Eliza Knight's Blog, page 27

Words in History

   Interesting Words Used in History  throbbing- a series of bouncy blows struck while joustinglave- to wash by licking clue- a ball of yarnnaughty- you had nothing or naughtbachelor- a young knight hussy- used to refer to the mistress of the house

April 5th thru April 12th

  What Happened This Week in History?  April 5, 1954- Elvis Presley records his debut single "That's All Right"April 6, 1896- First Modern Olympic Games began in Athens GreeceApril 7, 1933- "National Beer Day" Cullen-Harrison act comes into effect legalizing the sale of low alcohol beerApril 8, 1994- Smoking was banned in the Pentagon and all military basesApril 9, 1413- Henry V is crowned King of EnglandApril 10, 1825- First hotel in Hawaii opensApril 11, 1912- RMS Titanic leaves its final port from Queenstown Ireland for New YorkApril 12, 1992- Disneyland Paris opens in Marne-La-Vallee, France

The Scintillating Life of Queen Marie of Romania

Can't believe it's already a new month!  I'd like to thank our guest author and blogger, Kathleen Bittner Roth for joining us today.



The Scintillating Life of Queen Marie of Romania

Granddaughter of Queen Victoria and Tzar Alexander II of Russia, the woman who would one day become Queen of Romania was born Princess Marie of Edinburgh in Kent, England in 1875 to Prince Alfred of Edinburgh and Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia.
Marie grew into one of the most beautiful and wealthiest princesses of Europe. She was also known for her spunk and talent (writing, painting, sculpting, and horsemanship). After refusing a proposal from her first cousin, the future King George V (her parents did not believe first cousins should wed), a marriage was arranged in 1892 between seventeen-year-old Marie and Crown Prince Ferdinand of Romania, heir apparent of King Carol 1st.
Arriving in her husband’s country, she struggled to gain some kind of foothold in the male-dominated Romanian Court. Her high-spirited disposition often created controversy. Also, she did not fit in with the somber climate of her household. But Crown Prince Ferdinand, a short and rather homely man, was also weak-willed. Easily swayed by his beautiful and intelligent royal consort, soon Marie was all but running the Romanian government. Although she and Ferdinand eventually became good friends, their lives rarely intertwined once she took power. Albeit a flamboyant, egotistical woman who loved pomp and pageantry, the people loved her. She was kind to them and she listened to them.
Not long after her marriage, Marie met Lieutenant Gheorghe Cantacuzène, a member of an ancient Romanian princely family. Like Marie, he was high-spirited and known for his expert horsemanship. They became romantically involved, but once the affair became public knowledge, Marie was sent away. She gave birth to a child who was either stillborn or sent to an orphanage. Her second child, Mignon, was rumored to have been fathered by Cantacuzène as well.
Throughout the years, Marie became romantically involved with several men, mostly for political purposes, including Waldorf Astor; Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich of Russia; Prince Barbu Stirbey, who was briefly Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Romania; Waldorf Astor, 2nd viscount Astor, and Joe Boyle, a wealthy businessman who was made even richer from Klondike gold; and).
On 28 June 1914, while visiting Sarajevo, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire was assassinated. This was the bullet that started WWI. Marie aligned herself with Russia, France and Britain, in part due to her British ancestry. A clever woman, she also aligned herself with powerful political figures like Winston Churchill. The end of the war saw the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Marie traveled to Versailles, representing Romania, in hopes of acquiring as much goodwill for her country as possible. She wooed the ministers so well that they not only gave back her territory, they promised not to partition her. Using her charm and wit, Marie ended up doubling Romania’s kingdom, and increasing the population by ten million! Needless to say, Hungarians were not charmed by Marie. On the contrary, they hold her in a large part responsible for the dismemberment of Hungary.
After the war, Marie met Samuel Hill, a wealthy entrepreneur (son-in-law to railroad magnate James Hill, founder of the Great Northern Railway) at a peace conference in Paris. Their steamy affair led her to a lengthy visit to the U.S. While in the U.S., Marie became fairly popular with the suffragettes who viewed her as "a woman whose wits had devised many a coup d'état, whose brains had thought out many a difficult problem for her people, who had used the gifts given her to further every good purpose".
In 1923, she visited the Unitarian Church in Indianapolis (the Unitarian religion was founded in Transylvania). A photograph of her with the church minister still hangs on the vestibule wall. She returned to Romania when her husband the king became gravely ill.
Having lived a scintillating life by anyone’s standards, Queen Marie died in 1938 of cirrhosis of the liver, although she claimed to never have touched a drop of alcohol. The late Constantin Argetoianu, Prime Minister of Romania, called Queen Marie one of the greatest figures in Romanian history. In her memory, the Order of the Cross of Queen Marie was established in that country.

 
Click on this link for a virtual tour of the beautiful palace Peles, home to Queen Marie, and located just outside Transylvania in the beautiful countryside: http://visit.peles.ro/
Kathleen Bittner Roththrives on creating passionate stories featuring characters who are forced to draw on their strength of spirit to overcome adversity and find unending love. Her own fairy tale wedding in a Scottish castle led her to her current residence in Budapest, Hungary, considered one of Europe’s most romantic cities. However, she still keeps one boot firmly in Texas and the other in her home state of Minnesota. A member of Romance Writers of America®, she was a finalist in the prestigious Golden Heart® contest. Find Kathleen on Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, Pinterest and www.kathleenbittnerroth.com.

Words in History

  Interesting Words Used in History  Cit- a young and inexperienced girl, who wishes to make an advantageous marriage Love juices- drink that is served at breakfast the morning after a romance interlude Villain- medieval agricultural laborer Boar- chatterbox, airhead especially used about men Manroot- carrot-shaped vegetable, reddish-purple.  Becomes straighter when grown in the vicinity of Mounds.

March 29th thru April 4th

What Happened This Week in History... March 29, 1848- Niagara Falls stopped flowing for one day due to an ice jam.... Wonder if this is where rapper Vanilla Ice got his inspiration? March 30, 1533- Henry VIII divorced his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.... Old Henry was married 6 times, but only had 4 children. Wonder if something was up or should I say couldn't get up in the bedroom? March 31, 1987- Prince's "Sign O' The Times" LP was released in the United States... Talk about signs of the times?  Anyone remember record stores? April 1, 1748- Ruins of Pompeii was found... Interested in fictional stories about Pompeii?  I hear that A Day of Fire: a novel of Pompeii* is an excellent book and that's NO April Fools! April 2, 1902- The first motion picture theater opens in Los Angeles, California....Years later, Peewee Herman was found making his own "motions" in a theatre. April 3, 1955- Baltimore Orioles pull their first triple play against the KC Athletics... Could this also be considered a ménage à trois?  April 4, 1932- CC King at the University of Pittsburgh isolates Vitamin C for the first time.... "Orange" you glad to know this information?*For more information on A Day of Fire:  a novel of Pompeii click the link below: Amazon   

Congratulations to the Highlander's Touch Flash Giveaway Winners!

 CONGRATULATION WINNERS!!  I want to thank everyone so very much for entering in my
week of prizes!!! It was tons of fun reading your comments and I really
appreciate all of your support! You are all wonderful :) Now for the grand
prize daily winners--and then another surprise!
Daily Prize Winners:Monday -- 2 sets of Jamberry nails: Jennifer ColemanTuesday -- $25 Amazon GC: Sharon FrizellWednesday -- $25 ITunes GC: Marci KlineThursday -- Chocolate Tower & Got Highlander? T-shirt:
Lisa GollnickFriday -- Outlander DVD: Brenna Ash
And now for another surprise! I decided I wanted to give
away even more!
 Runners up will receive a free Eliza Knight ebook of your
choice (please send an email with you choice of Nook or Kindle): Lenna HendershottSandy StandeferCindy Drennan von HentschelCatherine MaguireMegan WessellRebecca LumanSabrina JoyCrystal CoxKatie JochumsenTeraina Blankenship
 ********Please email assistantelizaknight@gmail.com with address or ebook information to receive your prizes! Thank you for playing!   

Words in History

  Words Used in History diehard- This word originated in the 1700's and it referred to when a man was executed by hanging and he would struggle the longest irs-This is how the word ass originated.  The meaning was defined as the back end to anything not just animals.toilet- Originated in France and was used to refer to a small towelhus- In Old English this word meant horse.wiffman-An Old English word that was used for the term woman

March 21 thru March 28

  What Happened This Week in History?  March 21, 1617- Pocahontas died while in England with her husband, John RolfeMarch 22, 1904- First color photo is published in the London Daily Illustrated MirrorMarch 23, 1970- Mafia boss Carlo Gambino is arrestedMarch 24, 1898- First automobile is soldMarch 25, 1916- Women are allowed to attend boxing matchMarch 26, 1986- Guns N' Roses was signed to Geffen RecordsMarch 27, 2007- NFL owners voted to make instant replay a permanent officiating toolMarch 28, 1797- Nathaniel Briggs patented a washing machine

Castle of the Week: Urquhart Castle

Urquhart CastleIt has been awhile since I did a castle of the week post! This week's castle is Urquhart Castle, situated on Loch Ness, in Inverness (Scottish Highlands).

It also happens to be the castle I based my fictional Castle Gealach on in the Highland Bound series.
I was so excited to finally tour the castle on my last trip to Scotland, as the previous year, we'd arrived  about five minutes late and weren't allowed in. So, finally, victory!
Over 1500 years ago, the site where the castle stands now was originally a Pictish stronghold of a nobleman. The site has been the center of many military battles, especially in the medieval era where it saw nearly 500 years of strife. In 1296 it was captured by the English and then fought over for many years between the Scots and English during the fight for Scottish Independence. After Robert the Bruce's death, Urquhart was one of the only Highland castles remaining under Scottish control. Soon after came the MacDonalds--Lords of the Isles. They fought for the castle against the Scottish crown, back and forth, back and forth. In 1509 the castle was given to the Grant Clan to maintain and hold. It was during this time, the Grants built Grant Tower. The MacDonalds continued to lay siege and raid the castle until the mid-1500's.

By the 1600's the Grants had essentially abandoned the castle, though they continued to make repairs to it until about 1623. In the 1640's Lady Grant was forced to flee from the castle when it was besieged by Covenantors who robbed her and the castle. During the Jacobite Rising, Urquhart was garrisoned with government forces who supported William and Mary and they were able to hold out against the Jacobites. When the last of them left, they blew up the castle on the way out so that it could never be used as a military fortress again. The castle soon fell into decay and in 1715 the Grant Tower collapsed during a storm. In the 1800's that the castle was deemed a noble ruin, and finally in 1913 the care of it fell to the national trust who maintains it today. Urquhart is one of the most popular Scottish historical sites--and the home of Nessie, the Loch Ness monster.

Below are some pictures I took while there!

A trebuchet
View of the castle from the visitor center. You can see what a large fortress it was. Beyond it, see the loch and mountain.
I don't know who the woman is :) But this is a pic of the  gate house.
I took a pic of Grant Tower while standing on top of the gate house.
An arrow slit window.
Standing inside the bailey, you can see the Grant Tower over the hill.
Ripples in the water of Loch Ness--do you think its Nessie?
The door to the prison.
Circular stairs in Grant Tower.
A room inside the tower.
One of my favorite pics that I took at the castle--isn't the view breathtaking through this window?
Looking at the collapsed wall of the tower.
Me at the gate :) Eliza Knight is an award-winning and USA Today bestselling author of historical romance and erotic romance.


When Shona saves a warrior from an ambush, she feels compelled to heal his wounds. But when Ewan wakes, he ignites a desire in her she yearns to embrace. Staving off loneliness for years, she let's herself indulge in a night of passion, sinking into the splendor that is this Highlander's touch.

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Prize Week!

GUESS WHAT??? All this week is Prize week in celebration of the release of HIGHLANDER’S TOUCH! Every day this week on my Facebook Page, I’ll be posting a different prize you can win! All winners will be announced on Saturday.Hop on over to my Facebook Page  to check out the prizes and how to enter each day's giveaway! You have until Saturday morning to enter!Giveaways...Monday: 2 sets of Jamberry NailsTuesday: $25 Amazon GCWednesday: $25 ITunes GCThursday: Chocolate Tier! Tons of sweets to satisfy your cravings :)Friday: DVD set of Outlander Season 1