Priscilla Morton & Zachary Webster
Amanda Cabot's historical romance novels deliver just what her readers are after so be sure to add her books to your wishlist including the just released, Scattered Petals. Enjoy this insight into Zach from Paper Roses and new character, Priscilla.
Over to you, Amanda:~
Priscilla Morton, the heroine Brief physical description
Although everyone else, including the bandits who hold up her stagecoach, would tell you that Priscilla is beautiful – gorgeous, in fact – with strawberry blonde hair and green eye
s, she doesn’t see herself that way. In Priscilla’s mind, she cannot compete with her older sister, and so all she sees are her flaws, including those pesky three freckles that simply will not disappear from her nose.
Actor/famous person
This is always a difficult question for me, because I don’t base my characters on real people, but if I were choosing an actress to play Priscilla in the movie version of Scattered Petals (a woman can dream, can’t she), I’d pick Reese Witherspoon. Thanks to the magic of modern hair coloring and makeup, she would have a slight reddish tint to her hair and those three freckles that so irritate Priscilla.
Strengths and weaknesses
Priscilla’s greatest strength is her compassion for others and her willingness to give of herself to help them. It’s that strength that allows her to put aside her own problems, which might seem insurmountable to others, and devote herself to helping her friends.
Her weakness is her desire for adventure, which leads to impetuous decis
ions, including making the ill-fated trip to Texas.
Quirk (if any)
Priscilla is not a quirky person.
Your inspiration for the character
One consistent theme in my books is the healing power of love, and oh, does Priscilla need that. When I started Scattered Petals, I asked myself the question, “What is the worst thing that could happen to a woman?” and then I gave Priscilla that fate. In the space of only minutes, she loses everything dear to her. A weaker woman might have given up right then, but Priscilla has an underlying strength that surprises even her.
Zachary Webster, the hero
Brief physical description
Zach is the
quintessential cowboy. Tall, with dark hair, eyes as blue as the Texas sky and an endearing cleft in his chin, he’s unforgettable. Unfortunately for Priscilla, he closely resembles the bandit who destroyed her hope of a happy future.
Actor/famous person
Give him a cleft in his chin and blue eyes, and NCIS: Los Angeles’ star Peter Cambor could be Zach.
Strengths and weaknesses
Zach’s greatest strength is his sense of honor and responsibility. That leads him to take on others’ problems as if they were his own. He’s a master at helping others. It’s only his own problems that he cannot surmount.
Quirk (if any)
Zach is not a quirky person.
Your inspiration for the character
I’ve always been drawn to the strong, silent hero, and Zach is certainl
y that. But at the same time that I’ve been intrigued by men like Zach, I’ve wanted to know what made them that way. What are they holding inside themselves? When I learned Zach’s secrets, I knew he needed a woman like Priscilla if he was ever going to heal. Unfortunately for Zach, Priscilla reminds him of his worst mistakes, and so the healing is not easy.
Background to the story
When I finished writing Paper Roses, I knew that Zach, the ranch foreman who plays a small but crucial role in that book, needed his own story. A strong man, but one with a tortured past, he needed an equally strong woman to bring out his best. Enter Priscilla.
All her lif
e, Priscilla Morton has longed for adventure, and so she leaves Boston and heads for Texas, never dreaming that the adventure she sought will leave her alone and badly injured. Though her life’s in shambles, she’s determined to rebuild it and make a home for herself in the beautiful Hill Country. But that may not be possible, for the bandits destroyed more than her parents’ lives; they destroyed her hope of a future.
His life spared by another man’s sacrifice, Zachary Webster knows what the future holds for him, and it’s not a woman like Priscilla. She deserves a cultured East-coast gentleman, not a cowboy who’s haunted by memories of his mistakes. The best thing he can do is leave her alone.
Drawn together by necessity, Priscilla and Zach begin to forge a life that, like the scattered petals of her childhood, is filled with promise. But then the past intrudes, threatening their very existence.
Rel, Thanks so much for inviting me to be part of your blog. I love your Character Spotlights and am delighted to have Priscilla and Zach featured.
Amanda ~ it's always a pleasure to have you visit Relz Reviewz. Thanks for your insight today :)
Come back Monday to shine a spotlight on Christa Allen's Leah Thornton from her novel, Walking on Broken Glass.
Relz Reviewz Extras
Review of Paper Roses
Character spotlight on Sarah & Clay
Interview with Amanda
Visit Amanda's website
Buy Amanda's book at Amazon or Koorong
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Synopsis:~
you can be assured, having read it, you will be hanging out for the conclusion in Licensed for Trouble, releasing in August, 2010.
