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A Highland Pearl
A Highland Pearl by Brenda B. Taylor
My review follows the book blurb found on Amazon.
“A sweet romance blossoms amidst feuding and war. With her reputation at stake after being accused of practicing witchcraft and hated as a member of a rival clan, Maidie considers leaving Clan Munro and returning to the home of her birth in Clan Cameron. Fierce battles, a tragic encounter, and a handsome clan chief compel her to make crucial decisions in this haunting romance set in the16th century Highlands of Scotland.
Maidie is summoned to Fàrdach Castle of Easter Ross-shire to assist in caring for the wounded of Clan Munro after a battle with Clans MacKenzie and Cameron. She dreads the task since her husband, Kenneth Munro, was killed in an earlier battle. Maidie is a healer, taught by her mother, with the skills and knowledge needed to tend the wounds of Chief Andrew Dubh Munro who is seriously wounded.
People in the castle and those in the village of Drumainn turn against Maidie. Angus, the castle physician, resents her for taking his job in caring for the chief. She is hated by some, because she is a member of the enemy Clan Cameron and came to live in Ferindonald, the Munro lands, with her husband.
Maidie considers returning to the land of her birth in Clan Cameron with her young son, Sven, but falls in love with Andrew while caring for his wounds. Although her neighbors now call her a witch, she wishes to stay in Drumainn because of her love for the chief.
Against an effort to guard his hardened heart from another hurtful encounter with a woman, Andrew falls in love with the tender, caring healer, Maidie. He wants her to stay in Drumainn, but his enemies, the Camerons and MacKenzies, have other plans. They use Andrew in an exchange for Maidie and Sven after their warriors capture the Munro chief. Her father, the brother of Chief Ewin Cameron, wishes for Maidie’s inheritance to stay within his hands. After the exchange, Andrew vows to get Maidie back and plots her return to him and Clan Munro. While inside Castle Lach, the seat of Clan MacKenzie, Andrew meets a small child who is his daughter. He takes the child with him to provide for her when he leaves Castle Lach.
Gavin, Andrew’s brother, falls in love with Maidie. She is attracted to him, but knowing his roving eye, avoids his amorous attentions. Gavin tries to woo Maidie and win her heart away from Andrew. He offers an alternative to rescuing his brother instead of using her as an exchange for the chief. Maidie will not put Andrew’s life in danger and refuses. She resigns herself to going back to her father’s home. Gavin decides he cannot stay at Fàrdach without Maidie and makes plans to leave.
Davina, the younger sister of Andrew and Gavin, harbors resentment toward Maidie because of her brothers’ attentions to the healer. Davina is also jealous of the young warrior, Tavish, who Andrew assigned as Maidie’s bodyguard, and who is infatuated by her sweet charm. Davina secretly loves Tavish and wishes to marry him, but her brothers desire her to marry the MacKenzie’s son to bring peace between the clans.
Although Maidie loves Andrew, she knows their love is forbidden. Too many adverse circumstances surround their relationship. Being a devout believer, Maidie is concerned about Andrew’s lack of spiritual convictions. She realizes they can never be happy with a gulf between their beliefs. Will Laird Andrew Dubh Munro and Maidie Cameron Munro overcome the barriers standing in the way of their love?”
It has been a long time since I have read a historical romance and I fell in love with this book. The highlands, the thick brogue accent, the castles, and the entire story made this a must read book for me. Intrigue was woven in a fashion not normally found in many historical fiction books. Love gently grew among more than one couple while interwoven with (now barbaric) medical treatments such as blood-letting. Battles are won and lost, and the heroine uses herbs to heal wounds made of those herbs, and how she gently cleansed and sutured each wound. I also found the spirituality I read to be such a blessing, as I am fully Christian and this was pleasing to read. Well written, well woven, well researched, and I give this story five stars!
How To Promote Yourself As An Author And Writer…
by Derek Haines 
on the Just Publishing Advice site:
Promoting yourself as an author, and not a bookseller
Selling books is hard work and also a very good way to alienate yourself as an author. Social media is full of self-published authors trying to flog their ebooks and all most of them achieve is to be ignored or unfollowed. Learning how to promote yourself as an author is a far better way to be successful.
I have received many comments and messages asking about the difference between promoting and selling and how to build a social network and following, so I thought I might share some of my ideas and approaches to author and book promotion here.
I have to say from the outset though that these are methods that work for me, and are not necessarily a set of rules that you have to follow. The other point I…
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Today’s Art 22 Aug 2017
Breaking Dawn – desert and canyon feel
Blue – color invokes peace
Long Trek Home – blue is peaceful, the path clear, yet the trees lean left
May all of you obtain some serenity from these three works.
Ellsworth, KS 150th Birthday!
Grand Marshall Kenneth Castor and his wife Deb led the parade for this celebration.
If you haven’t seen my post about this wild west wicked cow town the link is right here and to say Ellsworth was rowdy and wicked is putting it mildly.
In the 90’s Michael was a cowboy and I was a saloon dancing girl doing the re-enactment of the “Shooting of Sheriff Chauncey B. Whitney”.
Oddly, a town could survive without a doctor or bank, but it had to have a blacksmith.
Never in a million years would I have thought this toddler turned man could grow this kind of beard!
Buffalo Soldiers came right on through to lend a helping hand.
150 Texas Longhorns were driven along the parade route. Spectators took a step or two backwards to be safe.
He has his eye on you!
A small fraction of the longhorns!
I would never do this! Check out the drone in this picture!
One more bad boy!
They followed the Chisholm Trail from Texas to Ellsworth!
Back in 1992 this picture was taken. Big hair, fancy dresses, and if interested, I’m the one in the gold dress, back row with glasses of era.
We had a booth on the Cow Town Plaza. These pics are partially set up both above and below.
I would be remiss if I didn’t add in that we painted, wrote, produced and published a children’s book, Shadow and Friends Celebrate Ellsworth KS 150th Birthday!
In this children’s picture book and seventh book in our ‘Shadow and Friends Series’, Shadow and Friends Celebrate Ellsworth, KS, 150th Birthday, two dogs and a family of squirrels decide to help Ellsworth celebrate the 150th birthday of the town’s history. This book coincides with the actual 150th birthday of Ellsworth in the summer of 2017. Illustrations are found on each page, most of them painted. Big Whitey tells the history of Ellsworth, and Fort Harker, with historical buildings, notable landmarks, and scenes painted by the author. At the end of this story, Little Whitey asks his father if they can re-enact the old west, dress like cowboys, and do a pretend cattle drive just like Ellsworth, KS. The squirrels dress in cowboy and cowgirl gear, and they even have a chuck wagon cook. They herd longhorn cattle, sing the state song of Kansas, and have lots of fun during their re-enactment. At the end of the story, they enjoyed a barn dance, celebrated the 150th birthday of Ellsworth, and Uncle Stubby took pictures and ‘selfies’. Children will love seeing the old west come alive with two dogs and a family of squirrels dressed in western attire, and using a small amount of cowboy slang. This delightful and funny book for children, targeted at ages 4-8, is easy to read and perfect for home or classroom. The story illustrates how cattle drives worked, the long dusty trails, life in the old west, and illustrations that produce pure imagination in children. Note: Actual gunfights and ‘adult type’ history were left out in this wild western history of Ellsworth, KS.
Today’s Art Works
Has the world gone batshit crazy?
It seems that way.
I haven’t slept much this week. Each night I’ve tossed and turned watching the clock as my mind raced. Often pain and discomfort that keep me awake but the last few nights this was not the case. No, the events of the past week rushed at my thoughts like a swarm of bees evicted from their hive.
This is a writing blog. But, is there anything more important to write about than what is happening around us?
In times of crisis as well as celebration, it is the arts that express our humanity. 
Painters put images on canvas, singers raise their voices in song, photographers capture the moment, and writers write. We write in newspapers, books and now the internet. We write to preserve, share, and inform.
Today I’m sharing. A memory that has stayed with me more so than any other from my young childhood.
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Destination Dachshund: A Travel Memoir
Destination Dachshund: A Travel Memoir
Destination Dachshund: A Travel Memoir: Three Months, Three Generations, & Sixty Dachshunds by Lisa Fleetwood
I just finished reading this book and my review follows Fleetwood’s book blurb found on Amazon.
“Not just a book about pets. Not just a book about loss. And not just a book about travelling and broadening the mind.
Destination Dachshund rolls them all into one and takes you on a journey much further than the European adventure depicted within its pages. It is a book about coming to terms with loss of family and of much-loved family pets. It is a book filled with fun and laughter, even amidst the pain and heartache of bereavement. And above all it is a book about the love of a family.
From the shores of Sydney to Europe, Russia and the United States and back again, see the world through three generations, as they travel for 3 months on the vacation of a lifetime, filled with love, adventure, hope and recovery.
Written with tenderness and affection throughout, Destination Dachshund is a book which will have you laughing out loud and looking for one of these little dogs everywhere you go.”
I must admit that the cover had me from the start – so heartwarming. I admire anyone who can plan an 88 day vacation that covers 15 countries over the holidays. I was sad when Christmas came and the family mourned their loss of a loved one who passed before the trip was taken. The loss of, and the manner of the loss of one of their dachshunds was sad as well. All that part aside, this memoir invokes a warm feeling during many humorous and not so humorous adventures while on vacation. Fleetwood has a knack for the sights and sounds of their travels, rich history of what they did and saw, and I would have loved to have been on that trip. While at Auschwitz, I had to stop reading just that part; however, it is an important piece of history and one that everyone should know about (of course I do know the history quite well) and as such, is a commendable part of this memoir. The style of writing, the grammar, everything is perfect so I rate this book as five stars.
Love: A Tangled Knot
When Angels Fly 