Category Archives: 4RV Publishing

4RV Publishing, A Shadow in the Past, Aberdeenshire, Books, England, Kindle, King Park Press, kobo, nook, Novels, readers, Scotland, The Consequences Collection, Tim's Magic Christmas, Writing

It’s Tell a Story Day

October 27, 2015 Melanie 4 Comments

It’s “Tell A Story Day”!

Well, in Scotland and England it is. And since my heart belongs to Scotland, and I have family and friends in both countries, need I say more?

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

tell a story

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.

~~~~~~~~~~

You can buy A Shadow from the Past in print or ebook from:

4RV Publishing
amazon.com
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

Novels too long for your liking? How about a collection of short stories then?

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.

Where to buy The Consequences Collection:

Paperback:

Lulu.com

Epub:

Lulu.com

Kindle:

amazon.com

And for the younger folks who love a good story, how about one for Christmas?

Blurb:

For Tim Frost, Christmas 2011 is a washout. No Santa. No presents. Nothing. His father lost his job when the mill closed and now the family is on the verge of losing their home.

A chance encounter with Nick Kringle, a modern-day Santa Claus, teaches Tim that the greatest gift you can receive is the gift of giving.

Tim’s Magic Christmas is available in paperback from the author, or for the kindle at amazon.com.

You can follow me here at Celtic Connexions or at:

Website: http://www.melanierobertson-king.com/
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Melanie-Robertson-King/221018701298979
Twitter Account: @RobertsoKing https://twitter.com/RobertsoKing
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6543072.Melanie_Robertson_King

4RV Publishing, A Shadow in the Past, anthology, Authors, King Park Press, Novels, readers, Reading, The Consequences Collection

It’s Read A Book Day ~ #amreading

September 6, 2015 Melanie Leave a comment

Sept 6th is Read A Book Day

Whatever your genre, or preferred medium, curling up and reading a good book is a wonderful way to spend your time. There are loads of genres to choose from – crime, romance, paranormal, Young Adult, New Adult, non-fiction, memoirs and literary fiction. All will sweep you away into the world created by the author and give you some much needed escape from reality time.

A great place to get your reading material is at your local independent bookstore. Mine is Leeds County Books. If I find a book whilst shopping elsewhere, I take down the details and then go here and order my copy, if it isn’t already on the shelf.

I also have a great collection of e-books on my iPad in the Kindle app.

Since this is read a book day, I’m going to do a wee bit of shameless, self-promotion here. If you’re looking for a great read, check out A Shadow in the Past

When a contemporary teen is transported back through time to the Victorian era, she becomes A Shadow in the Past…

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.

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

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

And for the younger readers,

Tim’s Magic Christmas

For Tim Frost, Christmas 2011 is a washout. No Santa. No presents. Nothing. His father lost his job when the mill closed and now the family is on the verge of losing their home.

A chance encounter with Nick Kringle, a modern-day Santa Claus teaches Tim that the greatest gift you receive is the gift of giving.

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

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

– See more at: http://www.melanierobertson-king.com/wp02/?page_id=7339#sthash.VVdE3rEX.dpuf

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

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

– See more at: http://www.melanierobertson-king.com/wp02/?page_id=7339#sthash.VVdE3rEX.dpuf

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

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

– See more at: http://www.melanierobertson-king.com/wp02/?page_id=7339#sthash.VVdE3rEX.dpuf

What are you reading today?

4RV Publishing, A Shadow in the Past, characters, genealogy, Novels

Character ~ John Robertson from A Shadow in the Past

August 19, 2015 Melanie 2 Comments

John Robertson – patriarch of the Robertsons

John Robertson played an important role in my debut novel, A Shadow in the Past. He was the grandfather of my hero, Robert (named after my father Robert Robertson and my uncle Andrew Robertson).

In order to make this chart even remotely readable, it had to be split into three sections. This first section starts with the patriarch himself and his wife and ends with his grandchildren, Robert being one of them.

This second section begins with his great-grandchildren who were Margaret’s (Robert’s sister) children.

This last chart ends with one 5th great-grandchild – Colin Cameron.

Some of these characters were mentioned in the first book. Some (but not all) will be introduced in the second one – Shadows From Her Past.

These charts were created using Legacy genealogy software and the handy dandy snipping tool in Windows, which I have to say is as ‘handy as a pocket in a shirt’.

A Shadow in the Past Blurb:

When a contemporary teen is transported back through time to the Victorian era, she becomes A Shadow in the Past…

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.

I can’t share the blurb for Shadows From Her Past with you yet but when I can, you can read it here.

4RV Publishing, A Shadow in the Past, characters, genealogy, Novels

Character ~ Gordon Eadie from A Shadow in the Past

August 17, 2015 Melanie Leave a comment

‘Auld’ Gordon Eadie

While he didn’t play a big role in A Shadow in the Past (two mentions in two paragraphs one one page in one chapter), his character was important to the story … and in more ways than one.

His forename, Gordon, latterly became part of the name of the farm Sarah was born and raised on – Gordonsfield.

And, as you can see from the descendant chart above, produced from Legacy, he was Sarah’s 3rd-great-grandfather. If you click on the chart, it will give you a larger image which is readable.

Not all of the characters appeared in A Shadow in the Past, nor will they all appear in the second book in the the series – Shadows From Her Past – but I needed to create a family for Sarah that included aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, and grandparents.

A Shadow in the Past Blurb:

When a contemporary teen is transported back through time to the Victorian era, she becomes A Shadow in the Past…

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.

I can’t share the blurb for Shadows From Her Past with you yet but when I can, you can read it here.

For more information on A Shadow in the Past and where you can purchase it, visit my website.

4RV Publishing, A Shadow in the Past, car boot sale, King Park Press, Spencerville Mill, The Consequences Collection, Tim's Magic Christmas

UK Style Car Boot Sale

August 16, 2015 Melanie 1 Comment

Car Boot Sale

On Saturday, August 15th, I took part in a UK style car boot sale To benefit the Spencerville Mill. My UK friends will know what a car boot sale is. The nice folks at the mill were billing it as an English style sale, but they are popular all over the UK.

We could set up our allotted space any way we wanted. I happened to arrive first, so got the best ‘stall’ – right outside the entrance to the mill.

Car parked where I wanted. Canopy erected and partly over the car, it was time to open the ‘boot’ and set up my display.

With it being a car boot sale, I only took a small portion of my wares out of the boxes to display. Everything else remained in the trunk.

As you can see from the way the table cloth is blowing, it was breezy. Good thing we had three bottles of water and a bottle of windshield washer anti-freeze and a multitude of bungee cords.

You’ll notice, although it doesn’t match my tartan throw, I am wearing a red and black tartan infinity scarf.

While it wasn’t one of my better sale days, I had a couple – one of which using my Square credit card reader. I sold 1 copy of A Shadow in the Past and 1 copy of The Consequences Collection.

#BookLoversDay, 4RV Publishing, A Shadow in the Past, Books, chapter books, digital downloads, ebooks, genre, King Park Press, Novels, Publishing, readers, Reading, The Consequences Collection, Tim's Magic Christmas

It’s Book Lovers Day!

August 9, 2015 Melanie Leave a comment

Happy Book Lovers Day!

This unique holiday can also be celebrated on the first Saturday in November. So why not celebrate it both days?

Hardcover, paperback, ebook. What’s your preference? Both have their advantages. Ebooks are usually less expensive than a paperback and definitely more so than a hardcover.

One hundred books on an e-reader weigh far less than the same number of physical books and take up a lot less space – better for travel.

For the person who likes mystery and suspense with romance…

When a contemporary teen is transported back in time to the Victorian era, she becomes A Shadow in the Past…

Nineteen year old Sarah Shand finds herself in Victorian Era Aberdeenshire, Scotland and has no idea how she got there. Her last memory is of being at the stone circle on the family farm in the year 2010.

Despite having difficulty coming to terms with her situation, Sarah quickly learns she must keep her true identity a secret. Still, she feels stifled by the Victorians’ confining social practices, including arranged marriages between wealthy and influential families, and confronts them head on then suffers the consequences.

When Sarah realizes she has fallen in love with the handsome Laird of Weetshill, she faces an agonizing decision. Does she try to find her way back to 2010 or remain in the past with the man she loves?

Buy links for A Shadow in the Past can be found here.

~~~~~~~~~~

For those who prefer short stories…

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.

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

The Consequences Collection is available for the kindle on all amazon platforms and in epub format at lulu.com

~~~~~~~~~~

And a middle grade Christmas novelette…

For Tim Frost, Christmas 2011 is a washout. No Santa. No presents. Nothing. His father lost his job when the mill closed and now the family is on the verge of losing their home.

A chance encounter with Nick Kringle, a modern-day Santa Claus teaches Tim that the greatest gift you receive is the gift of giving.

Tim’s Magic Christmas is currently only available in paperback. To find out how to get your copy, contact me via email. Watch for it coming in kindle and epub formats.

#ChristmasInJuly, 4RV Publishing, A Shadow in the Past, King Park Press, middle grade, Novels, short stories, The Consequences Collection, Tim's Magic Christmas

Prescott, ON Farmers’ & Crafters’ Market ~ July 25, 2015

July 26, 2015 Melanie 3 Comments

Farmers’ & Crafters’ Market ~ July 25, 2015

Prescott, ON

The canopy was brought out for the first time this year for the Prescott Farmers’ & Crafters’ Market. No time to linger over my morning coffee, checking Facebook, Triberr and my own blog stats. We had to leave the house about 6:30 in order to be there for 7:00! It’s a good thing, I live within 20 minutes of the venue.

My 6-foot table display usually looks Christmassy, or Scottish with the red table cloth and tartan topper but since this was #ChristmasinJuly, I decided to bring out three of my nutcrackers who stood guard and performed their duties admirably.

This was the first time I brought my 4-foot table to use in conjunction with the larger one so I put them together in an L-shape. Having a tartan tablecloth (had to go on a quick hunt before we left the house to find it) that almost matches the topper perfectly, that small table made a great place for two of my nutcrackers and a wonderful place to stash my boxes out of sight and still have plenty of leg room under the main table.

I sourced some funky bags (polka dot and zebra stripes for books and the lettered one for calendars – 2016 not available yet) last year in two different sizes but never had any place handy to put them. Usually they were under the table stacked on top of a box and most inconvenient. So I asked my hubby this week, if he could make me a bag tree. I told him roughly what I was thinking of and this is what he came up with.

My bag tree isn’t finished yet. It will have a proper base under it and we’re going to get a ball post cap for the top. Still it worked well in its initial stages. This isn’t where it spent the day. It was in the inside corner of the “L” but this location was more photogenic.

The soldiers from Fort Wellington were there and this one was persuaded to pose for a photograph with my nutcracker whose uniform was the same colour.

There were a number of cardboard hats from the Fort at the event and my husband took my nutcracker in the red jacket over to their table and they modified a hat to fit him. If you click on the photo and zoom in, you’ll see the modified head gear. To get a better look at it, the person in front of the blue canopy in the photo is wearing one.

Networking is always a good thing and today was no different. I’m looking forward to doing something with Fort Town Treasures in the future.

If you look closely in this picture by Fort Town Treasures, you can see my bag tree standing proudly in the “L”.

#ChristmasInJuly, 4RV Publishing, A Shadow in the Past, Book Promo, Christmas, King Park Press, middle grade, New Adult, short stories, The Consequences Collection, Tim's Magic Christmas

It’s #Christmasinjuly Eve! Tomorrow, July 25th is the big day!

July 24, 2015 Melanie 2 Comments

#Christmasinjuly!

Tomorrow!

I can’t wait! I’m almost as excited about #ChristmasinJuly as I was about the real Christmas in December when I was a child. What was I getting? What would Santa put under the tree? What would he put in my stocking?

July 25, 2015

In Prescott, Ontario in the parking lot next to the clock tower at the corner of King and Centre Streets on Saturday, July 25, 2015, The Prescott Farmers’ and Crafters’ Market presents #ChristmasInJuly!

I’ll be there with my three books and would love to sign one for you or that special someone on your Christmas list.

For the person who likes mystery and suspense with romance…

When a contemporary teen is transported back in time to the Victorian era, she becomes A Shadow in the Past…

~~~~~~~~~~

For those who prefer short stories…

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.

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

~~~~~~~~~~

And a middle grade Christmas novelette…

For Tim Frost, Christmas 2011 is a washout. No Santa. No presents. Nothing. His father lost his job when the mill closed and now the family is on the verge of losing their home.

A chance encounter with Nick Kringle, a modern-day Santa Claus teaches Tim that the greatest gift you receive is the gift of giving.

~~~~~~~~~~

Hope to see you there!

#ChristmasInJuly, 4RV Publishing, A Shadow in the Past, Book Promo, Christmas, King Park Press, middle grade, New Adult, short stories, The Consequences Collection, Tim's Magic Christmas

Mark Your Calendar ~ Christmas in July will be here on July 25th!

July 18, 2015 Melanie 2 Comments

One week from today!

July 25, 2015

I’ll be there with my three books and would love to sign one for you or that special someone on your Christmas list.

For the person who likes mystery and suspense with romance…

When a contemporary teen is transported back in time to the Victorian era, she becomes A Shadow in the Past…

~~~~~~~~~~

For those who prefer short stories…

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.

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

~~~~~~~~~~

And a middle grade Christmas novelette…

For Tim Frost, Christmas 2011 is a washout. No Santa. No presents. Nothing. His father lost his job when the mill closed and now the family is on the verge of losing their home.

A chance encounter with Nick Kringle, a modern-day Santa Claus teaches Tim that the greatest gift you receive is the gift of giving.

~~~~~~~~~~

Hope to see you there!

4RV Publishing, A Shadow in the Past, Books, King Park Press, Lost Villages Museum, The Consequences Collection, Tim's Magic Christmas

Artisans in the Park ~ July 4, 2015

July 5, 2015 Melanie 4 Comments

The Lost Villages Museum

presents

Artisans in the Park

This museum, located between Cornwall and Long Sault, ON showcases a cross-section of buildings from the villages that were lost as a result of the creation of the St. Lawrence Seaway.

In all, six villages (Aultsville, Farran’s Point, Dickinson’s Landing, Wales, Moulinette and Milles Roches) were lost and the two new towns of Ingleside and Long Sault were created and new homes built to re-house the people affected. In some cases, huge house-moving equipment was brought in and homes were relocated to new foundations elsewhere, or they were marked for destruction and either burned or torn down.

Since outdoor events aren’t always agreeable with books (wet weather and paper products don’t get along well) I decided to see if I could get one of the buildings and then persuade my crafty friend, Dorothy Bush, to come along and we’d split the cost.

Can you guess what these cute articles on hangers are? All morning, my poster board for A Shadow in the Past stayed on the easel but by afternoon, I had to bring it inside and sit it on the bench so it could ‘wait for the train’, too.

The train station isn’t very big inside so it was hard to decide the best way to set up. The museum provided the table and it was almost too big for the available space. Note to self, next year bring my smaller 6-foot table.

Plenty of people stopped in and it was wonderful to chat with them about the history of the area. I even met a woman who used to work at Quarriers Village (formerly the Orphan Homes of Scotland where my father was raised) during the 1980s and knew some of the same people that I knew from my trips to Scotland!

My husband came along for the day and enjoyed welcoming people into ‘our train station’. He held the fort a couple of times so Dorothy and I could go on a wander to see what/who else was there.

Homemade jewellery, quilting, paintings, stepping stones, artisan breads and many other items were on display.

There was even another author there! Jennifer De Bruin was set up outside the log cabin with her two books, Shadows in the Tree and A Walk with Mary.

It was a wonderful day and the best part is, I even sold some books. You’ve got to like that part of things. I’m looking forward to attending again next year.

If you’re interested in finding out more about the Lost Villages but don’t want to read dry, factual accounts of the creation of the St. Lawrence Seaway and accompanying Power Project, then perhaps Maggie Wheeler’s mysteries would be more to your liking. Maggie skillfully weaves the facts into her fiction making it an enjoyable way to discover the history of the area. I’ve read the first three and can tell you they are great reads! I can’t wait to read the fourth book in the series.

Do you think you know what the cute articles on hangers are? Leave your guess in the comments.