Welcome to my home on the web. You may have noted the mountains in the banner are the misty Blue Ridge of North Carolina. Did you know time traveling Highlanders live there? Read about them in the Highland Gardens series. Curious about the big cat? Florida panther~from the Crimson Storm paranormal novel, Sea Panther.

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Cover Reveal - 'Just Wait For Me'

**Estimated Release - Late Fall 2014**


Just Wait For Me
A Highland Gardens Novel - Book #3





In the chaotic aftermath of the battle of Flodden, an injured Highland warrior makes a bargain with a twenty-first century lass cast back in time by a meddling, matchmaking faerie. Stephen MacEwen promises that if the lass will help him get home, he'll find a way to send her forward to her own time. But is that a promise he'll want to keep after finding love in Jillian O'Donnell's arms? And after saving Stephen's life, will Jillian want to go?


~Dawn Marie

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Sneak Peek Sunday (#SPeekSunday): Sea Panther

Welcome to Sneak Peek Sunday. Colin, Sea Panther's first mate, has offered to set up a meeting with the captain...


E-book available from Amazon,
Amazon UK
  SmashwordsAppleand Barnes&Noble.
Trade paperback available
at Amazon and Barnes&Noble.
He chugged the remainder of his beer and tossed a ten-dollar bill on the bar. “Take care, Mackey.” He inclined his head to her. “Good day, Miss Scot.” Before walking out the door, he called back, “Be there at ten. Don’t be late, the captain hates tardiness.”

He chuckled and pushed out the door.

Kimberly exhaled sharply and glanced at the bartender. He stared as if mesmerized by a favorite reality show on TV. She smiled. Now that the course was set, she wanted a drink. Needed one, actually. As the mate said, it must be after five somewhere in the world.

“A glass of red wine, please.” She swiveled from side to side on the barstool.

“Right away, miss, but you should have let Colin buy the drink. His captain is swimming in money.”

She leaned forward. Now she’d get the real poop.



Thanks for stopping by!


For more Sneak Peek fun, check out the other participating authors by clicking the link below.

Click HERE
to join in the fun
and hop along
with Sneak Peek Sunday.



~Dawn Marie

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Sneak Peek Sunday #SPeekSunday SEA PANTHER

Welcome to Sneak Peek Sunday. Continuing from last week...


E-book available from Amazon,
Amazon UK
  SmashwordsAppleand Barnes&Noble.
Trade paperback available
at Amazon and Barnes&Noble.
Mackey tilted his head toward Kimberly. “This lady here is interested in crewing for the Panther.”

The redheaded man glanced at her. One side of his mouth quirked up, and he shook his head a couple of times. Then he measured her with a stare and gestured to the barstool next to him. “Join me, lass.”

Another man with a Scottish burr. Were Scotsmen taking over South Jersey? Kimberly hid nervous amusement behind a cough then shored up her courage and slid onto the stool next to the big man. Either she had impeccable timing or fate had taken an interest.

“Care for a drink?” he asked.

“No thanks, too early for me.”

“Suit yourself, though I’m sure it’s happy hour somewhere.” He grabbed the refilled beer mug from Mackey and took a long swallow. Setting the mug on the bar, he spun on the stool to face her. “Colin MacEwen.”


Thanks for stopping by!


For more Sneak Peek fun, check out the other participating authors by clicking the link below.

Click HERE
to join in the fun
and hop along
with Sneak Peek Sunday.



~Dawn Marie

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Sneak Peek Sunday (#SPeekSunday): Sea Panther

Welcome to Sneak Peek Sunday. Continuing from last week...


E-book available from Amazon,
Amazon UK
  SmashwordsAppleand Barnes&Noble.
Trade paperback available
at Amazon and Barnes&Noble.
The scruffy guy seated on the closest stool rubbed his gray beard. “You want to crew for the Panther? You’re a brave girl.”

“Isn’t that wise?”

The bartender shot the patron a scathing glare, and the man stared down into his beer mug. The door creaked open with a burst of cold air; everyone glanced in that direction. A tall, brawny man with red hair and ruddy complexion sauntered in and approached the bar. The bartender handed him a foamy mug, which he downed in two gulps. Then he sat on a stool at the end of the bar and pushed the empty mug toward the bartender. “Another, Mackey.”

Mackey laughed. “Have a bad day, Colin?”

“Aye, you might say that. Worked up a heavy thirst.”

“Well, your day is about to improve.”



I'm very excited. Sea Panther received 4.5 / 5 and is a reviewer top pick at Night Owl Reviews: "Spine tingling tension from several different subplots keeps the reader shivering in anticipation..." Click HERE to read full review.



Thanks for stopping by!


For more Sneak Peek fun, check out the other participating authors by clicking the link below.

Click HERE
to join in the fun
and hop along
with Sneak Peek Sunday.



~Dawn Marie

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Sneak Peek Sunday (#SPeekSunday): Sea Panther

Welcome to Sneak Peek Sunday. Continuing from last week...


E-book available from Amazon,
Amazon UK
  SmashwordsAppleand Barnes&Noble.
Trade paperback available
at Amazon and Barnes&Noble.
The dank smells of stale beer and perspiration and moldy wood, mixed with a hint of urine, assaulted Kimberly as she entered the decrepit bar. Her eyes required a few seconds to adjust to the dimness.

Three salty old men stared at her from bar stools twisted in her direction. The other stood behind the bar, drying a streaked glass with a stained linen towel.

She swallowed, suppressing an urge to run out the door. Lead took up residence in her legs as she walked across the sticky plank floor to the bar. The bartender smiled, showing tobacco-stained teeth. Kimberly fiddled with the tattered index card in her hand.

“Can I help you, miss?” The bartender dropped a cardboard coaster in front of her.

“I’m interested in the crew position on Sea Panther.”

Three sets of eyes widened. Not a good sign.


Thanks for stopping by!


For more Sneak Peek fun, check out the other participating authors by clicking the link below.

Click here
to join in the fun
and hop along
with Sneak Peek Sunday.



~Dawn Marie

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Author Nancy Lee Badger with A Scottish Appetite, My Lady Highlander, and a #Giveaway

It's my pleasure to have author Nancy Lee Badger visiting today with a discussion of Scottish food and her new novel My Lady Highlander. Oh, and hang onto your seat, Nancy is gifting two copies of My Lady Highlander. Enter via the Rafflecopter widget at the end of the post.


A Scottish Appetite

A garden is a marvelous thing and I wish I had a green thumb. My husband and I planted beans, corn, and other less memorable veggies back when we first bought our 1860’s farmhouse in Rumney, New Hampshire. It grew and grew. Days before harvesting, the groundhogs stripped the beans clean, and a bear took out all the corn. We watched the groundhogs chomping the beans, but never saw the bear…or deer, or moose. Whatever it was, they had smashed the cornrows to the ground.

We tried again years later, and placed a long, narrow garden along the fence in the front yard, away from the acres of forest that so easily hid veggie-stealing creatures. The rhubarb grew well, and I made strawberry rhubarb pie. The snow peas? My boys ate most of them off the vine before I could bring them in for dinner.

When we moved to the south, we bought a home with a yard of hard-packed red clay. No more gardening for us, but while visiting a few Scottish festivals, I did chance upon ideas for my books, which take place partly in early 17th century Scotland. Scotland is known for some certain ethnic foods—think haggis and shortbread. However, the ancient people ate many things.

Hunters were important to a village or clan. Deer, also known as venison when slaughtered, were a main food source in the Highlands, as well as pine martin, a type of small weasel. Game birds and fish were also available. Farmers tended flocks of sheep—known on their dinner tables as mutton.
Highland cows, a red-haired hardy strain of beef, were common. There is an age-old story about reivers…usually a band of young men from one clan who would steel cows from another clan, to prove their manliness.

Root vegetables that could grow quickly in the harsh climate filled harvest baskets from spring to autumn. Carrots, in particular, show up in my latest book My Lady Highlander. I also mention apples growing on my heroine’s farm, and any meal was tastier with home-brewed Scottish ale. Add a loaf of crusty bannock, a type of bread. Finish off the meal with sweet, heavy chunks of shortbread, and people in Scotland were happy until the next meal.

The weather sometimes made for long, cold winters, but the Scots learned to harvest and preserve the basics, and feed themselves oatmeal cakes softened in whisky when the larder grew bare. Snuggling by a fire, sipping honey ale and nibbling on deer jerky sustained them until spring brought renewal and rebirth.

Me? I live within walking distance of a great little supermarket.

Here is an excerpt where I use food and drink to bring my characters closer:

“ ‘Tis quite dark, down here,” Izzy said. Pushing with both palms, the top of the barrel slid sideways. The scent of heather, honey, and fermented ale filled her nose. She half-filled the bucket then passed it up to Bull.
“Only half? What are you going to drink?”
Izzy grinned up at Bull from where she huddled in the dark root cellar. With danger all around them, and others in search of them, he could make a joke about a bucket of ale? “Och, yer a funny man. We shall share the ale. We need our wits about us, for whatever the night hides.”
“And, we’ll face the dawn together,” he whispered.
Her heart fluttered. Glancing around the small space of her family’s underground storage room, the total darkness was eerie. Scurrying creatures and the buzz of small insects made her hurry. Covering the ale barrel, she searched the shelves where she and her mother once stored their winter provisions. When she grabbed a familiar vegetable, relief swept through her.
“Carrots,” she whispered. The threat of others occupying the nearby cottage set her teeth on edge. She dropped the bunch into her gathered skirt, then climbed out of the dusty storage room. Bull climbed down from the loft, where he must have taken the bucket.
“What’s that, sweetheart?” he whispered, pointing to the feathery tops peeking from her skirt’s folds.
“Sustenance.”

My Lady Highlander Book Blurb

Isobel MacHamish escaped a betrothal in ancient Scotland. She rebuilt her life in present-day New England, yet something-or someone-is missing. Arson, thievery, a stalker, and a handsome caber-tossing athlete turn her world upside down.

Bryce Buchanan saves a pretty woman-twice. Sent back to ancient Scotland-again-he is trapped between the skittish woman, and a man pressuring her into marriage. Battles, swords, a Scottish brownie, and a power-hungry laird make ‘Bull’ want to head home to New England.

To escape her former lover, and his murderous, father, Izzy finds her inner warrior. And, when the handsome athlete shows her what falling in love can bring, she is torn, because keeping her hands to herself, is one battle she will never win.

More About Nancy Lee Badger
She loves chocolate-chip shortbread, wool plaids wrapped around the trim waist of a Scottish Highlander, the clang of broadswords, and the sound of bagpipes in the air. After growing up in Huntington, New York, and raising two handsome sons in New Hampshire, she moved to North Carolina where she writes full-time. Nancy is a member of Romance Writers of America, Heart of Carolina Romance Writers, Fantasy-Futuristic & Paranormal Romance Writers, Triangle Area Freelancers, and the Celtic Heart Romance Writers.  

Connect with Nancy Lee Badger
Blog     Website        Twitter                                 
Facebook       Goodreads         Amazon Author Page   

       

My Lady Highlander
Amazon        Amazon Print



And if you LOVE Time Travel romance:
10 Timeless Heroes
Nancy Lee Badger's My Honorable Highlander is one of the books where magic & destiny unite lovers across time and space in this epic collection of award-winning, chart topping tales. From sweet to sizzling romances, 10 Timeless Heroes has a little something for everyone. Over fifteen hundred pages! 
10 Timeless Heroes
 Amazon   NOOK    Kobo

What would you grow in YOUR garden? Two winners will receive an E-Book of My Lady Highlander. Contest ends May 5th.


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