Above painting: Louis Jean Francois - Mars and Venus an Allegory of Peace

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Showing posts with label Time travel romance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Time travel romance. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Moon Magic by Eliza Knight


I love poetry, always have. It was one of my favorite subjects in school. I don't profess to be a poet myself, but I do dabble from time to time. When writing HIGHLANDER'S TOUCH, I decided that I wanted try writing a little prelude to the story as a poem. It as a challenge, especially when I chose to do it in Haiku.

But here it is! And I'm pretty proud of it :)

Moon Magic

By
Eliza Knight




When thunder crashes
And lightning illuminates
Magic comes to pass.

Thistles sway, dancing
Purple petals and green stems
So very lovely.

Rain falls in crystal torrents
Sparkling drops on fingertips
Liquid Sustenance.

Black clouds shield the sun
Blankets the world in darkness
Takes away our sight.

The castle climbs high
Battlements touching the sky
Striking fear below.

Warriors come now
Their weapons shined and sharpened
Prepared for vengeance.

We will survive this
Surge of ruthless cruelty
For we are strong, wise.

Loneliness touches
Us all and can break hearts
Leaving us wretched.

Massaging the soul
Flexing your capacity
To accept love’s hold.

Flames burst destroying
Everything in its path
Leaving all tainted.

The evils of men
Devastate the innocent
Leaving destruction.

Do not surrender
To one who strips you, attempts
To watch you bleed dry.

Fear paralyzes
Only those who allow it
Be strong, be steady.

Afraid of being
Broken leaves one hopeless and
The future stark, bleak.

When hope does soar high
So too does joy and pleasure
Fostering courage.

Brave and courageous
Forge ahead leaving the past
And tumbling forward.

Beneath moon magic
Lovers gentle strokes bring bliss
And sweet surrender.

A precious ending
A love that shan’t be broken
By the bonds of time.



READ THE BOOK!  

B&N 

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Sneak Peek at HIGHLANDER'S TOUCH!

I'm so excited today for the release of HIGHLANDER'S TOUCH! The 4th book in the Highland Bound series! I fell in love with Emma and Logan from the first three books, but there was another character who kept speaking to me. He wanted a story of his own--to find love and romance and himself.

Meet Ewan Fraser, sexy Scottish warrior and second in command to Laird Logan Grant at Gealach Castle. And introducing Shona our feisty, independent healer heroine!


Ewan is a bad boy. A naughty warrior with a healthy appetite for lassies and battles. He's got a few demons lurking inside that seem to be tamed when he falls under the care of Shona.

But Shona has a secret, a secret she's not even fully privy to. Ewan makes her dream of things she didn't think she'd ever have, including his steamy kisses.

Here's a little excerpt... A first kiss. My favorite!


Finally finished caring for his wounds, Shona cleaned up the extra linens and medicinal salves. She glanced at her patient and was startled to find that his heavily-lidded blue gaze was fixed upon her.
“Ye’re beautiful.” A genuine smile curled his lips.
“Thank ye,” Shona murmured, heat filling her face.
Goodness, but was the warrior going to flirt with her while he lay injured upon her bed?
“Where am I?”
She flicked her gaze back to him again, noting that he was attempting to sit up, his brow wrinkled and lips turned down. Hands outstretched, she rushed forward and gently pressed him back onto the bed, trying to ignore the strength in his shoulders, despite his current condition.
“Do not move. Ye are safe here,” she soothed.
“Is this your home?” He coughed then grimaced, the movement obviously causing him pain.
“Aye.” She brushed his hair from his forehead. “Ye should lay still else your bandages come unraveled.”
“What is your name?” He touched the bandage wrapped around his forehead and then the ones on his chest.
She watched him, prepared to swipe his hands away if he tried to undo the bindings. “Shona. Yours?”
“Ewan.” His voice was stronger when he said his name.
Confident he’d not try to sit up again. Shona fixed him a soothing tea that would help ease his pain, keep fever at bay and make him sleep. She carried the cup forward and spooned drops into his mouth slowly so that he didn’t choke. He parted his full lips, taking in the drink she offered.
“I’m not a bairn, I can drink on my own,” he grumbled after the fact.
“Aye, I know ye can, Ewan,” she said in a mollifying tone, then guided his hands to grip the cup, though she stayed close in case he needed her help.
As she’d noticed with some of her past charges, they didn’t like to feel as though they’d completely lost all their faculties. What harm would it do allowing him to feel he had some strength left?
She studied him while he drank. His skin was pale, his lips white. He’d lost a lot of blood and the only thing that would bring it back was sleep, her herbal tisanes, and, when he was strong enough, some food.
“Rest well, warrior,” she whispered, taking the cup from him.
But as she backed away from him, he gripped her arm and tugged her forward, his fingers sending a sizzle of something exciting rippling through her.
The cup fell from her hands hitting the floor and she gasped as he pulled harder, making her sprawl over his chest. Lucky for him, at the last minute, she was able to brace herself on either side of his arms so she wouldn’t injure him further. Daft man!
Intent darkening his roving stare, a wicked tendril of heat shot through her, hitting every part of her body that she yearned for him to touch: lips, neck, breasts, thighs… slick sex.
“I’ll rest better once ye kiss me,” he rasped.
Her gaze met his cloudy one. The man was feverish. Mad from his wounds.
“We canna. Ye’re hurt,” she tried to argue, even as she leaned closer.
“What will a kiss do?” he asked.
But Shona wasn’t sure if he, or even she, really understood the depth and breadth of that question. What would a kiss do? So very much.
Shona pressed her lips together, prepared to tell him nay, that they would never kiss, but he didn’t wait for her to respond.
Warm lips brushed over hers. Soft and sweet. And even in their softness, something intense flared inside her. She gasped, and that moment when her mouth opened, he slid his tongue along the seam of her lips and then inside to tease the tip of her own.
“Ewan,” she murmured. “We—”
But the stubborn man didn’t let her finish. His hand threaded through the hair at the back of her head, holding her prisoner as he deepened the kiss, tangling their tongues and not allowing her to speak.
It was beautiful, delicious, so wanton. And she loved every single wicked stroke.
She would have kissed him all night into the next morning if she could.

READ THE BOOK!  

B&N 

Monday, May 12, 2014

I Love Big Orange...Cows by Nancy Lee Badger

Welcome back to History Undressed, guest author, Nancy Lee Badger! Today she's sharing with us her love of Highland cows. Enjoy!

I Love Big Orange…Cows

by Nancy Lee Badger   

Orange? Thank the Highlands of Scotland for sharing the biggest, hairiest, cold-weather adaptive side of beef with America…the Highland steer. Known as Bò Ghàidhealach in Scottish Gaelic, these large docile animals are best known with their long horns and shaggy red coats, but are also bred in black, dun, brindled, and yellow. Although this animal, bred for its lean tasty beef, was developed in the Scottish Highlands and the Western Isles of Scotland, the Scots exported breeding stock worldwide. 

Their heavy coats protect them from the harsh climate of Scotland’s Highlands. High rainfall, strong winds, and hilly terrain are no problem. Even countries whose winter climates are even colder than Scotland have seen an explosion of herds. Their shaggy hair protects them during the cold winters, keeping the fat content low. They also have this uncanny skill to find food in steep mountain areas, or to graze on vegetation many other cattle refuse to try. Highland cows have a long history of living with humans, and the early Scots kept the family cow inside their homes during the winter.

I won’t go into the meat-producing aspects of the Highland steer. Instead, I will share photos I took at the recent Loch Norman Highland Games in Huntersville, NC. The festival is held at the Rural Hill Historic Site, a year-round historic village complete with a cabin, corn shed, blacksmith forge, and Highland cows. For the first time since I started attending these games, I was able to get close to the mama and her calf. Not too close, as Highland cows are highly devoted as well as protective mothers. Cows may produce into their late teens, which reduces the need for frequent herd replacement. Financially, they are a good bet.

The dad was brazen and begged for handfuls of corn. Did he notice men dressed in kilts and women in long dresses? Did he care that several fur-wearing men walked by with longbows across their shoulders. Did he worry that marching band members stopped to visit with dirks on their hips? Since bulls can weigh in at almost 1800 pounds, I was glad the sturdy fence was between him…and us.

I mention the cows in my latest release, My Lady Highlander, which is the first book in my Kilted Athletes Through Time series. Here is a short except:

“Are we close to the border?” Bull asked.
Izzy whispered, “Aye. The darkness will aid us in crossing the meadow unseen. If we be lucky, my former ale master has put up barrels of honey ale.”
“Let’s hurry!”
She laughed at his exuberance, slapping a hand over her mouth. Stealth would keep them alive.
When they reached the edge of the meadow, they crouched behind low branches. If the moon, hidden somewhere behind heavy clouds, reappeared before they traveled the distance across the meadow, they would be as visible as the Highland cows, mooing, to their left.
“What’s that sound? A cow?”
“Aye. Highland cattle, so stay to the right and watch yer step.”
“Great. I’ll probably trip, and land face-first in a pile of cow droppings.”
She chuckled.
“That was funny?”
“Nay. I was thinking…” She fingered the potions in her pocket. “I carry a potion bottle filled with what we call cow-cakes.”
“Why the heck did you bring that along?”
“That title be misleading. ‘Tis actually an infusion of giant hogweed, a potion that can burn the skin. ‘Twas the only weapon I could grab when we…were interrupted.”
“Don’t know where you’d use that.”
She shrugged. “Mind yer steps. If ye do step wrong, I shall do my best to get ye a bath.”

For more information on the breed, there are several breeding associations across the United States and Canada, and they can be found online. Please enjoy my photos.

About the Author
Fourteen books later, Nancy Lee Badger still loves chocolate-chip shortbread and wool plaids wrapped around the trim waist of a Scottish Highlander. Her stories tempt you with the clang of broadswords, and the sound of bagpipes in the air. After growing up in Huntington, New York, and raising two handsome sons in New Hampshire, she moved to North Carolina where she writes full-time. Nancy is a member of Romance Writers of America, Heart of Carolina Romance Writers, Fantasy-Futuristic & Paranormal Romance Writers, Triangle Area Freelancers, and the Celtic Heart Romance Writers.  

BOOK BLURB
Isobel MacHamish escaped a betrothal in ancient Scotland. She rebuilt her life in present-day New England, yet something-or someone-is missing. Arson, thievery, a stalker, and a handsome caber-tossing athlete turn her world upside down.

Bryce Buchanan saves a pretty woman-twice. Sent back to ancient Scotland-again-he is trapped between the skittish woman, and a man pressuring her into marriage. Battles, swords, a Scottish brownie, and a power-hungry laird make ‘Bull’ want to head home to New England.

To escape her former lover, and his murderous, father, Izzy finds her inner warrior. And, when the handsome athlete shows her what falling in love can bring, she is torn, because keeping her hands to herself, is one battle she will never win.

Connect with Nancy Lee Badger
Blog                                      http://www.nancyleebadger.blogspot.com
Website                                 http://www.nancyleebadger.com
Twitter                                  https://twitter.com/NLBadger
Facebook                              http://on.fb.me/KMGS4z                    
Goodreads                            http://bit.ly/Vd1Usg
Amazon Author Page           http://amzn.to/13ICHLq

My Lady Highlander Buy Links:
Amazon                              http://amzn.to/1i72gLV
Amazon Print                     http://amzn.to/QKTP2Q
NOOK                                http://bit.ly/1j9Eu51
Barnes & Noble Print         http://bit.ly/1qdbe0n

My Honorable Highlander, Nancy’s first book in her Highland Games Through Time series is part of 10 Timeless Heroes: magic & destiny unite lovers across time and space in this epic collection of award-winning, chart topping tales. From sweet to sizzling romances, 10 Timeless Heroes has a little something for everyone. Over fifteen hundred pages!

Amazon     http://amzn.to/RuFTub
NOOK       http://bit.ly/1ntUSi5
KOBO       http://bit.ly/1iydpJu\