My Scottish Roots…

Since the subtitle of my blog is My Scottish Roots and Writing I decided it was about time I included something about my heritage. And today is a good day to do it.

dad
Robert A Robertson July 30, 1913 – April 29, 1969

My father came to Canada in 1930 – one of the 7,000 children sent out by The Orphan Homes of Scotland founded by Scottish philanthropist William Quarrier, who grew up in extreme poverty and later in life when he had the means to help the less fortunate, he did.

I’ve written an article on Quarrier which was published by The Scottish Banner in December 2001. Funny enough, I didn’t even know the article had been accepted until I opened my paper and there it was. But I digress… back to the business at hand – my Scottish roots.

My father was one of ten children born to John Robertson and Margaret MacDonald in Aberdeenshire, Scotland between 1903 and 1915 (five of which were sent to The Orphan Homes of Scotland).

Grandpa Robertson had been married before and had fathered ten children with his first wife, too. The youngest from this previous marriage was six when he married my grandmother (wife #2)

One thing that I didn’t realize immediately but my grandparents shared the same birthday, not that they could have afforded to buy each other gifts.

grandpa_robertson
Grandpa Robertson
Aug 12, 1856-June 18, 1930
grandma_robertson
My Grandmother – Margaret (MacDonald) Robertson
Aug 12, 1882-Dec 2, 1915

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although this isn’t the greatest quality photograph, I think I look more like my grandmother than grandfather. What do you think?

What do you use Ordnance Survey Maps for?

That was the subject of my first article for Loveahappyending Lifestyle magazine (formerly loveahappyending.com). Without sounding too cliche (well at least I hope I’m not), I think Ordnance Survey Maps are the greatest thing since sliced bread. Okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration but it gives you an idea how enthusiastic I am when it comes to using these.

You can read the article at Loveahappyending Lifestyle magazine.

I hope you enjoy it.

 

It’s “Tell A Story Day”

Tell A Story Day!

Never heard of it before? Well, believe it or not, there is a quirky holiday for every day of the year. Hallmark had an ultimate holiday site which has now closed but they’ve kindly listed some other links where you can discover what the holiday of the day is.

To celebrate Tell A Story Day, I’ll be a guest at fellow loveahappyending lifestyle contributor and author, Anneli Purchase at her blog Anneli’s Place.

Okay, so here’s my story… in keeping with the day.

a shadow in the past cover 500x773

Blurb:

Nineteen-year-old Sarah Shand finds herself thrust back into the past. There she struggles to keep her real identity from a society that finds her comments and ideas strange and her speech and actions forward, unlike Victorian women. When Sarah verbally confronts confining social practices, including arranged marriages; powerful enemies commit her to a lunatic asylum. After falling in love with the handsome Laird of Weetshill, Robert Robertson, she must decide whether to find her way back to her own time or to remain in the past with him.

 

Now isn’t that a great story? I think so, but then I’m biased.

Find me on my Facebook Author Page

and @RobertsoKing on Twitter.

A Shadow in the Past is available for purchase from 4RV Publishing, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and bricks ‘n mortar locations.

You can find out more about Loveahappyending Lifestyle here. And “like” our facebook page at this link.

 

 

It’s release day for the paperback version of Angel Girls by D.S. Ingram

angel girlsAngel Girls

Carrie Miller and her only daughter Sarah share a dark secret that no one must ever discover. A secret surrounding the demise of a brutal husband and father. They are determined not to reveal the truth. Not even to Jonny Mason the handsome young man who adores Sarah and would do anything for her. Even Suzy Pond, Sarah’s best friend must not find out. Suzy is trying to cope with her wayward boyfriend Billy. He lies and steals from her and leaves her pregnant and alone.How will she cope? How will Jonny cope when his own beloved father is brutally attacked and left for dead? As one young man’s life spirals out of control, the women around him gather their strength. Some friendships are shattered forever, some are strong enough to weather the most terrible of tragedies.

Where to buy:

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com

Debra’s Bio:

I was born and brought up in the area of London known as “The Angel” where my books are set. I now live in East London with my husband and youngest son. I have two sons and one beautiful granddaughter. I studied Social Science with the Open University and have a B.A hons degree. I work part time as a play worker with primary school children. I worked with special needs children for more than twenty five years prior to this. Angel Girls is my second novel. It is the first of my books to be released as a paperback. Angel Girls and my first novel, Poppy Days are also available for kindle. I am hoping to release Poppy Days as a paperback later this year.

You can follow Debbie Ingram on Twitter at @dollhousedeb

CONTEMPORARY NOVELISTS’ BOOK FAIR – Second Chances

contempbookfair

Blair_MartinNiamh_MacIsaacThis is from one of my works-in-progress…

Since, I don’t have a cover I’ll share images of my main characters, Blair Martin and Niamh MacIsaac instead.

 

Second Chances

Blurb:

Working on an oil-rig in the North Sea can be dangerous but sometimes the commute can be deadly.

Niamh MacIsaac dreads saying goodbye to her partner, Blair Martin, every time he leaves for his job on an off-shore oil platform. Her worst fears become reality when the helicopter he’s a passenger on ditches into the North Sea. While waiting and hoping for news of survivors, a severe storm blows up and the search is stood down. Will they be reunited and have a second chance at happiness, or will the North Sea claim yet another victim?

Excerpt:

CHAPTER 1

Niamh opened her eyes, looked at the sleeping baby in the small bassinet beside her bed in Aberdeen Maternity Hospital and smiled. She turned her head away to look around the rest of the room. When she’d been brought up after the emergency C-section, it was the middle of the night and the hospital room completely dark. At least, that’s how she remembered it. Exhaustion and drugs for the post-op pain clouded her memory.

“Blair? Is that you?” she groggily asked the figure sleeping in the chair on the other side of the bed.

“Huh?” Blair woke with a start.

“How long have you been there?” she asked, stretching her arm out to touch him.

“Since they brought you up from surgery.”

“Oh,” she replied flatly. “And Mum?”

“Don’t know. She left to make a few calls and that’s the last I saw her. Figure she went home. I know she wasn’t best pleased to see me turn up.”

“I’m glad you did. With the way things ended after that awful row we had, I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”

“I stormed around for a few days then did something I didn’t think I’d ever do. I drove down to Barnsley,” Blair answered.

“You what?”

“You heard me. I drove to Barnsley. Never would have done it if it wasn’t for you.”

“And?” Niamh shifted position, her interest piqued by his revelation.

“The pit’s gone. Shopping complex there now. The old house is still there. Looks as rundown now as it did then.”

“That’s not quite what I meant. What about your father? Did you see him?”

“No. He’s dead. It was the drink.”

Niamh didn’t know what to say. She knew Blair hated the man for the hell he’d put both him and his mother through. She remained quiet for a few minutes then asked, “Did you go to the cemetery to see your mother?”

“Yes. Took flowers. The bastard’s buried there with her. He should rot in hell for all eternity for what he put us through,” he said as he lowered his head.

“How do you know he’s buried with her?”

“Because it’s on the fucking headstone! I don’t know who arranged it but I’d like to…”

“Beat the stuffing out of them, like your father did to you and your mother.”

Blair sat in silence for a moment. He stood and stretched before quickly changing the subject. “That chair is bloody uncomfortable.”

“You didn’t have to stay all night. You could have gone home.”

“I know but I wanted to.” He leaned down and kissed her forehead.

“Why don’t you go home and get some sleep? You look shattered.”

“In a bit. I’m going on a quest for coffee right now. You want anything?”

“Not sure if can. I’ll be fine. You go.”

He leaned down to kiss her forehead again but this time Niamh moved her head so he kissed her squarely on the lips. “Won’t be long,” he said before leaving.

Niamh watched his muscular figure walk away from her. His tight jeans and white T-shirt made him look absolutely delicious. And that was what got her in trouble from the beginning. From the first day she kissed him while his girlfriend, Sarah, who was also her best friend was away at University, she wanted him. Didn’t love him but wanted him. She had been physically attracted to Blair for as long as she could remember but kept those feelings to herself since he was her best friend’s bloke – until that first kiss and from that point on, couldn’t help herself. Even now, she didn’t know her feelings for him. The sex had been fantastic but was that because Blair was the forbidden fruit? Once everything came out in the open and they had been caught by Sarah, things had changed. The intensity was no longer there. Blair seemed distant, especially after Niamh dropped her pregnancy bomb on him.

 

I’ve received the Sunshine Award!

sunshine-award

This award couldn’t have come at a better time after yesterday. If you read my blog post from then, you’ll see what I mean.

So, I have to answer a few random questions, then nominate twelve blogs that I love to visit. Easy-peasy, right? Well, maybe not quite.

Okay the random questions and answers:

Favorite Color: Blue – light, blue, dark blue, royal blue, navy blue, sky blue…
Favorite Animal: Horse. They are so beautiful but since my dog will likely get his nose out of joint and eat one of my big stuffed animals in revenge, I best nominate him – Jake – aka the Jakemeister.
Favorite Number: I don’t think I have one but since I have to choose I would say 7 since it was on the 7th of June that my hubby and I were married.
Favorite Non-alcoholic Drink: Coffee.
Facebook or Twitter: I’m not the most creative with 140 characters so I would have to say Facebook, but even that changes everytime someone sneezes it seems.
Your Passion: Scotland and my Scottish heritage. Get me on that subject and you’ll never get me off it.
Giving or getting presents: I like to get but it’s more fun and rewarding to see the look on someone’s face when they open a gift that you’ve carefully chosen for that person.
Favorite Day: Since I work Monday to Friday, my choice would be Saturday. It’s the first morning that the alarm clock doesn’t go off before six o’clock. Mind you, the aforementioned dog usually scratches on the bedroom door about the same time. He doesn’t believe in lie-ins. Drat!
Favorite Flowers: Lilacs. I love the smell and have a number of bushes in my back yard.

And now I nominate 12 author bloggers whom I love to visit:

Suzy Turner http://suzyturner.blogspot.com
Ali Bacon http://alibacon.com/blog
Carol E Wyer http://facing50withhumour.com
Brian Henry (Quick Brown Fox) http://quick-brown-fox-canada.blogspot.com
Mandy Baggot http://www.mandybaggot.com/apps/blog
Lou Graham http://lougrahamiiblog.wordpress.com
Jo Lambert http://jolambertwriter.wordpress.com
Susan Livingston http://lotsocats100-fascinatingbooks.blogspot.com
Kathryn Brown http://crystaljigsaw.blogspot.com
Michelle Betham http://michellebethamwriter.blogspot.com
Jontybabe http://jontybabe.blogspot.com
Carol Wright http://dizzycslittlebookblog.blogspot.com

 

It’s more the principle than the damage…

Feeling a bit grumpy here at the House of King today. Whilst hubby was out filling up my car (in case the price of petrol spiked as it usually does in these parts on a Tuesday), his car that is parked in this spot during the day to ensure the one side of our driveway doesn’t get parked across, got clipped.
front fender damageYou can see the beginning of the damage above the wheel and it progresses to the front bumper. Luckily, the headlight doesn’t appear to be damaged but that remains to be seen.
front fender damage 2I thought I heard something outside that sounded like scraping metal or even someone trying to move a small trailer into place. I got up and saw a vehicle pulling into the driveway next door. Not knowing the circumstances, when hubby returned, I suggested he might want to go out and have a look at the left, front fender of his car. Being on holidays, I was still in my bed-night clothes, so I wasn’t about to go out.

This is the oldest car in the family – a 2006 Chev Cobalt and until today remained in pristine condition.

In the end, I slipped a pair of trainers on and went outside with hubby’s phone (as luck would have it, mine was on the charger and my cameras were upstairs) and took the two pictures above. While the damage appears to be cosmetic only, it’s the principle of the whole thing that burns my butt more than anything else.

At least no one was injured, the police were notified. We called them, too, to report the incident to ensure that the driver of the vehicle that clipped the car had done and we have an accident report (such as it is) so we can move on.

Tomorrow the car goes to a body shop and the adjuster will come and look at it there. If he says go ahead, then the work will progress. If not, we have the final say and like it or not the insurance company will have to pay.

The body shop we’ve chosen has done work for us on previous occasions and have gone beyond the call of duty but our insurance company doesn’t use them. You know who we want in our corner doing the work.

As they say, “news at eleven”.

 

SECURITY by LAHE Lifestyle author, Mandy Baggot

Today I’m hosting fellow Loveahappyending Lifestyle author, Mandy Baggot and her new romantic suspense novel, Security, brought to you by Sapphire Star Publishing!

MandyBaggotSecurity_600

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*****
Autumn Raine is a pop vocalist at the very top of her game. She’s a style icon, the paparazzi’s darling and everyone wants to be her friend. But when her safety is threatened, her whole life starts to unravel.

AutumnEnter Nathan Regan, an ex-elite soldier who is assigned to protect her. He’s a good man doing bad things but what drives him? Passion? Madness? Or grief? Demons from his past are threatening to consume him. Can he win the fight alone or will he have to admit he needs help?

NathanAs the threat deepens, Autumn starts to find out who she really needs in her life. Is there still room for personal assistant Janey or rapper boyfriend Rockweiler? When everyone around her is feeding her lies, how does she work out the truth? Does her record producer know more than he’s letting on? What is her mother, the British Foreign Secretary’s involvement in the situation? And can Autumn put her faith in a forty-something Jamaican woman who handles an automatic weapon as expertly as she cooks?

Eluding kidnap and trying to stay alive, can Autumn find the strength to be the person she longs to be? And can two people, poles apart, forge something strong enough to survive anything?

SECURITY can be purchased from:

Amazon UK Kindle http://www.amazon.co.uk/Security-ebook/dp/B00C5QOWXS/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1364975367&sr=1-1

Amazon US Kindle http://www.amazon.com/Security-ebook/dp/B00C5QOWXS/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1364975673&sr=1-1&keywords=Mandy+Baggot+Security

Amazon US paperback http://www.amazon.com/Security-Mandy-Baggot/dp/1938404521/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1364975673&sr=1-2&keywords=Mandy+Baggot+Security

You can find out more about Mandy at these links:

http://www.mandybaggot.com/

http://www.sapphirestarpublishing.com/mandybaggot

LAHE LIFESTYLE

Today, Mandy and I are asking, what makes you feel safe/comfortable/secure?

Me, I feel secure when I’m cuddled up next to my husband.

To be in with a chance to win an e-copy of Security, leave a comment and your email address and let me know what makes you feel secure? Could it be knowing you have that secret stash of chocolate hidden away or perhaps you have a favourite piece of music that wraps you up like a blanket! Get commenting to win! Closing date 30 April 2013.

Mandy is also giving away a £25/$40 Amazon Gift Certificate to anyone who posts a review at amazon between now and 31 May 2013. You’ll automatically be entered into a Rafflecopter draw to win.

Rafflecopter