I was on a CamCat interview panel with the skilled romance author Roma Cordon, and she was kind enough to answer some questions for me about her book, Bewitching a Highlander, which has just won the silver medal in the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards. Roma has been an avid reader of romance novels since she was young, and after reading Bewitching a Highlander, I feel confident she is well on her way to mastering the craft. What a twisty and steamy read!
1. First of all, as of this writing, your novel Bewitching a Highlander has been announced as a finalist for the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards. Congratulations! Do you have any stories you can share about how you felt when you learned you were a finalist?
When I got the email from CamCatBooks, I was in shock. I had to read the email twice. Then, utter disbelief hit me. And I remember smiling the biggest smile ever. I even cried when I told my husband. He was so happy and excited he immediately booked us a fancy dinner to celebrate.
I just learned Bewitching a Highlander is a silver winner! I am grateful and thankful to both CamCatBooks and IBPA, beyond what mere words could ever convey.
2. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? What kinds of things did you start out writing? Is Bewitching a Highlander your first novel?
I wrote a short story in high school that the teacher read to the whole class. I don’t remember the teacher’s name but thank God for that teacher. He validated me, somehow. Then when I was an undergraduate, I wrote a poem that got published in the university’s newspaper, and I think that’s when I knew.
Bewitching a Highlander is my first published novel. The first novel I ever wrote is still gathering dust in my kitchen drawer, where I think it will remain.
3. In Bewitching a Highlander, your descriptions of 18th century Scotland are very evocative and feel so authentic. What inspired you to write about this time period and location? Tell us about your research process.
About seven years ago my husband and I visited Scotland. We toured castles like Dunvegan Castle and Eilean Donan Castle in the Highlands. We listened to the tour guides’ stories about long ago witches and fairies, and I was so inspired I returned home and started researching. I was hooked. When I found out Scotland repealed the Witchcraft Act in 1735, the time period sort of fell into place. The story of Breena, the main character in Bewitching a Highlander slowly started to take shape in my head. Bewitching a Highlander starts a few years after, in 1747.
My research process involved reading lots of books on witchcraft, and on the Georgian period. Some of these books can be found on the Resource Tab of romacordon.com; books by Scott Cunningham, Marion Weinstein, Ann-Marie Gallagher, Lady Henrietta Spencer Churchill, etc. I also spoke to tour guides and librarians on our second trip to Scotland. And where would we be today without Wikipedia and Google.
4. The steamy tension between the main characters, Breena, and Egan, is palpable. How did you get your inspiration for these two? Writing these scenes between them, with the verbal sparring, must have been fun. Any tips on writing these kinds of scenes?
Perhaps after reading romance novels for over three decades, something stuck. But what I found most useful during my writing process was following Cheryl St. John’s Writing with Emotion Tension and Conflict. I also found dialogue books by James Scott Bell particularly useful.
5. Tell us about how Breena’s “natural” form of witchcraft evolved, and what you hope your readers will think about witchcraft after reading Bewitching a Highlander.
In Breena’s world, and in the world of Bewitching a Highlander, witches are like everyone else. There are good witches and there are bad witches, just like there are good people and bad people in the world. It’s not about blood sacrifices, hexes, and satanic worship. In fact, Breena would consider practitioners of the latter to be radicals.
Breena’s natural form of witchery involves reverence for mother nature, and learning all about medicinal plants, herbs, and trees, (even poisonous ones) and using her knowledge to help and heal others. Breena also has a special relationship with her grandmother, which you can read all about in Bewitching a Highlander.
6. I read that you’re working on a sequel to Bewitching a Highlander. Can you share anything about the characters or when it will be released?
Bewitching a Highlander was book one of the Scottish Highland Warriors series, and I am currently working on the manuscript for book two.
Book two is the story of Phoebe Dunbar (The sister of Egan Dunbar from book one), and her love interest. This is the story of Phoebe Dunbar’s secret and very dangerous job of being a rebel spy, and her childhood friend who is now a British army captain. Egan Dunbar returns in book two. And let’s just say Egan won’t be too happy when he finds his sister and her British army captain in a very compromising situation.
I am not sure when book two will be released since it’s still in manuscript form.
Bewitching a Highlander will be released in paperback on June 6, 2023. Where can people buy it?
Readers can find Bewitching a Highlander at CamCatBooks, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or wherever fine books are sold.
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, Roma! I hope we can meet in person one day. And I wanted to add that my novel with CamCat, Ladies’ Day, was in a drawer for awhile but look what happened with it - so don’t give up on those earlier efforts!