For those of you who don't know what that is, it is a line of books that are basically fantasy and romance combined in a perfect blend for guaranteed reading pleasure. Check out her website for more specifics on her books
http://www.karenmoning.com/index.html
Much like Phillipa Gregory nurtured my love for all things Tudor, Karen Marie Moning showed me a love for the highlands I never even knew I had. Every time I read her books I was transported to a different world one where magic was possible, where men where men who took care of their women without making them seem subservient. They weren't looking for someone to just look pretty and meekly bear them children, they wanted a true partner. In these stories the women fought just as hard as the men (albeit not in actual hand to hand combat but once you read a description of these men you wouldn't want to try fighting them either). Here was an ancient world where women were honored and adored and seen as equals, yet still respected for their differences. It was understood that women stayed home with the kids and helped around the house while the men went out fighting, not because the women were subservient or that was "their place" but because that was where their talents were best at. I don't care how great of a fighter you are as a women if you are up against a man who is over 6 feet tall and pure muscle and all you have to fight with is a sword well I can tell you that 9 times out of 10 that woman will probably lose.
Granted I am sure this is not how it was in every household and that the Catholic church was at work in this area so I am sure they limited a lot of women's freedoms but the images and the women that she portrays are just amazing.
The great thing about books based in this time is that they all seem to show the same trend. The same community acceptance of strong, feisty, independent women.
Fast forward a few years, and while I still own all of the Highland series and still re-read them at least once a year whenever I am running low on new options, I am not nearly as obsessed with the Scottish culture as I was. There was a brief summer when my obsession was renewed due to a background search which showed that most of my ancestry is Scottish and Irish from my dad's side. That was not really new or shocking information but still it was kind of cool and nice to learn that the hunk of my dreams is not that different than me.
But eventually I moved on, concentrated on other things, and my dream of a Scottish Highlander Husband became a tiny memory in the corner of my heart. That is until Starz released their new series Outlander and I became hooked all over. I have not read the books yet, although I just purchased all of them off of Amazon because I can't wait for the library copies to become available, but after only 3 episodes I will gladly say that I am hooked. I was contemplating how long it would take for the episodes to be released on DVD because I want them on more than just my DVR.
Basically it is about a woman who travels back in time from 1940 to 1752 or 1753 Scottish Highlands. There she is involved with plots of the day and all the distrust that falls with being English in a land where the English are not very well liked. So far I really like the show, partially because of the male lead who is not just amazing to look at but I could listen to him speak Gaelic all day. I am not sure exactly how his character is described in the books, because I haven't read them but from what I have seen he seems like a perfect choice for the role.
I highly recommend everyone see the show, even if it is just to drool at the perfection that is Sam Heughan
Who wouldn't want to see that every day? Plus based on his twitter he seems like a pretty cool guy.
So if there are any men out there who can pull off a kilt, posses a Scottish or Irish accent and are willing to put a ring on it please let me know. I will gladly consider any marriage proposals. And don't worry my boyfriend already understands that he can consider himself single should my dreams ever have a chance of becoming reality.
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