Hers to Love by Sherrinda Ketchersid

This month Sherrinda Ketchersid’s newest book released, and I’m so excited to share the news with you. Sherrinda Ketchersid is a lover of stories with happily-ever-after endings. Whether set in the past or present, romance is what she writes and where her dreams reside. She resides in Dallas, Texas with her preacher husband and scruffy dog, Phineas.

Welcome, Sherrinda!

Thanks so much for having me on the blog today! I thought I’d share a little history behind my new book, Hers to Love. The story is set in the early 1200’s in the Scottish Highlands. I was so excited to dig into research, but quickly learned that there is little written history in early medieval Scotland. I soon realized that there weren’t even many castles that had been built in the time period of my story.

While King David of Scotland began inviting Normans into Scotland in the middle 1100’s, these landowners build wooden “castles”, motte and bailey style (wooden structures with a moat). And only the very wealthy could build these. Large Scottish clans began to build castles, but it wasn’t until the late 1300’s that they began to really populate the landscape.

Alas, I so wanted to write a story with a castle. It seems so much more romantic, right? But I stayed true to history and put my hero, Adam MacIntosh, laird of a small clan, into a remodeled blackhouse. What’s a blackhouse, you ask? It is a long structure that is divided in two halves. The family lived and cooked in one half, while the livestock stayed in the other half. Yuck, right? I decided to have Adam remodel the house and get the livestock out BEFORE the story begins. I made it more of a manor house, with a large hall for eating and entertaining, more bedrooms, and a kitchen. Much more civilized, to be sure.

Another historical aspect I used in my story was the rule about divorce. I found out that the church during that time period (at least in England) did not allow divorce except for a few reasons. None of the reasons included unfaithfulness. Adam’s wife, Elspeth, betrays Adam and runs away, so when Fiona happens upon the scene, he is still married. I quickly take care of this issue in the story…this is a Christian story after all, but I can’t tell you what I did, or else it will give the plot away. Needless to say, the church’s rules in medieval times worked to my advantage to create tension and conflict.

Conflict and tension always make for a better story. I’m sure Jackie will agree—you definitely need good tension in cozy mysteries!

Thanks again for hosting me!

Sherrinda, thanks so much stopping by and sharing.

Back Cover Copy:

Fiona McGowan, a beautiful Scottish widow without hope for a family of her own, travels to St. Mary’s Convent to become a nun. In route she is kidnapped by handsome Highlander Adam MacIntosh in a case of mistaken identity. Adam, laird of the MacIntosh clan, is attempting to free his brother held captive by the rival Fergus clan. The failure of his plan leaves him reeling with betrayal, death, and a wee babe in sore need of a healer.

Though forced to delay her vows, Fiona’s anger and distrust thaws as rising tensions within Adam’s clan threaten to ignite an uprising. She chooses to aid her noble but beleaguered captor in his quest to restore peace among his Highland clan. But as the two learn to trust each other, the question remains: Can they move beyond the hurts of their past, or will the past be their undoing?

Sherrinda enjoys connecting with readers. Here’s where you can reach her.

You can find with Sherrinda via her website at www.sherrinda.com. Connect with her on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Bookbub, Goodreads, and Amazon. Subscribe to her monthly newsletter HERE and receive the prequel novelette to her medieval series.