Monday, June 22, 2015

Cover Reveal!

Reluctant Betrayer, Book V of the Claddagh Series, will be released next month! And here's the first look at the absolutely gorgeous cover Highland Press has designed for it!



Those of you who have read Everlasting (Claddagh Series, Book IV) will most likely recognize Aidan Collins, Liam's younger brother. Weary of the wretched conditions in the small, west-of-Ireland village of Trasnavan, he makes a decision that will change his life. But will it also cost him the woman he loves?

Look for Reluctant Betrayer at your favorite bookstore soon!



Friday, June 12, 2015

MORTAL MAGICK RELEASE

Please come join us this Thursday, June 18th, to help celebrate the Debut release of
MORTAL MAGICK
 a fantasy, time travel romance set in 18th century mystical Isle of Skye.
 
 
 

When an immortal Highlander falls in love with a human witch,
Mortal Magick”
soon casts a spell of its own.
 
 Doomed for eternity to wander nights as half man and half creature, rugged Highlander, Duncan McCord, discovers his curse is the least of his problems when he sets out for a cure and rescues the beauty determined to help tame his beast. When a reluctant witch, Keara, gets whisked back to 18th century mystical Isle of Skye to learn lessons in magic, she faces the true test of love when she meets the man beyond her wildest dreams burdened with dark secrets from his past.  Forced together to journey through an enchanted country filled with mythical creatures and magical lore, will they survive in a world where evil sorcery reigns, or will a shocking twist of fate tear them centuries apart?


We look forward to seeing you there!    Patty Taylor

Click here to be taken to Beth Trissel's lovely site:
https://bethtrissel.wordpress.com

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

The Conquest Continues - The Gentle Knight


I'm happy to be here to share my new release, The Gentle Knight. The year is 1075. The place, Drogheda, Ireland.

A Norman soldier returns home after battle to find his lover has died in childbirth just as his mother had. Overwhelmed by guilt, he decides on a solitary life until he meets an Irish princess whose innocence demands his protection at the cost of his heart. 



This is book two in the Norman Conquest Series. Book one is The Saxon Bride that tells the story of Rowena Godwinson and John of Normandy. John's close friend is Peter. This is Peter's story.

A medieval soldier returns home to find his lover died in childbirth just as his own mother had. Believing he is cursed, Peter of Normandy turns from love. When he must give escort to an Irish princess more noble than many knights, he struggles with his decision to live a solitary life. Can he take the chance that his love won't be a death sentence and possibly make them stronger?

Padraig MacNaughton's death bed decree rips his only daugher, Brighit, from the shelter of her protective clan in Ireland. Forced to take vows at a Priory in England, she finds herself in the hands of lecherous mercenaries with their own agendas. Dare she trust the Norman knight to see her safely to her new life as a nun? Even when she finds in him the fulfillment of all she's ever wanted? Or will honor and duty eclipse their one chance for happiness?

EXCERPT:
The barrenness of the countryside would take Brighit some time to get used to. Perhaps it was only this area, but it seemed nothing like her home which was so lush and green. She missed her family. A tightness began to build in her throat but Brighit refused to acknowledge it. A splashing sound came to her from just beyond the tree stand.
She glanced back the way she'd come. The need to return immediately or confront Ivan's wrath had her clenching her teeth. That splash sounded very much like the lake Lachlann had mentioned. A chance to clean her face and hands in a refreshing body of water rather than with a soaked cloth? The heat in that confined carriage was making her wilt. She sniffed and confirmed her stench was overwhelming. Before even thinking it through, she headed in the direction of the sound.
Brighit paused on the barely discernible path. Sure she heard rustling, she glanced behind at the open field she'd come from. It was empty. Nothing behind her that could make such a sound. Was it a deer perhaps? Taking a few steps farther, the small rise gave way to the breathtaking sight of a small lake. The top glistened like glass without a ripple to disturb its surface.
The slight breeze carried the pungent aroma of honeysuckle and lavender. The plants would be a wonderful thing to find and put in with her few belongings. Each night she would be surrounded by the smell of flowers. Without another thought she headed through the bushes to her right, careful to not make a sound in case the deer were still nearby. Movement along the banks drew her attention and she froze.
A man stood there dripping wet and naked. He pushed his hair away from his face. A handsome face with a strong jaw and a thick brow. She followed the movement of his hands, sloshing the water off his chiseled body. Blond hair spanned his broad chest and across his rippled torso, leading down his muscular legs, glistening in the fading light. His tarse was visible even from this distance. She looked long and hard. Her breathing became labored. Magnificent.
He turned in her direction. She ducked. She held her breath and shivered in the bush, willing her heart to stop pounding so loudly. When she ventured another peek, he was gone. Disappointment welled up inside her gut. She'd wanted nothing more than to sit and watch him, imagine how it would feel to run her hands down his expansive chest and firm body as he had done, to appreciate the rippled strength there. She blew out the breath she'd been holding and licked her dry lips. That certainly wasn't going to happen, not in this lifetime—as a nun. A small bush of purple flowers brushed her hand and she snatched it. Lavender. The sun was dropping below the hills in the west and she needed to get back. Enough of these wasted desires.
Desire made things happen. It was her grandfather's favorite saying. As the seventh son, he had been a man of some notoriety among Irish nobility. He was given the Celtic Princess, Faighrah, to wed. When he sired his own seventh son, the other leaders turned to him for guidance, for wisdom, in return for unfailing loyalty. The belief always that the seventh son of the seventh son of the seventh son had a special anointing from God. No evil could befall him.
Brighit was no son and evil seemed a little too close. Ivan had told her he would not hesitate to make up a lie about who she was. Even saying she was his wife. Others would believe him because he was a man. Perhaps a little more protection from the same God who made her a female was not asking too much.

Available at: Apple    Kobo    Amazon    Barnes and Noble

       Website: www.ashleyyorkauthor.com
       email: ashleyyorkauthor@gmail.com

Thursday, March 19, 2015

BUNDLED BOOK: CONFESSIONS OF THE CLEANING LADY AND STUPID CUPID


Confessions of the Cleaning Lady:  A band of feisty Irish faeries who stow away in the trunk of a pharmaceutical representative from Killarney are inadvertently released in the Pennsylvania countryside where Mal McCurdy sets up bachelor housekeeping. In need of a cleaning lady, he is introduced to Shawna Egan, unaware that his faeries have taken up residence in her oak tree. Shawna, who was raised with tales of the Fair Folk but never realized she can see them, learns it the hard way when she cuts down their home. She gives them another…and faeries always repay their debts.

Stupid Cupid:  When the son of Zeus and Aphrodite bumbles into a meadow south of Killarney, he is met by a band of indignant faeries outraged by his target practice. Soon, however, all the supernatural creatures are overshadowed by an estranged couple intent on fisticuffs! Can Cupid effect a reconciliation between the humans? Or is just a wee bit of intervention by the Fae in order?





New Release by Cathy MacRae, The Highlander's Outlaw Bride


The Highlander’s Outlaw Bride
by Cathy MacRae
 

Blurb:

Thrust into the role of laird upon his father's unexpected death, Connor MacLaurey returns home to find his cousin has usurped his lands and title. Furthermore, his betrothed--a lass he barely knows and certainly did not agree to marry--is hunted by the sheriff, accused of stealing cattle. His plan is to petition the king for clemency for the foolish chit, break the betrothal, and take his castle back from his treacherous cousin. Marriage is not in his plans.

Brianna Douglas has no use for men. Widowed young, berated daily for failing to give her husband a child, and sent home in subsequent disgrace, she devotes her life to holding her family's land for her young brother as their sotted father drowns his sorrow in whisky over her mother's death. Raiders have hit her clan hard, and to save them, she finds herself betrothed to Laird MacLaurey's absent son to seal a pact of protection with the MacLaurey clan.

Forced into a marriage neither wants, it will take a king's edict and sacrifice from both to discover what love means. But can they accept their losses and learn from their mistakes before Brianna marries another?
                                                                       * * *
Excerpt:

“Explain why ye hate me so.” Conn’s voice sounded soft and low, both gentling and demanding at the same time.

Briannaglanced past him, her gaze darting from side to side, judging the possibility of escape. There was none, and after a moment she lifted her chin a notch, refusing to answer him. He hid a grin at her courage and pride. And stubbornness.

“Have ye always disliked the idea of marriage, then?”

A disdainful breath escaped her. “I have been married once before. It dinnae interest me much then, either.”
“Yer previous husband was only a lad. Heir to a sizeable bit of land, but still just a lad.”
“And ye can do better,” she tossed at him, repeating his earlier boast to the king.
“Ye know I can.” He touched the backs of his fingers to her cheek and she gasped, her skin darkening beneath his touch. “I cannae get our love-making out of my mind.”
Brianna shrugged. “Och, there was nothing to recommend it to me. I have already put it from my mind.”
“I apologize for that, dearling. Ye willnae feel so bereft the next time, I promise ye.”
“Dinnae bother. All I want from ye is Morven’s protection for Wyndham.”
He met her steely stare. “Ye dinnae want me?”
“Nae,” she ground between clenched teeth, her nostrils flaring.
“Ye werenae married long enough to appreciate a man in yer bed. I bet ye still have yer dowry chest.” He teased her lightly, wanting to see a smile on her lips.
“I burned the wood to warm my cold bedroom,” she snarled in reply.
“Yer wedding dress?”
“Rags for the stable!”
He leaned closer, his voice a raw whisper in her ear. “I would settle for marrying ye the way I found ye.” Brianna eyed him in puzzlement, and he knew the instant she remembered he had pulled her from the burn as naked as the day she was born.
With a snarl of either rage or despair, she flung herself away from the wall. Before he could stop her, she darted beneath his arm and fled down the darkened hallway, her billowing silver hair the last thing to fade into the darkness.
Shite! Does the lass have no sense at all? He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, wincing as he encountered the tender stripe she’d laid down the side of his face. Why do I pursue her? She openly hates me and has scorned me before the king and his court. He shrugged, remembering how they’d come together when neither knew the other’s name. I could do a lot worse. His rueful smile creased the welt and he scowled at the sting.
                                                                     * * *
Author Bio:
Cathy enjoys weaving tales of romance in the Highland mists. Her stories feature strong heroes and feisty heroines in pursuit of their happy-ever-afters in medieval Scotland.
When not writing, Cathy can be found curled up in a chair with a book or enjoying the outdoors with her corgis and newest member of the family, Freki. A member of RWA and Celtic Hearts Romance Writers, she is currently working on another Highland romance novel and planning her next trip to Scotland.
Check out her website at www.cathymacraeauthor.com for book updates, writing and author posts, as well as her thoughts on gardening and dogs. She would love to hear from you!
facebook, Twitter @CMacRaeAuthor
 
 
 

 

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

A SAINT PATRICK'S DAY THANKS!

A very heartfelt thanks to all the wonderful authors posting their works here in celebration of St. Patrick's Day.  You have made it the best holiday EVER on The Celtic Rose Blog and we have all enjoyed your posts.  

We couldn't have done it without you!

Clan Ross Series by Kristi Ahlers

HIS HEART'S DESIRE
The Clan Ross Series, book 1
Kristi Ahlers
ISBN: 9781301543809
ASIN: B00AERVDDW
Length: Novel
Genre: Time Travel Romance
Price: $3.99

Buy here - Tirgearr Publishing

What’s a woman to do when faced with the man of her dreams—literally?

Catrìona MacDougall has dreamed of an ancient highland warrior for years and over the course of her life she’s fallen irretrievably in love with a man she can’t have. This won’t do and she vows it’s time to put the dream man on the shelf and find a real man who can make her melt. What should seem like a very uncomplicated plan soon proves to be anything but. Catrìona is about to get way more than she ever bargained on. Maybe dreams really can become reality.

Laird Braden Ross, once a brave warrior for his clan, was to marry Catrìona MacDougall, and what started as a marriage to solidify clan relations turns into a love match. But, when Braden leaves MacDougall land with his bride to be, they are ambushed by banished members of the Comyn clan under the direction of Morgana, a druid priestess, who has long held deep feelings for Braden. When those feelings aren’t returned, she vowed to make him pay. She attacks Catrìona and leaves her to die in Braden’s arms after cursing him into a loveless existence until his soulmate releases him.

Braden is trying to reach out to Catrìona but she's convinced he’s nothing but a dream. He needs to prove to her they are meant to be, before she banishes him to the afterlife.

HER HIGHLAND ROGUE
The Clan Ross Series, #2
Kristi Ahlers
ISBN: 9781311795366
ASIN: B00GHUDHZ2
Length: Novel
Genre: Time Travel Romance
Price: $3.99

Buy here - Tirgearr Publishing

Kady, Muse Extraordinaire, has ticked off Cupid, and in order to get back into the good graces of her friend and the rest of the Gods, she has to do the seemingly impossible. She has to match her favorite lady human, Meagan Wentworth, with her one true love.

Kady thinks she’s struck the mother lode of luck when Meagan falls for Alec Ross but there is just one tiny little problem with the hearts and flower ending she envisions. Alec is from the past--Scotland, in the year 1295 to be exact, and his little sojourn in the future is about to come to an end, thanks to the selfish and evil priestess, Morgana. But everything goes wrong when Alec and Meagan get caught up in the a spell Morgana has cast and sends them back in time. Kady doesn’t have enough power to send them back to the twenty-first century so she hopes they can make things work until she can figure a way to get Meagan home where she belongs.

Meagan can’t believe she’s back in time, with no plumbing, no electricity and the hottie she’d been falling for, doesn’t remember her. Meagan is going to do what she can to get back to her time period, she doesn’t need this…and yet, she has never backed down from a challenge. She’s going to remind Alec who she is and what they had together in the future. Hopefully, she’ll be able to survive the late 1200’s and not be accused of witchcraft or die. And of course get the guy and write there happy ending.

• • •

Kristi Ahlers is a California girl! She grew up in Northern California in a small city called Yuba City. Since then she's lived in Brussels, Belgium, and England along with a myriad of other locations. A former flight attendant, she was able to continue to feed her love of travel. This has greatly influenced her writing, allowing her to pen stories about places she's managed to visit and things she's experienced.

Find Kristi Online

Website - http://www.kristiahlers.com
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/kristi.ahlers1
Blog - http://kristiahlers.blogspot.com
Tirgearr Publishing - http://tirgearrpublishing.com/authors/Ahlers_Kristi