Grandfather Mountain Highland Games

I've always wanted to go to the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, held annually in Linville, North Carolina--and this year I made it happen!

What a lovely time!  The clans were out in full force and were so welcoming. I especially loved seeing all of the family septs that gave their loyalty to the clans, and found that my family would have been a sept of Clan Donald!  I have to give a big shout out to Clan Fraser as well, who were so friendly and who welcome all lovers of the Highlands.  The calling of the clans with torches on the first night was very lovely!

One of the most fun things--there was bagpipe music coming from somewhere each day of the Games!  I enjoyed the Games themselves--amazing what these guys can do with a caber, a war hammer and also with a hay bale!  There were fascinating lectures on how those Highlanders got into their Great Plaids, (video available on my social media!) on weapons and on Viking influence on the Highland culture.  Who knew that I would be charmed by sheep dogs?  Their demonstrations were adorable.

Of course, there was great shopping to be had and I availed myself!  My street team has already reaped a bit of the reward and there is more to come!

Novel Explorations is a company that does trips associated with novels and they had a Fraser's Ridge event going on at the same time as the Games.  They attended a couple of days at the games and it was so much fun to meet other Outlander Fans.  Novel Explorations sponsored a meet and greet with David Berry, who plays Lord John Grey in the Outlander series.  I met him and he was lovely.

If you ever get the chance to go to the games, I highly recommend it!

The Fire in the Ice!

I'm doing the happy dance because THE FIRE IN THE ICE is out!  The third book in the Eye of the Ninja Chronicles answers the question I've been hearing from readers:  Where is Reik?

Born of spirit, magic and science, Reik was never just a normal scout for Ryu.  He’s left the Ninja village behind, intent on one mission only.  He will do anything to free his mother, even face the powerful ice mage who fathered him.  

Time is running out.  War looms, the lines of good and evil are gathering and his father commands incredible magic .  Can remote Reik let down his walls and forge an alliance that will seal his victory?  His mother’s fate—and a key to the larger battle—rests in his reluctant hands.  

It's out in ebook and print!  Check it out and watch for news of the next book in the series, IN HER MIND'S EYE!

iBooks  https://apple.co/2IEb8BP
Amazon  https://amzn.to/2LlDJJU
Nook  http://bit.ly/2s7WQyp
Kobo  http://bit.ly/2II6vGM
Google  http://bit.ly/2Lpmuri
Play

To Souvenir or Not To Souvenir

If you follow me on social media, you may have seen that I have just returned from a short trip to Bermuda with my Valiant Husband--our first trip without kids in over 20 years!

Bermuda is full of duty-free shopping and I gather that is a big attraction for a lot of people.  I, much to my mother's dismay, am not much of a shopper.  I'm not interested in diamonds or watches or dragging home all the tax free liquor.

Give me a bit of history, however, and I am your girl!  Thus:  my one and only Bermuda souvenir!

This is a Bartman Jug, hand thrown by potter Jon Faulkner at his workshop in the Royal Naval Dockyards.  It is a replica of a container used for travel storage of oil or other liquid stores.  They were commonly made in the Rhineland and distinctively marked by their potters with different versions of the bearded face and symbols.  

We saw two original salt glazed jugs at the National Museum of Bermuda.  They were brought up from the 1609  wreck of the Sea Venture, sunk in Discovery Bay.  Matching jugs were also found in Jamestown VA, which is not too far from us.

I'm not sure why I was struck by this little piece, but it was all very interesting to a history nerd like me!  And it fits in perfectly with the few other strange, little pieces I have assembled over the years.  

Lord Locryn and the Pixie's Kiss

Today is the day!  Lord Locryn and the Pixie's Kiss is available on its own today.  If you missed this second story about the Castle Keyvnor Pixies when it was released in Charmed at Christmas, you can get it on its own now!

When is a kiss actually a curse? When an irate Pixie forbids you to kiss the wrong girl—ever.

Unfortunately, Lord Locryn Pendarvis has no idea why girls are falling all over themselves not to kiss him. He only knows that after a certain point, the risk of humiliation outweighs desire. 

Until he meets Lady Gwyn Hambly again. She’s witty, charming and beautiful—and just as interested in him as he is in her. They’ll do anything to ensure their future together—even fight the supernatural forces aligned against them.

iBooks   https://apple.co/2HOTR4X

Amazon  http://amzn.to/2oB4foa

Nook   http://bit.ly/2FBZzGz

There are rumors of another Castle Keyvnor series, so keep watching!

My friend Elizabeth Essex has a new book coming out this week, and while we are anticipating it, a number of Historical Romance authors are helping her celebrate with a sale!

You can get The Love List for 99 cents!  Check it out!  http://www.elizabethessex.com/sale/

Fun Scavenger Hunt for a Valentine's Day prize!

The authors at Red Door Reads have banded together for a fun Valentine's Day Scavenger Hunt!

Go to www.RedDoorReads.com for all of the relevant links!  Just find the buttons, collect the letters and unscramble a Valentine's Day message for a chance to win a big See's Chocolate prize!

We're going back to the Castle!

Is there anything better than achieving a childhood dream?  Crossing something off of your bucket list?  I don’t think so!  First—you must picture the little girl I used to be—happily curled around a book—at the pool, by the fire, in every season and sort of weather.  Fantasy books were a mainstay for me back then and I happily lived alternate lives in Prydain and Pern and Avalon.  If you had told that girl that she would be a writer someday—she would scarcely have believed you.  And if you told her she would get to combine her two great loves—Romance and Fantasy—she would have cried happy tears.  Heck, I’m crying happy tears just thinking about it now.

But that is exactly what I did last year when I was asked to contribute to the Haunting of Castle Keyvnor anthology series.  It’s a 12 story series set in a haunted castle in Cornwall, and it mixes the reading of a will with romance and passion and ghosts, ghouls, witches gypsies and pixies.  Yep, pixies.  That’s where I came in.  I agreed to take part if I could use Cornish pixies as my ‘haunt.’  I had a blast creating my nature-based magic sprites!   Lady Tamsyn and the Pixie’s Curse was born and included in the book, Bedeviled.

Now, that story is being released on its own!  It’s on pre-order now!

iBooks
Amazon
Kobo

Nook


And good news!  Castle Keyvnor was such a hit and the authors had such fun with it—we’re going back—at Christmas!  There is a double wedding going on at the castle—and 12 new stories revolving around the holiday, new romances and our supernatural creatures.  All four new books are also on pre-order now!  We hope you’ll join us for a bit of holiday magic!