Cathy MacRae's Blog, page 7
August 18, 2019
Medieval Monday with Ashley York
www.ashleyyorkauthor.com/blogMedieval Monday
week #9
Let's welcome Ashley York and her snippet from Daughter of the Overking to the Medieval Monday blog today. You'll find my excerpt from The Highlander's Welsh Bride on her blog here: www.ashleyyorkauthor.com/blog
Was it murder or an accident? Who is the evil villain who lurks in Ashley's story? What or who is in the vision Brighit has just seen?
Excerpt:
Brighit could barely hear him through the pain in her head.
“That is the reason we’ve come to ye for help. We’ve signed yer treaty.”
The room erupted in speculative chatter until Tadhg raised his hand for silence. Motioning Sean closer, he responded, “Of course. D'ye speak as the ri túaithe?”*
*ri túaithe= overking BLURB:
A mistaken identity. A gruesome murder.
Trained as a warrior...
Brighit of Clonascra despises the trappings and demands of womanhood and is far more comfortable training for battle. Long held alliances require she set aside selfish dreams and take Darragh as her husband. The union intended to promote peace between the clans is interrupted by the shocking murder of a neighboring king and she quickly discovers there are far worse things than being wed.
Trained to be king...
Darragh of Drogheda has no wish to be king, but he is an obedient son and supports his father's plans. His marriage to Brighit, however, will be no hardship at all since he finds her most intriguing when she fights him at every turn. A she-warrior indeed. Her persistent dismissal of him merely blows the fire aflame and sets him down the path to discovery of all her most tightly held secrets—secrets that could cost him his life.
BUY LINK: https://www.ashleyyorkauthor.com/daughter-of-the-king
August 11, 2019
Medieval Monday with Barbara Bettis
Medieval Monday
week #8
Please join me in welcoming Barbara Bettis to the Medieval Monday blog today. You'll find my excerpt from The Highlander's Welsh Bride on her blog here: http://barbarabettis.blogspot.com/
Barbara brings an excerpt from her book For This Knight Only of her Knights of Destiny series.
In today's excerpt, Sir Roark is embroiled in more than his lady's beguiling eyes. What evidence has been left behind? And whose life is on the line?
Excerpt:
“Nothing.” Paxton hesitated. He dreaded to relate this part, but he didn’t dare omit it. “Two of his knights were before me when I came upon the body. One held something. It may have come from Sir Martin.”
“And this something was. . .?”
“A leather packet? I couldn’t see clearly. I hid until they left.”
“Did you know them?”
“Only Sir Roark, Cantleigh’s captain. The plan didn’t include him. Cantleight said the man had a peasant streak of morality. Has a reputation as a fighter though.”
* * *
To brush up on last week’s installment, visit Barbara on Judith Sterling’s blog and comment to be
entering in a drawing for a free ebook.
Follow along on Rue Allyn’s blog next week and comment to be entering in a drawing for a free
ebook https://RueAllyn.com/blog Blurb:
He’ll do anything for land, even marry her; she’ll do anything for her people, except marry him.
If only either had a choice. It’s a marriage only love can save.
Sir Roark will do anything to gain land, even beguile an unwilling lady into marriage. He knows
she’s much better off with a man to take control of her besieged castle, to say nothing of her
desirable person. But it isn’t long before he discovers that, although her eyes sparkle like
sunlight on sea waves, her stubbornness alone could have defeated Saladin.
Lady Alyss is determined to hold her family’s castle, protect her people, and preserve her
freedom— until her brother’s dying wish binds her to a stranger. Still, she’ll allow no rugged,
over-confident, appealing knight to usurp her authority, even if she must wed him. Especially
since he thinks a lady’s duties begin and end with directing servants. Alyss has a few surprises
for her new all-too-tempting lord.
But when a common enemy threatens everything, Roark and Alyss face a startling revelation.
Without love, neither land nor freedom matters.
Buy Link
https://amzn.to/2Xlzynj
August 4, 2019
Medieval Monday with Mary Gillgannon
Medieval Monday
Week #7
I'm excited to have Mary Gillgannon on my blog today with a shiver-worthy look at the villain from her book Lady of Steel.
Follow my excerpt from The Highlander's Welsh Bride on her blog here: http://marygillgannon.blogspot.com/
Life has not been kind to Lady Nicola and Sir Fawkes. Her marriage to a cruel man sparks the confrontation in the excerpt below. Excerpt:
“Ah, it’s gratifying to see the poisonous viper strike another victim.” Mortimer’s voice rang out, rich and mocking. “For too long she has reserved her torments solely for me. I vow, my wife is the devil’s handmaiden, an evil, cunning Eve, a witch from hell. I would give her to you gladly, with my blessing, but unfortunately, the lands are hers. To maintain my claim, I must endure her foul presence in my household.”
Mortimer straightened. “I accept your challenge. I will kill you and carry your heart back to my wife. Perhaps the sight of it will please her, heathen sorceress that she is.”
Fawkes sought to recover himself. It was a trick. The bastard meant to demoralize him. He would not succumb.
Blurb:
One rapturous hour sparks unforgettable passion between Lady Nicola and Fawkes de Cressy. The memory of their time together enables Fawkes to survive the perils of the Crusades and gives Nicola the hope and strength to endure a brutal marriage. But when Fawkes returns three years later, he finds Nicola enmeshed in a dark web of castle intrigue. Fawkes has also been altered by the hardships and cruelties of war, and Nicola fears to trust him with her secrets or her heart.
Surrounded by enemies, the battle-hardened knight and the aloof, wary woman must rebuild the bond between them. Only if they dare let the soul-stirring magic their bodies share grow into love can they escape the sinister plot that threatens to destroy them both.
* * *
Buy links:
Amazon
B & N
Kobo
July 28, 2019
Medieval Monday with Judith Sterling
Medieval Monday
Week #6
Judith Sterling joins me today with an excerpt from her Medieval Romance, Shadow of the Swan.
You'll find my excerpt from The Highlander's Welsh Bride on Judith's blog here: https://judithmarshallauthor.com/blog/
A nunnery is no safe haven for Lady Constance de Bret. Will she escape her enemy? Will marriage bring her peace?
Excerpt:
He slithered ever closer. The altar dug into her spine.
“What would you do if I said aye?”
Her mouth was dry as salted meat. She had to defend herself and thought fast. “I suppose I’d tell the man I’m to marry.”
His eyes narrowed to slits. “You’re to what?”
“You heard me.”
“I did, but I cannot believe it. Whom are you to wed?”
“The knight you mentioned. Sir Robert le Donjon.”
* * *
Be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win digital copies of the first three books in The Novels of Ravenwood series, and follow along next week on Barbara Bettis’s blog: www.barbarabettis.blogspot.com Blurb:
Lady Constance de Bret was determined to be a nun, until shadows from the past eclipsed her
present. Marriage is the safest option, but she insists on a spiritual union, in which physical
intimacy is forbidden. Not so easy with a bridegroom who wields unparalleled charm! But a
long-buried secret could taint his affection and cloak her in shadow forever.
Back from the Crusades, Sir Robert le Donjon craves a home of his own and children to inherit
it. From the moment he meets Constance, he feels a mysterious bond between them. When she’s
threatened, he vows to protect her and agrees to the spiritual marriage, with the hope of one day
persuading her to enjoy a “real” one. She captivates him but opens old wounds and challenges
everything he thought he believed.
Two souls in need of healing. Two hearts destined to beat as one.
* * *
Buy links:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
iBooks
Kobo
Audible
July 22, 2019
Medieval Monday with Ruth A. Casie
Medieval Monday
Week #5
Welcome to Medieval Monday where our excerpts this season are about those evil villains who try their best to deny our heroes and heroines their Happy Ever Afters.
Ruth A. Casie is joining me today with an excerpt from her book, The Highlander's English Woman.
You can catch my snippet from The Highlander's Welsh Bride on her blog here: http://ruthacasie.blogspot.co.uk
Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win an ebook copy of The Highlander's Welsh Bride!
Laura will fight to prove Jamie's innocence. But what evil lies in wait? Something wicked is in the air... Excerpt:
“Then we best return to the others. They’ll want to spend time with you, too.” They moved on toward the hall.
“I have no words, nothing to say to comfort you.” He could barely get the words out.
“Your presence is enough.”
He held back a nervous smile. He visited to give the family comfort. Instead, she comforted him.
“How are my Maxwell cousins?” Laura asked. Jamie guided her toward the great hall.
“They were well when I last saw them.”
* * *
Follow Ruth to next week’s snippet (July 29) here: https://barbarabettis.blogspot.com
Miss last week and a chance to comment? Check it out here: https://judithmarshallauthor.com
Be sure to leave a comment for Ruth to be in the running for my giveaway – an eCopy of The Highlander’s
English Woman. A winner will be randomly selected and announced next week on Medieval Monday,
September 9th.
* * *
Blurb:
Laura Reynolds is in love with her long-time friend, Jamie Maxwell Collins. She adores his playful sense of humor, caring nature as well as his strong sense of family and honor.
Jamie lives across the border in Scotland. Outwardly carefree, he hides a dark secret. He can’t involve Laura in this deception. He can’t give her hope for a future together.
Laura stumbles upon Jamie’s secret. In her heart of hearts she knows Jamie is innocent. Their relationship in tatters and with no hope of reconciliation, she plays a deadly game to exonerate Jamie, she agrees to a political marriage. She has no idea the entire game has been orchestrated by her future husband, Jamie’s greatest enemy.
Buy Links: Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo
July 20, 2019
Book Sale!
Dawn Marie Hamilton writes Scottish historical romance with time-travel and fantasy elements.You're going to love this book!
Just Once in a Verra Blue Moon
What happens when a twenty-first century business executive is expected to fulfill a prophecy given at the birth of a sixteenth-century seer? Of course, he must raise his sword in her defense.
From 2013 Golden Heart® paranormal finalist Dawn Marie Hamilton comes the second novel in the Highland Gardens series, ‘Just Once in a Verra Blue Moon’, a sexy Scottish historical time travel romance with Highlanders, scheming faeries, a mischievous brownie, magic, adventure, and romance set in 16th century Scotland.
Believing women only want him for his wealth, Finn MacIntyre doesn't trust any woman to love him. When, during Scottish Highland games, faerie magic sends him back in time to avenge the brutal abduction of his time-traveling cousin, he learns he's the subject of a fae prophecy.
Elspeth MacLachlan, the beloved clan seer, is betrothed to a man she dislikes and dreams of the man prophesized at her birth, only to find him in the most unexpected place—facedown in the mud.
With the help of fae allies, they must overcome the treachery set to destroy them to claim a love that transcends time.
Journey from the lush gardens of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to the Scottish Highlands of 1511 with 'Just Once in a Verra Blue Moon'.
* * *
Buy Links:
Kindle-- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EP5EWP0
B&N-- https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/just-once-in-a-verra-blue-moon-dawn-marie-hamilton/1116777751?ean=2940148743781
Kobo-- https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/just-once-in-a-verra-blue-moon-1
Apple-- https://books.apple.com/us/book/just-once-in-a-verra-blue-moon/id782043808
July 15, 2019
Medieval Monday with Sherry Ewing
Medieval Monday
Week #4
Today we're welcoming Sherry Ewing to the Medieval Monday blog with a snippet from her book, One Last Kiss.
If you're following my excerpts from The Highlander's Welsh Bride, you'll find my snippet here: https://sherryewing.com/blog/
Jade Calloway has fallen through time. Is her rescuer friend or foe?
Excerpt:
“My horse?” she questioned, wondering how on earth this guy thought she actually knew how to ride such an animal. I wasn’t thrown from my horse, you idiot, I fell through time, she thought, knowing she couldn’t voice such a statement.
* * *
Be sure to leave a comment for Sherry to be in the running for her giveaway – an eCopy of One Last Kiss. A winner will be randomly selected and announced on Medieval Monday, September 9th.
Miss last week and a chance to comment? Check it out here: https://judithmarshallauthor.com
Follow Sherry to next week’s snippet (July 22 nd ) here: https://barbarabettis.blogspot.com Blurb:
Sometimes it takes a miracle to find your heart’s desire…
Scotland, 1182: Banished from his homeland, Thomas of Clan Kincaid lives among distant relatives, reluctantly accepting he may never return home… Until an encounter with the castle’s healer tells him of a woman traveling across time—for him.
Dare he believe the impossible?
Present Day, Michigan: Jade Calloway is used to being alone, and as Christmas approaches, she’s skeptical when told she’ll embark on an extraordinary journey. How could a trip to San Francisco be anything but ordinary? But when a ring magically
appears, and she sees a ghostly man in her dreams... Dare she believe in the possible?
Thrust back in time, Jade encounters Thomas—her fantasy ghost. Talk about extraordinary. But as time works against them, they must learn to trust in miracles.
Can they accept impossible love before time interferes?
One Last Kiss is a medieval/time travel in Sherry's Knights of Berwyck series. It first appeared in the Bluestocking Belles’ 2018 box set Follow Your Star Home. This novella is now available for individual sale. Release date: July 11, 2019.
Buy Links:
Amazon US
Apple Books
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
July 7, 2019
Medieval Monday with Bambi Lynn
Medieval Monday - Evil Villain Theme
Week #3
Bambi Lynn joins me today with an excerpt from The Valiant Viking.
You can follow my excerpt from The Highlander's Welsh Bride on her blog here: https://bambilynnblog.wordpress.com
Let's take a look at The Valiant Viking and see what evil is brewing...
Excerpt:
With a sideways glance, Stumpy made a wide birth around the two Norsemen, dragging his prisoners along. She relaxed a little. At least Modor and Wulf were out of harm’s way.
Rolf turned his attention back to Red, the man he had called Boddi. “You are disappointed.”
Boddi grunted but did not answer right away. The tension between them sparked the air like a lightning storm. Finally, Boddi asked, “How came you to be here?” He scanned the village.
She followed his gaze around the courtyard, littered with the bodies of her slain kinsmen. A few Viking carcasses were scattered here and there. Gravel and wet sand soaked up the life’s blood of a village already facing hard times. She blinked back tears. The shreds of her pride
already waning. Click here to follow along next week by visiting Barbara Bettis: https://barbarabettis.blogspot.com BLURB:
Can a foundering seaside village survive the onslaught of marauding Vikings bearing down on
them?
Desperate to save her village from a band of Norsemen sweeping down the coastline, Kaylla
catches her first ray of hope when she discovers one of the pillaging heathens washed ashore.
Perhaps they can use this captive to bargain for the safety of their village. Rolf Bloodhands, sole
survivor of a traitorous attack on his king’s fleet, assures her that his kinsmen will not spare the
easy conquest of their waning village for the life of one man. Instead he teaches them the basics
of defense and combat with the meager weapons they have available. If they fail to stave off the
invaders, the few villagers left will either be killed or enslaved.
With only two days to prepare for an invasion sure to decimate her village, Kaylla is shocked by
her attraction to the hunky Norseman she has enslaved. Who knew fear of imminent death could
drive an innocent woman to explore the oldest sins known to man.
* * *
BUY LINK:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BMZFFU2
July 1, 2019
Medieval Monday with Mary Morgan
Help me welcome Mary Morgan to week #2 of our summer round of Medieval Monday excerpts.
Mary brings us a peek from her book, Dragon Knight's Ring, Order of the Dragon Knights, book 5. What evil awaits the Dragon Knights?
You'll find this week's excerpt from my book on her blog here:
https://www.marymorganauthor.com/blog
Dragon Knight's Ring
Excerpt:
Conn, Liam, and Rory stood on the outside of the stones. They had stripped to their trews, their arms upward. Celtic tattoos and spiral patterns blazed forth down their massive arms and body. The power of the Fenian warriors had transformed each. The power built, grew. Blue light surrounded each warrior as they chanted the ancient words to seal the realms of all worlds.
She glanced down. The book lay at her feet, safe, protected. Magic guarded the ancient tome, and she clung to the Staff of Knowledge, waiting.
Her brothers stood in a circle around her, and she watched the druid Cathal walking around them, saying a prayer of protection. When he finished, he nodded to them and retreated with the other druids to the trees.
Layers upon layers of fortification. Awaiting the final battle between good and evil.
Follow along next week on Barbara’s blog http://barbarabettis.blogspot.com/ and leave a
comment for a chance to win a signed print copy of Dragon Knight’s Ring.
Book Blurb:
Crusader, Adam MacFhearguis is on one last quest to the standing stones in Scotland where he
seeks to bury the past. However, a silent prayer sends him to an unknown future and to his
beloved Meggie. When he uncovers a shocking revelation, Adam questions everything about the
woman he thought he knew and loved. He may have traveled the veil of ages, but time is now his
enemy.
Margaret MacKay lives a life in the future without the memories of her past—her death. When
Adam arrives at her door confessing he knows her, she is confused and wary. With each passing
day, she yearns to learn more from this stranger. Yet, when a truth is revealed, can she trust the
man to unlock the chains from her mind and heart?
Will love free the bonds to unite the two lovers who were doomed centuries ago? Or will evil
finally claim victory over the Dragon Knights?
* * *
Buy Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Knights-Ring-Order-Book-
ebook/dp/B01HDWY8S2/
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dragon-knights-ring-mary-
morgan/1123986946?ean=2940158146312
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/dragon-knight-s-ring
Apple iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/dragon-knights-ring/id1133781893?mt=11
June 23, 2019
Medieval Monday Summer 2019 - Evil Villains!
Welcome back to Medieval Monday!
This summer we'll be sharing excerpts on the evil villains from our books. So, buckle in, and prepare for a ride that will leave you rooting for the hero and heroine!
Leave a comment each week to be entered for a chance to win an ebook (kindle) copy of The Highlander's Welsh Bride.
I'll start the set off with an excerpt from The Highlander's Welsh Bride. A Welsh princess on the run from King Edward’s army, Carys finds herself embroiled with pirates pillaging the western coastline of Scotland. She has escaped their clutches twice before. Has her luck at last run out? “Ship ahoy!”
Carys released Birk to answer the captain’s call. She crossed to the circle where children, one dog, and a padded, salt-streaked leather ball romped across the deck. She dodged an errant kick and caught the ball as it flew toward her head. With a warning that a ball overboard was a ball forever gone, she tossed it back to Tully. He batted it to the deck and chased it down, stopping it next to a wooden bucket filled with sand. Eislyn rushed to his side, then turned to Carys.
“Why are there buckets of sand on the deck? I count eight.”
“I count lots,” Abria piped up, joining her sister.
Taken aback, Carys struggled with her answer. “They are here in case of a fire,” she replied carefully. And to absorb blood to protect our footing during battle. But this she could not tell them. A shiver of premonitions swept down her spine.
The children sent each other speculative looks that included the vast waters around them, then shrugged and returned to their game. Carys sighed thankfully and continued across the deck.
“Birk told me of the Corryvreckan whirlpool,” she said as she reached Hanna’s side.
The older woman nodded. “I’m certain ye have such tales in your land. The true story of the corryvreckan is a combination of Norse and Scots. I’ll tell it to ye sometime when curious ears aren’t listening.”
Follow the excerpt next week to Mary Morgan’s blog: http://www.marymorganauthor.com
Don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win an ebook (kindle) of The Highlander’s Welsh Bride!
Book Blurb:
It was over. Prince Llywelyn was dead, his soldiers fleeing before King Edward’s army. Carys, a distant cousin to the prince, herself a princess of Wales, had picked up arms alongside her husband more than a year ago. Now homeless, her husband buried beneath the good Welsh soil, she seeks shelter in the north, far from the reach of Longshanks’s men. Carys and Wales would never be the same again.
Birk MacLean has been ordered to take a bride and produce an heir. He grows weary of the lasses paraded before him, women of delicate nature and selfish motives. He desires a wife strong enough to help lead one of the most powerful clans in Western Scotland.
One like the Welsh woman sitting in his dungeon, arrested for poaching MacLean deer.
Can Birk convince Carys marriage to him is preferable to a hangman’s noose? And will the heard-headed Scot be worthy of a Princess of Wales?
From the towering Welsh mountains to the storm-swept Scottish coast comes a tale of betrayal and loss, deceit and passion. An epic tale of honor and the redeeming power of love.
* * *
Buy link: Amazon: https://www.amzn.com/dp/B07KNYTMPK
