Mine Is the Night_ A Novel - Liz Curtis Higgs [185]
As for Charbon, I’d no sooner decided the admiral needed a cat than a charcoal gray kitty appeared at our door, desperate for a new home. He found one. Naturally we named him Jack. His fur is like velvet, his purr is prodigious, and Jack the Cat has stolen my heart more thoroughly than any hero ever could. (Cat lovers will find photos on my Web site.)
I am ever grateful for the fine editors who guided me through the long process of bringing this novel to the printed page: Laura Barker, Carol Bartley, Danelle McCafferty, and Sara Fortenberry, you are precious beyond words. I’m also grateful for my dear husband, Bill Higgs, who combed the last draft for grammar glitches and stray typos, and for our talented son, Matt Higgs, who put his B.A. in psychology to fine use, analyzing the words, actions, and motivations of my characters.
Of course, I could never do what I do without readers like you! I’d love to send you my free e-newsletter, O Gentle Reader! e-mailed twice a year. To sign up, just pop on my Web site: www.LizCurtisHiggs.com. And if you’d like free autographed bookplates for any of my novels, simply contact me through my Web site or by mail:
Liz Curtis Higgs
P.O. Box 43577
Louisville, KY 40253-0577
I hope you’ll also visit my Facebook page or follow me on Twitter—two more fun ways to stay connected.
How I’ve loved roaming the hills and glens of Scotland with you: first in Galloway with Thorn in My Heart, Fair Is the Rose, and Whence Came a Prince; then on the Isle of Arran with Grace in Thine Eyes; next in Edinburgh with Here Burns My Candle; and finally in the Borderland with Mine Is the Night.
I so look forward to our next grand adventure together. Until then, you truly are a blissin!
Readers Guide
A woman’s whole life
is a history of the affections.
The heart is her world.
WASHINGTON IRVING
Marjory and Elisabeth Kerr begin their new life in Selkirk as penniless widows, but they don’t arrive empty-handed. What practical skills, emotional strengths, and spiritual gifts does each woman bring with her? Even so equipped they still have a great deal more to learn about life and love. How does Marjory’s character grow from first page to last? And Elisabeth’s? Of the two women, which is your favorite, and why?
Anne Kerr is less than happy to find two long-lost relatives at her door requiring food and lodging. How would you handle the situation if you were Cousin Anne? It appears she has lived alone most of her adult life. In what ways might that have shaped her character? Elisabeth observes, “One moment Anne seemed content to be unwed, and the next she was miserable.” If you are, or have been, a single adult, what’s your take on the joys and challenges of singleness?
Knowing that Here Burns My Candle and Mine Is the Night are based on the biblical story of Ruth, readers have been eager to meet our Scottish counterpart for the heroic Boaz. Yet this novel has at least three heroes, including Michael Dalgliesh, Neil Gibson, and Lord Jack Buchanan. What heroic qualities do these good men possess? Wealth and title aside, which of the three do you find the most appealing, and why?
When Marjory presents Lord John’s magnifying glass to Anne, their relationship takes a significant step forward. What unexpected gift have you given or received that deepened your relationship with someone? Marjory is able to share with Elisabeth the chapbook that once belonged to Donald, yet she cannot part with Andrew’s toy soldier. How would you explain the difference from Marjory’s viewpoint? What possession could you never part with under any circumstances, and why?
Novelists add children and animals