Timeless (46 page)

Would there be much pain when he took her? Or would she finally lose consciousness?  She had only begun to imagine what horrors possibly lay ahead, when the ride came to an end as suddenly as it had begun.

He slowed the horse to a trot and gave an unusual whistle. A moment passed, then she heard an answering whistle rise eerily from the trees to their left. The stallion turned toward the sound. A few paces further on, her captor stopped, eased her to the ground, and moved off.

She felt disoriented, breathless, could barely see in the gloom. Her trembling legs threatened to give way. She reached out to steady herself against a tree, but a rough hand took her own and a masculine voice rumbled from the shadows.
“Och, seo ise duais.”

Laurien knew several languages, but his words were utterly foreign to her. The speaker stepped forward and she found herself looking not at the outlaw, but at a second man, also garbed as a pilgrim. Older, with dark hair and a grizzled beard. The hint of a smile played about his lips as he looked at her.
“Àlainn.”
He glanced toward his companion.
“Iadsan lean, companach?”

She looked to her left and saw the fair-haired outlaw saddling a fresh mount.
“Air chall iadsan ann craobh.”

The older man reached toward her face. She started to back away, but he merely unwound the cloth that gagged her. She spat out a mouthful of damp fuzz and turned on the blond madman.

“Who—What—Who
are
you?” she sputtered. Then she realized that these men, who were clearly not French, might not understand her. “My... family... will... pay,” she said, speaking each word loudly and slowly, pointing to her coin purse to explain her meaning, “a... ransom... for... my... safe... return.”

She hoped that was true.

Both men burst into laughter.

“We speak your language,
demoiselle
,” the blond outlaw replied in lightly accented—and perfectly fluent—French, as he easily swung up on his new horse. “And ’tis not money we want.”

“Our apologies, milady.” The older man also mounted a fresh stallion. “But there is no time for formal introductions. My friend here tells me he lost our pursuers for the moment, but we had best not linger. I am Sir Malcolm MacLennan. And this rogue”—he indicated his friend with a nod—“is Sir Connor of Glenshiel.”

“Of Scotland,” the rogue in question explained, giving her a half bow as he rode toward her. “And as for you, Lady Laurien d’Amboise...” He reached down with one burly arm to lift her onto his saddle again. “For the next fortnight, you are mine.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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SPOILER ALERT

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Dear Reader,

I always love those “Behind the Scenes” bonus features on DVDs. I enjoy learning what inspired the stories, characters, and settings of my favorite movies. I love getting a peek at how the costumes were made, how the sets were built, and what changes were made in the editing room. When I first set out on this digital publishing adventure, I knew I wanted to include a “Behind the Scenes” bonus feature in each of my ebooks.

But I realize that some people dislike “Behind the Scenes” features. For them, hearing the nuts-and-bolts of the creative process ruins their enjoyment of the story. I don’t want to ruin anyone’s enjoyment of my books, so if you’re someone who typically skips “Making of” features on DVDs, it’s probably best to skip this section.

Also, if you haven’t finished the whole book yet, you’ll want to finish before returning to this page. I’m about to give you an inside peek at the creative decisions that went into writing this story—so plot twists may be revealed and characters’ secrets spilled. (There are no spoilers for other books in this series, in case you haven’t read them all yet.)

So... if you’ve skipped ahead to this feature, please click back and finish the book. I totally understand the skipping-ahead impulse, because I’m a chronic skipper-aheader myself. But really, now is the best time to skip back. Before you see any spoilers.

When you’re all done, return to this page. I’ll be waiting right here for you.

Ready? Here we go.

It’s the #1 question readers ask novelists: “Where do you get your ideas?” I wish I had an intriguing, exotic answer, but the truth is: anywhere and everywhere. I don’t remember a time when I
didn’t
have scenes and characters and dialogue dancing around in my head. From the time I was old enough to hold a pencil, I’ve had notebooks and scraps of paper filled with ideas for stories.

The original idea for
Timeless
popped up while I was researching an earlier book, my swashbuckling romance
Silver & Sapphires
. While studying eighteenth-century seafaring, I kept coming across descriptions of explorers who were obsessed with finding the fountain of youth. The search for a magical spring that would bestow eternal health and life had tantalized mankind since the time of the Ancient Greeks. But no explorer ever located it. The “waters of life” remained a legend, a myth.

Which made me wonder,
what if the fountain of youth really existed? What if they just missed it because they were looking in the wrong place?

Four years later, that question, jotted on a scrap of paper, became the first spark of
Timeless.
Another spark came from the hit TV series “Highlander,” about an immortal named Duncan MacLeod who lives secretly among mortals in modern-day Europe and America.

I loved the idea of exploring the problems faced by immortals living in the mortal world. But that subject has been covered thoroughly by other authors and screenwriters. If I was going to write about immortals, I knew I had to give my story a fresh twist.

In my novel, immortality would be conferred not by a gene or a germ or by blood, but by a
place
. An island. A remote island where the fountain of youth really existed. And this gift of eternal health and life would carry a price: remain on the island, and you might live forever—but if you leave, you die.

Then I added another complication: the inhabitants of the island don’t know exactly what it is that makes them immortal.

Now I had a story that intrigued me, and I began building my fantasy world. Instead of setting my book during the Age of Exploration, when the search for the fountain of youth was at its zenith, I moved it back to the Middle Ages. Instead of Spanish or Dutch or English explorers, my islanders would  be Vikings. That allowed me to pair my immortal hero with a favorite character from one of my earlier books: Lady Avril de Varennes, the feisty young widow who vowed in
Forever His
that she would never love again.

I wrote up the proposal for
Timeless
and sent it to my agent in October 1995. She absolutely loved it, and submitted it to my editor at Avon Books.

Who absolutely hated it.

This particular editor (who shall remain nameless) had strong opinions about what a romance novel “should” and “shouldn’t” be—and
Timeless
fell solidly into her “shouldn’t” category. She had no interest in buying a book that blended the fantasy and romance genres. She considered it too risky because “no one else has published anything like this” and “there’s just no market for paranormal romance.” She explained that my proposal reminded her of “a vampire book without the teeth and blood”—and there was nothing she hated more than vampire books.

I can only imagine how that poor editor has suffered in the years since, forced to grit her teeth as vampires rose up to completely take over the publishing industry. I can just imagine her telling her authors, “This would sell better if you made it a paranormal. Can you put a vampire in it?”

But I digress. Back in 1995, she refused to let me write
Timeless
unless I completely removed the paranormal element. Avon, she said, was not looking to be an innovator. She instructed me to turn my book into a “regular” historical romance, a kidnapping story with no hint of fantasy. She was one of the most powerful editors in New York at the time, and she fully expected me to comply.

I refused. Partly because I had already written the book she was describing (
Falcon on the Wind
) and I don’t like to repeat myself. More important, the paranormal element is the heart of
Timeless
. I wasn’t about to just yank it out.

Instead, my agent withdrew the proposal and I wrote
His Forbidden Touch
—a “regular” historical romance with no hint of fantasy—to placate my editor and finish out my Avon contract.

Then my agent sold
Timeless
to Dell for more money than I had ever made in my career.

Even with that contract in hand, I didn’t feel particularly triumphant as I left Avon. After three years of being pummeled by an editor who hated my work, ignored by the marketing department, and generally treated with all the consideration one would show a potted plant, my self-esteem and confidence in my writing were at an all-time low.

In my first phone conversation with my new Dell editor, Laura Cifelli, I tentatively asked if she was at all worried about the fact that
Timeless
was a paranormal romance.

“Shelly,” she said, laughing, “you could write your grocery list on a paper bag and I would buy it.”

It had been so long since I’d heard praise from an editor, I’d almost forgotten what it sounded like. Laura, a former literary agent, had been a fan of my work for years. She actually
liked
the fact that I took risks. She encouraged me to stay true to my voice and be as innovative as I wanted to be.

This new ebook edition of
Timeless
is dedicated to her. Every author, at least once in her career, deserves an editor who truly loves her books. Laura was mine.

For the first time in years, I felt happy about my career and hopeful for the future. Not only did I have Laura in my corner, I also had the support of Dell Executive Editor Marjorie Braman, who had been my editor in my early days at Avon. I was in the best, most secure position an author could possibly enjoy, with
two
editors enthusiastically supporting my work.

Best of all, Dell was rolling out the red carpet for
Timeless
: it would have a lead-title position, an expensive step-back cover, an ambitious print run, and the full promotional support of Dell’s marketing team.

After so many disappointments at Avon, my career had taken a turn for the better. This was the big break I had been hoping for. The brass ring was finally within my reach.

I was looking forward to a long and successful future as a Dell author.

Readers of previous “Behind the Scenes” features know that I always pick a love theme for my hero and heroine when starting a book. It’s one of my little creative rituals and helps me tune in to the characters and their story. For Hauk and Avril, I chose “Hands to Heaven,” the 1988 hit by the band Breathe. It’s a bittersweet song about a couple who need each other and long to stay together, but realize they have to separate.

While writing the original manuscript, I listened to a lot of impressionistic and water-themed music to inspire the landscape of Asgard Island, including Debussy’s “La Mer” and “Prélude a l’après-midi d’un faun,” and Vangelis’s “Oceanic”—especially the tracks “Islands of the Orient” and “Song of the Seas.”

In 2012, when I started work on this new ebook edition, I discovered two indie albums that perfectly evoke the ethereal world of Asgard: “Drift” by Tania Rose and “Vibrant Water” by Thom Brennan. Both are available at Amazon (“Drift” is just 99 cents as I write this) and they’re well worth a download. I played them on a continuous loop while rewriting
Timeless
.

Back when I wrote for New York, I had some epic battles over book titles. So I was pleasantly surprised that Dell never asked me to change the title of
Timeless
. For only the second time in my entire career (the first being
Midnight Raider
), I was allowed to keep my original title.

Ironically, while preparing this new ebook edition, I almost changed the title myself, after I found about a zillion books titled
Timeless
on Amazon. But in the end, I just didn’t have the heart to let it go. I added a sub-title,
The Asgard Warriors
, to help distinguish my
Timeless
from all the others.

You’ll find full-color photos of the original paperback cover (both versions) and the new digital cover on my Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/AuthorShellyThacker

When I signed with Dell in 1997, editor Laura Cifelli asked to see my “wish list” of perks that I had always wanted but never received at Avon. I was a little cynical about it, figuring my list would end up in the shredder, since that was how Avon had always handled my requests. But I had nothing to lose, so I decided to shoot for the moon. I included on my wish list the name of a particular cover artist I had always admired—a major name that Avon had considered too expensive for the likes of me.

To my surprise and joy, Laura hired him to do the cover of
Timeless
. She didn’t promise to try, didn’t explain why it would be difficult, didn’t talk about it at all. She just went out and did it. I was simply stunned. It was beginning to sink in that what I wanted actually
mattered
to the Dell team.

They gave
Timeless
a “step-back” cover, a process that involves creating an inside cover with an illustration of the characters, and a flashier outside cover with the author’s name and title in big foil letters.

The original
Timeless
step-back has Hauk on the inside—painted by my favorite artist—and a storm-tossed Viking ship on the outside, in shades of dark blue with red foil lettering. That cover appeared on all the bookseller websites, on the advance-review galleys, and in my promotional materials. However, it ended up being scrapped just before
Timeless
was published.