Southern Belle
by Fiona Hood-Stewart

Elm MacBride belongs to a world of wealth, politics and Southern hospitality. But when her husband, a self- absorbed politician who will stop at nothing to seize power, betrays her, Elm flees Savannah to her old friend's chalet in the heart of Switzerland.

Meeting a beautiful woman on the ski slopes is the last thing Irishman Johnny Graney thought would happen when he agreed to a family vacation in Gstaad. After all, no woman has been able to capture his heart since the terrible day his young wife was killed. But there's something intriguing about Elm MacBride, in whom he senses an incredible strength. And Elm finds herself equally drawn to Johnny's passion for his home, the Thoroughbred horses he raises—and for her.

But the ties Elm has to the world of old politics are not easily severed and she finds herself an unwilling pawn in her husband's game of power, forced to maintain appearances with a man determined to control her every move. And when his desperate actions threaten to destroy her, Johnny must save not only their love, but Elm's very life....

Fiona Hood-Stewart's Bio

Born in Scotland and brought up internationally, Fiona went to boarding school in Switzerland followed by university in several European venues. Europe was the playground for Fiona and her aristocratic peers before she married and moved to South America where she ran her own design business, before turning to fashion, creating her own label and owning several boutiques in Brazil and the US.

However, like the characters in her novels, Fiona has always been mystically drawn back to Scotland, and makes no secret of the fact that her family home served as the inspiration for Dunbar in The Journey Home. Indeed, she is well acquainted with all the locales that are visited in all her novels which are infused with the pattern of the author's own life experiences, giving them a truly authentic feel. As she speaks seven languages fluently, Fiona has a unique insight and exposure into customs and lifestyles that most of us don't get when visiting foreign countries.

At Present

At present Fiona Hood-Stewart lives in Europe and on her stud ranch in Brazil with her two sons. She travels frequently, regularly visits Paris, London and New York, and can often be seen at the races in Deauville or at Royal Ascot.

On Writing. . .

Fiona credits her mother with putting her on the path to becoming a writer. "Mummy always read aloud to me as a child. She didn't approve of television and I spent many hours with my nose in a book. As a child I read everything I could get my hands on."