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.

No wonder the debut Dallas author of paranormal novels is already earning kudos for her ability to deliver her readers to European settings convincingly--and make them chuckle as well.

"I find it easier to suspend my own disbelief when I'm thoroughly immersed in a time when nobody worried about political correctness," she said, "when men were wonderfully alpha and had no idea they even had a feminine side, much less worried about getting in touch with it."

More often than not, Sandy employs paranormal elements in her stories, "because I believe the very possibility expands the imagination, which in turn, gives me more latitude with humor," she explained.

As for her travels, her favorite destinations, Scotland and Ireland, provide her with an endless supply of settings for her novels. She says her favorite Highland getaway was Skibo Castle in Dornock, Scotland. Island-bound Castle Stalker, the home of the Stewarts of Appin and her husband's paternal clan, was the inspiration for her Castle Blackstone in A MAN IN A KILT. Adare Manor in Ireland's County Kilkenny is another favorite and is destined to be a setting in a future novel.

Sandy broke into publishing in 2003 with A MAN IN A KILT, which will be published in September. She subsequently sold her publisher, Kensington Books, another highland novel, ROGUE IN A KILT, due out in December 2004 and "Look Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed" for anthology HOW TO MARRY A DUKE, scheduled for release February 2005. Sandy is married to a very tall, brawny Scot of the clan Stewart. He keeps her laughing and is a hero in his own right, carrying suitcases filled with tons of research books up ancient, winding castle staircases built for a shorter generation.

When not writing, Sandy dabbles in watercolors and co-chairs charity fundraisers for Habitat for Humanity and the National Hemophilia Foundation. She loves to entertain; claiming the secret to any successful dinner party is a pretty table setting and good wine before the meal.

She loves furry dogs and early misses the three Tennessee Walking horses she owned before she moved form her Florida ranch to the city of Dallas. Her current pal is Opal, a mini-lop bunny who thinks she's a cat.

Read excerpts from Sandy's upcoming releases, view photos of her favorite castles, contact Sandy and sign up for Sandy's newsletter.