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Showing posts from 2014

Highland Arms – released again!

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Hello friends, Are you busy with your Christmas preparations? Cookies baked, shopping list written for the holidays? Or are you trying to escape it all? We're still fairly calm here. Shopping isn't done yet, though we already have plenty of logs and coal to keep us warm at least. And wine, bubbly and beer chilled. But we'll do the food shop tomorrow. Not looking forward to facing the desperate crowds that pile up their trolleys like there's no tomorrow. Well, in this case, no post-Christmas. We'll see... Right, so in the midst of all this festive chaos, Highland Arms was re-released through Crooked Cat Publishing. I'll always be grateful to The Wild Rose Press for giving me my first signed contract, but I'm also looking forward to new ventures. Highland Arms is the first in  The Highland Chronicles series – a selection of historical romance adventures set in the Scottish Highlands during different time periods. Highland Arms is set in 1720, five

Birthday or Christmas?

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Today, as my 2nd part of the fabulous and popular  Christmas with the Crooked Cats event, I'm chatting about birthdays. Mine, and that of others. December children. It's tough being a December birthday child. Or is it?  Many of my online friends are Sagittarians like me. We're a creative bunch! For example, authors Nicky Wells, Mandy James and Rose McClelland are all pre-Christmas birthday girls.  But I can see the pity in your eyes. "Poor you," you say. Must be tough getting less attention as everyone is so focused on Christmas.  And then, "Did your parents not combine celebrations when you were little?"  Umm, no! From an early age onwards, I pointed out an important difference to my nearest and dearest: Christmas Eve is on the 24th. My birthday is on the 20th! There are three full days in between. They may as well be three months! ;-) "But don't you get fewer presents?"  I never thought so. There was equal focus

Celebrating St Nicholas Day

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6th December is St Nicholas Day. This is not really noted in the UK, but it is commemorated every year in Germany, where I grew up, in a really nice way. On the night of the 5th to 6th December, kids put one boot outside their bedrooms (yes, I did; well, up to the age of around 12). Legend has it that during the night, St Nicholas fills it with nuts and tangerines, apples and chocolates and a couple of small presents. So, on the morning of the 6th, children find a small treasure when they wake up. :-) (Note: choose a non-smelly boot for better effect!) But who was St Nicholas? And why does he go around German houses during the night before his name day, dishing out goodies? Russian Icon of St Nicholas, c. 1500, ( (c) National Museum, Stockholm) The original Nicholas was Greek bishop of Myra, in Lycia, Asia Minor, around 300 AD. Very little is known about the actual person – even accounts of his parents vary – although it appears he was very religious from an early age onward

Christmas with the Crooked Cats

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From today up to 6th January 2015, I'm celebrating the winter season with a group of fabulous  Crooked Cat authors! So, come and join us! https://www.facebook.com/groups/737252102990447/ Find seasonal short stories and poems, excellent gift ideas and great reading material for the holidays when you finally get to put your feet up! Everyone welcome! We'll see you there! :-) 

Nicky Wells introduces A Fairy Tale in New York

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Today, I'm thrilled to welcome a very special friend, author Nicky Wells . She had the wonderful idea to combine a New York Christmas with a romance of a special kind: he's a rock star! An intriguing mix, don't you agree? I can't wait to read it! But now, let's hear it from Nicky... A Fairy Tale in New York… involving snow and a stranded rock star. What on earth inspired this story? I mean, the rock industry is hardly the stuff of fairy tales, or is it? This is only one of the incredulous reactions I got when I first announced I was writing a Christmas book mixing together   Christmas with my love for rock, music, and fairy tales. Those ingredients go together perfectly, as far as I’m concerned. Fairy Tale in New York is my version of the perfect Christmas story, and I really went all out on the happiness factor. Everything gets kicked off with an epic snowstorm—and I mean epic, of the ground-all-planes-and-halt-all-transport variety. You see, being

Welcome to Rosanne Bittner

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Today, I welcome author Rosanne Bittner , whose latest release, Desperate Hearts , is out now. Rosanne chats about reading and writing - she's on to her 60th novel! That's got your interest, hasn't it?! Over to Rosanne! Good morning from Rosanne Bittner!    I am always happy to visit other blogs related to romance writing and reading, something we all love!   I hope you will pick up a copy of my September (2014) book, DESPERATE HEARTS, a great “wild-west” action romance set in the little gold town of Alder, Montana.   I know you will love the hero, Mitch Brady, a vigilante who is tough on the outside but so caring on the inside.   Mitch can be a ruthless, unforgiving lawman when it comes to men who harm others for no good reason, especially those who harm women, but on the inside he just wants to love and be loved and find a woman with whom he can finally settle.   Along comes heroine Elizabeth Wainright, who arrives in Alder under mysterious circumstances.  

Silent Deception by Cathie Dunn - an excerpt

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As the nights draw in, I think it's the perfect time to share an excerpt of my paranormal romantic novella, Silent Deception .  Cornwall. A haunted house. A feisty heroine. A dark secret... There you are! :-) Blurb: Having inherited a family estate she’d never heard of, Minerva Goodridge travels to Cornwall to take charge of her new home. But fatal memories lurk in the shadows of Trekellis Manor. As the locals keep away from the house, Minnie accepts the help of a stranger. Can she trust him? Gideon Drake, 8th Earl of Rothdale, is on a mission to uncover a family secret linked to Trekellis Manor. But the arrival of Minerva, the new owner, disrupts his investigation. Attracted to the headstrong heiress, he decides to take action – and ends up uncovering more than he expected. Gideon must weigh up his family’s reputation against Minnie’s, but will the revelations tear them apart? Silent Deception is a romantic Victorian suspense novella set in Cornwall. ~~~

A Woman of Honour by Marlow Kelly - blurb blitz tour

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Welcome to author Marlow Kelly, who is celebrating the release of A Woman of Honour, a riveting romance set in the best place for those – medieval Scotland. ;-) Can you resist? Have a look! A Woman of Honour by Marlow Kelly ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BLURB: Duncan Campbell wakes to discover he is imprisoned with a woman in his enemy's dungeon in the Highlands of Scotland. The disenchanted warrior hopes his last few moments on earth will be spent in the arms of the sweet-voiced Isabel. If only she will cooperate. Isabel Douglas has no intention of obliging the crude captive. The penniless noblewoman considers herself too tall and thin to be desirable. She intends to become a nun. But first, disguised as a boy, she must deliver an important letter to Scotland's hero in hiding, King Robert the Bruce. Together, the pair make a daring escape that plunges them into the bleak countryside in the middle of winter. In the struggle to survive, they learn the true strengt