CELEBRATING!
The best thing about writers? In my opinion, it's the way we celebrate our friends' successes. No matter what we write or how much or for how long, we're all sisters--(okay and a few hearty brothers)--in the trenches.So when something FABULOUS happens to one of us, we all feel the pride and excitement! Which is what brings me to my subject today.
One of my best friends, Kate Carlisle, had the amazing experience of seeing her FIRST book released two weeks ago. She'd worked and worked for years to reach publication and seeing that beautiful cover on the shelf was her richly deserved reward.
But it gets better! Because Kate's book, HOMICIDE IN HARDCOVER, in its second week on the shelf, hit the New York Times Bestseller list!! So rush on out and buy your copy of the first book in a fabulous new series!!
Kate's writing friends couldn't be prouder--or happier--or more excited!
Yay, Kate!
Nocturne Authors at Romance Novel TV ......
So, for the next three days,
Romance Novel TV is sponsoring a blog fest with Silhouette Nocturne authors!
Today, the morning starts off with our Senior Editor, Tara Gavin....then it's the author's turn........We start today off with Michele Hauf, move onto Linda Johnston and at the end of the day, there's ME!
My time for blogging is 5-8 EST (which for my math challenged friends and we know who we are) is 2-5 here on the west coast!
So stop by and say hi, okay??? Just click
HERE
Scenes from VANISHED..........
Since my book VANISHED came out a week or so ago, I've been talking a lot about the setting for the book. The last time my husband and I went to Ireland, we stayed in County Mayo, in what's known as a Self-Catering cottage. It's on the Staunton sheep farm on the shores of Lough Mask. I used that setting in VANISHED and made my hero, Rogan Butler, an Immortal Guardian who once fought for the last High King of Ireland, Brian Boru.In the picture at the top of this blog, you can see the view from the cottage and the B&B the Staunton family runs. One of my favorite memories is sitting outside, with a hot cup of tea, watching the wind on the lake. Unfortunately, when we were there, the hoof and mouth disease was running rampant through the countryside, so we weren't able to walk the hills as we would have normally. So we spent a lot of time, wandering the roads a
nd simply enjoying the beauty of the place.The second picture is of Knight's Cottage itself. It's more than a hundred years old and does indeed have a thatched roof. It's cozy and welcoming and made a fabulous home base for our daily travels.And lastly, is a picture taken from the lake, looking at Knight's Cottage and the gorgeous B&B run so amazingly well by Maura Staunton. I can't say enough about our stay in Tourmakeady. The Staunton family welcomes you and makes you feel as if you've always been a part of their family. If you ever get the chance to go to Ireland--(and oh, I hope you do!)--do yourself a favor and get to County Mayo. Mayo is a Gaelic speaking county and every road sign and even the aisle markers in the grocery store are in both English and Gaelic. The country's gorgeous, the people are warm and friendly and the only thing wrong with the Republic of Ireland???When I'm there, I never want to leave.
What about you? Where's your favorite spot in the world? And did you get your copy of VANISHED yet?
Vanished............
VANISHED is on the shelves!! Those of you who have written to me over the last year or so will be happy to know that you can get book 3 in the Immortal Guardian series at your local bookstore starting today!
This cover is gorgeous and I have to say that
VANISHED is one of my favorite stories. Maybe because it's set in one of my most favorite places!
The story takes place in County Mayo, Ireland. Specifically in Tourmakeady on the shores of Lough Mask. Which is exactly where my dh and I stayed the last time we were in Ireland. It's more gorgeous than you can imagine and so magical, even the air seems to shine.
Just to give you a little taste..........Here's a brief excerpt
The Irish countryside was quiet and the darkness was absolute, as it could only be far from the lights of a city. Here, beside the narrow road that led to Westport, the night felt empty, but for the squares of lamplight in the distance, marking the places where farmhouses stood in silence.
In the grassy field, ancient tombstones tipped and tilted crazily as if they'd been dropped from heaven and left to stand as they fell. Trees bent in the wind, and their bare limbs clattered like a muttered conversation. A fairy mound rose from the ground and lay littered with wildflowers that looked black and white in the starlight. A sigh of something ancient whispered in the darkness, and far away, a dog moaned into the quiet.
A young woman stood in the center of the stones, as she'd been told. She waited, impatiently checking her wristwatch and shrugging away the superstitious twitch at the base of her spine. The stones were eerie enough during the day, but at night, when the sky was black but for the stars, the woman half expected ghosts to rise up and chase her out of their graveyard.
The woman shivered again at the thoughts jostling through her mind and shrugged deeper into her coat. There was nothing to fear, after all. Hadn't she grown up here? Didn't she know this road to Westport well enough to travel it in her sleep?
No, the only thing to worry her was that maybe the man she waited for had forgotten his promise to meet her. Maybe he was with someone else. Maybe…
"Darlin'," a deep voice whispered from close by. "I knew you'd come. I've been waiting for you."
She whirled around, a smile of welcome on her face. Something blacker than the darkness rushed at her. She screamed as a howl lifted into the air, and a moment later the cemetery lay empty in the night.
So, make your local writer happy and rush out to buy a copy, will ya? And when you've read it, write and let me know what you think!
