S is for Stirling ~ 2018 #AtoZ Challenge

April 21, 2018 Melanie 2 Comments

Stirling

S is for Stirling

2018 #AtoZ Challenge

We’re staying on this side of the world today as we make the flight north to Scotland and the city of Stirling on S is for Stirling day.

Stirling is known as the Gateway to the Highlands. From here you can see the landscape change as you travel further north.

I visited this city back in 2000 and am looking forward to spending time there on my next trip.

Stirling Castle (pictured below) is under the care of Historic Environment Scotland. The day we visited, a wedding was taking place on the grounds.

The city of Stirling and the distance you can see the National Wallace Monument on the hill.

A spiral staircase of 246 steps takes you to the very top of the monument. It’s well worth the climb because the views from the top are spectacular!

S is for Stirling

Bloody Scotland, a crime writers’ event that brings together the best of Scotland’s crime writers, takes place in September.

Aria Fiction, Faith Hogan, Head of Zeus, Novels, women's fiction

THE GIRL I USED TO KNOW by Faith Hogan #womens #fiction #giveaway

April 20, 2018 Melanie Leave a comment

THE GIRL I used to know

by

Faith Hogan

girl I used to know

Genre: Women’s Fiction

How many Pages? 298

Release Date: 1st Dec 2017

Publisher: Aria Fiction (Head of Zeus)

A beautiful, emotive and spell-binding story of two women who find friendship and second chances when they least expect it. Perfect for the fans of Patricia Scanlan.

Amanda King and Tess Cuffe are strangers who share the same Georgian house, but their lives couldn’t be more different.

Amanda seems to have it all, absolute perfection. She projects all the accoutrements of a lady who lunches. Sadly, the reality is a soulless home, an unfaithful husband and a very lonely heart.

By comparison, in the basement flat, unwanted tenant Tess has spent a lifetime hiding and shutting her heart to love.

It takes a bossy doctor, a handsome gardener, a pushy teenager and an abandoned cat to show these two women that sometimes letting go is the first step to moving forward and new friendships can come from the most unlikely situations.

BUY LINKS

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2HavtuH

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2Hcqxp4

iBooks: https://apple.co/2ItGWon

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2q7pcrv

BookBub: http://bit.ly/2H9W6jc

ABOUT FAITH HOGAN

GIRL I USED TO KNOW

Faith Hogan is an original voice in women’s fiction. Her stories are warm and rooted in a contemporary Irish landscape which has lost none of its wit, charm or emotion thanks to its modern vibe.

Faith was born in Ireland. She gained an Honours Degree in English Literature and Psychology from Dublin City University and a Postgraduate Degree from University College, Galway. She was a winner in the 2014 Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair – an international competition for emerging writers.

Her debut novel ‘My Husbands Wives’ is a contemporary women’s fiction novel set in Dublin, published by Aria Fiction in 2016. Her second novel, ‘Secrets We Keep,’ is published in February 2017 – it has been included on the Netgalley ‘Hot List 2017.’ Her third novel – ‘The Girl I Used To Know’ is out in December 2017.

She is currently working on her next novel. She lives in the west of Ireland with her husband, four children and a rather busy chocolate Labrador. She’s a writer, reader, enthusiastic dog walker and reluctant jogger – except of course when it is raining!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/faithhoganauthor/

Twitter: @gerhogan

Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15109450.Faith_Hogan

Website: www.faithhogan.com

GIVEAWAY

A SIGNED COPY OF THE GIRL I USED TO KNOW (open internationally)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

#AtoZChallenge, Rome

R is for Rome ~ 2018 #AtoZ Challenge

April 20, 2018 Melanie Leave a comment

Rome

R is for Rome

2018 #AtoZ Challenge

We’re globetrotting again. This time we’re headed back to Europe and the boot-shaped country, Italy. Our destination is Rome, the capital city.

This ancient city has been around for the better part of 3000 years, being founded in April, 753 BC. That’s old.

Clockwise from top: the Colosseum, St. Peter’s Basilica, Castel Sant’Angelo, Ponte Sant’Angelo, Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon

R is for Rome — By AlexTref871, Jebulon, Diliff, Keith Yahl, Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de, Jebulon [CC BY-SA 2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons

Rome is also home to the Vatican. Below is St Peter’s Square, where earlier this year a snowball fight took place for the first time during a rare snowfall.

The historic centre of Rome has been been listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

#AtoZChallenge, Quebec City

Q is for Quebec City ~ 2018 #AtoZ Challenge

April 19, 2018 Melanie Leave a comment

Quebec City

Q is for Quebec City

2018 #AtoZ Challenge

After our whirlwind trip to Paris, we’re back in Canada in the capital city of the Province of Quebec.

I can’t say enough about Quebec City. The part that is Vieux-Québec, within the walls I think is as close to Paris as you can get without having to go to Paris.

Opening on the American Thanksgiving, the German Christmas market is a great place to mix, mingle and shop.

Q is for Quebec City

Perhaps, the best-known building in Quebec City is the Hotel Chateau Frontenac.

This fairy-tale castle with its central tower stretching high into the sky, located at the top of the cliff, stands guard over the city.

Q is for Quebec City

You can walk the boardwalk, known as Dufferin Terrace, from the hotel out to the Plains of Abraham. It’s a beautiful walk in the summer.

The Historic District of Old Quebec (Upper and Lower Town within the wall) is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

I can’t wait for my next visit!

#AtoZChallenge, Paris

P is for Paris ~ 2018 #AtoZ Challenge

April 18, 2018 Melanie Leave a comment

P is for Paris

2018 #AtoZ Challenge

Today we’re flying to Europe – France, specifically – for P is for Paris day on the #AtoZ Challenge tour.

What can I say about our destination? Other than

J’adore Paris. C’est Magnifique!

The City of Lights earned that moniker from the 56,000 gas lamps illuminating the streets and famous monuments.

Probably the most iconic of all is the Eiffel Tower built for the Paris Universal Exposition in 1889.

P is for Paris

In 2003, I was fortunate to get to the top of the Eiffel Tower. The views from that vantage point looking down over the city are amazing.

If you start walking the Avenue des Champs-Élysées at the Arc de Triomphe, by the time you reach Place de la Concorde, you will have walked 1.9 kilometres.

If you look through the centre arch of the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel (at the Louvre) above, you can see the gold at the top of the obelisque and beyond that, the Arc de Triomphe. All perfectly lined up.

Boat tours on the Seine take you past many landmark locations.

If you’re lucky enough, you might even get to climb the steeples at Notre Dame Cathedral and get up close and personal (sort of) with the chimeras gracing the building’s facade.

When I returned to the City of Lights in 2014, my mobility was somewhat hampered. I tore my gastrocnemius muscle shortly before my trip. At least I had graduated from crutches to a cane by then.

#AtoZChallenge, Ottawa

O is for Ottawa ~ 2018 #AtoZ Challenge

April 17, 2018 Melanie Leave a comment

Ottawa

O is for Ottawa

2018 #AtoZ Challenge

We’re back in Canada today in the nation’s capital for O is for Ottawa day of the #AtoZChallenge.

Today’s post ties in with K is for Kingston. It was in Kingston that the Prime Minister at the time, Sir John A. MacDonald is said to have consulted with the Witch of Plum Hollow (also known as Mother Barnes) regarding the location of the what would become our capital.

Below is the centre block of the Parliament Buildings during a changing of the guard ceremony.

O is for Ottawa — By Yann Fauché & Alma Mulalic [CC BY-SA 2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-

In addition to being the capital city of Canada, Ottawa is well-known for the Rideau Canal. In the winter, it becomes the nation’s (if not the world’s) longest skating rink.

The city boasts two universities – Carleton and the University of Ottawa and some college campuses.

If you’re interested in the paranormal, Ottawa doesn’t disappoint. Some buildings in the city are reputed to be haunted.

The Bytown Museum is and one of the stops on the Haunted Walk of Ottawa tour.

And, if you want to stay in a place that’s haunted, there’s the former Ottawa jail.

There’s much more to say about Ottawa, but the best way to experience the place is to visit.

I have loads of pictures taken in the city, but they must be “pre-digital” camera and tucked away in photo boxes because when I searched the computer(s), I couldn’t find a one. *sniff*

#AtoZChallenge, New Orleans

N is for New Orleans ~ 2018 #AtoZ Challenge

April 16, 2018 Melanie 2 Comments

New Orleans

N is for New Orleans

2018 #AtoZChallenge

We’re back in the US today, in the southern state of Louisiana for N is for New Orleans.

The city, nicknamed “The Big Easy”, is famous for its French Quarter, probably mostly for Mardi Gras and Bourbon Street.

Tourism promotes “Voodoo” although not many people are actual practitioners. Marie Laveau (1801-1881) was known as the “Voodoo Queen of New Orleans”.

Four active streetcar lines ply the streets of the city.

Because the city is below sea level, the graves in the cemeteries are above ground in elaborate mausoleums like these in Lafayette Cemetery No. 1.

N is for New Orleans — By No machine-readable author provided. Jan Kronsell assumed (based on copyright claims). [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

Songs written about the city include Johnny Horton’s, Battle of New Orleans

and The Animals, House of the Rising Sun.

#AtoZChallenge, Munich

M is for Munich ~ 2018 #AtoZ Challenge

April 14, 2018 Melanie Leave a comment

Munich

M is for Munich

2018 #AtoZChallenge

We’re back in Germany today on M is for Munich day in the 2018 #AtoZ challenge.

Munich is the capital of Bavaria and the third largest city in Germany. Berlin and Hamburg are one and two.

Famous for Oktoberfest celebrations, Munich is a city of amazing architecture, and hosts many museums, and universities.

Old Town Hall…

M is for Munich — By Pedelecs (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

New Town Hall…

There’s plenty to see and do in Munich, but I’ll leave you to look it up yourselves.

#AtoZChallenge, Lima

L is for Lima ~ 2018 #AtoZ Challenge

April 13, 2018 Melanie 2 Comments

Lima

L is for Lima

2018 #AtoZ Challenge

We’re headed south today. South America, that is, and the country of Peru. Lima is the country’s capital and is one of the largest cities in this southern hemisphere’s continent.

The National University of San Marcos, founded in 1552, is Lima’s oldest university and is the longest continuously running academic institution in all of the Americas.

Next year, 2019, Lima will host the Pan American Games.

L is for Lima — By David Bolsón, Uwebart, David Felipe Ruiz Hoyos, Avodrocc, Hector Becerra, Uighjot120 [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

#AtoZChallenge, Kingston

K is for Kingston ~ 2018 #AtoZ Challenge

April 12, 2018 Melanie Leave a comment

Kingston

K is for Kingston

2018 #AtoZ Challenge

We’re back in Canada today, Eastern Ontario and the city of Kingston. Located on the north shore of Lake Ontario where it narrows into the St. Lawrence River, Kingston is a historic city.

At the eastern end of the city near the Cataraqui River stands Fort Henry, a stronghold built in the 1800s.

Kingston is also famous for the former Kingston Penitentiary (home to some notorious criminals before its closure) and the Prison for Women.

Sir John A. MacDonald, Canada’s first Prime Minister, lived in Kingston in Bellevue House. Rumour has it; he consulted with the Witch of Plum Hollow over the location of the nation’s capital.