–and his bed. But she comes with a surprise: twin sons, and an anger that Rob cannot seem to calm. When Melinda reveals that her father considers her sons–his grandsons–his heirs, and will stop at nothing to bring them home, Rob is forced to reconsider his rash decisions, and take responsibility for his actions both in the past and in the present.

With both his family and his land at stake, Rob must decide between the passion of a child and the responsibility of a man, and risk that his love is enough to keep Melinda, and the children he never knew existed, by his side.

One last Chieftain meets his match in the final book in Frances Housden's best–selling, award–winning series…

For a year, Rory has dreamed of a lass, a Norse lass, under the summer solstice moon. Unable to give voice to her name or recognise her face, he will never forget the feel of her skin, the scent of her hair, or the emotions she wrought inside him. So when war threatens between the Norse Clan at Caithness and the Irish, Rory rebels against his father and willingly puts his heart before his duty.

Granddaughter of Caithness's Jarl, Ainsel once shone as a shield–maiden, but an abusive marriage to a husband, gone but not mourned, has leeched the spirit from her soul. Her only salvation is her baby son, born of a last spark of rebellion and a passionate solstice tryst with a tall, fearless Scot. But with his return to Caithness, he threatens the life she has rebuilt, the independence she has scratched out of the dust of her marriage.

But as Rory integrates himself into Caithness, proving himself a worthy ally against the coming war with the Irish, avoiding him becomes impractical, avoiding the feelings he stirs impossible. Every day he stays adds more weight to the guilty secret Ainsel hides. When Rory begins to return her feelings, she knows that revealing her past actions that led to her son – his son – could ruin any chance at a future…

After a long day, overworked fashion designer Roxie Kincaid walked into the wrong apartment and suddenly had a gun at her head. A mistake that left her at the mercy of Mac McBride, a man she believed was at best a criminal--at worst a terrorist negotiating an arms deal. But Mac saved her life by claiming her as his fiancée. As hostages to deadly arms dealers, with their every move caught on camera, their sexy performance to fool the enemy became a true-to-life passionate affair. And soon, they had to make the real choice between their love and securing a weapon that could hold the world at ransom....

Born to luxury and comfort, Chelsea Tedman never expected to be climbing Mount Everest. But her need to solve the mystery surrounding her sister's fatal fall on the mountain had Chelsea in Nepal, determined to climb the unforgiving terrain at all costs. She just needed a guide. Mysterious as he was alluring, Kurt Jellic was the only man for the job, and all she had to do was convince him. But Chelsea didn't know which was more difficult: Everest's brutal climb or her irresistible attraction to Kurt. With danger so near, Chelsea could soon be victim to the mountain...and to her own passion.

2014 RWA RITA Award finalist for Best Historical Romance and 2014 Romance Writers of New Zealand (RWNZ) KORU Readers' Choice Award winner!

Euan McArthur is a chieftain in need of an heir.

While still a young a warrior, Euan incites the fury of a witch. She retaliates with a curse that no wife will ever bear him an heir. As he buries his third wife and yet another bonnie stillborn son, Euan can no longer cast her words aside.

Morag Farquhar is a woman in need of sanctuary. With a young relative in tow, Morag flees the only home she has ever known to escape her brother, Baron of Wolfsdale, and find sanctuary in the MacArthur stronghold. Pronounced barren by a midwife, Morag is of little value to her family, but a Godsend to Euan, a lover he can't kill by getting with child.

Years ago, chance drew them together, and tangled their lives in ways they could never have imagined. This time their destiny lies in their own hands, but it will take courage and strong hearts to see it through to the end.

Frances Housden returns with her best–selling, award–winning Chieftain series in this short novel about a young woman with a strong will and a sharp mind, and the man who has nothing to offer but his heart.

Maggie McArthur never thought she would meet her fate in a clash of swords. She may wield a sword more skilfully than a needle, but it was more luck than proficiency that led to her piercing Dhugal Robertson through the shoulder. Frightened she has killed her opponent, Maggie stays to give him aid and ensure he returns to Sgian House safely. She may be the Chieftain's daughter, but she is perfectly capable of playing the healer for a few days until she is sure Dhugal will survive. The tender feelings he seems to inspire is nothing more than concern. After all, no suitor has ever raised her interest, so why should a penniless warrior with no clan to call his own?

Dhugal's pride should be as wounded as his shoulder from being bested by a woman at sword play, but the sight of beautiful black hair spilling from under his opponent's bonnet has not only distracted him from his injury, but intrigued him, body and soul.

But his attraction is doomed from the beginning. Though he could fall heart–deep for Maggie, she is the daughter of one of Scotland's most powerful Chieftains, and Dhugal is head of a penniless, homeless clan, a clan stripped of both pride and material possessions. What father would accept the troth of such a suitor? What woman could accept the hand of a man who has nothing to offer but love?

The Chieftain's Feud is the third book in the internationally bestselling, award–winning Chieftain series: a Yuletide novella with a Scottish twist and bad boy highlander about to meet his match...

He may be young, but Jamie Ruthven has earned a name as a skirt–lifter and seducer, though to his credit he never touches an innocent. Then Evangeline Buchan comes to the Scottish court with her gentle heart and beautiful eyes, and sets his world askew.

The feud between the Ruthvens and Buchans started long before Jamie's birth – though neither he nor Evangeline know the reasons.

Can their love reveal the secrets and heal the pain of the past, or will the feud prove too strong for even true love?