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Harlequin Romance USA & Canada
July 2007
Mills & Boon Romance UK & Ireland
July 2007
Harlequin Sweet Australia & NZ
August 2007
Check out the Behind the Scenes story of Bride Of The Emerald Isle... Read What The Reviewers have to Say about Bride Of The Emerald Isle...
NOMINATED:
EPPIE AWARD Finalist for Best Contemporary Romance
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"Bride Of The Emerald Isle"
On the Irish Isle of Valentia wisps of cloud hang low in the air, and a rugged figure appears through the hazy mist - the man that Keelin O'Donnell has been searching for without ever realising it.
Garrett Kincaid can help beautiful stranger Keelin unlock the secrets of her past. But he can't give her his heart - he knows Keelin's life lies elsewhere.
Only the essence of the Emerald Isle is capturing Keelin, drawing her in and giving her the courage to claim a future. A future that belongs to this man.
For more books like this one go to my Harlequin Romance page
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“Wait!” Her hand was on the gate when he caught up with her, his hand on her shoulder, forcing her round to look at him. And when she did she wasn’t able to hide the tears that streamed down her face. Garrett swore. She turned away again, fighting with the latch on the gate, “I have to get out of here,” She shook the gate again as her voice cracked, “What sort of a damn stupid gate is this for crying out loud!” He watched her struggling, a battle waging inside him between what propriety dictated he should do and what she might need most in that moment. When her breath caught on a sob, he frowned hard; decision made, “Leave it Keelin. Stop,” He took a deep breath and stepped towards her, “Come here.” And even though it was entirely inappropriate with someone he had barely met, he drew her into his arms, “I can’t let you go running off in this state.” She struggled in his arms, “It’s not your problem.” “Maybe not, but if you run in the wrong direction and fall off the Island, then I’ll feel responsible.” She struggled again, “Let me go Garrett.” “No. Just give yourself a minute.” When she continued struggling, he spread his feet wider to support them both, even though she was so small in his arms. Then he waited. His arms firm around her waist until she went still, and sobbed against his chest, directly above his heart; so that the sound vibrated through him. After a moment she seemed to soften, and Garrett felt his shoulders relax, knowing she wasn’t going to fight with him anymore. So he waited again, his arms moving so that he could smooth his hands over her back like he was soothing a wounded animal, trying to gain trust. Her voice was muffled but stronger when she spoke, “Well this is a first.” “Crying?” He tilted his chin down to study the top of her head as he attempted to inject a little humour, “Don’t all women do that?” “No,” She lifted her head back a little so that her voice was clearer, “I mastered that one the first time I saw a Lassie film. I’ve just never bawled all over someone within twenty minutes of meeting them.” “You lost your Mother. You have every right to cry. I just happen to be here, that’s all.” She stiffened in his arms again, then drew back, stepping away from him as she swiped at her cheeks with her palms, “I really shouldn’t have come here, I almost didn’t make the trip. And now I know I shouldn’t have. This was a bad idea.” Garrett watched as she shook her head, his arms suddenly feeling redundant at his sides. So he shoved his hands into his pockets, “I take it Dermot knew her?” “A long time ago.” “Well he obviously never forgot her.” Keelin flashed a brief smile his way, “My Mother had that effect on people. Once met, never forgotten.” “Then I guess he was right when he said you were like her.” Blue eyes widened as she shot him another glance, then she frowned and looked away, “I better get back to the Hotel.” “I’ll drive you back.” “That’s not necessary.” “You already know how much of a stretch of the legs it is to get back there. Don’t be daft.” “The walk will do me good.” “Tough.” She was still frowning when she looked back at him, the city-girl confident façade back in place, “Are you always this bloody bossy?” “Yep.” He flashed a half-smile at her, “You’ll get used to it. Most people do, given time.” “I won’t be here long enough to get used to it.” “Well then consider this a one shot deal.” While she opened her mouth to answer that he took his hands out of his pockets and pointed a long finger at her, “Don’t move and I’ll go get my keys.” “I can walk.” “You could try. But I’ll catch up with you in about a minute flat. So you may just think of this as a way of getting rid of me sooner. Otherwise I’m going to wind down the window and annoy you the whole way back. And I’m better at annoying than I am at bossy.” By the time he had her seated in the passenger seat of his Range Rover, still scowling at him, Dermot had reappeared. He tapped on Keelin’s window, and Garrett hit the switch to wind it down. “It took me a minute to find them, I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.” Another bunch of letters were handed through the window and Keelin looked down at them as she took them from his hands, her face then rising; brows lifting in question. Dermot smiled sadly, “Call me sentimental if you like, but I kept hers too. You should have them. So you can see both sides of the story.” Keelin’s voice was a low whisper, “Thank you.” A hand came through the window and squeezed her shoulder, “Come back for Dinner later. Garrett will come down and get you. I’d like to get a chance to know Breige’s daughter, if that’s alright with you?” Garrett didn’t realize he was holding his breath until she nodded. Then he smiled inwardly as he started up the engine and turned out onto the laneway. “Told you he’d be back. Now you’ll have a chance to get used to me being bossy.” “I doubt one meal will do it.” “Well then maybe I’ll have to get Dermot to ask you to stay longer. You like him better than me.” She rewarded him with a small, mischievous smile, “He’s better looking than you.” Garrett shook his head as he looked out the windscreen, “Nah, he’s not.” When she didn’t argue his smile made it onto his face as he gave in to a sudden pleasure that her mood had brightened. What man was ever comfortable with a crying woman after all? As they got closer to Knightstown he glanced across at her, where she held the bundle of letters hugged against her lap. Garrett wanted to know the story behind those letters. And not just because of the mystery that surrounded her Mother and his Father. He needed to know why it was that a second generation of Kincaid’s was suddenly so fascinated by a second generation of O’Donnell’s. Even though the second generation of Kincaid’s had no business being fascinated by a woman who came from the City. A woman who had no place on an island like Valentia. The two were like oil and water, Garrett knew. Because he’d already been badly burned once before. So, the way he saw it, once his fascination waned with a little taste of familiarity, he could let it go. He wasn’t about to be burned twice. No matter how beautiful Keelin O’Donnell was, or how drawn he’d been to hold her and offer her comfort. No. He wouldn’t put himself through it again. Casual and uninvolved worked much better for him these days if he felt the need for a female on his arm. And even if he was stupid enough to be tempted by anything more, he had responsibility for more than his own welfare now. He had Terri’s to consider too. And she was more important to him than anything else ever could be again. Fascination, or no fascination.
From "Bride Of The Emerald Isle" by Trish Wylie
Bride Of The Emerald Isle,
with it's wistful setting of Valentia Island, stemmed from the eight
month tour I took of Ireland - with
It was nearing the end of the
eight months when we stayed on Valentia - a tiny island off the coast of
County Kerry. And I have a lot to thank that island for...It was the
first place where I wanted to write again after my long break. If you ever get a
chance to visit there, you'll understand why - it's just so very, very
beautiful! I spent a lot of time thinking and pondering and looking back on my
life - because it's the kind of place that makes you do that - and I j
So when I was looking for a new plot and a new setting, Valentia called to me again. And I'm so very glad it did, because there was just something about this book - a little piece of magic if you like - but I felt it all the way through. And that must have shown, because it sailed through without so much as a single word of revision...
Garrett and Keelin are two people fated to meet. In that almost out-dated notion of there being someone-out-there-for-everyone sense. I'm a believer in that notion, old fashioned romantic that I am, so I guess that means there's a lot of me in this book...
But these are also very modern day characters,
like my wee self, so both of them were going to have a tough time believing in
that old fashioned theory. So Bride Of The Emerald Isle became a
story abou
And yes, you can thank the Pride & Prejudice movie for the inspiration behind Garrett's first entrance through the mist...
Locations in this book:
And every little detail I mention through the
story is real - the narrow roads, the ferry that takes people there from
Caherciveen so they can
avoid the drive down the coast to the one little bridge that attaches it to the
mainland, that one shop in Knigh
The realism even runs all the way down to the
lighthouse I'm told you'll find on the cover. I
Soundtrack playing:
The island demanded it I'm afraid. And if that's just too twee for some people then I make no apologies... especially when you listen to the track 'Home In The Heartland'...
Yes, this was just one of those books steeped in Irish-ness.
You can order a copy of the album here if you're one of the very few left on the planet that doesn't already have it in one form or another... Scroll down and click on Home In The Heartland for a snippet...
*All Photographs are used to give a visible representation of the Authors 'view' and are in no way representative of the people or places in real life beyond the realms of the Authors imagination.
"On her way to meet the man she hopes is her biological father, art appraiser Keelin O'Donnell meets dairy farmer Garrett Kincaid in the mist. It's a magical moment, but Keelin doesn't believe in love at first sight. Garrett's a casualty of love too, and he isn't any happier about their budding attraction than Keelin is -- but there's no escaping it, even when Keelin leaves. Facing that fact, however, takes both of them quite a while! Trish Wylie's Bride of the Emerald Isle (4.5) is charming, witty and has a beautiful, unusual setting. It also has fantastic characters -- particularly the wounded but wonderful Garrett." Catherine Witmer - Romantic Times "...let me just tell you boys and girls....this is a HECK of a story. Rarely have I met a hero and heroine so well matched. Garrett is so sigh-worthy...the first scene is very Matthew McFadyen....and Keelin is a delight. As an end note: bring tissues!" Donna Alward - Romance Author "With its cast of memorable characters, marvellously evoked setting and heart-warming emotional drama, Bride of the Emerald Isle is another outstanding romantic novel written by Trish Wylie, a writer whose novels never fail to charm, delight and entrance." Julie Bonello - Cataromance "There was an interesting undercurrent of fate in this book. Some people seem to be destined to be together. It seemed that fate had its eye on Keelin and Garrett. This was such a charming story with great characters that I couldn’t help but fall in love with the lot of them." Scoobie - A Canadian Reader - Eharlequin 10,000 Book Challenge Blog
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ust
had to write. It was calling to me...
t
love at first sight, and whether or not that can still happen these days...
In fact the majority of the story runs roughly over the space of about ten
days... And yet had a real sense of being timeless... And with the Love
Letters (which was the working title) side plot that brought Keelin to
the island in the first place, it had the feel of a much bigger book - it did
occur to me that if I'd investigated that side of the story a little more the
book could have been a heck of a lot longer. But at the end of the day it was
Garrett and Keelin's story...
From
start to finish everything in this book is centred on the location. Without
Valentia Island there wouldn't even be a Bride Of The Emerald Isle...
I did mention how beautiful it is, didn't I???
tstown
where barely more than a handful of people can fit at one time... It's all there. This is no
figment of my imagination - it's not a fictional village like Killyduff...
It was, quite simply, calling out for a love story. I only hope the story does
it justice...
haven't
seen it yet but I know it's on there. How do I know? Well, not only do I
know there really is a lighthouse there on Valentia, my gorgeous editor
now knows too - because she surfed the web for Valentia Island and then
sent all the details to the art department... You gotta love an editor that goes
that extra mile! I have her to thank for adding to the magic of this book. She
even got the title bang on. Bride Of The Emerald Isle is a dream
of a title!!!
There was only ever going to be one soundtrack for Bride Of The Emerald
Isle and that was Riverdance...