Stressing the Hero from The Scottish Diamond by Helena Fairfax.

Helena Fairfax writes engaging contemporary romances featuring heroines she’d love to have as a friend and heroes she’s secretly in love with. Her first novel, The Silk Romance, was a contender for the RNA’s New Writers’ Scheme Award and a runner-up in the Global Ebook Awards. She was shortlisted for the Exeter Novel Prize in 2014.
Helena is a British author who was born in Uganda and came to England as a child. She’s grown used to the cold now, and these days she lives in an old Victorian mill town in the north of England, right next door to the windswept Yorkshire moors. She walks this romantic landscape every day with her rescue dog, finding it the perfect place to dream up her heroes and her happy endings.

Title The Scottish Diamond

Genre Romantic Suspense Novella

Book heat level (based on movie ratings): PG

What do you do when it seems you can’t trust anyone…even the man you love?
When Lizzie Smith starts rehearsing Macbeth with her theatre group in Edinburgh, she’s convinced the witches’ spells are the cause of a run of terrible luck. Lizzie’s bodyguard boyfriend, Léon, is mysteriously turned down for every job he applies for, until he’s finally offered the job of guarding “The Scottish Diamond,” a fabulous jewel from the country of Montverrier.
But the diamond’s previous guard in Edinburgh Castle has disappeared in mysterious circumstances. The Scottish Diamond has a history of intrigue and bloody murder, and Lizzie is plagued by nightmares in which Macbeth’s witches are warning her of danger. “Fair is foul and foul is fair…”
Then Lizzie discovers she’s being followed through the streets of Edinburgh, and it seems her worst fears are about to be realised…
The Scottish Diamond is a standalone story. Lizzie and Léon first met in the romantic suspense novella Palace of Deception, which is set in the Mediterranean country of Montverrier.

Every hero has a story. He has a background, a history, and a past. This interview allows us to meet a hero and get to know him better, by focusing on how he handles being relaxed, as well as how he handles stress.

This hero is at a party. Considering his story, describe the party.

Léon Bressac is a bodyguard. He’s been invited to a glittering party at the Palace of Montverrier and is supposed to be off-duty, but he’s concerned about the safety of the heroine, Lizzie, who is acting the part of the princess.

How does the hero feel about being at this particular party, and what body language is he displaying that gives it away?

He wishes he could relax and mingle with the others but he’s on the alert for danger. He stays at the edge of the grand ballroom where he has the best view of what’s going on.

Is he more likely to mingle or remain aloof?

He remains aloof. His poor background in Italy also means he doesn’t feel totally comfortable socializing with the wealthy. He finds their conversation shallow.

If he drinks, what is his drink of choice at this party?

Léon is half-Italian and he loves red wine but has stuck to soft drinks at the party in order to keep a clear head.

How much drink is his usual?

He doesn’t usually drink a lot but when he’s off work and spending time in his house on the Italian coast, he feels more relaxed and likes a few glasses of Italian red wine.

The hero figures out where the hiding places are and then goes there. Is it to hide, to avoid someone, or to go drag a friend back to the party?

It’s because he needs to know who is a friend and who is a foe, and where people are at all times.

Is he likely to latch onto a friend and stay with him/her and ignore others, or is he the friend that others latch onto?

He’s the sort of man others latch onto.

If someone picked a fight at this party, how is the hero going to handle it?

He’s a trained bodyguard and so he’d be aware trouble was brewing before it started and would intervene before it got out of hand.

Is the hero the one most likely to get tossed out of the party, or the one who does the tossing?

The one that does the tossing!

Will he know when to leave, or stay late and make a nuisance of himself?

He leaves when Lizzie leaves and he knows she’s safe.

How does the hero handle it if the cops or some other authority figure pulls him aside when he was blameless in a situation?

The hero has a troubled background and has been in trouble with the law. If he’s pulled over by the police he keeps quiet and says as little as possible.

How does the hero react to hearing a scream?

He runs toward the danger and hopes it isn’t the heroine screaming.

If he sees someone being assaulted, what is the FIRST thing that crosses his mind?

That he should step in and break it up.

If he sees someone being assaulted, what is the FIRST thing he does?

Grabs hold of the guy doing the beating.

This hero attempts to rescue someone and realizes that he is in over his head. The odds are against him and there is no way out. He is going to get his butt handed to him. What does he do?

The only time Léon ever panics is when he thinks Lizzie may leave him. If he thinks he’s over his head in a rescue situation he stays calm, takes a step back, and thinks things through with cold logic. He’s a patient man and he’ll wait for the right opportunity. If it doesn’t come he just defends himself as best he can.

The hero runs into the one person from his past he wanted to avoid. He can’t get out of the situation and must interact with him/her in some way. What does he do?

Léon runs into a few guys from his troubled past in The Scottish Diamond. He finds it hard to escape his background but he tries to speak to them in a way that shows he’s strong enough not to be dragged back down.

Someone younger than the hero is in charge of the situation, and they are handling it badly, perhaps bungling things. How does the hero deal with it?

Great question. Léon has sympathy for young hot-heads – he was one himself. He talks to the guy in a calm way that avoids confrontation and lets the younger guy take the credit for his advice.

The hero is in physical pain but must bear up under it and keep going. What does he tell himself in order to get through the situation?

In order to get through, he imagines himself with the heroine in the future, on the other side of his troubles, and the image keeps him strong.

What mentor’s words come to mind in a bad situation?

“Ask not for smaller problems but for broader shoulders.” (Old proverb)

What lesson from his past gets him through a stressful situation?

I can’t say too much without revealing a twist in the end of The Scottish Diamond but Léon has learned the hard way that you should always choose the right path over the easy path.

Publisher Helena Fairfax

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