Quick CONTEST!

We're going to the fancy footwork of a Highland Jig type of contest ... okay, not really, but it is going to be fast, fast, FAST!

On September 18th the people of Scotland go to the voting booth to decide on Independence.  The choices are Yes, they want to leave United Kingdom or No, they want everything to stay the same. Tough question to answer.

In December 2008, almost 6 years ago, my book Highland Heat was released by Ellora's Cave, and has been a fan favorite ever since.  How can I make such a claim?  After all these years readers maintain Hamish Buchanan's secret.  There's been a spoiler here and there but generally they are ignored.  I adore the sexy Highlander and his unique qualities. To me, one of the best things is when a reader sends me something special w/his likeness or a hint about him on them ... love!

Now, I have no idea how Hamish would vote, it's personal, but I do have a Tilly Greene tote bag with goodies from my Christmas visit to Scotland and something I bought from a favored shop that reminded me of the book.  Here's a little hint ... he can't stop grinning because of what he's sitting on :-)

All you need to do is enter through the Rafflecopter, below ... done, easy peasy pudding pie.  There are three ways to add extra oomph as well.  A winner will be picked once I wake up on the 18th!

So, go, enter, you have until midnight on the 17th!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We visited bonnie Scotland, Edinburgh actually, and it wasn't nearly long enough!

This year we decided to shake things up and fly into Edinburgh instead of London and take a couple days to see the city again.  Let me state this at the beginning, we're going to fly that way again and stay for longer, we loved Edinburgh before and fell in love all over again.

We were staying just off the Royal Mile so walked it a few times and Princes Street even more, but something we'd never done before and wanted to do this time was see the Royal Britannia.  This is the royal yacht that has recently be laid to rest in Leith and boy was it worth a visit.

I admit to thinking before we got there that it would be a bit boring and we'd move through quickly, boy was I wrong.  It was fascinating to see how the royals and laymen lived together in such small quarters, boy to I mean small!

Halfway through the 3+ hour tour we stepped into the tea shop and had lunch, so decadent.  Cutie ordered a cuppa [actually a little pot that holds about three cups] and I a hot chocolate ... yum!  From there I had a sandwich ... crusts were left on, and the cutie had cullen skink, a fishy thing so I passed on tasting but he enjoyed.

From top to bottom, rear to stern [?], we took in the ship and would recommend others make the short and easy trip out to see it.

There was shopping to do, it was Christmas time after all, and pubs to visit.  The two I'll note here are Oxford Bar from Ian Rankin's Rebus books and yeah, it is exactly how he writes it!  The other was Royal Cafe from Chariots of Fire movie.  Nope, don't remember the scene but the friend of ours who lives there and recommended a few places to us said it was a must visit and he was so very right.  We loved this pub so much we went next door to the restaurant for dinner.

My problem with eating in Scotland is the copious amount of seafood but here they had a single ever so small quail leg resting on a cushion of garlic mash potatoes for me and a bowl of mulles et frites for the cutie followed by a glass of fine whisky for afters ... a when in Rome kind of thing.

First Footing is NOT a lost tradition!

originally posted 12.31.10

As midnight looms Auld Lang Syne, credited to Scottish poet Robert Burns, is sung by all. The song, with its universal appeal, has been adopted by people around the world as a way to bid a fond farewell to the old and welcome the new with open arms. Kiss your friends, hug strangers, and shake the hand of your enemy, all while sharing toasts with whisky.

And now the real party begins with first-footing!

First-footing takes place in Scotland and by some in northern England - we do it where my cutie comes from. It's a custom that has been around for a long time. Roots to this tradition go asfar back as the Viking invasions and have changed little. How it works is that the first person to enter a home after midnight has passed, should be male with dark hair and carrying tokens cementing good luck for the residents. A lump of coal, whisky and an oat cake are the most common gifts to offer and in return, uisge beatha, water of life (whisky), and food are shared, and then leave by the back door.

Sound fun? It is because throughout the night, as long as the chilled limbs can move, and one more dram can be shared, first-footing continues, house to house, party to party.

Have a good and safe holiday!

Funky Fashion Part IV - again!

It was the 10th Annual Dressed to Kilt fashion show: From Scotland with Love on Monday and in celebration, I simply had to bring out one of my favorite tartan pieces of attire.

They're a good laugh!

Blog originally posted April 16, 2009

This past week I received some fabulous news, Highland Heat will soon be released in paperback - woohoo! As you can guess, my mind right back to Scotland and, well, I forgot I had this gem in my files.

There's still a nip in the air, do you need something to keep your nipples warm? These tartan pasties can be had through Etsy, along with a cute knitted set.

It's Burns Night and that means it's time to address the haggis!

Originally posted January 25 2010

1.
Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy of a grace
As lang's my arm.

2.
The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hudies like a distant hill,
Your pin wad help to mend a mill
In time o' need,
While thro' your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead.

3.
His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An' cut ye up wi' ready slight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like onie ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reeking, rich!

4.
Then horn for horn, they stretch an' strive:
Deil tak the hindmost, on they drive,
Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve
Are bent like drums;
Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
'Bethankit!' hums.

5.
Is there that owre his French ragout,
Or olio that wad staw a sow,
Or fricassee wad mak her spew
Wi perfect scunner,
Looks down wi' sneering, scornfu' view
On sic a dinner?

6.
Poor devil! see him owre his trash,
As fecl;ess as a wither'd rash,
His spindle shank a guid whip-lash,
His nieve a nit;
Tho' bluidy flood or field to dash,
O how unfit.

7.
But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread,
Clap in his walie nieve a blade,
He'll make it whistle;
An' legs, an' arms, an' heads will sned
Like taps o' thrissle.

8.
Ye pow'rs, wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o' fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware,
That jaups in luggies;
But if ye wish her gratfu' prayer,
Gie her a Haggis!
 
What?  Oh, you need the English translation?  Not a problem, That and more can be found at the Robert Burns World Federation.
 
Sláinte.

It's Burns Night and that means it's time to address the haggis!

1.
Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy of a grace
As lang's my arm.

2.
The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hudies like a distant hill,
Your pin wad help to mend a mill
In time o' need,
While thro' your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead.

3.
His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An' cut ye up wi' ready slight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like onie ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reeking, rich!

4.
Then horn for horn, they stretch an' strive:
Deil tak the hindmost, on they drive,
Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve
Are bent like drums;
Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
'Bethankit!' hums.

5.
Is there that owre his French ragout,
Or olio that wad staw a sow,
Or fricassee wad mak her spew
Wi perfect scunner,
Looks down wi' sneering, scornfu' view
On sic a dinner?

6.
Poor devil! see him owre his trash,
As fecl;ess as a wither'd rash,
His spindle shank a guid whip-lash,
His nieve a nit;
Tho' bluidy flood or field to dash,
O how unfit.

7.
But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread,
Clap in his walie nieve a blade,
He'll make it whistle;
An' legs, an' arms, an' heads will sned
Like taps o' thrissle.

8.
Ye pow'rs, wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o' fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware,
That jaups in luggies;
But if ye wish her gratfu' prayer,
Gie her a Haggis!
 
What?  Oh, you need the English translation?  Not a problem, That and more can be found at the Robert Burns World Federation.
 
Sláinte.

Audio Book Talk!

Not too long ago the cutie and I bought an audio book to help us stay awake for a 4 hour drive [after a 7 hour flight]. We didn't finish it and brought it back with us to listen to the last CD. When the chance to finish listening to the audio book popped up, we decided to start at the beginning and enjoy it all the way through.

Ian Rankin's Doors Open was what we listened to and both thoroughly enjoyed it. The cutie is a fan of his not finished Rebus series and I'm ready to delve in to the Scottish authors mysteries.

While I won't give the plot away, it was flippin' great! Art theft always grabs my attention, but the way Rankin worked it was totally fresh. The gentleman who read the book was great [unfortunately I can't remember his name right now]. Gave different accents to each of the characters and brought the listener right into the story. My only negative, we didn't realize it was abridged when we bought it.

It looks like neither the book or audio book are available in the US [except from individual sellers], but when it is, reach out and pick up a copy. This is a new avenue for Rankin and I quite liked it. That said, I'll be picking up his backlist to find out more about Rebus, Edinburgh, and the interesting crimes he writes.

On a side note: We caught a Rebus mystery on TV recently and John Hannah [from Four Weddings and a Funeral fame] played the detective. Hope it becomes a series.

A Big, HUGE, Contest starts now!

Do you want to be a Laird or Lady in Scotland?

Really?

Then here's your chance.

The details can be found on my website and is running from today until January 31st.

Good luck!

eBook Talk!

I made some progress on my TBR pile [2 Laurell K Hamilton's, a Janet Evanovich and Linda Fairstein, and in the midst of a JD Robb], but the one that's still the freshest in my mind this morning is "Tartan Surprise" by Selena Illyria. A short satisfying read, exactly what I needed this past weekend.

"Tartan Surprise" is a shape-shifter tale with plenty of smoldering tension. Something Illyria does very well is dialogue, it fits.

One son of the pack leader is about to get married, the other is looking for someone to take the edge off before the full moon, fortunately dad has it all figured out. The timing couldn't be better for his assistant to arrive and cause havoc.

Like I said after I read Fling in Vampiropolis, Selena Illyria is one spectacular author who has more books on the cusp of coming out - good!