By Debby Lee
My character, Heather Duncan is a Scottish lass who makes her home in the rugged wilderness of present day Wyoming with her fur trapping father. She was inspired by Claire from The Outlander series. While Claire isn’t from Scotland, Heather is proud of her heritage. Both Heather and Claire are trained and highly skilled healers.
For fun, I added traits of my paternal grandmother, like resourcefulness and a whole lot of spunk. Heather must make do with few items and learn to stretch her meager food supply. She also faces harsh weather conditions and dwell in close proximity of wild animals. And Heather has red hair, like my grandmother. I hadn’t yet created a heroine with ginger hair, so I thought the time was right to do so. Although my grandmother had brown eyes, I chose to make Heather’s green.
I did a lot of research on the history of medicine and learned more about chloroform than I ever cared to know. I also took a class about herbal medicine which was really enjoyable. There are a great number of medicinal plants in the world, some of which I’d never heard of before. Most people have heard of Pennyroyal and Belladonna, and their affects, but who knew apple cider vinegar could cure a fever. I certainly didn’t. By the way, all of these medicines, and more, are mentioned in my story.
Besides being headstrong, I added other qualities to Heather, like compassion for people and animals, to help balance her personality. When caring for humans, compassion should be expected, but Heather extends that to animals to an extent that is both humorous but not without consequence.
Heather is bolder than any other heroine I’ve ever written. Determined to pay off her father’s debt to the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, she heads into the wilderness to trap animals herself. Lucky for her, she is aided by the handsome French fur trapper Louie Renault.
In the beginning Heather is reluctant about accepting Louie’s help in trapping beavers, mink, and foxes, but his patience and tenderness soon melt her heart, like a warm sun
during the spring thaw. I hope you enjoy reading about Heather and Louie in my novella, Along the Yellowstone River in the MISSadventure Brides Romance Collection.
MISSAdventure Brides Collection
Love Is One of Life’s Greatest Adventures
Seven daring damsels don’t let the norms of their eras hold them back. Along the way these women attract the attention of men who admire their bravery and determination, but will they let love grow out of the adventures?
The MISSAdventure Brides Collection would make a wonderful Christmas present!
The Northwest Christian Writers and Romance Writers of America are two organizations Debby enjoys being a part of. Her fifth novella collection with Barbour Publishing releases in December 2018. The Courageous Brides and Mountain Christmas Brides both made the ECPA Bestsellers list. She is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steven Laube Literary Agency.
A self-professed nature lover, Debby feels like a hippie child who wasn’t born soon enough to attend Woodstock. She wishes she could run barefoot all year long, but often does when weather permits. During football season Debby cheers on the Seattle Seahawks with other devoted fans. She’s also filled with wanderlust and dreams of traveling the world someday.
For more information on Debby Lee visit her website at booksbydebbylee.com
