Ceci Giltenan, Author

I’ve said it before, I love happily ever afters. I love books that you close with a happy sigh and want to pick up again someday and reread. The great thing about happily ever afters is that while they occur at the end of a book, inherent in them is that life moving forward is happy and the end is nebulous. Your favorite heroine never grows old, she is surrounded by those she loves and she never loses her hero.

The reality of course is that we do grow old, our loved ones pass away and the pain can be excruciating. One of the fairy godmothers who helped me launch Highland Solution, Sue-Ellen Wellfonder, lost a beloved friend late last night. Her heart is aching and mine is aching for her. For those of us who believe this life is not the end, perhaps there is a small measure of comfort. We will see those we love again. Still, at times like this that promise feels too far away to lessen the immediate grief.

Why do we do this? Why do we choose to love when we know the pain that will accompany inevitable loss? In Highland Solution an elderly priest tells Katherine, “You have learned the surest way to open yourself to hurt is to love and yet you love anyway.”

I think the answer is simple. It’s worth it. Who among us would elect a heartache free existence if to do so meant that we would never feel the joy of love either?

Roads go ever ever on, to the lands beyond the sea,
On a white ship will I sail, watching shadows part for me.
Leaving havens grey with rain, now that years have slipped away,
Leaving friends with gentle pain, as they start another day.

Roads I traveled I must leave, for I’ve turned the final bend’
Weep not empty tears but grieve as the road comes to an end.

It’s so easy not to try,
Let the world go drifting by,
If you never say hello,
You won’t have to say goodbye.

–Written by Glenn Yarbrough
for the 1980 animated movie The Return of the King.

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My dear friends and readers, many of you know that I have a pet African Gray parrot named Stormy. I love him and he is extremely entertaining. African Gray parrots have perhaps the best mimicry skills in the animal kingdom. Not only do they imitate words, they can capture the nuances of human speech patterns. Stormy says “Hallo” in my husband’s light Irish brogue. He hollers “Liam” or “Meghan” in the voice I use to call to my children. Then he answers himself, “Yeah mom,” in one of their voices.

However, these talented parrots imitate more than just speech. Stormy makes the muted crashing sound of the icemaker emptying. He rings like the telephone, then of course he has to answer it. “Hullo…uh huh…uh huh…well OK bye.” The conversation ends with the electronic beep the phone makes when turned off. Sometimes when I am on the phone, he will repeat “Well OK bye. beep,” until I take the hint and get off the phone. He coughs, sneezes, clears his throat, calls the dogs, tells the dogs to “go potty” or “get down” and he even meows. Don’t ask me why, we don’t have cats.

Once, years ago my lovely, sweet, talkative niece was visiting. She was telling me all about the current goings on at her high school (the same one I attended). I was listening to her patiently, because that’s what aunts do. Stormy must have lost all patience because out of the blue he yelled “shut up” (something he almost never says). I thought her mother was going to burst laughing.

Like I said, he is entertaining. Mostly. Occasionally he learns something annoying. “Dammit Stormy, don’t bite” was one of the first. Thankfully over the years he dropped the “Dammit Stormy.” Today, we have entered a fresh hell. The next-door neighbors at our new home have a pair of Chihuahuas that bark a lot. I love dogs and the reality is they bark. The problem is that most of the day these dogs are left outside on the lanai and they bark at everything, for hours. Guess who has perfected their annoying high pitched yap?

It hardly seems possible, but 21 years ago today I was laboring to bring my first child into the world. It had been a long hot summer and I was definitely tired of being pregnant. By early September, when people asked “when is the baby due?” my response was always, “September 25th, but if there is a God the baby will come early.” There is a God who has a powerful sense of humor. My son Liam was born just before midnight, 5 minutes early.

Much later, in the wee hours of the morning, my husband had gone home and I sat in bed holding my sleeping, golden haired, son in my arms. The room was dark except for the small reading lamp over the bed. As tired as I was, I wasn’t ready to let him go to the nursery so I talked softly to him. He wasn’t much of a conversationalist at the time so the chat was pretty one-sided, but I told him about every family member. I told him Uncle Mike (my brother) loved to tease, Uncle Greg plays the guitar, Aunt Janet loves a clean house, Uncle Mike (daddy’s brother) is very soft spoken, Aunt Georgie has an infectious laugh, Aunt Mary is a free spirit, Uncle Chris was studying to be an accountant and Uncle Liam…well he is big and furry and maybe a little scary to a wee lad but with a heart of pure gold. I told him about his cousins, grandparents and great-grandparents.

Although much of the ensuing 21 years are a blur, those first quiet moments alone with him are etched indelibly in my memories. I told him that I hoped he would grow into a kind, compassionate, loving man who would follow his dreams and make a difference in the world. Who knew he would listen so well? Happy Birthday Liam, I am proud of the man you have become.

To my delight, a number of great reviews for Highland Solution have been posted on Amazon. One of my favorites was posted by a reader calling herself “Sandy Milan” and entitled “Dreadful title to a really good book.” She gave it 5 stars (well 4.5 really) and had the following to say:

I’m an absolute sucker for arranged marriage stories and this one is rather nice. I absolutely loved how the h was so loving and good. I only deducted 1/2 star because the H and his mistrust annoyed me. Other than that I thought it very sweet and I liked how the love built between the main characters. I recommend this book and hope there will be a series because some of the secondary characters were very interesting.

I like this review because I don’t know who Sandy is (so there is no bias), she has reviewed nearly 1000 books on Amazon (mostly romance), and her reviews run the gamut from 1 to 5 stars. She uses 1 star and 2 star reviews sparingly and with the exception of her 1 star reviews, she generally has at least something positive to say about books she dislikes. She is also very specific about what she likes and doesn’t like. I can read one of her reviews and have some idea about whether I would have similar issues with the book.

That said, I realize that her comment about the title has merit and I thought I would share how I came up with the title and perhaps why it is less than ideal. Initially, I had a terrible time sorting out a title. So many Highland romance titles are similar and I wanted something unique. I thought about a play on movie titles. For example “The Man Who Loved Kat Dancing” could become “The Highlander Who Loved Kat Ruthven.” Ewwww. Then I thought of solid bold titles like, “The Bourne Identity” (Supremacy, Ultimatum and Legacy).

I liked this idea and tried to think of a single word that could capture the basic plot. The original version of the novel contained a scene between Niall and King David II where Niall asked for financial help. At the time, King David was also pondering how to give Ambrose Ruthven what he wanted (and for which he had already paid the king handsomely).

The king stopped midsentence; he saw a solution. This laird had lands and title, but desperately needed funds. Perhaps if he was paid a sizable dowry he would be willing to relinquish his bride’s lands and title? He wondered briefly whether giving a sickly slow-witted girl in marriage to this rather large Highland laird was a better option for her than sending her to a convent but he didn’t let it prick his conscious for long. This solution would solve both problems and the result would be the eternal gratitude and allegiance of both a powerful Highland laird and a very wealthy Lowland lord.

Thus, the “solution” for the king’s immediate problems rested in an impoverished Highland laird so I landed on the title “The Highland Solution.” My publisher removed “The” from the title and during the first round of edits I eliminated those early scenes, to improve the flow of the book. I see now that by doing so, the meaning of the title became much less obvious.

If you have read the book, did the title confuse you as well?

I love to read romance and have ever since I read my first chaste, sweet, Harlequin as a young teenager in the 70’s. At the time, my favorite books were set in Australia. Then somewhere along the way I chanced across a slightly steamier historical romance and was instantly hooked. The romances I love the most are those with fairy tale overtones. The hero and heroine are generally good, if perhaps flawed, people. These themes are not limited to historical romances. Cinderella, Snow White, and Beauty and the Beast feature prominently in modern romances too. You think not? Both the Twilight series and the 50-Shades series are classic retellings of Beauty and the Beast. Poor, bright girl with a common hard-working father falls in love with a damaged wealthy man who at first blush appears to be a beast. Together they battle those who would destroy him.

Therefore, when I decided to write my own romances, I chose to write the fairy tale style that I love. Katherine is good and kind. She makes the kind of choices that I admire. She reminds me of a very dear friend of mine and she looks a bit like my daughter. Niall is unfailingly loyal and this turns out to be an exploitable virtue. Have you ever done something that you believed was good and right, only to have someone take advantage of your actions for their own gain? If you believed it was the right thing to do, would you still do it again knowing that you might be exploited again? I would and have. In many ways Niall is a bit like me. Obtuse? Slow on the uptake? Perhaps. Still, I would rather have him in my corner.

The bottom line? If you read romance for a pleasant escape and enjoy the fairy tale, I think you will like Highland Solution.

Do you have a favorite romance and if so, what made you love it?

Years ago I heard someone say “Anchovies are a helluva thing, you either like them or you don’t.” I guess this is true for a lot of things. As I expected, I have received my first negative review. Although I knew it would come, I still found it a bit depressing until I looked more closely at it. Many of the things the reader identified as flaws are things that I like about it.

For example, one thing that I particularly hate in novels and in life is when problems are magnified because no one is willing to discuss them. I have been happily married for 22 years, partially because I don’t allow problems to fester. Therefore my hero and heroine are honest, they generally don’t hide things from each other and they admit when they have made a mistake. This works for me in real life :-).

However, in her review the reader states “In this case, every situation, every disagreement gets resolved a bit too easily.” Yes, in fact for the most part, problems are resolved easily in Highland Solution because the characters generally communicate well. I intended for it to be that way because I believe it is one of the keys to happiness. On the other hand, a reviewer on Amazon wrote “The two main characters were strong but showed compassion and goodness throughout the story.” That too was my intention because in my experience strong, good, compassionate people learn how to resolve problems before they become out of hand. So both readers saw the same thing; one liked it, one didn’t.

I suppose it comes down to personal preference. Anchovies are a helluva thing.

The move is complete, well sort of anyway. The house in New Jersey has been sold to an absolutely lovely family and the last truck has been unloaded into our new home in Florida. There is still much to unpack and put away. However, my thoughts are now turning to what I want to do to the new house. Perhaps one of the most challenging rooms (and I use that term loosely) is actually outside. It is a 9 by 14 foot walled, outside room with a screened roof. The floor is weed infested soil with a few wobbly concrete paving slabs on it. My children refer to it as the “Bin Laden” room.

I have no idea what its original purpose was. I don’t think it was ever intended for entertaining, because the entrance to it is through the master bathroom. Some friends have suggested that perhaps previous owners used it for growing illicit substances, nude sunbathing or both. They have dubbed it the “naked marijuana room” or NMR for short.

If you had this room, what would you do with it?

Thanks to everyone who is spreading the word about Highland Solution. The reviews so far have been great and it appears to be selling well.

My husband and I are moving this weekend. Forgive me if you don’t actually see me for a couple days, I’ll be back on Monday.

Ceci

Remembering Heroes.