Kilted heroes' novel role as US women's heart-throbs

THE Tartan Army have been exploiting it for years, but now the sheer potency of the kilt as worn by a true Scot has been seized upon by a new breed of American romance writers - with profitable results.

Authors of novels with titles such as Master of the Highlands, Devil in a Kilt and Heaven and the Heather, have found that they can barely write the books fast enough to keep up with the demands of their smitten readers.

Romance novels are big business in the United States, with one in 50 readers getting through more than 100 of the potboilers every year.

The genre brought in $1.4 billion (750 million) in 2003 alone.

But perhaps following on from the success of Braveheart, this year’s publishing sensation is the racy plaid-ripper, where the men are smouldering Scots, the countryside is wild and rugged and the women are all a-quiver.

Books with covers showing brooding, muscular, kilted heroes gazing out over the hills and glens are topping the best-seller lists.

The authors, some of whom can barely contain their passion for a land they see as impossibly romantic, say their books are successful because Scottish men in kilts are so breathtakingly beguiling.

Sue Ellen Welfonder, author of the bestselling Devil in a Kilt, said: "It’s the kilts. That or the men that fit in them. Scottish men are unbelievably sexy."

She denied exploiting a post-Braveheart love of all things Scottish, but said her work came from the heart.

"I do not write Scottish-set books because they are popular in the American market," she said. "I write them because Scotland makes my heart pound.

"Other Americans only fell in love with Scotland after Braveheart. My readers tell me they can tell I genuinely love Scotland and that I appreciate the land, history and people."

The author said she had Scottish blood and was a member of the Clan McFie. She said: "I love Scotland. I go there as often as I can and every time I bring back a stone.

"I have a special one from Lochindorb, a few from the top of Arthur’s Seat and another from Neist Point on Skye.

"They soothe me during the months when I am on deadline and can’t be in Scotland. There’s just something magical about the place."

She concluded: "My feelings go deeper than that: it is the centuries-old history and the gut-wrenching beauty of the land and the people that makes Scotland so magical."

Devil in a Kilt tells the story of Duncan MacKenzie, an inarticulate cad who falls for Linnet MacDonnell, a feisty lass with second sight.

One passage from the book runs: "Linnet’s cheeks grew warmer ... as did the rest of her body, but she fought to ignore the disquieting sensations. She didn’t want a MacKenzie to bestir her in such a manner. Imagining how her da would laugh if he knew she harboured dreams of a man desiring her chased away the last vestiges of her troublesome thoughts."

Readers of Welfonder’s books agree that it is the Scottish men - and their "untamed" nature that make her romances unputdownable.

On an online chatroom, one, known as "Keltictemptress34", writes: "Scottish men are so passionate and uncontrollable. Just the thought of trying to tame one makes me feel weak at the knees."

And while their grasp of Scottish geography may be shaky, many other fans agree.

"Wantonlass" adds: "And the warriors! The thought that one could seize you and take you back to his Highland castle in the Borders."

Karen Kosztolnyik, senior editor at Warner Books in New York, said Scottish romance novels were very popular.

She said: "The image - whether true or not - of the be-kilted Scot as wild beast, just waiting to be tamed, was the key attraction.

"The Scottish hero is a sexy one, and it takes a special kind of woman to tame him.

"But he has a loyal side, too, which you can see in the Scottish clans. That kind of extreme loyalty is very appealing to women readers."