31 July 2013

Oldham County Fair Opening


    

Oldham Country Fair opened today and Candy and I were there with bells on.

Yesterday, we helped enter all the varied entry in the Home and Family Arts part of the fair.   Today was the judging of everything.
Candy had two entries in toys -- Puss 'n Boot and The Puppet Master

    
BOTH won Blue Ribbons!!!


   

We got showers, but fortunately we came prepared.  Naturally, Candy wanted me to have my pic taken with the dragon and knight.


The carousel was just the "county fair" style - so I was a wee tad disappointed.  But I loved this Mardi Gras jester decorated one.  They were a "knockoff" of a Hersell mode.  Still, the ponies were very prettily painted.






    





  

all in all it was a LOVELY TIME!!!

29 July 2013

Coming September 17-30th - Sunset on Summer Fun


I will be blogging about a one-legged seagull, a poker playing cat and a midget pony - how animals are a super devise to show a character's true nature without telling the reader



There will be a grand prize winner of the contest,
 and a winner from my blog will receive the set of the 
Sisters of Colford Hall 



27 July 2013

And the winners are ....


The Grand Prize Winner was

Jessica Deluna


And the Winner of my Blog is
 
Nicole Laverdure

Nicole please email me so I can send you the books.
romance.writer.uk@gmail.com

26 July 2013

New copy of Riding the Thunder!!


This is the new tradesize copy sitting next to original mass market version.
I cannot be more pleased with the quality of the Montlake large size. 
Again, the cover feels like suede and the paper is the brightest white library quality.

Once, before I first saw one of my books in print, my then editor Hilary Sares said I should not be too fussy, and over self-edit, because my book would look different in print than it did on a computer screen.  I truly didn't understand what she meant until I opened that box that contained my author's copies and read my own words inside the book.  Then the light bulb came on!  There was a difference, and I think that difference will have keep people wanting books, not just ebooks.  Oh, I love my Kindle Fire, love the convenience of getting something for instant download.  Still, I don't think I would draw the same satisfaction of having my stories come out in ebook alone.  Print is just magic.  It was magic, it will continue to be magic.  I have tried to explain to other authors that are ebook only what Hilary meant, and I just cannot convey the difference.  It's something an author has to experience, I guess.



I am especially pleased to see Montlake pushing "the series" as a whole and not just each book on their own.  Dorchester tended to publish one book and not really promote the series.  Montlake had gone that extra bit and added at the bottom of the back copy, "This is the Second in the Seven Sisters of Colford Hall series sequel to The Invasion of Falgannon Isle."  Love how they are covering all bases and are so forward looking!

Again, I say thanks for Montlake for the quality of production of my book.

24 July 2013

Riding The Thunder release at 40% off



A Storm's Coming... 

It was all part of the plan. While his brother was in Scotland dethroning the Lady of Falgannon, Jago Mershan was headed to Kentucky. There he would do his share in avenging his father on the Montgomeries.

Only, there was a monkey wrench in the works...

Just looking at his alleged enemy's granddaughter made Jago think of his classic black '67 Harley Electra Glide, a motorcycle with clean lines and sleek curves that promised the ride of a man's life. Asha was all woman-- and the only woman for him. He'd bet she could go from zero to one hundred in the blink of an eye... and not even her claims of paranormal happenings in the diner she ran could put him off. He knew magic: He had a special name for the sights, the sounds, the tastes and smells of that perfect ride. There might be a storm coming, but it was one of passion, and together he and Asha would be...

RIDING THE THUNDER 

 Second in the Seven Sisters of Colford Hall series sequel to The Invasion of Falgannon Isle


From MONTLAKE Publishing  
http://www.amazon.com/Riding-Thunder-Deborah-MacGillivray/dp/1477831282/

23 July 2013

Riding the Thunder - Tradesize release today!!


Today is the Release day for my second in the series
The Sisters of Colford Hall 
and it's currently in the launch price of 40% off

Montlake/Amazon Publishing does such beautiful copies - the covers
feel like Suede and the paper is the highest quality library edition.

They also released two more of Dawn's books, The Waterlord, and
the first in the Blood Moon series.  Candy is very excited to see
her sisters books in print once again.

Both are being offered at the 40% release price as well.

 

The Waterlord                                   Blood Moon

21 July 2013

Welcome to History Lovers Grand Tour and Scavenger Hunt


My stop on the 


For my hop of the tour featuring some wonderful historical authors, I shall be discussing dating -- a comparison to what readers experience everyday and how the manners of romance were handle in times past.


How vastly courting rituals have changed through the ages. . .



Courting in the Middle Ages was very different for a lady of noble birth than for the women of today.  Social mores that governed how a couple met, the manner in which they formed an engagement and later wed, dictated much of her life, and often with small or no input of her desires and choices.  For the reader not well versed in a particular period, it’s important to mentally step back and not to judge actions and thoughts of characters of periods past by today’s standards.  Centuries ago, females were often wed at twelve years of age, something that would be considered child abuse by today’s rules.  At age twenty-five she was an “old maid” and considered beyond the age of marrying.  You have to remember people didn’t live as long.  When we think of “old” we are considering people in their sixties and seventies.  In ancient times, people for the most part were lucky to make it to age forty, thus a woman in her twenties was already an older woman halfway through her lifetime.

As that age perspectives shift, you see a change every couple of generations in the mating rituals.  Today, many couples openly live together for years before taking the steps to marriage vows.  Just a few generations past, this would have been scandalous, taboo.  When Ingrid Bergman had an affair with Italian director Roberto Rossellini in the 1950s, while both were married to other people, and later gave birth to his son, it caused such a scandal that she was denounced on the floor of the United States Senate.  Ed Sullivan even refused to have her on his show!  When she left her husband and daughter, going to live in Italy with Rossellini, she was barred from entering the US to act and had to remain in Europe for a number of years.  Yet, such behavior is common place now and barely raises an eyebrow.  Look at the long romance of Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn.  He was married to Season Hubley when he began his affair with Hawn.  They have now lived together for decades, yet never married.  No one gives it a second thought.

In the 1950s, women stayed home to raise their families.  A wife going to work outside the house was a slur against her husband.  What’s wrong, can he not support her?  At the turn of the previous century, women seldom went out to live on their own.  They remained with their families until they were properly courted and wed, going from father’s to husband’s control without ever knowing how to live life on her own.  The further you go back into history, the tighter control you see of women, what they could and couldn’t do.  Few could own property.  They had no control over money they might inherit, and were often considered nothing more than property of their husband.  In the 19th century, women didn’t go out for dates.  In fact, if she danced with the same man more than twice at a ball of the ton, society would expect him to offer for her hand in marriage the next morning, or she would be ruined!

Shed all you knowledge of how women live today, and take that step back to consider obstacles women faced in finding a husband in Medieval times.   The average commoner rarely traveled outside his own village.  They were born, lived and died, literally tied to the land, chained there because they were mere vassals of the local lord.  Consequently, a woman of low birth was forced to find a mate amongst the slim pickings of local lads, or possibly a cousin not too far away.  It’s estimate they rarely traveled farther than the nearest village, even fewer went over fifty miles away.  Women of higher birth were not quite as limited.  They generally were sent to other castles or keeps at a young age to be fostered, much in the same manner sons were sent away to serve as pages and squires.  Therefore, they did have the opportunity to meet young men outside their own fiefdom.  Such a move was intentional, this “farming out” of daughters at young ages.  They gained strength in facing a new situation, new people, and saw how others thought and lived.  More importantly, the exchange of children was a forging of bonds between different lords.  If she were of some import, she might even travel to court, widening her circle of acquaintances even more.  Still, there was little chance of dating as we might consider it.  Young women served under the tutelage of the lady of the manor.  She spent a lot of time learning courtly ways and to manage the household, possibly she might even be instructed in the healing arts.  A young woman would spend time sewing, spinning and weaving ― an endless chore, because people had to have clothing, and everything from sheering the sheep, carding the wool and spinning it had to be done by hand.

Even if she were lucky enough to catch the eye of a handsome young squire, attachments wouldn’t have been encouraged.  A daughter was not just a child to be reared, she was an asset.  Fathers that didn’t have sons would use his daughters to make alliances.  Lord’s with sons saw the chance of obtaining a large dowry to bolster his standing.  The young girl would have little say in if she wanted to marry a man.  These marriage contracts were set up, signed and sealed when she was but a child.  Love, though much sung about by troubadours, rarely came into play in the making of a match during this period.  Sometimes, fathers had little say in the matter, too.  If the liege lord or king decided to marry off a daughter to a knight or another lord for a reward, there was no recourse.  Their liege lord’s decision on such matters was final.

If on the rare occasion, a young woman might fall for a young man, the obstacles preventing them from getting to know each other were endless.  In a castle, people were always about.  Privacy was scarce as those proverbial hen’s teeth.  There were no places to go for walks, no parks, and strolling outside the castle curtain was dangerous.  The first time a couple had the time to truly come to know each other was after they were married.



So the next time you read a historical romance don’t be too quick to judge people of the past and how they lived by your own life experiences.

© Deborah Macgilligray
All Rights Reserved, July 2013



  


Winner from My Blog will be chosen from those leaving a comment.  Be sure to leave an email so I may contact you.  You will win 1 copy each of my Dragons of Challonseries
 A Restless Knight, In Her Bed, and One Snowy Knight


To find the other authors on the tour

Check this Listing

Visit their pages and win even more prizes



Grand Prize
$50 Gift Card
to the
Book Retailer of Your Choice

************My guestion:  (rather simple) **********

What is the name of my Historical series???

Don't post here.

Oldham County Day....what a blast!


  
Photos of me by Candy Thompson

Today was Oldham County Day - and it was a huge crowd.  We have a parade, a gun fight, musicians, dancers, living manniquins and a cupcake eating contest!!!


  


This couple were living mannequins.  
They would strike a pose and hold it for the longest time.

 



The parade was really great - Candy and I had front row seats - my porch!









We  were treated to High Noon and high noon

  

  




AND....

Candy took second place in the cupcake eating contests!!!

  

  




Then we were treated to some lovely dancing


We listed to a rock band, a Celtic band, a folk band, and orchestra, toured the many vendors from the local businesses and watched cars being toward away for parking where they weren't supposed to.

After, lunch at the Irish Rover, we walked home...