Interview with Author CYNTHIA OWENS

Hello to everyone, and especially Sarah, my Celtic Hearts Clan sister and friend. Thanks so much for having me here, and thank you for allowing me to talk about my historical romance novel, Coming Home, the second book in my Claddagh Series. I’m so pleased to be here. AND I’ll be giving away an autographed paperback copy of Coming Home to one lucky commenter. So put the kettle on the hob, settle into your favorite chair, and share some of my memories of Ireland.

Coming Home is the unintentional sequel to my first book, In Sunshine or in Shadow. I hadn’t planned to write a sequel, but the characters called me back to Ballycashel, the tiny, wind-swept West-of-Ireland village where both books are set.

Visiting Ireland was a long-held dream of mine, not just for research purposes, but because I’ve always felt connected to the country somehow. And on July 11, 2009, when the ferry docked in Dublin, I felt I’d arrived at my heart’s true home.

We drove off the ferry and into a curtain of magical mist that turned into a true Irish downpour. It rained steadily throughout the day, as we drove from Dublin to the village of Feakle, in County Clare. Our cottage there could have belonged to Ashleen and Cavan Callaghan, hero and heroine of Coming Home. Its stone walls, thatched roof, and the lovely warm hearth sizzling with sods of turf made me feel as if I’d gone back in time. That night, I sat in a rocking chair before the turf fire, listening to Irish music and just absorbing the Irish atmosphere.

And I felt like a character from one of my own stories.

Naturally a visit to Ireland isn’t complete without touring at least one castle. The first one we visited was Bunratty Castle, located in County Clare. It’s a spectacularly beautiful castle dating back to Medieval times, complete with winding staircases and amazing views from the battlements. It was also a gold mine of research opportunities because it has a folk park designed to look like a Nineteenth Century Irish village. It was at Bunratty Castle that I found Tom Flynn’s cottage. Loop Head House was the cottage of a farmer/fisherman, just like Tom Flynn, one of my favorite characters in Coming Home, and one of my favorite secondary characters in the Claddagh Series. A minor character in In Sunshine or in Shadow, Tom plays a major part in the love story in Coming Home.

On another day, we had the great good fortune to visit Thoor Ballylee, a fortified 13th Century Norman tower, once home to the great Irish poet, William Butler Yeats. The grounds were lovely, the “Winding Stair” dizzying, and the view from the very top of the tower was both breathtaking and terrifying – at least for me, as I’ve always been afraid of heights. We even got to see Yeats’s bed! Three years later, I feel incredibly lucky to have visited Ballylee. The autumn and winter of 2009 were severe, and the tower was damaged by heavy flooding. Sadly, the tower remains closed to visitors to this day.

It was hard to leave Ireland. The green fields, the soft mist, the incredibly friendly people, the atmosphere, was sheer magic. Ireland is like a lover, and once you meet her, she’s impossible to forget. She takes your hand in a gentle clasp, urging you forward into a world of mist and magic. She touches your heart, fires your spirit, and fills your soul with a yearning to remain always.

And I can’t wait to go back!

Sarah, thanks so much for hosting me on your beautiful blog!

Leave a comment for a chance to win a signed copy of Coming Home.

And watch for Playing For Keeps, Book III of the Claddagh Series, coming soon from Highland Press!

Book Blurb:
“A woman’s love is strong, more powerful than all the ghosts in Ireland..”

Daughter of an Irish village girl, step-daughter of the landlord, Ashleen O’Brien has lived between two very different worlds. But after a year in America, she yearns to return to the green land that is her heart’s home.

War and betrayal have taken everything from Cavan Callaghan – his home, his family, and the woman he loved. A hero of the Irish Brigade at Antietam, he’s searching for the family he never knew.

Love and deception await Cavan and Ashleen along those emerald shores, as the ghosts of a past that can never quite be forgotten rise to threaten their newfound happiness.

You can find me at my website: http://authorcynthiaowens.com/
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCynthiaOwens


Follow me on Twitter: @Cynwrites1 Buy Coming Home here: http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Home-Cynthia-Owens/dp/0983396000/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1303209296&sr=1-1

The Kilted Muse Photo Contest

The Kilted Muse Photo Contest opens Today!

We got off to a bit of a late start, ensuring that everyone who wanted a kilted muse, got their muse. Now we are ready for you to show us the most creative way to display or wear your Kilted Muse paraphernalia!

Take a photo of your kilted muse T-shirt or button, or both, showing us the most creative way your muse inspires you. Send it to us via e-mail during the contest period of November 6th - 20th. Send the photos to me at rundivewrite@gmail.com, I will send a confirmation e-mail for every photo I receive. On November 21st, we will post all the photos on the blog for voting by our members. They will pick the most creative photos and three top winners will be chosen.

Grand Prize will be a KINDLE FIRE, Second Prize will be a Muse Clock, and Third Prize will be a Muse Mug!

Additionally, one lucky Celtic Hearts member will win a free membership for 2013 for promoting the contest the most on his/her blog and twitteraccount! Use Hashtag #KILTEDMUSE and spread the word, we will be watching! Send us your blog announcement so we can keep track of your promotions on the blogs.

Rules for the contest:

• No purchase necessary. You don’t have to have your own shirt or button (Use the image above). Although, you know you really want to own your own!

• Please keep photo entries Rated PG-14 or below. No triple X photos, please. ;o)

• No entries will be accepted before the start date or after the deadline. Contest entry dates are as follows: November 6 - November 20. Voting will take place from November 21- 30.

• Anyone can enter, members or non-members.

• Members will only be voting.

Extra Thanks to our very own Kim Killion and her company Hot Damn Designs which took our slogan and vision and created the fantastic artwork above.

Please e-mail me with any questions you may have.

--
Kimberly Wooten

CHRW VP- Communications

Celtic Hearts Romance Writers

 

 

 

 

 

Celtic Hearts Romance Writers is a special interest chapter of RWA®.

The focus of our chapter is on the very popular Celtic genre. We have many benefits to offer our members such as an email loop, bimonthly newsletter, research area, academy for workshops, author promotions, reduced contest entry fee, a chatroom, and forums available to all our members. We also offer our members two (2) free workshops per year. All this for $15 the first year, and only $10 a year thereafter. Celtic Hearts Romance Writers is more than just a group of writers. We're a clan that offers our members unconditional support during the journey that is romance writing.

*Join CHRW*

It's easy to become a member of Celtic Hearts Romance Writers! Simply provide the information below and submit your dues through Paypal. If you prefer you may pay by check - just click the appropriate button, and you'll be provided an address for mailing. Go to www.celtichearts.org for more information.


*Please note: You must be a member of RWA National to join Celtic Hearts Romance Writers.


I am a member of this group and I would like to tell you that I absolutely love this group. Not only because of the friends that I have made who feel more like a family to me, but because of the wealth of knowledge that flows through its people. We discuss EVERYTHING celtic. from countries, clothing, music, etc, to how to maneuver through the industry.

If you are an author and your writing is celtic themed, please consider joining Celtic Hearts Romance Writers.

Thanks,
Sarah Hoss

~~~CLASS OPPERTUNITY~~~

November 15 - December 30, 2012

The Scottish Highlands: 16th & 17th Centuries

Instructor: Sharron Gunn w/a Sheila Currie


Prereauisite: a love of and an interest in the Scottish Highlands
In the 16th & 17th centuries, the laws and customs of the Scottish Highlands were considered archaic; they were common in western Europe in the High Middle Ages, but had disappeared by the Renaissance. Highland chiefs were still inaugurated, not crowned, in ancient ceremonies and revered by their clansmen as quasi-sacred figures. A Highland assembly for justice in the 17th century resembled a Viking Thing of the 10th or 11th centuries. Secular marriage outside the church was normal. What really frightened Lowlanders and English was the chiefs' ability to raise a small army at little cost to themselves. The Jacobite Rebellions would have been impossible without clan armies. This course shows how life in the Highlands was different from the Lowlands and other parts of Great Britain and how similar to Ireland.
Instructor Bio:
Sharron lives in British Columbia, and teaches Scottish, Irish and medieval history part-time at university. While living over eight years in Europe, she studied the languages and history of Great Britain and France, and has a BA in French and an MA (2nd first degree) in Scottish History and Celtic Studies from the University of Glasgow. She is working on an historical fantasy set in WWII.

To register for this class, please go to the Celtic Hearts Romance Writers web site. www.celtichearts.org and scroll down.

Thank you!
Sarah Hoss

Interview with Author, ADRIENNE CLARK

 

Welcome to Adrienne Clark! Her book, TO DANCE IN LIRADON debuts today! Leave a comment below to be eligible to win a FREE copy!





The Lure of Long Ago and Faraway
One of the most important decisions you make as an author is when and where your story will take place. While some of us prefer to write about the here and now, others, like me, dream of stories set long ago and far away. For me, the past evokes a certain kind of longing and magic that I find more difficult to realize in the present.

When I thought of the story To Dance in Liradon I knew it would take place in medieval Ireland. Although I’ve never been to Ireland (a terrible wrong I hope to remedy in the near future) I’ve always been drawn to Irish mythology. Steeped in legend, rich with beautiful heroines, fierce warriors, heroic battles, and of course, Faeries, few cultures can compete with Ireland’s gift for storytelling. What captivated me most about Irish mythology were tales about the Tuatha de Danaan, also known as the ‘Shining Ones,’ or as I refer to them in my book, the ‘Fair Folk.’

Far from the tiny, winged creatures popular in British culture, Irish Faeries are tall, beautiful, extremely proud and amoral. The more I read about the Tuatha de Danaan, the more I wanted to write about them.

A recurring theme in Irish mythology about the Tuatha de Danaan is the idea of paradise; the land of promise as it is spoken of in some sources. In Faerie land there is no suffering, no disease, and no one ever grows old or inform. Those who enter its enchanted borders are young and beautiful forever.

Of course, nothing is ever quite what it seems. What does it mean to live in this kind of eternal paradise? And how does perfect happiness affect our bonds to one another? In To Dance in Liradon, my heroine, Brigid, must ask these very questions when she lifts the veil that separates human from Faerie. I love naming heroines, and I chose Brigid as a nod to the Celtic Goddess of Fire.

To Dance in Liradon takes place in two distinct but intimately intertwined worlds, Faerie and human. The juxtaposition of these worlds intrigued me, different as light and dark, but like light and dark they define one another. Both have the power to lure and enchant, but in very different ways. The Irish poet W.B Yeats imagined interactions between Faeries and humans as a magnetic pushing-pulling attraction, one for the other.

My story unfolds when Brigid finds herself torn between two worlds and two men as she struggles to understand who she is and where she belongs. It takes courage for a young woman to walk among the Fair Folk, who think themselves the noblest race on earth, and even more courage to find out what to dance in Liradon really means.

Fantasy writers spend many hours creating new and exciting worlds for their readers, and many of them draw on mythological sources. I’ll never forget my visits to Narnia, Middle Earth and Prydain. These books, among others, inspired me to create my own fantasy worlds. But the human world is beautiful too, in all its flawed, imperfect mortality. My hope is that To Dance in Liradon gives readers a glimpse into both Faerie and human worlds, and that they are in some way moved by what they find there.


Website: http://adrienneclarkewriter.com/

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/#!/adrienne.clarke.9

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/AdrienneLClarke



To Dance in Liradon is available at:

http://www.soulmatepublishing.com/

http://www.amazon.com/

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/



Adrienne Clarke

http://www.adrienneclarkewriter.com/

To Dance in Liradon is now available from Soul Mate Publishing!


When Brigid suddenly finds herself torn between two men and two worlds, her struggle leads her into the glittering, ruthless world of Faerie where she must rescue her true love from a terrible sacrifice or lose him forever.

 

 

Cover Blurb for To Dance in Liradon
Seventeen-year old Brigid O'Flynn is an outcast. A chance encounter with the Faerie Queen left her tainted in the eyes of the villagers, who blame the Faerie for the village’s missing women and children. Desperate to win the village’s acceptance Brigid agrees to marry her childhood friend: Serious, hardworking, Connell Mackenna. But when Connell disappears before their wedding Brigid's hopes are shattered. Blamed for her fiancé’s death, Brigid fears she will suffer the same fate as the other village outcasts, the mysterious Willow Women. Lured into Liradon by their inhuman lovers, and cast out weak and broken, the Willow Women spend their lives searching for the way back into Faerie. When Connell suddenly reappears Brigid is overjoyed, but everything is not as it seems. Consumed by his desire for beauty and celebration, Connell abandons his responsibilities, and Brigid soon finds herself drawn into a passionate, dangerous world of two.


When Brigid discovers the truth behind Connell's transformation she’s forced to choose between two men and two worlds. Brigid’s struggle leads her into glittering, ruthless Liradon where she must rescue her true love from a terrible sacrifice or lose him forever.

Celtic Links

I am a member of Celtic Hearts Romance Writers and I have to tell you that this is a great group of ladies. Here, you will find pre-published and published authors. The two things we do have in common are anything CELTIC and researching information. We all share a common goal; to write the best books we can and to do that, we need the best and most accurate information we can. The ladies in this group are wonderful at sharing the information they have found with each other.

I wanted to share a few of the links being passed around our group, with you. I hope that you will find the information helpful. If you are an aspiring author or a published author, I hope that you will join us at CHRW. You can visit the site at http://www.celtichearts.org/. We refer to ourselves as a clan, and the bonds that we have formed are wonderful.

So, without further delay, here are your links. The first three are for housing.

http://resourcesforhistory.com/celtic_round_houses.htm.

http://www.torcherburn.com/.

http://www.gallica.co.uk/celts/house-pan.htm.

The next set of links are for arisaids.

www.marariley.net/celtic/scotland.htm.

www.mistythicket.com/womens/outfits/morrigan.html.

Here are two links for Celtic music.

www.ceolas.org/instruments/

www.ceolas.org/ref/what.is.celtic.html.

Enjoy! And good luck in your research! I want to thank Jody Allen for the links listed above.

My post at The Celtic Rose

Today I blogged at The Celtic Rose about The Book of Kells. I hope you will go to http://www.thecelticroseblog.blogspot.com/. and read about The Book of Kells and the Four Gospels.