Ruth A. Casie Discusses Her Novel, Knight of Runes

A good knight is hard to find!

Heroes, they’re the stuff that dreams are made of. In the 1980’s all they had to do was be handsome and chase the virginal heroine around in order to wind up with a happily ever after. Ultimately readers wanted a man that displayed great courage and even perhaps made a personal sacrifice for the greater good in the face of danger, adversity, or a position of weakness. Isn’t that what heroism is all about?

Thirty years later, the heroism factor hasn’t changed but the hero certainly has. Romance readers want a man of today with true emotions and vulnerabilities. For most readers they don’t care if he looks like Paul Giamatti or Gerard Butler. Handsome doesn’t always translate into muscular or even gorgeous. Maybe it’s his smoldering eyes (sex still sells) or his heart-stopping smirk when his heroine’s intelligence shines (he’ll let the reader know but he won’t tell her until page 300). It can be almost anything. Most of all readers want insight into a sensitive man who needs to work out his own emotions in order to get his prize. It’s how he faces and eventually resolves his internal conflict that keeps them reading. 

Heroes can be swash-buckling, debonair, unassuming, and even unlikely. They don’t necessarily have to be handsome with perfectly developed bodies, although for me that is still a plus *cheesy smile*. Readers want to cheer on the hero who struggles through his emotional quest, emerges enlightened, and wins the girl.

For my story, I went back to the 17^th century and wrote about a knight, Lord Arik, an alpha male who saves damsels in distress. What would happen when he met Rebeka, a heroine who is competent, intelligent, and capable of fending for herself – a woman from the 21^st century? It was great fun writing how he reacted and interacted with her. He’s a hero after my own heart. 

What’s your ideal hero? 

Knight of Runes

It’s the 21st century and time travel is still a Wellsian fantasy but not for Rebeka Tyler.

Rebeka is a renowned renaissance scholar at the prestigious Kensington University in upstate New York. She’s awarded an inheritance that includes an English manor but more importantly it includes an unknown private library with documents dating back hundreds of years, a researchers dream. She goes off to England to claim her inheritance.

While on an impromptu tour of Avebury, she takes a misstep at the standing stones, and finds herself in the right place but tossed back into the 17th century. When Lord Arik, a druid knight, finds Rebeka wandering his lands without protection, he swears to keep her safe. But Rebeka can take care of herself. When Arik sees her clash with a group of attackers using a strange fighting style he is intrigued.

Rebeka is desperate to return to her time. She poses as a scholar sent by the king to help find out what’s killing Arik’s land to get access to the library. But as she decodes the ancient runes that are the key to solving his mystery and sending her home, she finds herself drawn to the charismatic and powerful Arik.

As Arik and Rebeka fall in love, someone in Arik’s household schemes to keep them apart and a dark druid with a grudge prepares his revenge. To defeat him, Arik and Rebeka must combine their skills. Soon Rebeka will have to decide whether to return to the future or trust Arik with the secret of her time travel and her heart.

Ruth’s Bio

Ruth A Casie is a seasoned professional with over twenty-five years of writing experience but not necessarily writing romances. No, she’s been writing communication and marketing documents for a large corporation. Over the past years, encouraged by her friends and family, she gave way to her inner muse, let her creative juices flow, and began writing a series of historical time travel romance novels. 

When not writing you can find her home in Teaneck, New Jersey, reading, cooking, doing Sudoku and counted cross stitch. Together with her husband Paul, they enjoy ballroom dancing and, with New York City close by, going to the theater. Ruth and Paul have three grown children and two grandchildren. They all thrive on spending time together. It’s certainly a lively dinner table and they wouldn’t change it for the world. 

Ruth is a Trustee and on the Executive Board of Shelter Our Sister (SOS) in New Jersey. SOS is Bergen County’s only shelter for victims of domestic violence. She frequently speaks at various functions around Bergen County on behalf of the Shelter.