Castle Window View & Excerpt from Highlander Undone!

Highlander Undone, Book 5 in my Highland Bound series will be releasing in one week! Today I'm sharing with you an excerpt of the opening chapter!

ABOUT THE BOOK:

The USA Today Bestselling Highland Bound series continues in Book Five -- Highlander Undone.

Continue Ewan and Shona's tale... And find out what happened to Rory!

With Logan and Emma away from the castle, Shona and Ewan are left in charge. The passion of their honeymoon is interrupted by an unexpected visitor seeking revenge on Rory MacLeod, who leaves them in desperate need to find the missing man. Unbeknownst to them, Rory has been transported to the future, where he is reunited with his long lost love, Moira, twin sister to Shona. Their attraction to each other still burns bright. As fate would have it, the four of them end up on a journey through the Highlands in an attempt to clear Rory's name, and solve the mystery behind Moira and Shona's birth. Passion. Love. Adventure. Danger. And a little bit of humor.

A view of the Loch Ness from inside Urquhart Castle--the inspiration for Castle Gealach
in the Highland Bound series. Imagine Shona here!

EXCERPT:

Scottish Highlands

Nearly spring, 1544

Winter had been quiet. Too quiet.

Shona Fraser ran a finger over the frost-slickened stone outside of her bedchamber window, the crystals melting in the wake of her heated fingertip. Below, in the courtyard, the castle was slowly coming to life. The blacksmith and tanner, the armorer and the fletcher, all trudging toward their work huts, their footsteps leaving prints on the frosty ground. Servants stumbled their way toward the castle, their breaths puffing in clouds. Workers headed toward the fields to tend the thawing earth.

Spring was coming. The days were growing warmer. No longer was a fur-lined mantle required unless the sun had set.

A misty film covered the ground as the sun slowly burned off the remnants of frost. Within a few hours the rising sun would warm the air by twenty degrees or more.

Why, just yesterday, Shona had traipsed barefoot in her small medicinal herb garden, though not for too long.

“It’s quiet,” her husband Ewan said, coming up behind her. He pressed his lips to her bare shoulder, his hands sliding over her hips, settling into place.

Moments like this, tender and comforting, made her pause and give thanks. A slow smile crept on her lips as she leaned her head back onto his shoulder. She knew all too well that precious moments such as this could be shattered like a hammer hitting glass. “Our enemies have been hibernating just like the animals.”

“Aye. With spring dawning, they will soon awaken.”

Shona nodded, leaning her head back and reaching up to dredge her fingers in her husband’s luscious hair. “But maybe we dinna have to awaken just yet."

HIGHLANDER UNDONE © 2016 Eliza Knight

Want to read more??? Pre-order your copy today from one of the below etailers!

Highlander Undone

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Check out Eliza Knight's New and Upcoming Releases!

Releasing February 16th!

Taken by the Highlander
(in the Captured by a Celtic Warrior Anthology)

Releasing March 31st!

Claimed by the Warrior

Bold...Brilliant...Brave...Heroines Throughout History: CIVIL WAR NURSES by Tara Kingston

Greetings! I’m Tara Kingston, historical romance author and lover of all things Victorian. I’m fascinated by history through the ages, especially the bold, brilliant women who helped shape our world, and I’m delighted to be a new monthly contributor to History Undressed. I’ll be sharing facts about daring women through history—some famous, some not so well-known, but all remarkable with their own unique contributions.

Today’s post touches two areas of interest that are dear to my heart—the American Civil War and remarkable women. My Secrets & Spies series looks at Civil War espionage, but I’m quite intrigued by the women who put their lives on the line to nurse the wounded. Here’s a bit about some of the brave, bold women who served as nurses during the Civil War…some are common names, while the contributions of others were fascinating to discover.

CLARA BARTON

Dubbed the “Angel of the Battlefield”, Clara Barton delivered supplies to the frontlines and tended the wounded on the fields of battle, including during the Battle of Antietam. After the war’s end, she worked to identify missing soldiers through a nationwide campaign. Years later, in 1881, she founded the American Red Cross.

DOROTHEA DIX

The social reformer devoted many years of her life working for better treatment of the mentally ill, but during the Civil War, she was appointed the Union’s Superintendent of Women Nurses in 1861. During her years of volunteer service, her duties included recruiting females into the nursing ranks at army hospitals and setting up field hospitals. After the war, she resumed her efforts on behalf of the mentally ill.

LOUISA MAY ALCOTT

Perhaps best known as the author of Little Women, Louisa May Alcott served as a Union nurse at Georgetown’s Union Hotel Hospital from December 1862 through January 1863. Stricken with typhoid pneumonia, her service was cut short. After her recovery, she wrote a book, Hospital Sketches, based on her experiences at the hospital she dubbed the “Hurly burly Hotel”.

Courtesy of the National Library of Congress

HANNAH ROPES

A social reformer and abolitionist, Hannah Ropes became the Head Matron at the Union Hotel Hospital in 1862, tirelessly advocating for better care of the wounded. Mrs. Ropes served there during the weeks when Louisa May Alcott served as a nurse at the hospital. Both she and Louisa May Alcott were stricken with typhoid pneumonia in January 1863. Louisa May Alcott recovered, but Hannah Ropes died on January 20, 1863.

HARRIET TUBMAN

The renowned conductor of the Underground Railroad served as a nurse to African-American troops and a spy behind the front lines during the Civil War. Many years after the war, she was awarded a nurse’s pension by the government.

SUSIE BAKER KING TAYLOR

The daughter of slaves, Susie Baker King Taylor served as a teacher and nurse during the Civil War. Born in 1848, she was a teenager when she served as a nurse at the country’s first hospital for African-American soldiers in South Carolina, working with Clara Barton. Years later, she published an account of her experiences, Reminiscences of My Life in Camp.

AMANDA AKIN

A nurse at the Armory Square hospital in Washington between April 1863 and July 1864, Amanda Akin kept a detailed diary of her experiences. Shortly before her death in 1909, she wrote a book about her recollections, The Lady Nurse of Ward E, under her married name, Amanda Akin Stearns.

Thousands of brave women served the Union and the Confederacy as nurses during the Civil War. The women I’ve highlighted are a sampling of the courageous females who offered care, comfort, and compassion to the wounded during the war, often at great personal risk.

To learn more about Civil War nurses and the contributions of the women I’ve highlighted, here are some sites you might enjoy:

http://www.redcross.org/about-us/history/clara-barton

http://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/2011/07/scenes-from-the-hurly-burly-hotel-louisa-may-alcotts-civil-war.html

http://www.historynet.com/louisa-may-alcott

http://americanhistory.si.edu/documentsgallery/exhibitions/nursing_1.html

http://www.loc.gov/wiseguide/nov05/angel.html

http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/biographies/harriet-tubman.html

http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Susie_King_Taylor.aspx

http://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/dorothea-lynde-dix

https://www.aahn.org/gravesites/ropes.html

http://www.civilwarprimer.com/2012/03/hannah-ropes-the-other-woman-behind-little-women/

http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/susie-king-taylor-1848-1912

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/the-diary-of-civil-war-nurse-opens-at-the-american-history-museum-163467159/?no-ist

***All photographs are in the public domain.***

About The Author:

Award-winning author Tara Kingston writes historical romance laced with intrigue, danger, and adventures of the heart. A Southern belle-out-of-water in a quaint Pennsylvania town, she lives her own love story with her real-life hero in a cozy Victorian. The mother of two sons, Tara's a former librarian whose love of books is evident in her popping-at-the-seams bookcases. It goes without saying that Tara's husband is thankful for the invention of digital books, thereby eliminating the need for yet another set of shelves. When she's not writing, reading, or burning dinner, Tara enjoys cycling, hiking, and cheering on her favorite football team.

Connect with Tara at www.tarakingston.com and on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTaraKingston

In a world where a man’s loyalty doesn’t depend on the color of a uniform, danger, intrigue, and passion are facts of life for the men and women of Tara’s Secrets & Spies series, historical romances set against the backdrop of the Civil War. [Buy link to Book One, SECRETS, SPIES & SWEET LITTLE LIES] http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GK677PY/ref=series_rw_dp_sw

Martin Luther King Jr.

Today we celebrate the life and dream of Martin Luther King Jr. Please watch the below video, a documentary about his iconic and influential life.

Pirates Have Sailed into Port

Ahoy! I’m Jennifer Bray-Weber, author, beach bum, rum drinker and pirate diva. I am honored to be a new addition to History Undressed. Every second Tuesday of the month, I will offer boatloads of pirate topics, facts and overall revelry for your enjoyment. From time to time, I’ll even share my booty, er, plunder, um, swag. I’m so excited to be a part of the blog, I’m shivering in me timbers!  I know, I know...bad pun.

Pirates are a fascinating bunch. The more I researched them, the more I became obsessed. Here are ten reasons why I love those scallywags.

It's a pirate's life for me!

1. Because I can call them scallywags. No, seriously. Pirates work hard and they play harder. My kind of folks.

2. Pirates are clever and strategic tacticians. Prowling the seas is a business, not just an adventure.

3. They are courageous. Whether in battle or from the hardships of sailing, they face the real likelihood they will not survive. Yet, it is the life they choose.

4.  Loyalty is in their blood. They are a brotherhood unlike any other. When the world is the enemy, they have each other’s backs.

5. They love passionately. After all, tomorrow is never a guarantee.

6. Pirates are self-governing.  They sign articles—a code of conduct—they are expected to follow. If they break the rules, they face just punishment. They vote on important matters, like who’ll be captain. And spoils are divided equally and fairly depending upon rank.

7. Superstition is rampant. Just like most sailors, they are a superstitious lot. This makes for fun pirate tales.

Sexy, wicked fun

8. Pirates are bad boys. Need I say more?

9. They live free, relentless in pursuit of adventure and wealth.

10. And because pirates capture my fancy in movies and television. Some of my favorites: Pirates of the Caribbean (naturally), Black Sails, Captain Blood, Buccaneer’s Girl, Crossbones,  Against All Flags, and Goonies, just to name a few. Let’s not forget Dread Pirate Roberts (The Princess Bride) and  Captain Shakespeare (Stardust). And how about sea adventures like Master and Commander, Mutiny on the Bounty, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

Do you have a favorite pirate or sea adventure movie?

About the Author

Jennifer is the award-winning author of the Romancing the Pirate series. Visit her at www.jbrayweber.com or join her mailing list for sneak peeks, excerpts, and giveaways.

Wild and Passionate Ladies of an Era by Kathleen Bittner Roth

Welcome back to History Undressed, our first Tuesday blogger and author, Kathleen Bittner Roth! She's here today with another riveting post. Enjoy!

WILD AND PASSIONATE LADIES OF AN ERA

by Kathleen Bittner Roth

I have a predilection for collecting stories of eccentric women throughout history who were daring enough to step outside the dictates of society. One woman in particular is dear to my heart, the willful daughter of an earl, Lady Hester Stanhope (12 March 1776—23 June 1839).

Niece to William Pitt the Younger, the unmarried socialite acted as his hostess and personal assistant when he was England’s Prime Minister (he was a bachelor). Noted for her beauty, intelligence and conversational skills, Lady Hester did such a smashing job serving her uncle that upon his death, the government awarded her a lifetime pension, which she promptly used to pursue a scandalous life in the Middle East. Never to return to England, wild and daring Lady Hester went off to sea, eventually heading for Constantinople, but she never arrived—her ship crashed on the rocks in Rhodes.

She lost every stitch of clothing and had to borrow those belonging to the Turks'. That's when she discovered how she loved the way they dressed—the men, that is. Lady Hester refused to wear veils and thereafter, never wore anything but men’s robes, turbans, and slippers. She tramped about in the desert for several years, slept in the tents of Bedouin sheikhs, traipsed through Turkish palaces, visited a Pasha or three and learned to smoke a water pipe. She also thought nothing of taking a string of lovers, including one twelve years her junior. Her archeological expedition in 1815 was hailed as the first modern excavation of its kind. Soon, she was referred to as the Queen of the East.

In my Victorian series, Those Magnificent Malverns, which takes place in the countryside of Kent, the elderly grandmother, Mum, as she insists on being called, is my representative of these unconventional women who lived during the Regency and Victorian periods. All the stories Mum regales about her past are based on actual events belonging to Lady Hester Stanhope. I simply made Mum Lady Stanhope’s best friend in my stories and had her tramping about the Middle East alongside her. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kathleen Bittner Roth thrives 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.

THE SEDUCTION OF SARAH MARKS is book one in Those Magnificent Malvern series and is currently on sale for .99: When a proper Victorian miss awakens next to a handsome stranger, she must rely on the man's benevolence as she struggles to regain her memory and hold onto her heart. BUY LINK

PORTRAIT OF A FORBIDDEN LADY is book two in Those Magnificent Malvern series and is due to release in May 2016 (cover not yet available): A young widow returns to her childhood home after a forced absence and faces her first and only love, but despite their powerful attraction, danger compels her to remain his forbidden lady. 

CELINE, book one in the When a Heart Dares series, is on sale now! BUY LINK