Happy St Andrew’s Day!

It’s St Andrew’s Day!

To all my Scottish friends and family whether you’re in the Auld Country or scattered to the wind around the world, I wish you a happy St Andrew’s Day!

How do you celebrate? Will you eat haggis? Will you go to The Scotsman’s Haggis Hunt and see if you can “bag” a few there? Have a dram or two? Or just spend a quiet evening in front of the fire?

Now, I’m turning things over to my Scottish-born author friend, Ali Bacon, to share what St Andrews Day means to her.

Take it away, Ali…

What St. Andrew did for me…

Well actually, I don’t know that St. Andrew and I have had much of a connection over the years. We did call our second son Andrew, but more because I thought it was a good ‘match’ for our firstborn Stephen (both names of Greek derivation) than for patriotic reasons. And even in my Scottish childhood, St Andrew was far less of a cultural icon than Rabbie Burns, Sir Walter Scott or Billy Connolly!

But hang on a minute. I did spend four of the best years of my life at St. Andrews University (600 years old this year) where I also met my husband to be – I think that means quite a lot!

castle(Ed note… I’ve been to both St Andrews Castle and Cathedral and remember this dramatic view)

kkdaySt. Andrews these days is best known for being the place where the Prince William met his princess and in the year they married (I knew we were starting a trend!) I started a blog of my own reminiscences of a place (town and university) which is totally unique in so many ways. I only add to it from time to time but if you are interested it’s here.

Surprisingly I don’t remember St. Andrew was celebrated much in the university that bears his name, but there were all kinds of other traditions, some, like Raisin Monday (Ed note… I saw those pics on BBC and it looked like everyone had great fun getting covered in foam) madder than others. Kate Kennedy Day, named after an apocryphal Bishop’s daughter, is a slightly more serious affair with a procession of historical figures which takes place in the spring. I’m glad to say St. Andrew does get to appear, so here he is in his 1970s guise.

Of course it’s many a year since I was in St. Andrews but the town did creep into my novel A Kettle of Fish which is set in my home county of Fife (I just couldn’t leave it out) and in a weird way it has turned up in the novel I’m writing now which is about (amongst other things) the development of photography in Victorian times. (Ed note… I love the Victorian times and use that era extensively in my writing) What does that have to do with St Andrews?  You’re going to have to wait to find out, but I think you’ll be surprised.

Thanks Melanie for having me here while my own website software is having a meltdown – and I hope I can repay the favour some time soon. (Ed note… having issues on this side of the pond with my stats/publicity plugin so I can understand your angst)

About Ali:

Ali BaconAli Bacon was born in Dunfermline in Scotland and graduated from St Andrews University. She now lives near Bristol. Her writing has been published in Scribble, The Yellow Room and a number of online magazines as well as the Unchained Anthology.

A Kettle of FishA Kettle of Fish (Scottish Contemporary Fiction) and are both available in paperback and e-book formats via major online retailers.

A Kettle of Fish on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/#!/AKettleOfFish

Website and blog: http://alibacon.com

Unchained Anthology http://writersunchained.wordpress.com

Twitter @AliBacon

 

 

The SHINE ON Award: 7 Random Things About Me

Melanie Robertson-King is the proud recipient of the prestigious SHINE ON Award in the ‘books involving her Celtic connections’ category.

Shine On AwardI’ve been nominated for the SHINE ON award! In order to accept the honour bestowed upon me by fellow Ottawa Romance Writer, Maureen Fisher, I have to share seven random bits of information about me with you – my readers.

So without further ado,

  1. Like my nominator, I’m an only child but both my parents came from large families. My mother was one of eight children and my father was one of twenty (his father was married twice and had 10 children with each wife).
  2. I’m a first generation Canadian. My father came to Canada as a Home Child through the Orphan Homes of Scotland.
  3. Not much of a surprise, but I love Scotland and all things Scottish and travel to the ‘auld country’ as often as possible, most recently this past August. I’m rather partial to a certain 18 year old Glenlivet single malt whisky and love haggis.
  4. I’ve never lived any further away from Brockville than 15 miles. Before I started school, I lived in a winterized cottage on the shore of the St. Lawrence River.
  5. I have a background in Computer Programming and work in payroll for an Eastern Ontario trucking company.
  6. I’ve been a story-teller since I was a kid. My cousins and I would gather in the woodshed at my grandmother’s in the dark and scare each other silly with ghost stories.
  7. I can live without chocolate. Yup, you read that right. If I have it fine and if I don’t, well that’s fine, too. Doesn’t say much for someone who writes romance.

The SHINE ON award is one that keeps on giving, so now it’s my turn to nominate the following worthy authors:

Nicky Wells – the ultimate Rock Star author who writes Romance that Rocks Your World

Janice Horton – Scottish Author who writes Contemporary fiction with humour and heart

Joanna Lambert – who writes Stories Written with Passion & Inspired by Music

And, you can read Maureen’s SHINE ON post here.

 

 

A Country Christmas Craft Fair – November 30th

A Country Christmas Craft Fair

A

COUNTRY CHRISTMAS

CRAFT FAIR

Saturday, November 30th, 2013

9 am – 2 pm

20+ TABLES OF THE BEST OF THE AREA’S

CRAFTERS & VENDORS

 santasDIFFERENT – UNIQUE – LOCAL

MALLORYTOWN LEGION BR 484

13 QUABBIN ROAD

MALLORYTOWN, ONTARIO, 613-923-5000

Visit the Mallorytown Legion’s Facebook Page

~~~~~~~~~~~

I’ll be there selling copies of A Shadow in the Past and my recently released short story anthology The Consequences Collection. In addition, I’ll have my 2014 A Shadow in the Past calendar with photos of various locations that appear in my novel.

If you’re local to Mallorytown and are looking for a Christmas gift for that special someone, come on out, I’d love to see you there.

Ladies Nite 2013

Nov 8th was Ladies Nite at Green Things Garden & Gifts and other participating merchants

In addition to Green Things where I set up, two other local businesses took part in the fun as well – Casual Living (who have been involved in previous years) and new comers Hall’s Apple Market (they have way more than just apples there).

This year I was set up in a different area than my first time out in 2012. It was extremely busy when I arrived so I rushed to get set up and it wasn’t until after I had everything out on the table that I realized I had forgotten my tartan throw that I use at most places. I had planned on using it as a topper over the red table cloth I had also been completely forgotten about until I saw it in the linen closet the other day and it begged “pick me! pick me!”. Still I think my table looked pretty good just as it was. What do you think?

ladies nite 2013
My table at Ladies Nite

See my funky coffee mugs there? I’ve got one for A Shadow in the Past and one for The Consequences Collection – both of which had candies in them.

Of course my usual accoutrements came along – postcards, bookmarks, business cards, easel to display a book on but I had more loot this year! I had another book, plus my 2014 A Shadow in the Past calendars! Luckily for me, I had another photo easel at home that I pressed into service for my anthology since the acrylic book easels I have on order haven’t arrived yet.

All in all, it was an extremely successful evening – 3 copies of A Shadow in the Past, 1 copy of The Consequences Collection, and 1 A Shadow in the Past calendar.

Keep watching my appearances page for where I’ll be next and if you’re in the area, drop in. I’d love to see you.

 

 

After the Wedgewood Author Series launch of The Consequences Collection

The Wedgewood Author Series – The Consequences Collection

consequences coverThe weather on October 26th wasn’t conducive to anyone venturing out yet a few brave souls joined me as I launched my short story anthology – The Consequences Collection.

In the week leading up to my launch, I sold three print copies and one kindle version. These sales were to folks who couldn’t make it to the launch and one person who needed the versatility of the kindle to enlarge the font.

One lady who came to my launch, I found out was a friend of my aunt’s during high school, so we had a lovely chat before things got underway.

I spoke a wee bit about how my anthology came to be, how I got my fantastic cover image,  then read from the title story, Consequences, which was originally written for the one and only storefront writing contest in Brockville.

consequences launch 1
Talking about The Consequences Collection

Afterwards, I fielded questions from the intimate group gathered in the media room at The Wedgewood Retirement Resort.

consequences launch 2
Working the room during the Q&A session

Then came time to sell books. Like I said, it was a small crowd but everyone there bought a book. And remember the lady who was a friend of my aunt? Well, she REALLY wanted a copy of A Shadow in the Past, so I sold her the copy that had travelled up mountains, to pubs, stone circles and ruined castles on our trip to Scotland (the only one I had with me) and she was happy as a clam.

consequences launch 3
Signing yet another copy of The Consequences Collection

At the end of the day, I sold and signed eight copies of The Consequences Connection and one copy of A Shadow in the Past. The next day, I sold two more copies at my writers’ group meeting. My end sales – 13 paperbacks, 1 kindle.

Where to buy The Consequences Collection:

Paperback:

Lulu.com

Epub:

Lulu.com

Kindle:

amazon.com

amazon.ca

amazon.co.uk

iBookstore

Coming soon to amazon in paperback and to Barnes and Noble for the nook.

COVER REVEAL + e-launch of The Consequences Collection

“If you could see the consequences – would you?”

Today marks the cover reveal and the e-launch of The Consequences Collection…consequences cover 3 croppedSpecial thank you to Madliz Coles whose kind permission made it possible to use her evocative photograph as the cover image for my anthology.

Blurb: 

The Consequences Collection is an eclectic compilation of twelve stories ranging from non-fiction through creative non-fiction to pure fiction, in prose and poetry.

The story of a Scottish Home Child is based on fact and told from the child’s point of view; The Mystery Woman of Kinettles is a non-fiction article on the appearance and subsequent disappearance of a woman’s body near the Wellington County House of Industry (Poor House) in 1879 Southwestern Ontario.

Some of these stories are lighter than others, and some might even beg you to leave the lights on.

Excerpt from the cover story Consequences: But before I get into that, this was written during the one and only storefront writing contest held in Brockville. We all wrote to the same prompt (I think we were thirteen in number) and it was amazing the different ways our stories went.

Splat! The mail landed on the ceramic tile floor of the foyer. Usually, the noise was followed by the snap of the mail slot door closing. Today it wasn’t.

Something must have stuck in it. Sylvia put her coffee down on the counter and walked to the front door. A large white envelope remained suspended in the door. She pulled it the rest of the way through. The flap snapped shut and even though she was used to hearing the metallic sound, it startled her.

She’d expected a letter from her solicitor regarding her divorce from Bill but it wasn’t there. However, that one in particular had piqued her curiosity. Emblazoned on the top left corner was an official-looking crest. The addressee’s name and address were correct. It was her. Why would this person or agency be sending her a letter? She’d never heard of them before.

Sylvia turned the envelope over and worked her thumb under the flap. Those self-sticking envelopes are a bugger, she thought as she tried to rip it open. Finally, she gave up and tore down the side and yanked the contents out.

She skimmed over the letter but it didn’t make any sense so placed it on the small table by the door. It could be dealt with later. In the meantime, she looked at the rest of her mail. Nothing else untoward – just the electric bill, gas bill, and the usual assortment of junk – mail. She dropped them on top of the letter and returned to the kitchen.

The coffee she’d poured earlier had gone cold. She dumped it down the sink and turned the water on to rinse it away before getting a fresh one.

Drawn by some inexplicable force, Sylvia went back to the foyer and collected the letter and the mangled envelope. She returned to the kitchen, flipped on the radio and sat down at her small table. Why had she opened it in the first place? She should have just binned it. That’s what she usually did with unsolicited mail. But there was something strangely familiar about it. The addressee information was on a computer printed label so there was no clue there. The sororities from University had crests or emblems to differentiate one from another. She wracked her brain trying to remember what they looked like. It had been over thirty years since she’d attended. Sylvia never belonged to a sorority because she thought the girls who did were snooty and stuck-up.

She’d call her friend, Laurie and tell her about the letter. They’d been friends since childhood, attended the same elementary and secondary schools and even the same University. She could tell her anything, couldn’t she?

And since this piece is about a reveal… well, I have to include this anecdote and photo. Back in early October, hubby and I went out to get some photos of me surrounded by the local fall colour splendour… me wearing my tartan corset that I bought in Glasgow.

almost wardrobe malfunctionI’m almost Janet Jackson but not quite… but my ‘almost’ reveal was purely accidental. That’s what happens when you sit on the tail of your corset and try to skooch higher up the rock.

Where to buy The Consequences Collection:

Paperback:

Lulu.com

Epub:

Lulu.com

Kindle:

amazon.com

amazon.ca

amazon.co.uk

iBookstore

Coming soon to amazon in paperback and to Barnes and Noble for the nook.

Visit these sites, too:

Anneli Purchase

Dayna Leigh Cheser

Gina Dickerson

Janice Horton

Mandy Baggot

Nicky Wells

Pauline Barclay

Sheryl Browne

Stephanie Keyes

Wendy Laharnar

and
Loveahappyending Lifestyle magazine

My links:

Website:  www.melanierobertson-king.com

Blog:  Celtic Connexions

Facebook Author Page

Goodreads author page

Amazon author page

Loveahappyending Lifestyle magazine author page

Twitter:  @RobertsoKing

Spirits of Christmas: A Rock’n’Roll Christmas Carol by Nicky Wells

Spirits of Christmas: A Rock’n’Roll Christmas Carol

SpiritsChristmas_NW_CoverAt one time, up-and-coming rock singer Jude had it all: a great band, a platinum record, a loving girlfriend. This Christmas, however, he is well down the road towards spontaneous self-destruction.

Unwitting at first, Jude has progressively alienated his band and driven away the love of his life. Tonight, the night before Christmas Eve, he has broken the final taboo during a disastrous gig. Yet Jude doesn’t see how badly his life has derailed, not until a ghostly procession of legends passes through his bedroom with a series of vivid and powerful wake-up calls.

Will the Spirits help Jude put the friendship, love, and rock music back into his Christmas?

Spirits of Christmas is a modern-day rock’n’roll adaption of Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol. This novella will enchant romance readers, rock lovers, fans of ghost stories, and everybody who adores the festive season.

 Amazon.co.uk Kindle | Amazon.co.uk Paperback

Amazon.com Kindle | Amazon.com Paperback

 EXCERPT

 ‘Hiya, Jude!’

The voice emerged from the door, and Jude’s head whipped round as if drawn by a string.

‘Hiya, Jude,’ the voice repeated cheerfully. Unexpectedly, it launched into the first line of one of Jude’s most favourite songs. Jude once again sank onto the bed, his legs refusing to carry him with the shock of this second apparition.

‘Is this really you?’

For a moment, Jude’s second otherworldly visitor abandoned his song and remained silent, motionless, allowing Jude to take a good, long look. The sideburns, the nose, the defined chin, the round glasses were clearly visible despite the spirit’s transparent appearance. Everything about this figure was familiar, yet nothing was quite as it should have been. It was as though Jude was looking at a hologram, a distorted, stretched vision where nothing quite fitted together.

Nonetheless, Jude found his voice. ‘Oh my God, it is you!’

Excitement made his exclamation strong and clear. The figure flinched at the sudden burst of noise, but Jude ploughed on. ‘This is…this is totally unreal. I mean, imagine this—here’s me in my bedroom, and there’s you, come to visit me.’

‘I’m not who you think you see,’ the apparition interrupted. ‘I’m the Ghost of Christmas Past.’

 Inspiration for Spirits of Christmas…

 Writing this novella was a bit of an inevitability for me, all things considered. If you don’t already know me, you have to understand that I simply love rock music. Rock musicians are like Viagra for my soul. I’m also a sucker for romance and a good-old fashioned happy ending. Moreover, I love the Christmas season: the lights, the sweets, the laughter. Combining all those things ~ rock, romance, and Christmas ~ was one of the most delightful writing projects of my career so far!

The idea for this book came to me the very night after I launched my second book, Sophie’s Run, in February of this year. I was hyped up with excitement, I had finished writing my third book and was waiting for publisher edits, and I had already planned my fourth full-length novel. I was utterly and completely unable to sleep with everything that was going on, and quite unexpectedly, the whole story was in my head. Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is one of my favourite Christmas stories both in the original and its many varied adaptations. I suddenly thought… why not bring it into the rock’n’roll domain?

My wonderful husband, Jon, was somewhat taken aback when I presented him with this plan the following morning.

‘I’m going to write a Christmas novella,’ I said.

‘But you’ve got another book launch in September, and you’ve planned your fourth book already—how’s this going to fit in?’ he responded enthusiastically, if pragmatic.

‘I’ll figure it out.’

And so I did. It took me just over a week to write the first draft in May 2013, and another few weeks here and there to tweak, fine-tune and polish it over the following months. But here it is. Spirits of Christmas. I hope you enjoy!

About Nicky Wells: Romance that Rocks Your World!Portrait

Hi! I’m Nicky Wells, your ultimate rock chick author. My books offer glitzy, glamorous contemporary romance with a rock theme ~ imagine Bridget Jones ROCKS Notting Hill! If you’ve ever had a crush on any kind of celebrity ~ rock, pop, movie or other ~ you’ll connect with my heroes and my leading ladies!

Like my first leading lady, Sophie, I love listening to rock music, dancing, and eating lobsters. When I’m not writing, I’m a wife, mother, occasional knitter, and regular contributor to The Midweek Drive show on Lincoln’s Siren 107.3 FM. Rock on!

My books: Sophie’s Turn | Sophie’s Run | Sophie’s Encore | Spirits of Christmas

Join me: Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Romantic Novelists’ Association | Sapphire Star Publishing | Amazon | Goodreads | Pinterest