Award-winning author Sandy Blair has slept in castles, knelt in cathedrals where kings and queens have been crowned, dined with peerage, floated along Venetian canals, explored the great pyramids, misplaced her husband in an Egyptian ruin (she continues to deny being the one lost,) and fallen (gracefully) off a cruise ship.
Winner of Romance Writers of America© Golden Heart for Best Paranormal Romance, Sandy’s debut release, A Man in a Kilt, also won the 2004 National Readers Choice Award for Best Paranormal Romance and was a 2005 RITA finalist.
Sandy loves writing about the past. "I find it easier to suspend my own disbelief when thoroughly immersed in a time when nobody worried about political correctness; when men were wonderfully alpha and had no idea they even had a feminine side, much less worried about getting in touch with it." She often adds a touch of the paranormal to her tales believing the very possibility expands the imagination, which in turn gives her latitude with humor.
Her second release, A Rogue in a Kilt, received Romantic Times Magazine’s 4 ½ star Top Pick rating and was a National Readers Choice Awards finalist. Her third, The Accidental Duchess in the anthology How to Marry a Duke, won the 2006 Golden Quill Award for Best Novella. Her books are now available in six languages and can be found in a dozen countries.
When not writing, Sandy dabbles with watercolors, is a charity fundraiser, and loves to entertain family and friends at home. She claims the secret to hosting a successful dinner party is setting a pretty table and serving lots of wine before the meal.
She currently resides in New Hampshire with her husband. To read excerpts of her releases, view photos of her favorite castles, or to contact Sandy, please click on the appropriate navigation link.
Sandy Blair's Awards
THE KING'S MISTRESS
CataNetwork’s 2012 Reviewers Choice Award winner
A THIEF IN A KILT
2007 Lori Awards, 2d place
Winner of the 2006 CAPA Award for Best Historical
2007 Romance Junkies Reviewers Choice Award nominee for Best Innovative Historical
2007 All About Romance’s Award nominee for Best Medieval Romance
A MAN IN A KILT
2005 Romance Writers of America RITA for Best First Book —finalist
2005 Affair de Couer’s Readers Awards for Best Paranormal Romance2005-finalist
RWA Write Touch Awards —1st Place
2005 National Reads Choice Awards for Best Paranormal Romance —1st Place
2005 National Readers Choice Awards for Best First Book —finalist
2005 Texas Gold in Paranormal/Futuristic/Time Travel category —2nd Place
2003 RWA Golden Heart for Best Paranormal Romance
2003 RWA Haunted Hearts finalist
2003 RWA Merritt Finalist
2003 RWA Maggie finalist
A ROGUE IN A KILT
2005 National Readers Choice for Best Paranormal Romance —finalist
2005 Lovesromance.com- finalist
2005 Golden Rose, for Best Historical —finalist
2004 Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Awards —finalist
The Accidental Duchess in the HOW TO MARRY A DUKE anthology
2006 Golden Quill Winner for Best Romantic Novella
2006 Texas Gold Awards finalist
2006 Barclay Gold Winner
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SPEAKER PROGRAMS
An awarding-winning author of Scottish historicals, Sandy has presented a variety of workshops across the country.
For writers:
Making Your Readers Really Care
Methods for creating the deepest POV possible, for crafting the most memorable characterizations and scenes possible.
The ABCs of Solid Storytelling
Like
the wooden building blocks children have, this program outlines--A to
Z--the blocks needed to compose a compelling and marketable story.
Plotting on the Fly: For the Pantser!
Do
you find plotting graphs and story boards intimidating? Have you ever
interviewed characters, worked on character profiles for hours only to
learn halfway through the book that they lied to you? Welcome to my
world. Yes, I plot by the seat of my sweatpants. Let’s talk about why
graphs and such don’t work for us and how plotting on the fly can still
produce a compelling, marketable story.
I Dinna Ken: Incorporating Historical Facts and Dialect
How to successfully incorporate dialect, archaic and foreign language, and research into manuscripts.
Ireland: The Myths
Separating fact from fantasy through the centuries.
Medieval Castles
They weren’t palaces. Their evolution and life within.
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Advantages and disadvantages of hiring a publicist. What you can do yourself and what the pros can do that you can’t.
Writing a Selling Query and Synopsis
Tips and examples that sold from a variety of bestselling and award-winning authors.
Publishing Options in Today’s Market
Compares
the advantages and disadvantages of traditional, e-book, and vanity
press publishers to include the pitfalls associated with contracts,
copyrights, promotion, editing, author mills and timelines.
Have Muse, Will Travel
Tips for turning every trip into a tax deductible research project.
For libraries and general public:
Getting Published 101
Focuses on preparing a manuscript, critique groups, contests, finding an editor/agent.
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Publishers
Anecdotes from the path to the publishers.
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