Christmas Presents: On-line Shopping or Facing the Masses

This has to be the first time in my history of Christmas shopping I am 99% complete--not wrapped, but the gifts are bought.

Between running both kids to basketball, meeting editing deadlines and the day job, I have discovered the wonderful world of internet shopping. As my beautiful niece would say, "You punch on the keyboard what you want and they deliver it to your door the next day. Oh, and you don't have to pay." Wishful thinking, Maisy.

Now I don't normally do this. Every year the dh and I dredge through the mall, store to store, window to window and immerse with a ton of bags. It's hot, crowded, and by the end of the day we've had it. Of course we always encounter the slap to the head moments like, "Do you know what we forgot?" At times, it's downright frustrating.

I have to admit, it is rather satisfying to have the UPS guy ring the doorbell and my package is delivered. No fighting for parking, no crowds and no misery. There is a little thread of guilt I'm plagued with by not shopping the traditional way, but it quickly fades after meeting the first rude holiday shopper.

What about you? Internet or do you bravely face the masses?

Halloween Adventures

Halloween rocks. No really, it does. Not only is it fun for kids of all ages, but it's my birthday. Hey! Before you even think about it! I've heard all of the jokes before! You're not funny! Yep. I'm the super cool mom who shares her birthday on the day when the veil between the living and the dead are meshed. What can I say? 

Being on the lower side of 40-ish, I've had a lot of Halloween adventures over the years. You remember--the times when getting into innocent mischief was not risking a lawsuit or someone wasn't running out of their house with a gun in hand.  

Toilet paper, soaping, I've done it all. I have to say my favorite was corning. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure... You take a handful of popcorn kernels and whip it at an aluminum sided house (no windows, please!) The sound was unbelievable, especially when you strike at the same time from front to back. Yep, our neighbors would thunder out of the house cursing up a storm while we hid behind a bush. Good times and clean fun.

One of my fondest memories was when I'd hang with my neighbor, Jimmy. He had this amazing talent of always finding us different 'activities' to get into. It was around Halloween and he had a hideous monster mask. He stole one of his mother's sheets and borrowed his little cousin, placing him on his shoulders. When he covered them both with the sheet, they looked like a 7-foot hunchback. Directly in front of Jimmy's house was a stop sign. He'd wait for the cars to stop and then dash out from the side of his house and scare the--well, you know what he scared. Those were the days when we could stay out until midnight and play in the street with not a care in the world. *sigh* 

What were some of your best Halloween adventures?

This Bad Boy is Done!

There is nothing sweeter than finishing a manuscript. All of the blood, sweat and tears, fist pounding, hair pulling, more gray hair (which in turn leads to coloring), swearing at the CP for yet another redo and a year of your life buried in your writer's cave... You better believe it was worth it! What a ride!

I am pleased to announce that Bewitching a Highland Rogue, Book 2 of the Bad Boys of the Highlands series is complete! Declan MacGregor. I think everyone will love his arrogant alpha arse. Think of him as the Gannicus of the Highlands--a Highland rock star. Of course the beautiful Lady Liadain Campbell sees right through his roguish act. In fact, she's been known to put him in his place a time or two. ;-)

Highland Savior, Book 1 of the Bad Boys of the Highlands series is scheduled for release in Fall 2012. Sourcebooks is deciding on the launch date this week. Woo-hoo!

That pretty much leaves me plotting Book 3. Mmm... Heroes and heroines are named, plot(s) are forming, I might need a few names for villains. Anyone tick you off as of late? Let me know and I'll slip them in or behead them. Frankly, I'll leave it up to you. 

Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival

With the kids starting school and wrapping up Book 2 of the Bad Boys of the Highlands series, I have not had a lot of time to basically stop and smell the roses. This weekend I put everything aside and took the kids to the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival. Nothing stirs an author's mind into inspiration more than taking a trip back to the past.

As you can see from the picture above and below, the costumes were absolutely exquisite. From the nobles to the commoners, everyone played their part well.  

The instrument pictured below was very interesting. It had TONS of piano wire braided across a wooden platform and this nice man told me he had put in countless hours of practice. At first, five hours a day! The music he played was very soothing.

I always enjoy the acts, but you have to be careful if you take the kids. Most of the sexual innuendos are over their head, but some are not. I did find the actors minded their manners when the kids were about. 

The poor guy below had to stand like that for countless hours. He threw endless insults at every passer-by and even more when you tried to bash him with tomatoes. I would not want that job! My daughter (who was a glutton for punishment) threw tomatoes at him and he screamed, "I see you're wearing purple! That's so everyone won't look at your face! You think your phone is broken, but the boys aren't calling!" Of course she laughed always being the good sport.

As we moved through the shire, I managed to find a Scot or two! I have this tremendous talent of being able to spot a kilt a mile away.

I think our favorite part was the jousting. Thundering hooves, swords, chain mail, man-to-man combat... If you weren't inspired before, you were now. Talk about inspiration. The gallant Sir Roderick battled the French knight Mitri.

The day was purely wonderful, but there was only one event that was truly delightful. Yes, this is my hand. Yes, I was about to swoon. Who doesn't like a knight in shining armor? Sir Roderick proved that chivalry is not dead. *sigh* Thank you for 'inspiring' me, Sir Roderick.

Foxburg Scottish Festival

The clan and I recently journeyed to the Foxburg Scottish Festival. This was the second time I dragged them *clearing throat* meant to say we traveled to the festival.

We started the day's events by walking along Clan Row. Why not start with my Campbell friends? This was an interesting tale for sure. For those of you that don't know, Book 1 of the Bad Boys of the Highlands series depicts the Campbells and MacGregors. In actuality, history portrays the Campbells as a beloved clan and the outlawed MacGregors were clearly that. I asked myself 'what if' a lot and ultimately decided to have the right hand of the king, Campbells, falling from grace. Imagine my surprise when I approached the Campbell tent to find this Campbell wasnae verra friendly. Perhaps history was mistaken.  

I can usually talk to anyone and make them smile. You know, kindness with kindness. I picked up one of the books on the table and examined it. I knew it was Kilchurn Castle since that was what Book 1 was based upon, the Campbell seat at Glenorchy. I smiled and said, "Oh, I see you have Kilchurn Castle. Was that the Campbell seat in Glenorchy then?" I am but a stupid female. Please enlighten me with your expertise.

If it was even possible, his scowl deepened further and he yelled to his wife, "Hey, come here and answer this lady's question." Bloody Campbells.

That did not dampen our spirits. In fact, we moved on to the vendors. Their wares consisted of everything under the Scottish sun. From kilts, sporrans, tartans, plaids, dirks and swords to Scottish short bread and the Scottish drink, Irn Bru. I always wanted to try it and the man who sold it insisted it tastes just like Bazooka bubble gum. He was right. It was great for the first couple of sips, but then I had to pass it to the kids. Too sweet for me. 

While the men showed off their prowess during the Highland Games,

some had colorful opinions and displayed them openly. If it's not Scottish, it's crap!

We meandered over to the sheep herding event. If you have never seen border collies in action, they are definitely something to see. Following only the commands of a whistle, these dogs are very agile and are able to herd the sheep from a specific area to another with minimal instruction. If only we could train our kids that way!

The people were colorful and dressed to the kilt. Pun intended! From the wee laddies to the pipers...

To the animals. The stuffed and the real...

Everyone wanted to be Scottish, if only for a day.

 

Celebrating the Sale of the Bad Boys of the Highlands Series

In celebration of the recent sale of my Bad Boys of the Highlands series, I treated my three biggest fans to dinner at a local Scottish pub. My daughter, CP and Beta all joined me for a wonderful treat at Piper's Pub.

We started our enjoyable evening by my CP's recommended appetizer of Scotch Eggs. A hard boiled egg was encased in sausage, breaded and then deep fried. I almost forgot. It was served with hot sauce. I felt my cholesterol rising before I even took a bite, but it was so good. 

 The atmosphere was loud as you would expect from a pub, but that didn't stop me from toasting my three favorite gals for their unwavering support. I passed out gifts to all of them, including the necklace pictured to the right for my beautiful daughter.

The food was wonderful and plentiful. How could you go wrong with the traditional corned beef, cabbage and potatoes?

Not to mention the Beef Shepherd's Pie.

We topped off this hearty meal with a Scottish ice-cream sandwich. This delicious morsel consisted of vanilla ice-cream surrounded by Scottish shortbread and topped with a chocolate, raspberry, butterscotch and blueberry sauce.

Even though we will not eat for a week, a great time was had by all. It's fun to celebrate with friends and family. My heartfelt thanks go out to these three who have been and continue to be my biggest supporters.

How do you celebrate a special occasion with family or friends? 

 

Interview with Author Maeve Greyson

I am thrilled to be chatting with the winner of RT’s Writing with the Stars, amazing author extraordinaire, fellow chapter sister of CHRW and my friend, Maeve Greyson.

Welcome, Maeve! I’m so happy to have you here for a visit. You’ve had quite an exciting jump start to your career and I’ve been amazed by the amount of support you’ve received surrounding the contest. Did this surprise you?

MG:  Before I answer, thank you so very much for inviting me over for a chat at your lovely blog, Victoria, and you are too kind with your lovely praise. I’m blushing!  I’m so glad to be here. Now --did the amount of support surprise me? Yes and no. I’ve always found the writing community to be a warm friendly bunch so I wasn’t really surprised by all their help and enthusiasm at the beginning of the contest. However, I was amazed, awe-struck, gah-gahed and all those other words you might use to describe a state of total disbelief when they all continued to rally around me throughout the duration of the contest. The challenges lasted a grueling six months and I couldn’t believe the patience of all my wonderful supporters. Even though they must’ve been sick of listening to me beg for their votes, they still supported me and didn’t hire a hit man to shut me up.

VR:  *waves hand in air in dismissive gesture* Of course we didn't hire a hit man! Your husband has done some pretty amazing things to show his support. Care to share some of his most supportive moments? (Can you tell the Stefan Pinto is my boyfriend story? That is hilarious!)

MG: Hubby is undoubtedly my biggest fan and supporter. He’s nudged me when I needed a push, held me back when I was ready to throw it all away and always reminded me that I matter. I have worth. I never had that before I met him so he’s worked miracles with my self-esteem. And yes, we still laugh about his “boyfriend” encounter at RT.

Hubby and I were at the Kensington morning mixer at RT in Los Angeles. Of course, Hubby was snapping photos of me with my new Kensington editor, my wonderful mentor, Rebecca Zanetti, and a host of other talented Kensington authors.

Stefan Pinto, a VERY NICE cover model and contestant for Mr. Romance, was also there and he was more than happy to have his picture taken with a shy writer from the backwoods of Kentucky. While Stefan and I stood there smiling into Hubby’s camera, Stefan asked if this was my first RT. I replied that it was. He gave me a quick hug and whispered in my ear, “Watch this. It will be very funny.” He dug around in his bag and pulled out two promotional buttons decorated with his scrumptious, bare-chested photo and some words written around the edge of the button. He pinned one on my collar, gave me a wink, then walked up to my hubby and pinned the button high enough on my husband’s shirt so that he couldn’t bend the button to see it. Then Stefan patted Hubby on the shoulder, grinned and walked away. I joined Hubby, read the button and started giggling. After twisting the button every way possible, Hubby finally looked at me and asked, “What does that thing say?” I winked at him and patted him on the chest. “It says that you have a new boyfriend and his name is Stefan Pinto.”

VR:  *giggles* Your husband is definitely your biggest fan and supporter. It's heartfelt to see that he remains by your side every step of the way.  Beyond a Highland Whisper was your first release and I could not put it down! What was your favorite part of the story?

MG: I love the part where Latharn is jealous of Nessa’s date with Gabriel. A jealous Highlander who’s not about to allow ANY man take what belongs to him is just my idea of a yummy scene. I adore a man who’ll fight for what he wants and then be damned if he lets anyone attempt to take it away.

VR: I loved that scene as well. Verra alpha male. When will your next book, The Highlander's Fury, be released? Are you able to give us a little sneak peek?

MG: I don’t have a release date yet for The Highlander’s Fury. Edits have gone well with this one as well as for Eternity’s Mark (release date: April 2012). Here’s a snippet from The Highlander’s Fury that I hope you will enjoy. But keep in mind – we’re still in edit mode, so this could very well change. ;-) In this scene, Ciara finds out exactly what her goddess mothers would like for her to do in order to save the world.

At Brid’s nod of encouragement, Cerridwen passed her hand over the waters once again. A new image shimmered into view. Wild. Furious. Pure, unadulterated strength. The man’s aura pulsated power and control. Sleek black brows knotted over angry flashing eyes. Hair the black of a raven’s wings perfectly matched his surly demeanor. His square jaw was shadowed with a day’s growth of beard. Nostrils flared on a slightly crooked nose that must have been broken at some earlier time. Full, sensuous lips curled back into a sneer. Teeth clenched in barely held rage. Ciara didn’t know who this compelling human was but it was obvious he was sorely displeased.

“Who is he?” Ciara leaned closer to the waters. This mortal might be worth her interest.

Brid smiled, nodding her approval. “That is the chieftain of Clan MacKay, their powerful and well respected leader, Faolan.”

Now she knew they plotted something. Brid loved dabbling with Scotland. Straightening from the cauldron’s edge, Ciara crossed both arms over her chest and fixed the smiling goddesses with a suspicious glare. “Laird Faolan MacKay. And in what year exactly does Laird MacKay reside and what does he have to do with your solution for Danu’s world?”

Cerridwen circled the massive black cauldron, bent to scoop her hen from the nest of pillows, and cradled the chirruping bird to her chest. “Ye are currently looking at the year 1415 in the Highlands of our beloved Scotland. As to our solution, perhaps Brid could explain the plan we’ve put together better than I.”

Brid turned to glide across the polished floor and held out her hand for Ciara to join her at the balcony. Gazing out across the mist swirling over the dusky waves, she smiled as the whorls of sparkling fog formed into her beloved eternal spirals. “The MacKay family has been very dear to my heart now for many a year. Many of their clan is mystically blessed and they’ve kept the legends and rituals alive. However, Faolan has experienced a great deal of loss in his life. Grief and heartache has turned him away from the Ways. He has abolished the workings of magic and ritual among the clan and has forbidden the practicing of the old religions.”

Ciara ran her hands across the smooth surface of the railing; the velvet-like marble soothed her emotions with its cool, solid touch. The life force embedded deep in the stone called out to her, begging her to save the beloved earth and all its denizens. “So, you want me to talk to him? Convince him to turn back to the Ways? You do realize diplomacy is not one of my strongest traits? And just how exactly is getting one man to return to the old religions going to save the fate of the world?” Ciara tapped her fingertips on the railing. She couldn’t believe they’d called her back through the veils for this. She could’ve vanquished at least three dozen unrepentant mortals and punished who knows how many lower level immortals in the time she’d been here at the keep. Why had they called her here for this task? Cerridwen and Brid were slipping.

Cerridwen joined them at the railing after shooing the fussing black hen back through the veils into the room. Cerridwen’s gaze met with Brid’s and she gave a subtle nod.

“We need a child, Ciara. Fathered by the magical wolf and blessed with the talents of an immortal mother. Such a child could help ensure the old religions would never be forgotten and the magic would never die.” With this statement, Brid faced Ciara and waited for her reaction.

They couldn’t be serious. Ciara opened her mouth then closed it again. No. Surely, they had something else in mind. Her mothers couldn’t possibly be suggesting what she thought they had just said. She looked to Cerridwen and then turned back to Brid. Taken aback at what she thought Brid proposed, she repeated the words to ensure she understood what Brid had in mind. “Fathered by the wolf? Born of an immortal mother? Are you actually asking me to join with that mortal from the Highlands and bear the man a child?”

“Is he not pleasing to the eye, Ciara? Any man able to hold such fury must be capable of great passion as well.” With a wave of her hand, Cerridwen floated the cauldron to where they stood so they could gaze once more down upon his image.

Faolan MacKay electrified the waters. He was dark and dangerous, a delightful temptation to watch. The man towered over most in his clan, the breadth of his shoulders balancing his mountainous height. Ciara’s palms itched to touch the cut of his muscles straining against the leather of his tunic. Her gaze traveled lower, appraising his fine narrow hips and his powerful, well-muscled legs. Cerridwen was right. Faolan pleased the eye and Ciara would bet her finest torque he pleased in bed as well.

VR: *fanning self* That was a great excerpt! I can't wait to read it! Since we are kindred spirits for our love of all things Scotland and Highlanders, what was your most awe-inspiring moment on your recent trip to Scotland?

MG:  It had to be the moment I walked onto the field at Culloden.

I felt such a sense of sorrow and loss that I couldn’t control my tears. I started shaking and felt a bone-chilling ache and the longer I walked among the clan stones the worse the feeling became. I finally had to leave the field and take refuge in the gift shop at the entrance to the memorial. It’s so difficult to explain but it was almost as if the land cried out. Almost as if the blood spilled from long ago wanted to make certain the carnage that occurred that day never would be forgotten.

VR: Extremely powerful words, Maeve. Can you tell us what's next for Maeve Greyson?

MG: Hmm…well. I’m working on the second book in my “Mystical Gateways of the Highlands” series. Eternity’s Mark is book one. I’m nearly finished with book two and book three is pestering the daylights out of me the rest of the time.

VR: Maeve, thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me today and sharing your stories. Maeve will be checking in today and answering any posted questions or comments.

MG: Thank YOU, Victoria. You’re a true gem and I appreciate all you do.

For more information on Maeve Greyson or to purchase her books, she can be found: 

Website: http://www.maevegreyson.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/maeve.greyson.page

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/maevegreyson

The Wild Rose Press: http://www.thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=177_139&products_id=4401