Welcome to Sugarbeat’s Books – The Home of the Romance Novel!
Today we are welcoming Nancy Lee Badger to the blog! She is the author of My Reluctant Highlander and is here to share some information about her book. She is also giving away 3 prizes (to a total of 3 different winners) a $15 Amazon or B&N GC; free ebook of her backlist Scottish books; a Dragon Window sticker. Drawing is Aug. 15th. To enter, please find the Rafflecopter link at the bottom of this post!
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I started my writing career in 2006. My first manuscript was a bust. While writing my fifth story, I sold two earlier pieces to two small publishers. I was on my way! Due to my years as an EMT, volunteer firefighter, and 9-1-1 dispatcher, my books span the contemporary, romantic suspense, and the paranormal genres. But it was my love of Scottish Highland games and festivals that pushed me to write my current Scottish time travel series.
I married a man descended from Scottish clans. Together, we traced family history back many generations. In fact, his MacBean Clan origins are catalogued in a book titled The Life and Family of John Bean of Exeter and his Cousins, by Bernie Bean. First printed in 1970, my husband’s grandfather bought a copy. He made notes in the margins, and gave us a nudge to follow the footsteps. A note, scribbled beneath Grandpa’s signature, told us to start on page 47 (of the 1337 page book). We discovered my husband’s grandfather and father listed! From there we easily flitted back to the first ancestor, John MacBean. He arrived in Boston February 24, 1652 on the vessel The Sarah and John as an indentured servant, after capture during the Battle of Worchester. Forcibly renamed John Bean aboard ship, he settled in Exeter, New Hampshire, and was buried with his two wifes in the churchyard of Exeter, New Hampshire’s Congregational Church.
Suffice it to say, we learned more about the man, his Scottish clan, his tartan, and worked to learn more about another family that claimed roots in the Gunn Clan. We followed information about the Robinsons (a sept of the Gunn Clan) as far back as the mid 1800’s Connecticut. Branches of the family moved across Vermont. Others had settled in New Hampshire. Even others, in Massachusetts. My husband and I traipsed across New England searching for headstones and monuments, with great success.
Inscription reads: John Bean 1634-1718
Wife Hannah 1635-1659
Wife Margaret 1640-1714
Our Pioneer Ancestors from the Highlands of Scotland
John Bean of Exeter Family Association 1972
The bear in army camouflage, holding the American flag, was for our youngest son who was serving in the army at the time. Kind of a tip of the hat to prisoner-of-war, John MacBean. Due to the interest in Scottish ancestry, it made sense to visit, and then volunteer at, the largest gathering of the Scottish Clans in North America…the New Hampshire Highland Games & Festival, held annually in Lincoln, NH. My husband bought a made-to-order kilt, I wore a ladies skirt in the Gunn plaid that my mother-in-law had picked up in Edinburgh, and we worked side-by-side. I took time off to raise our two boys, but now we visit New Hampshire every fall. (For more information about this year’s games, please check this link: http://NHScot.org )
We still have dozens of ‘holes’ in the family histories to discover, and the internet should give us a few more ‘hits’, but until then we will continue to surround ourselves with kilted men, muscled athletes, bagpipes, marching bands, country dancers, delicious food, and historical reenactors. What a better way to help the New Hampshire Gathering of the Scottish Clans, Inc., a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the furtherance of the music, dance, athletics and customs of the Scottish people and to the continuance of the Gaelic culture! A side perk has been the ideas generated, that manifested in my stories in my Highland Games Through Time series.
People ask me why we volunteer our time at a venue that lies 900 miles from our current North Carolina home. Hubby and I met in college in central New Hampshire, married, bought a home, and raised our boys. The trip north is our annual family vacation. There is nothing more beautiful than September in New England! Someday, we will visit the Highlands of Scotland and travel the hills and dales where our ancestors once walked. Until then, I will continue to hum the first few lines of a poem by Scottish poet, Robert Burns ( 25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796)
My Heart’s in the Highlands
My heart’s in the Highlands, my heart is not here;
My heart’s in the Highlands a-chasing the deer;
A-chasing the wild deer, and following the roe,
My heart’s in the Highlands wherever I go.
My Reluctant Highlander is Book #3 in the Highland Games Through Time series and was released June 14th
Book Blurb
Skye Gunn has spent the last five years trying to forget the blacksmith who followed her back to 16th century Scotland, to help fight evil. Sending Jake Jamison home against his will was a disastrous mistake. Stealing his heart was not part of the plan. Jake must share his secret, Skye must give her heart fully, and both must dare to love in the time they have.
More About Nancy Lee Badger
She loves chocolate-chip shortbread, wool plaids wrapped around the trim waist of a Scottish Highlander, the clang of broadswords, and the sound of bagpipes in the air. After growing up in Huntington, New York, and raising two handsome sons in New Hampshire, she moved to North Carolina where she writes full-time. Nancy is a member of Romance Writers of America, Heart of Carolina Romance Writers, Fantasy-Futuristic & Paranormal Romance Writers, Triangle Area Freelancers, and the Celtic Heart Romance Writers.
Connect with Nancy:
Blog * Website * Twitter * Facebook * * Amazon Author page
My Reluctant Highlander is available:
Amazon * Amazon Print * Nook *
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Nancy is giving away 3 prizes (fo a total of 3 different winners) a $15 Amazon or B&N GC; free ebook of my backlist Scottish books; a Dragon Window sticker. Drawing is Aug. 15th
Thank you for hosting me today and allowing me to share my love of all thinks Scottish!
What great background information to your series, Nancy. Best of everything to you. Hope one day to get back to NC and join y’all at another TAF Conference.
This is a great post as to how and why the series came about. Love the books.
Fascinating story, Nancy! And I agree….fall in New England can’t be beat!
What an interesting post, Nancy. I bet the 900 mile trip to participate in the games is well worth it and you get heaps back in return.
I’m also a fan of chocolate chip shortbread and my husband is of Scottish descent. His family came from Glasgow.
Scottish highlander for sure – the kilt – the accent ! 😉 whats not to like !! Love the cover great post its alway snice to know more about an author 😉
What lovely comments! Thanks for reading about my family and my love of all things Scottish.
Great post, Nancy, and very interesting. My sister’s husband was an amateur genealogist whose research helped her get membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution. I believe our ancestors were from Ireland, though!
I love reading about genealogical journeys, Nancy, especially when those journeys take one back to Scottish roots. I often think about the twists and turns of history and life. Imagine if your ancestor, John Bean, had decided not to fight at the Battle of Worchester, or if he’d not been captured and sent here as an indentured servant?
I wonder the same thing about my Norman British ancestor who moved to Suffolk, Virginia and married a Colonial girl. What if he’d never decided to immigrate to the Colonies? I might never have been born (wheesht!)
Thanks for sharing your very interesting family history.
Hi Nancy, you always make interesting reading! Where in “central NH” did you go to college? M. S.