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Margaret Explains The How and Why of her Warrior Series:

When I first wrote A WARRIOR'S HEART and sold it in 1991, I really didn't know what I had started. I did feel, however, that by giving a conscience to the character who had begun simply as the villain's "yes-man," I had created a potential hero. Fortunately, Tracy Farrell, the senior editor at Harlequin Historicals®, agreed. Unfortunately, by then, we were "stuck" with Urien's somewhat unpleasant-sounding name!

I also had another secondary character in A WARRIOR'S HEART that I thought had "hero potential," the shepherd lad, Hu. Wouldn't it be fun to show Hu going from boy to youth to hero? Again, Tracy agreed, and Hu became the hero of A WARRIOR'S WAY.

In A WARRIOR'S WAY, a rebel band was giving Hu a lot of trouble and into that rebel band I put a young man who realizes that the leader of the band is not fighting for the freedom of Wales, but for his own personal gain. Again, Dafydd was a "villain" with a conscience -- so he became a hero in THE WELSHMAN'S WAY. And his future wife, Madeline, had a brother....

I hope this gives you some idea of how my series "grew."

Connections: In More Detail

A WARRIOR'S HEART introduces the one-eyed Baron Emryss DeLanyea, his cousin Cynric DeLanyea, Cynric's "henchman" Urien Fitzroy and the boy Hu Morgan.

Urien Fitzroy becomes the hero of A WARRIOR'S QUEST. Emryss and Hu, now a youth, also appear in this book. Incidently, Fritha Kendrick, the heroine of A WARRIOR'S QUEST, is the descendent of the villain of THE VIKING and Darcy Fitzroy, a descendent of Urien and Fritha, is the hero of CHINA BLOSSOM.

A now grown-up (and how!) Hu Morgan becomes the hero of A WARRIOR'S WAY. The father of the heroine, Liliana, also appeared briefly in A WARRIOR'S QUEST.

Dafydd, a Welsh rebel who wants to live a "normal" life and the hero of THE WELSHMAN'S WAY, appeared in A WARRIOR'S WAY. He rescues Madeline, the heroine, who has a brother, Roger. Roger, "the Norman's Norman," becomes the hero of THE NORMAN'S HEART.

Roger's overlord, the ambitious Baron DeGuerre, is the hero of THE BARON'S QUEST. He is also a friend of Sir George de Gramercie, the hero of A WARRIOR'S BRIDE. Elegant, sophisticated Sir George also appeared in A WARRIOR'S QUEST and THE BARON'S QUEST.

Also in THE BARON'S QUEST is Bryce Frechette, the brother of the heroine, Gabriella.

Now we begin the second generation.

Bryce is the hero of A WARRIOR'S HONOR and the heroine, Rhiannon, is the daughter of Emryss and Roanna from A WARRIOR'S HEART.

Emryss and his wife, Roanna, have three children in total and are also the foster parents of the villainous Cynric's illegitimate son, Dylan.

Steady, unexcitable Griffydd DeLanyea, the baron's eldest son, is the unexpectedly passionate hero of A WARRIOR'S PASSION. Their impetuous foster son, Dylan, is the hero of THE WELSHMAN'S BRIDE. Unwilling to marry the lord her uncle has selected and whom she has never met, Genevieve Perronet forces a marriage with Dylan.

The third son, Trystan, gets his chance in A WARRIOR'S KISS. He claims to dislike the boisterous, frank Mair and she says the feeling is mutual...but they just can't seem to keep their hands off each other.

In between THE WELSHMAN'S BRIDE and A WARRIOR'S KISS, I wrote an "off shoot" Warrior novella, "The Vagabond Knight," about Lady Katherine DuMonde, who'd fostered the Perronet girls and is basically my idea of a medieval school marm, and Sir Rafe Bracton, recently in the service of Baron Etienne DeGuerre. One of the things I like best about this novella is that the lead characters are not young; they're middle-aged, and both have lived a life with some joy, but also regrets. At Christmas, they both discover hope and renewed joy in life through their love. "The Vagabond Knight" first appeared in the anthology THE BRIDES OF CHRISTMAS, which was originally published as a mass market paperback in 1999. It was reprinted in trade size in 2005. "The Vagabond Knight" is also part of a anthology entitled YULETIDE WEDDINGS published in the United Kingdom in 2006.

Because of the family ties, Emryss and Roanna are also in A WARRIOR'S PASSION, THE WELSHMAN'S BRIDE and A WARRIOR'S DESIRE. Griffydd and Dylan come to Rhiannon's aid in A WARRIOR'S HONOR, and Dylan tries to figure out Griffydd's "problem" in A WARRIOR'S PASSION. Trystan causes problems between Dylan and his wife in THE WELSHMAN'S BRIDE. All works out, of course, and Dylan tries to advise Trystan on his love life in A WARRIOR'S KISS.

THE OVERLORD'S BRIDE features Elizabeth Perronet, the cousin of Genevieve Perronet. Faced with the choice of either marrying Lord Kirkheathe, the man Genevieve didn't want, or staying in a convent the rest of her life, Elizabeth happily chooses the marriage. But then, she hasn't met Lord Kirkheathe.

Next came A WARRIOR'S LADY, featuring Reece Fitzroy, the eldest son of Urien Fitzroy. After following a beautiful young woman from the king's hall, Reece is challenged by her nasty brothers, with the result that the king forces a marriage between Reece and Lady Anne Delasaine.

This book introduces a number of new "second generation" characters: along with Reece Fitzroy, his brothers Gervais and Trevelyan (those familiar with A WARRIOR'S QUEST will recognize those names!). Sir Blaidd Morgan and his brother, Kynan, sons of Hu Morgan, appear as well.

IN THE KING'S SERVICE features Sir Blaidd Morgan. Trevelyan Fitzroy is his sixteen-year-old squire. He adds a bit of teenage trouble when Blaidd is sent on a mission for the king, and winds up falling in love with the daughter of a man who may be a traitor.

If you are wondering why I wrote other books "in between," it was because I can get bored hanging around the same time period. I like to keep myself on my toes by wandering around.

If you've missed books in my Warrior Series, click here to purchase. Not all titles are available, unfortunately.

To help you, here is the list of Warrior books in the order of their release, along with ISBN numbers.

A WARRIOR'S HEART ISBN 0-373-28718-6
A WARRIOR'S QUEST ISBN 0-373-28775-5
A WARRIOR'S WAY ISBN 0-373-28824-7
THE WELSHMAN'S WAYISBN 0-373-28895-6
THE NORMAN'S HEART ISBN 0-373-28911-1
THE BARON'S QUEST ISBN 0-373-28928-6
A WARRIOR'S BRIDEISBN 0-373-28995-2
A WARRIOR'S HONOR ISBN 0-373-29020-9
A WARRIOR'S PASSIONISBN 0-373-29040-3
THE WELSHMAN'S BRIDEISBN 0-373-29059-4
A WARRIOR'S KISSISBN 0-373-29104-3
THE OVERLORD'S BRIDEISBN 0-373-29159-0
A WARRIOR'S LADYISBN 0-373-29223-6
IN THE KING'S SERVICE ISBN 0-373-29275-9