Sweet (?) Smell of Spring

Ah, spring. The time when bulbs are sprouting, young love is blooming, and the air is filled with the sweet perfume of...exhaust.

My husband is bringing the Harley home from its maintenance checkup this afternoon, and I can’t WAIT to get out and get some bugs in my teeth! Okay, not so much the bugs. I usually wear a bandanna over my lower face to keep my sensitive skin from turning beet red from windburn.

There’s something very Zen about being the Hot Babe On The Back. Um, okay. Just the Babe On The Back. All right, all right! Just On The Back!

We have a cruiser-type bike, which means the rear seat is cushy and wraps around my hips and lower back, so it’s easy to relax without fear of falling off. The only thing to worry about is smacking my helmeted head against the back of DH’s if he hits the brakes without warning. Yep, it’s happened.

The steady roar of the engine (okay, a hum – I wear ear plugs), the scenery rolling by, the sun warming my winter-cold carcass, classic rock on the radio. It takes a few minutes, but soon I feel myself draw a nice, deep breath as if I’m easing into meditation.

It’s amazing how many knotted-plot solutions come to me when I’m on the bike. Invariably I return refreshed and eager to get back to the keyboard.

I’m only one of many authors who’ve found a way to wrap a story around the shiny chrome of a motorcycle—and its bad-boy rider. Wildish Things combines two things I love dearly—Ireland and a Harley. Topped with a bad boy with a heart of gold, the story pretty much wrote itself.

Now you’ll have to excuse me. I have a sexy man in black leather calling my name. Happy spring!

(cross-posted on the Beyond the Veil blog)

Celtophile Monday

5000 Year Old Westray Wife Tours Scotland
A Neolithic carving found in the Orkney Islands last year is to go on tour around Scotland. The 5,000-year-old figurine, known as the Westray Wife, was discovered in the Links of Noltland on the Orkney island of Westray and is the only Neolithic carving of a human form found in Scotland. Measuring just 41mm by 31mm and made of sandstone, the Venus figure will go on tour around Scotland before returning to Orkney for the summer. Source: Culture24.org.uk

Scotland During World War II
What was life like during the second world war in Scotland at home, at school and on the street? Click here for student and teacher resources.

Ginger Hair Due To Bad Scottish Weather?
Scotland’s notoriously bad weather appears to be behind why more of the country’s population appeared to be blessed with ginger hair, new research has claimed. Read more

Read An Ebook Week 2010!

Click here to learn all about this year's Read An Ebook Week celebration, including links to FREE and reduced-price ebooks!

Join Samhain Publishing authors on the Samhain Cafe for a full week of chats, contests and free stuff. Have fun!

Celtophile Monday

Ran across this nice page of Scottish lighthouses. This is Bell Rock, one of many designed and built by the Stevenson family. Author Robert Louis Stevenson belonged to this family. This is a good book about them: The Lighthouse Stevensons.







Also Irish lighthouses.This one is Hook Head, which my husband and I visited a few years ago on rare, clear October day. Some sort of beacon has existed on this spot since about 450 A.D., making it one of the oldest (if not the oldest) lighthouse sites in the world!

Related site: Commissioners of Irish Lights





And here we have beacons in Wales. This one is Porthcawl.











Cornwall, of course, has its share! This one is Tater Du, near Penzance on the south Cornwall coast.

Celtic Ogham Divination series

I've posted a new addition to my series on Celtic Ogham divination over on Beyond the Veil. Enjoy!

Kilts - Not Just for Scotsmen!

Piper in an Irish military kilt:


Piper in Irish tartan kilt:


IrishKilts.co.uk







Irish National Tartan:



Irish National Tartan:


Links:
Irish Kilt Club
Jakes Direct

Okay, not an Irish kilt, but darned cute:

CONTEST! Romance Junkies Trivia Contest

The Romance Junkies' Valentine's Day Trivia Contest is live!

I'll be giving away a print copy of the Love and Lore print anthology, which contains my sexy novella Wildish Things along with two other smokin' hot stories by Gia Dawn and Sela Carsen.

How to win? "Stroll" with your mouse through the charming shops and cafes of RJ-ville. Roll your mouse through each location to find live links to participating authors' contest pages. Read an excerpt, answer a trivia question correctly, and email it. Each email is an entry, so the more correct answers you send in, the more chances to win.

Here are the official rules:
To enter contests for the newsletter:

• You must send an email to entercontest@romancejunkies.com with the author's or publisher's name in the subject line.
  
• Answer the trivia question and please include your mailing address so if you're chosen, we can email the author immediately.
  
• Each prize entry must be a separate email sent with the above information.
  
• Contest ends March 31st, 2010.

So click here to get started! Have fun!

Kilt Candy

Loading Scottish music onto my mp3 player got me in the mood for....KILTS!

Should have pulled a book cover move and lopped this guy's head off. His face does nothing for me but hoo-eee, that chest!


I've seen several pictures of Gerard at this event but never one quite this...uh...phallic.


Not sure who this is, some actor, but he's a cutie.


The facial expression makes this picture. :)


Quite the bonny lad...


Another bonny lad...not sure what he's doing toting a pair of skis around in midsummer. But who cares?


Not sure I'd like a guy with hair prettier than mine... lol


*speechless due to overabundance of drool*


Just a guy walking down my street. Uh huh. As if...


This gentleman might be a little on the rough side, but his outfit is awesome. Ever since we brought the Harley home, I have a thing for leather...


And finally...

Celtophile Monday

Scottie from Rampant Scotland made this slide show of photographs from the recent Glasgow Green for the World pipe band competition. Music by Moira Kerr. Enjoy!

Celtophile Monday

Find more videos like this on Our Scotland