My one rule for heroes is that they cannot ever deliberately harm the heroine physically or emotionally. They are men of their time, which means they have ideas about gender roles that might seem boorish at times.īut my heroes are not domineering louts. My heroines, apart from Cassie in Sweet Release ( Kenleigh-Blakewell Family Saga #1), are not proto-feminists, and the heroes are not sensitive metrosexuals concerned with the heroine’s desire for self-realization. I made a conscious choice with my historicals, and especially from Ride the Fire ( Kenleigh-Blakewell Family Saga #3) and onward with the MacKinnon’s Rangers books to write characters that were unapologetically authentic for their time. You’ll want to take a look at the entire interview but here are a few of her comments on this particular subject:

Pamela and I discussed what I refer to as “politically correct historicals” in her recent AudioGals interview. Surrender doesn’t fall into that category. I have tired of historical romance the past few years as one seems much like the next with 21 st century sensibilities. Fortunately Kaleo Griffith understands his character and I heard the Iain I remembered from the print version with each spoken line. Yes, he’s a dauntless hero talented in leading men and defending others and he doesn’t hesitate to do so.

He’s a character written true to his time when men tended to dominate the decision making process and needed to protect the women in their lives. Iain Mackinnon is definitely what one would call an alpha hero with an edge but that statement carries no negative connotation. Besides a captivating romance, you’ll find riveting action enriched by the era’s political environment. Pamela Clare writes historical romance with great detail and historical accuracy. To get a picture in your head, envision Daniel Day Lewis in The Last of the Mohicans (a movie I have watched at least a dozen times over the years).

Surrender is set during the French and Indian War, a period seldom seen in romance. I had a feeling it would be narrated by Kaleo Griffith, the narrator of the I-Team series, and it is.

Oh, I have enjoyed her romantic suspense I-Team series (released in audio 2012-13) but discovering that her historical Mackinnon’s Rangers series was to be released in audio, gave me one of those perfectly ecstatic audio moments. When I started wishing for Pamela Clare in audio format back in 2009 during my first year of writing Speaking of Audiobooks, Surrender was at the very top of my Clare wish list. When I read Surrender upon its release in 2006, I not only graded it an A+, I added hero Iain Mackinnon to the top of my favorite heroes list and I mean the very top.

Surrender by Pamela Clare