By Promise Made

      Trained to protect her queen at all costs, Katherine Payne can show no mercy to the handsome messenger, Hugh Cullane, despite the way his stolen kiss unsettles her single-minded sense of duty. Trapped between the English and Scottish armies, she must escape with four-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots. Hugh joins her as they are chased by men determined to murder the young queen in their own quest for power. By promise made they will keep her alive!

Wild Women Authors is pleased to welcome back historical romance author Susan Leigh Furlong and Katherine Payne from Susan’s recent release out of the Wild Rose Press, By Promise Made. Kit will go first.

Please tell us a bit about yourself, Katherine. “People who know me well call me ‘Kit.’ Orphaned as a baby, I was left on the steps of the convent with my dowry in my blanket. The church raised me until I was sixteen when, in exchange for my dowry and his support of the church, I was wed to a man I had never met. Four years later, now a widow, with no money and no future, Captain Rand took me to train as the guardian for the young queen, Mary of Scotland, at the request of her father, James V.  Rand trained me well, and I became the child’s last line of defense. One of the hardest decisions I had to make was when Hugh Cullane came with yet another betrothal request from the son of English King Henry VIII, but, to save my queen from a forced marriage, I ordered him beheaded and his head sent back to England in a jar.”

Tell us a little about Hugh Cullane. “Hugh, a Scot by birth, left his home in the southern Highlands to live as a gambler and rogue in London. He made a misplaced wager of the dagger his father gave him, resulting in the accidental death of the man who won it. Hugh, found guilty of murder, will hang until a pardon from young King Edward offers him his freedom in return for delivering a betrothal message. Hugh, a man used to winning at dice and with the ladies, is dumbfounded when I don’t fall into his arms and grant his every wish. I do have to admit that his stolen kiss made me regret the decision to behead him, but my duty to Queen Mary gave me no choice.”

What kind of a man is Hugh? “Hugh is a fine-looking man with auburn hair, beige eyes that twinkle, and a smile that brightens any day. He is also quick-witted and charming, and even though I saw all these qualities, I could not let them cloud my judgement about the danger whoever sent him presented to the queen. I later learned of his kindness and courage, qualities he often tried to hide, but I still could not trust anyone when it came to defending my queen.”

When did Hugh realize he was in love with you? “I think he had an initial attraction to me when he stole a kiss in the forest before he knew who I was, but, having never been in love, it took him until he saw me in danger to realize he wanted to fight beside me. I told him my duty could not allow me to fall in love, but Hugh said he would wait, and he did, until I recognized that I needed and wanted him as much as he did me.”

We understand life was not always easy in Scotland in the 1500’s. “While living in the queen’s quarters made for an easier life than most people of the time had, the dangers facing Mary were staggering. She could never live a peaceful life when governments, kings, and armies fought for control over her. Her life was not her own, and I would never wish being queen on anyone.”

We learned you met some unusual characters. Tells us about them. “While on the road escaping Mary’s own Scottish regent, the Earl of Arran, we met the Countryside Players, a traveling acting troupe. In these times people shunned actors, viewing them as lower than snails, but we found the five players to be clever, generous, and kind. They took us in, disguised us with their costumes, and risked their own lives to protect us. The most daring of their plots was when, during their Feast of Fools presentation for the Earl himself, they rescued Hugh from the pillory and me from a jail cell. We escaped in their wagon by posing as Rat Catchers, another shunned, but much needed profession of the times.

Kit, if you could go back and change your story, how would you do it? The only thing I would change would be for me to recognize and accept sooner how much I cared for Hugh and him for me. I kept pushing him away, believing that to do my duty, I had to keep Hugh out of my life. It had always been difficult for me to trust anyone but myself until I finally put my trust in Hugh, and it became the best decision I ever made.

Now it’s time for Susan to answer questions.

What influenced you to become a writer of historical fiction? “I have always been fascinated by how people lived years ago. I’m not sure if I could have endured how difficult their lives were, but I would love to hear their stories. My favorite books are historical ones. As a child I read Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink over and over. It’s a story of a girl growing up in the 1860’s and won a Newberry in 1936. I loved Tom Sawyer and all the little orange-covered biographies in the series called Childhood of Famous People. The past must be escapism for me.”

Do your books require a lot of research? “Yes, they do. I love to do the research even though old books and records make me sneeze. The invention of Google has improved my allergies! I try to be as accurate as I can and build my fictional story around actual events. By Promise Made  is built around the war waged by King Henry VIII in an attempt to force four-year-old Mary to wed his nine-year-old son, Edward. The last battle of this so-called ‘Rough Wooing’ was at Pinkie Cleagh. Cleagh is Gaelic for ‘valley, but why ‘Pinkie’ isn’t known. As soon as I came across the name ‘Pinkie’ I had to find out more about it. The battle ended in disaster for the Scots, but they avoided giving Mary to an English husband by sending her to France to marry the five-year-old Dauphin. It sounds unbelievable, but it is all true.”

What things in your real life do you bring to your writing? “Everything I write always seems to eventually include a loving family. I often don’t start out that way, but an extended family always seems to factor itself in. In By Promise Made, Mary, Kit, Hugh, and the Countryside Players form an unusual, but strong family bond. Secondary characters are almost always children, children who need protection or a family of their own.”

What books are in your TBR pile? “Right now I have twelve books waiting on my Kindle – That’s nothing compared to my sister who has fifty – It must be a family trait! Right now I am trying to read new releases from my publisher, The Wild Rose Press, and write reviews for Amazon and Goodreads. I enjoy seeing what other new authors write about. I also have the last  two books of the twelve book Poldark series that I borrowed from a friend to finish.”

Tell us about your publisher. “By Promise Made is my second book published by The Wild Rose Press. I have continued to work with my editor, Eilidh MacKenzie, who specializes in Scottish novels, and have found her invaluable in ensuring the quality of my writing and research. I also appreciate how Wild Rose keeps authors aware of changes, concerns, and questions about publishing. The pandemic shut down the printing for a time, but since the staff works mostly from home, Wild Rose continued to prepare books and has now resumed a schedule of releasing novels.”

Anything on the horizon? “By Promise Made is a stand-alone book about a grown-up Hugh who was the orphaned child, adopted by Robin Cullane, the hero of my first book, Steadfast Will I Be.  I am also working on a third book, as yet untitled, about another member of the Cullane family, Leena, Hugh’s younger sister. I love this era and this family, and since Robin and Suannoch Cullane have eight children and many grandchildren, I hope to spend time with them for a while longer.”