I love this cover! And if you’ve seen my posts about “I see faces”, I’m happy to say, I found one here, too!
Blurb: (from Goodreads) When ghostwriter Jenny Ryan is summoned to the Scottish Highlands by Sholto MacNab – retired adventurer and Laird of Cauldstane Castle – she’s prepared for travellers’ tales, but not the MacNabs’ violent and tragic history.
Lust, betrayal and murder have blighted family fortunes for generations, together with an ancient curse. As members of the family confide their sins and their secrets, Jenny learns why Cauldstane’s uncertain future divides father and sons.
But someone resents Jenny’s presence. Someone thinks she’s getting too close to Alec MacNab – swordsmith, widower and heir to Cauldstane. Someone will stop at nothing until Jenny has been driven away. Or driven mad.
“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” Especially a dead woman.
Before I announce the winning title, I want to thank everyone who entered. In the end, I received over 100 submissions! WOW!!! Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would get such a fantastic response.
Here are the suggestions I received from the 26 contest entrants…
The Mystery of Hillcrest House
The Angel Falls Mystery
The Haunting of Hillcrest House
The Haunting Hargraves
Hand of The Hargraves
Caveat Emptor
Visions at the Hillcrest House
Haunted Hillcrest House
Haunted House— Hillcrest
Haunted Angel Falls– Mystery of Hillcrest House
A Walk with the dead
Shadows in the Hillcrest House
Gates of Hell
Screaming Souls
Screaming Souls at Hillcrest House
Midnight Mist
Fallen Angels
Silent Screams
Hargraves on the Hill
Haunted Souls Angel Falls
Mystery of Angel Falls
Angel Falls Haunting
Hillcrest Haunting
Hillcreast haunting
Scotland’s Eerie Hillcreast mansion
Hillcreast, help my kilt!
Echoes from the Past
Secrets of Hillcrest House
Beware of Hillcrest House
Devils at Angel Falls
Demons at Angel Falls
Secrets of Hillcrest House
Shadows at Hillcrest House
The Taming of Hillcrest House
Imprisoned at Hillcrest
The Souls of Hillcrest
The Lost Souls of Hillcrest
Lost Souls at Hillcrest
Unspoken Secrets of/at Hillcrest House
Unspoken Secrets
The Lingering’s
All that Remains or The Remains
The secret of Hillcrest House
Mystery in Angel Falls
Secrets of (from) the past
Whispers from the past
Lost in the future
Alone in the past
Victorian’s Secret
When Angels Fall
The Moon in Hillcrest House
The Deafening Silence of Angel Falls
Haunting Horrors of the House on the Hill
Hillcrest House of Horror
Portal to the Spirit World
Horror Halls
Look Over Your Shoulder
The Haunting Beauty of Hillcrest House
The House of Fear and Beauty
The Hillcrest House Haunting
The Haunting of Hillcrest House
The Haunted House of Angel Falls
Full Moon Gothic
A Rose for Jessica
What Lies Unknown
The Secret of Hillcrest House
The Mystery of Hillcrest House
The Haunting of Hillcrest House
Souls in Waiting
A Past Unearthed
A Past Reclaimed
Jessica’s Folly
The Hargrave Factor
The Haunting of Jessica Maitland
The Hargraves of Hillcrest House
Cliffside Manor
House of the Silver Moon
Jessica’s Dream/Nightmare House
Ghosts of Hillcrest Mansion
A Home Forever
Passage Way of Secrets
Unknown Messages
Hargrave Affair
Hargrave Encounter
Hillcrest Encounter
Fallen Angels Trapped on a Cliff
Fallen Angels in Hillcrest House
Maitland; The Reckoner
Cliff Dwelling Interlopers
Jessica’s Jaunt with Hillcrest
Unwilling Tenants of Hillcrest House
Unholy Occupation of Hillcrest
Unwilling Entrapment at Hillcrest
Hillcrest Manor
The Haunting of Hillcrest
Haunted Hillcrest
We Will Never Leave!
Beyond these Walls
The Ominous Fortress of Hillcrest House
The Ominous Fortress
An Ominous Dynasty
The Chronicles of Hillcrest Place
Unnerving Truth of Hillcrest House
The Unnerving Truth
Here Forever
Moonlight Seduction
Moonlight Desires
Haunted Desires of Hillcrest House
The Seduction of Hillcrest House
And now without any further delay … the grand prize winner (selected by titles received in chronological order) is Greta Krasteva with her title The Secret of Hillcrest House. Congratulations, Greta!
And the random winner among the remaining entrants is Jennifer Rogers!
I will contact you to find out your preferred e-book format (mobi for Kindle, epub for other ereaders, or .pdf).
By PKM (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Are you wearing your tweed today? Or do you believe it signifies something else? Take a look at this link for variations on Tweed Day. You’ll find out, too, what fictional characters preferred to wear garments made from tweed.
Blurb: (from goodreads) When Innes Buchanan inherits the title of Laird, he is entrusted with the Scottish family estate, the ancestral home, and centuries of noble tradition. Sadly, he also inherits the family bank balance which, after death duty, is crumbling faster than the walls of their ancient castle.
After exhausting even the most unlikely of cash generating alternatives and with bankruptcy on the horizon, Innes stumbles across one last initiative, a research scholarship in Texas to establish a new herd of cattle. With a lifetime of sheep farming and no room for failure, Innes’s luck returns on a chance encounter with Orley MacKenna, a born and raised Texan cowgirl who needs little convincing to leave her past behind. Though a likely couple, the two settle for an unlikely business partnership, and return to Scotland to try and save the Buchanan fortune.
Told with timeless Scottish romanticism and a knowing sense of humour, Bagpipes and Bullshot twists an everyday love story with a whole cast of village eccentrics who integrate seamlessly into a fantastic play on rural life.
Blurb: (from amazon.com): Animal Farm is the most famous by far of all twentieth-century political allegories. Its account of a group of barnyard animals who revolt against their vicious human master, only to submit to a tyranny erected by their own kind, can fairly be said to have become a universal drama. Orwell is one of the very few modern satirists comparable to Jonathan Swift in power, artistry, and moral authority; in animal farm his spare prose and the logic of his dark comedy brilliantly highlight his stark message.
Taking as his starting point the betrayed promise of the Russian Revolution, Orwell lays out a vision that, in its bitter wisdom, gives us the clearest understanding we possess of the possible consequences of our social and political acts.
Drum roll, please… I’m ready to reveal my theme for this year’s Blogging from A to Z Challenge.
Are you ready? What else would a writer blog about during a challenge such as this? How about books? Yup, I’ve put together an eclectic collection of book titles that take in every letter of the alphabet.
I hope you’ll stop by every day next month to see what book I’ve spotlighted. Some are well known… some not so well. Maybe you’ll even find a title or two that you’ve not heard about and you’ll want to read.
There’s still time to enter in the Help me choose a title #Contest. Don’t be disappointed. Enter between now and midnight March 31, 2016, Eastern Time.
Fancy your title on the cover of a book, your name mentioned in the acknowledgements? It could happen! For the month of March, I’m running a book title cover contest.
Not to worry, I am giving you some help starting with the image that will grace the cover. Are the creative juices starting to flow?
Here’s what the book is about…
Sometimes there’s more to a house than bricks and mortar.
Hillcrest House is one such place. Perched on a cliff in the picturesque town of Angel Falls, there is more to this Victorian mansion than meets the eye. When referring to the house, the locals use the word haunted on a regular basis. Strange visions appear in the windows, especially the second-floor ones over the side porch. Even stranger events take place within its four walls.
Rumour has it, the original owners, Asher and Maggie Hargrave, never left their beloved home. They claim the couple and their family are responsible for driving people away. Over the years, Hillcrest House has changed hands numerous times. No one stays long. Renovations begin then stop and the house is once more abandoned. The latest in this long line of owners is Jessica Maitland.
Will Jessica be the next one to succumb or will she unravel the mystery of the haunting of Hillcrest House?
How about now?
How does it all work, I hear you ask.
Contest details…
Contest opens March 1, 2016 and runs until March 31, 2016.
Come up with a title and leave your idea in the comments. And for those of you who would like to take your chances but aren’t comfortable leaving a comment on a blog, send an email to Title Contest.
At the end of the contest, one lucky entrant’s title will be chosen. He/she will receive an e-copy of the book (Mobi, epub or pdf – their choice) and their name included in the acknowledgements.
Another winner will be chosen at random from the non-winning titles.
Enter as many times as you like but be sure you do before the deadline for your chance to win.
Jane Charlotte Danes has loved the squire of her idyllic country town for as long as she can remember. He is good, kind, and alluring beyond words… and he chose to marry another. Tired of dwelling on her futile longings, Jane plans a move to Bath, where she dreams of a new beginning. But the man who has so imprisoned her heart is only a few steps behind…
He Can’t Let Her Go…
Until now, Matthew Cleaves has endeavoured to meet the responsibilities of his position with dignity and good spirits–including his dutiful marriage. But when his wife leaves him for another man, Matthew is at last free to pursue his one true love. Only one vital question remains: will the captivating, stubborn, beautiful Jane allow him the challenge, and the pleasure, of winning her back?
The Highs & Lows of writing in different genres – Contemporary Romance & Victorian Romance
I often get asked how I divide my time between contemporary and historical novel writing and in an ideal world, I like to alternate the two sub-genres to keep my writing fresh and interesting. For the reader and me!
I began my career writing contemporary because I’d always been told to ‘write what you know’. I have devoured romantic suspense for as long as I can remember and so my first two novels with The Wild Rose Press were romantic suspense. I then wrote a romantic comedy. Throughout writing and promoting these books, I began to wonder whether I could attempt an historical…. after all, I didn’t ‘know’ how to abduct or murder anyone as the characters did in my first two books . ☺
Like most (if not all) writers I read voraciously and reading historical work, whether novels or biographies, is amongst my favorite choices. I love history! I am drawn to British Royal history especially, but also love the social and industrial changes of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. As I was, and still am, intimidated by including real people and events in my work, I decided my first attempt would be Victorian and focus entirely on fictional characters and their emotions.
Emotion is key in romance. Love, hate, revenge, loss, joy and tenacity would have been felt in the same way in the late 1800s as they would today. So with this thought at the forefront of my mind, I dove straight in and wrote The Arrival of Lily Curtis (The Wild Rose Press). It sold a lot more copies than my previous contemporary work so that gave me the confidence to continue.
The main ‘highs’ for me writing in the two genres is the diversity in setting and premise – the life problems or goals women face today are profoundly different than they were in the past…even if the emotional challenges are the same. These different shifts and changes of what women want gives a whole range of ideas of where to start with a story and how to tackle it.
The main ‘lows’ for me is managing to finish one genre before I have to work on the other. More often than not, I am writing one book, editing another and promoting another, which means I have to jump from contemporary to historical a lot throughout the year. As much as I love the challenge, it can be difficult when I am totally immersed in a contemporary or historical and then forced to stop in order to meet a deadline for a book of the other genre.
Having said that, I wouldn’t change my current work status for the world – as long as publishers and agents still want me to write both contemporary and historical, I will. Long may it continue!
ABOUT RACHEL BRIMBLE
Rachel lives with her husband and two teenage daughters in a small town near Bath in the UK. Since 2013, she has had five books published by Harlequin Superromance (Templeton Cove Stories) and recently signed a contract for three more.
She also has four Victorian romances with eKensington/Lyrical and hoping to sign a new contract for further historical romances shortly.
When she isn’t writing, you’ll find Rachel with her head in a book or walking the beautiful English countryside with her family.
One Starry Night is the fourth and final part of the Once Upon a Winter series:
They say the darkest hour is just before the dawn, and Hannah has never really understood the true meaning of that until now. With Gina’s husband misbehaving, bad news for Mitchell that only Hannah can break and Ross under attack, things seem to be falling apart around her, and how is she supposed to be the rock everyone else needs when she can’t even get her own life in order? It’s going to take a special kind of courage to see this dawn break, but when it does it might just be all the brighter for it. The trouble is, Hannah’s not sure she can be that strong…
Tilly Tennant was born in Dorset, the oldest of four children, but now lives in Staffordshire with a family of her own. After years of dismal and disastrous jobs, including paper plate stacking, shop girl, newspaper promotions and waitressing (she never could carry a bowl of soup without spilling a bit), she decided to indulge her passion for the written word by embarking on a degree in English and creative writing, graduating in 2009 with first class honours. She wrote her first novel in 2007 during her first summer break at university and has not stopped writing since. She also works as a freelance fiction editor, and considers herself very lucky that this enables her to read many wonderful books before the rest of the world gets them.
Hopelessly Devoted to Holden Finn was her debut novel; published in 2014 it was an Amazon bestseller in both the UK and Australia. It was followed by Mishaps and Mistletoe and The Man Who Can’t Be Moved. Find out more about Tilly and how to join her mailing list for news and exclusives at www.tillytennant.com
Welcome to Celtic Connexions. Come in, make yourself comfortable. I know you under two different names – JB and Debbie. Which would you prefer I used?
Hi Melanie, thank you so much for having me as a guest. I honestly don’t mind which name you use. I will answer to anything! Most people online know me as JB so I suppose that one’s okay. At book events I attend I get called by both names. Whatever anyone is comfortable with. The name JB is a shortened version of two names – Jontybabe, which was my original online name, and Just Books Johnston! A little joke about when asked what I bought on a shopping trip I always say, ‘Just Books!’ My real name is of course Debbie but I do most of my writing under the name J.B.
I made sure to have Doritos and wine on hand since I know you enjoy them. One of the wines is from the Niagara region of Ontario, the other from somewhere in South America, Argentina I think. Hope you like red. I don’t have a lot of white wine, although I can send my manservant, Donald, to the wine cellar to see what’s there.
Oh thank you Melanie. Doritos are my guilty pleasure but I have to restrict myself to one bag a week now otherwise I’d be hugely fat! Friday nights are the nights that I settle down on the sofa with my Doritos and wine and I watch a movie with my son. I’m more of a rose or white wine girl myself but I have been known to partake in a glass of red although I do avoid it as it makes me very giggly and even more silly than I normally am. Also, it makes my face go very red too.
It is only Thursday, but then it’s a special occasion – and these Doritos are virtual so you can have as many as you like.
Ah, the manservant says we have some Jackson Triggs Sauvignon Blanc in the cellar. Shall we open one of them? It’s a very nice wine. * gives manservant the nod and a few minutes later, the wine appears in a cooler with two glasses already filled for us*
Why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself? The readers at Celtic Connexions know Brook Cottage Books but not necessarily the woman behind the brand.
Oh gosh! It always feels funny talking about myself! I’m so used to promoting other people. Well, I am 45 years old and a bit of a book freak in case anyone hadn’t noticed. I am a fully qualified and practicing social worker in the real world although I am desperate to have a full time career in the bookish world and hope that one day someone notices me and offers me a job! Although not based in England, I’d be more than happy to fly to the mainland for meetings! Yes I’m that desperate for a job in publishing. I’d love to start branching out also and start writing magazine articles. I have some great ideas for articles and the plan is to start compiling them into a folder and pitching them to magazines.
I love walking and running and I used to be a real gym bunny until a shoulder injury slowed me down a little. I’m waiting for surgery to correct that. I’m always looking for new challenges and have turned into an adrenaline junkie. I abseiled down a very large tower a few years ago for charity and I’m always on the lookout for an adventure! Until my shoulder injury I was always taking part in charity runs but I’ve had to stop doing that for a while as apparently I swing my arms a lot when I run and that’s not good for my shoulder!
I’m very family orientated and have a real interest in special needs and parenting issues as my daughter has autism and a learning disability. I am very happily married to a wonderful man who is an accountant! I have 2 children and 2 step children and a mad dog. As well as Brook Cottage Books I have a personal blog www.thedebbiediaries.blogspot.co.uk and I have just started a product review site www.crazyatthecottage.blogspot.co.uk
What made you decide to start a book blog?
Well, a number of years ago I originally had a special needs blog called IT’S A CRAZY WORLD. That blog no longer exists now as I was concerned that now my daughter was much older someone in the real world would recognise that I was writing about her and tell her about it. On that blog I used to write some book reviews. I’ve always been an avid reader and constantly have my nose stuck in a book. However, the requests for reviews became so great that I knew I needed a dedicated site just for bookish things. I was really interested in having authors on the blog with interviews and guest posts too and I wanted to take part in book tours. And so, Brook Cottages was born and has evolved into something way beyond what my original expectations ever were for the blog. Now, as well as book reviews and author spots I coordinate and run virtual book tours which I absolutely adore. Although, this means never having a day off! But, I can live with that. Brook Cottage Books has taken over my entire life and made me realise that being involved in the book world is actually my dream job. I have met so many wonderful and generous people through the book world that I feel this is where I belong.
You were shortlisted for an award for your blog, were you not?
Oh yes I was! In 2013 I was shortlisted for Romance Blogger of the Year at the Festival of Romance. That was a great feeling and a wonderful black tie event to attend. Everyone was spruced up in their finest and to be honest I was more than a little nervous! Unfortunately I didn’t win but my lovely friend Sharon Goodwin did win with her blog Jera’s Jamboree. However, the lifestyle magazine I am involved with www.loveahappyending.com did win an industry award for Innovation in Romantic Fiction so that was a proud moment for those involved. At that event it suddenly dawned on me that book bloggers were at last receiving recognition for all the hard work they do. It was amazing! In 2014 I was honoured to be asked to present the award to that year’s winner Sophie Hedley for her amazing blog Reviewed the Book.
If memory serves, you’re from Northern Ireland. What sort of things do you and your family do to celebrate St Patrick’s Day?
Yes Melanie, I am from Northern Ireland. I live about 14 miles outside of Belfast. To be honest I don’t really do anything to celebrate St Patricks Day. It does mean a day off work so I usually spend it being quite lazy with a big lie in, daughter permitting! My husband can usually be found on the golf course every St Patricks Day as there is usually some sort of golf competition on that day. St Patrick’s Day celebrations always involve lots of Guinness though!
By Dirk Van Esbroeck (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia CommonsI’ll put on a bit of music for us to listen to while we sip our wine.
I hope you like corned beef and cabbage. It’s a staple here on St Patrick’s Day. If not, I won’t be offended. I also have a vegetable curry simmering in my slow-cooker. I know it’s not Irish but hey, why not?
By Jonathunder (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia CommonsWell I’m afraid I’m going to have to go for the vegetable curry being a vegetarian. I do love cabbage though and often stink the house out with it! It does not make me popular with the rest of the household!
You took part in this past November’s #NaNoWriMo. Can you share any of this project with us?
Oh my goodness what a stressful but exhilarating time that was! When I was in the throes of it and people asked me about the book I froze with fright, terrified to talk about it in case I jinxed myself! I’m pretty sure a lot of people thought I was a little bonkers! Apologies to the lovely Carol Cooper who asked me about the book when in a lift with me in London and I looked like I was ready to climb out the roof of the lift! I’m a little less dramatic about it all now. At the moment I am trying to find the time to do some revisions and edits on the book and its currently sitting at over 60,000 words. After NaNo I couldn’t look at it for months! I was so traumatised! Lol. Anyway, the general gist of the book is this………..My main character runs away from a life that is already planned for her by a very domineering mother. She returns to her home town 10 years later after living in Italy all that time. She comes back with some secrets and attempts to rebuild relationships with those she left behind 10 years ago which doesn’t prove easy. It’s kind of a sad story about lost relationships and wasted time. It’s also about forgiveness, love and hope. I’m not altogether sure it’s any good and whether I’ll ever share it with anyone but I was sobbing writing the final chapter!
Anything else you can share with us about the woman behind BCB?
I’m not too sure there are too many interesting things to say about me but here goes –
Last year I co-wrote a book called Little Kitty, The Cat Burglar and all proceeds raised from sales go to charity. It’s a children’s book and was written by myself and a group of authors and illustrators to raise money for Alzheimers Research. The book was the brainchild of author Suzan Collins who does a lot to raise awareness of dementia issues. I was honoured to be asked to participate.
I used to have a spot on a radio show with author Nicky Wells. The show was called Books Rock and combined wonderful music with book news, author interviews and reviews! I miss doing that and hope that one day the show airs again! Nicky was brilliant as a DJ as well as being a fantastic author! She’s one of my favourite people!
I edited a book in 2013 under my real name Debbie Johnston– Little White Lies and Butterflies by Suzie Tullet. The book was shortlisted for the Guardian’s Not The Booker Prize award. It’s a brilliant book! Go and buy it!
I’m afraid of the dark and always have been! I have a candle app on my phone that I switch on when I am staying away from home in a strange hotel so that I am not sleeping in complete darkness!
When I was 23 years old I was paid to be a model in a tourist board photo shoot for my town and had to dress as an Austrian milkmaid as the town is twinned with a town in Austria. I’d not long given birth to my son so was looking quite voluptuous in my outfit when the photographer offered me a glamour shoot! Needless to say I turned him down!
I got drunk when I was 15 years old and stole a horse as a dare, rode him about a field without a saddle or bridle and eventually fell off when he jumped over a hedge. My house was built in that very field many years later!
I have had the same group of 5 friends since I was at school. We are a close bunch and are always there for one another. I don’t know where I’d be without them. My next NaNoWriMo project may have characters based on each and every one of them. They are all a bit worried about that! I can’t think why!
When I was 17 I very nearly joined the Navy. But then I met my first husband and the rest they say is history. I did try to join the naval reserves last year but apparently I am too old now.
I’m not sure how Irish this is, but sometimes after a meal, especially if it’s a special occasion, we indulge in a dram of single malt whisky. So, if you’d like to carry on in our tradition, I have a selection of Irish ones to choose from.
By Cafeirlandais at en.wikipedia (Transferred from en.wikipedia) [CC BY 2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5), GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], from Wikimedia Commons Usually, I invite my guests to kiss my ‘Blarney Stone’ as they come in. I thought I would see how well you do on your way out… Think you can manage? I’ve added a twist this year. It’s lower to the ground and you have to bend backwards over a railing. Don’t worry, the manservant will be your spotter.
Well it’s a good job I am double jointed! And, you should know that I can do the splits too so this will be no problem to me! Although, I should add that once on the floor, I usually require some assistance to get back up again!
Thanks for stopping by. It’s been a treat to have you here after being a host in so many of your book tours.
Thank you for having me here Melanie. It’s been wonderful being here and thank you for being such a valued member of the Brook Cottages family.
