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.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

'Just Beyond the Garden Gate' Tour Stop - Dey For Love

'Just Beyond the Garden Gate' is featured today at Dey For Love. Giveaway: $5 Starbucks e-gift card to one lucky commenter. Stop by and say hi.

~Dawn Marie

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Sneak Peek Sunday - Just Beyond the Garden Gate

For today's Sneak Peek we'll visit with a secondary character, Caitrina, a banished faerie princess who is challenged by the High Queen of the Fae to unite a most unlikely match. For more Sneak Peek fun, check out the other participating authors by clicking the link below. Hope you enjoy this wee snippet!

Caitrina hovered at the edge of the wood, cloaked in the glamour of invisibility. She raised her arms over head in a languid stretch until her spine aligned with a soft crack. It felt so good to have shed the gardener glamour. Posing as a human in the twenty-first century was taxing beyond measure.

She ran tactile fingers over her silk gown, relishing its soft luxury and drew in the fragrance of fir with bliss. Magic hummed. The verdant forest nearly crackled with her power. Her smile widened as sparks ignited and flashed between the intended couple.

The plan progressed as intended. She clapped her hands, more pleased than she’d been since forced to leave the shores of her beloved faerie paradise Tir-nan-Óg—land o’ heart’s desire—centuries ago. She would outwit the queen and win the first part of the challenge.

Easy as snapping her fingers. Almost.

When Laurie ran after the MacLachlan chief, Caitrina purred like a feline who’d caught its prey. Satisfaction shimmered within her mind, but then she thought about Oonagh and her stomach clenched. The High Queen of the Fae believed the challenge would force Caitrina into an eternity of servitude. She curled her hands into fists. No way would she let that happen.

A change in atmospheric pressure prickled over her skin. Sensing Munn nearby, she stilled, closed her eyes, and summoned her image with a mere thought. Without a whisper of sound, her form emerged and took shape. Inhaling sharply, she spun to face the meddlesome brownie.
 


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



~Dawn Marie
 
 

Saturday, May 25, 2013

May Full Moon Book Giveaway

 

May Full Flower Moon


Flowers bloom in abundance during the May Full Moon. A wonderful time to walk in the evening garden, perhaps with a glass of port. Beware. 'Tis magic in the garden on a full moon. Faeries gather and dance and cause mischief. And on full moons there is an opening within the veil between realms, time, and space.

Do you believe in faeries? 


Full moons are important to the Highland Gardens series. To celebrate the May Flower Moon, I will give away a Kindle Edition gift certificate for Just Beyond the Garden Gate to two lucky readers, commenting on May 25, 2013. Do you believe in faeries?

Just Beyond the Garden Gate

A Highland Gardens Novel

Kindle Edition available at Amazon

The Scottish Highlands—a place where faeries and brownies and other fae creatures dance through time. On occasion, so do mere mortals.

Determined to regain her royal status, a banished faerie princess accepts a challenge from the High-Queen of the Fae to unite an unlikely couple while the clan brownie attempts to thwart her.

Passion ignites when a faerie-shove propels burned-out business consultant Laurie Bernard through the garden gate, back through time, and into the embrace of Patrick MacLachlan. The arrogant clan chief doesn’t know what to make of the lass in his arms, especially when he recognizes the brooch she wears as the one his stepmother wore when she and his father disappeared.

With the fae interfering at every opportunity, the couple must learn to trust one another while they battle an enemy clan, expose a traitor within their midst and discover the true fate of the missing parents. Can they learn the most important truth—love transcends time?

Journey from the lush gardens of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to the Scottish Highlands of 1509 with Just Beyond the Garden Gate.

# # #

Answer the question, "Do you believe in faeries?" in comments with an email address to be considered for the e-book giveaway.

 # # #


~Dawn Marie

 




Thursday, May 23, 2013

Visiting Vintage Vonnie Today


Hi! I'm visiting author Vonnie Davis today at Vintage Vonnie. We're both members of From the Heart Romance Writers. I'm talking about Coffee, Chocolate, and Time Travel. I have a question for readers. Giveaway: $5 Starbucks e-gift card to one lucky commenter. Stop by if you have a moment.
 
 
~Dawn Marie

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Simple Pleasures



I get such a kick out of going into the backyard and picking a few fresh strawberries. My little strawberry jar planting doesn’t give me bushels, but enough for a few berries with yogurt in the morning.

What is one of your simple pleasures?

Busy day today. I’m visiting Babette James’s blog, talking about Scottish Highland Games and the release of Just Beyond the Garden Gate. Giveaway: $5 Starbucks e-gift card to one lucky commenter.

I’m also at Voices From the Heart with a promo for Just Beyond the Garden Gate.

Hope you have a fabulous day!

~Dawn Marie

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

I'm tickled pink. Or is it golden?


The other morning, I found this lovely golden-heart pin and an invitation to the 2013 RITA and Golden Heart Finalists reception in my mailbox. I'm so excited! I'll try not to be too much of a fan girl and gape at the RITA nominees. Can't wait to go to Atlanta!

Today, 'Just Beyond the Garden Gate' is featured as the Teaser Tuesday at Jenn Nixon's blog. Stop by if you have an extra minute.

~Dawn Marie

Monday, May 20, 2013

Scottish Historical Time Travel Romance with Faeries

Just Beyond the Garden Gate

Today is Release Day!


Blurb:

Available at Amazon.
The Scottish Highlands—a place where faeries and brownies and other fae creatures dance through time. On occasion, so do mere mortals.

Determined to regain her royal status, a banished faerie princess accepts a challenge from the High-Queen of the Fae to unite an unlikely couple while the clan brownie attempts to thwart her.

Passion ignites when a faerie-shove propels burned-out business consultant Laurie Bernard through the garden gate, back through time, and into the embrace of Patrick MacLachlan. The arrogant clan chief doesn’t know what to make of the lass in his arms, especially when he recognizes the brooch she wears as the one his stepmother wore when she and his father disappeared.

With the fae interfering at every opportunity, the couple must learn to trust one another while they battle an enemy clan, expose a traitor within their midst and discover the true fate of the missing parents. Can they learn the most important truth—love transcends time?

Journey from the lush gardens of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to the Scottish Highlands of 1509 with Just Beyond the Garden Gate.


Excerpt:

Laurie’s body thrummed, taut with desire not sated. She swallowed hard and tried to pull out of the man’s grasp, but failed.

The now-familiar pressure of his grip no longer frightened her. She understood in the depth of her soul the man who kissed her with such tender passion would never physically harm her. Still, panic hovered too close for comfort. How had she gotten here?

No longer was she in the woods near her cottage and garden. Instead, she stood at the edge of a dark, dense forest near what appeared to be a one-room timber hut with a dilapidated thatched roof.

Who were these two men? Should she run? She didn’t believe she could escape, and the last thing she wanted to do was enrage the men.

“This isn’t Kansas,” she whispered under her breath.

The man, whose name must be Patrick, yanked her in front of him. “What is Kansas? Speak, lass. I command it.”

His aggressive attitude provoked her anger. She overcame her fear, pulled away and glared at him. Then turned to the other man. “Excuse me, sir, my name is Laurie Bernard. I’m confused, tired and frightened. I don’t know where I am or how I got here. I just want to return home. Can you help me? Please.”

She sneaked a peek at Patrick to gauge his reaction.

He clenched and unclenched his fingers, only to clench them again. He glared at the other man’s grinning face. Patrick seemed angry. Although the other man’s appearance unnerved her, she was glad he’d interrupted. How far would she have let things go had he not arrived? Her insides squirmed. She didn’t want to think about that.

Patrick motioned for the other man to leave. Laurie held her breath, afraid to be left alone with the man who’d kissed her with such hunger. What if he tried to kiss her again?

Woohoo! I'm so excited. I even have an author page at Amazon. 

~Dawn Marie


Sunday, May 19, 2013

Sneak Peek Sunday - Just Beyond the Garden Gate

For today's Sneak Peek we'll visit with a secondary character, Munn, a Brunaidh, a Scottish brownie. For more Sneak Peek fun, check out the other participating authors by clicking the link below. Hope you enjoy this wee snippet!

Munn’s essence flowed through the wood, searching for the taint of magic. Soft giggles sang along with the rustle of blowing leaves, alerting him to the lost bairns who lived in the trees.

He didn’t have time to play their games tonight. He needed to find out what kind of spell caused the chief’s vision. Why had it been cast? And who did the casting?

No one else could perform the task. It was up to him to discover the truth. Munn sucked in a chest full of air, pleased with his importance.

As he rushed along the trail, the sound of young voices faded behind him.

The night grew late. A dense fog crept across the moor and through the wood. No mortal man was about. No human saw him appear at the edge of the Fir-wood. He hid behind the old hut and waited. When sure no magic users lingered in the area, he approached the grassy mound.

He didn’t know how the faerie knoll worked its magic. ’Twas a secret held dear by the Sithichean—the ancient faeries of the Highlands.

 
Stop by on May 25th for the Full Moon Book Giveaway. I'll gift an e-book copy of Just Beyond the Garden Gate to a commenting visitor. Hope to see you then!



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



~Dawn Marie

Friday, May 17, 2013

Folklore Friday - The Scottish Shellycoat and Other Bogymen

Previously posted at Castles & Guns.

Bogie, or bogyman, is an overall term used for a host of goblins who can be dangerous or mischievous, and others with shape-shifting ability.

When I was a wee child, I thought a bogyman lived under my bed. Part of the belief came from tales my siblings terrified me with of the purple people eater. The novelty song, The Purple People Eater, inspired their stories. Check out Kidsongs for lyrics.

Of course, my brother and sister expanded on the alien's dietary preference and convinced me the creature came to earth to eat children and was more than likely living under my bed.

While doing research recently, delving into my faerie reference books, hunting for a fae creature to incorporate into one of my Highland Gardens novels, I came across a Scottish bogie known to live within sluggish, fresh water streams. The shellycoat matched my search criteria—a homely yet cute creature that causes mischief by leading travelers astray.

At least that's how I felt about the depiction of the creature found in Faeries by Brian Froud and Alan Lee. I imagine my heroine taking the shellycoat's advice and getting twisted and turned around and completely lost, needing rescue.

The name shellycoat comes from the way he covers his body with shells that rattle when he moves. I picture snails and muscles, and other such crustaceans covering a clammy body. Just imagine the smell—dank, stagnant, pond scum.

His facial skin—usually all a person can see—is pale green in color. His nose flat and broad. His eyes bulging. Reminds me of a frog. A few strands of thin, black hair hangs around his face, but the shells cover most of his head like a hood.

Although considered relatively harmless as far as fae creatures go, and less deadly than the purple people eater of my childhood, the shellycoat takes pleasure in bewildering travelers by misleading them and getting them lost.

What type of bogeymen kept you awake at night?

~Dawn Marie

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Just Beyond the Garden Gate - Virtual Book Tour Dates


Join me as I visit authors and book bloggers with wee tidbits about Just Beyond the Garden Gate, the first novel in the Highland Gardens series.

**Giveaways along the route.**


05/21/13 Jenn Nixon’s Blog - Teaser Tuesday
05/22/13 Babette James’s Blog - Guest Post
05/23/13 Vintage Vonnie - Guest Post
05/25/13 Dawn Marie Hamilton Writes - Full Moon Book Giveaway
05/28/13 Dey For Love -  Excerpt
05/29/13 Across the Plain of Shining Books - Interview
06/05/13 Faeries, Dragons and Spaceships - Guest Post
06/11/13 Romance Junkies - Guest Post
06/12/13 Nancy Lee Badger’s Blog - Guest Post
06/13/13 Books ‘a la Mode - Interview
06/14/13 Star Crossed Romance - Guest Post
06/19/13 House Millar - Interview
06/21/13 Sweet ‘n Sexy Divas – Soulful quotes by Renee Vincent
06/23/13 Dawn Marie Hamilton Writes - Full Moon Book Giveaway
06/24/13 Fresh Fiction - Guest Post
06/27/13 Melissa Limoges's Blog - Guest Post
 
 
I hope to add more guest appearances, so stop back for an up-to-date list of tour stops.

~Dawn Marie

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

What’s in Bloom? Clematis Wreath

 
 
 
 
Isn’t this clematis wreath lovely? In Just Beyond the Garden Gate, Laurie wants to open a garden center and gift shop. I can picture this plant sitting on an antique oak table in her shop. I found the wreath in a local store and just had to have it. It’s in my kitchen, smiling at me while I cook. Soon, it will be planted in my entry garden to twirl through low-growing, evergreen shrubs.

 
Blurb for Just Beyond the Garden Gate:

 
The Scottish Highlands—a place where faeries and brownies and other fae creatures dance through time. On occasion, so do mere mortals.

Determined to regain her royal status, a banished faerie princess accepts a challenge from the High-Queen of the Fae to unite an unlikely couple while the clan brownie attempts to thwart her.

Passion ignites when a faerie-shove propels burned-out business consultant Laurie Bernard through the garden gate, back through time, and into the embrace of Patrick MacLachlan. The arrogant clan chief doesn’t know what to make of the lass in his arms, especially when he recognizes the brooch she wears as the one his stepmother wore when she and his father disappeared.

With the fae interfering at every opportunity, the couple must learn to trust one another while they battle an enemy clan, expose a traitor within their midst and discover the true fate of the missing parents. Can they learn the most important truth—love transcends time?

Journey from the lush gardens of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to the Scottish Highlands of 1509 with Just Beyond the Garden Gate.

~Dawn Marie

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Sneak Peek Sunday - Just Beyond the Garden Gate

Today's Sneak Peek follows Patrick's tantalizing kiss with a stranger. For more Sneak Peek fun, check out the other participating authors by clicking the link below. Hope you enjoy this wee snippet!

A twig snapped nearby, and he jerked his eyes open to the sight of his cousin stepping from the trees. The warrior cleared his throat.

The lass came to herself at the same time, and froze. Patrick reluctantly ended the kiss, stepped back, but held her steady. For a moment, they stared into each other’s eyes. Hers shone with confusion, fear and desire mingling with the passionate heat still flowing between them. He didn’t want to acknowledge what his eyes must reveal.

Again, Stephen cleared his throat.

The powerful surge of energy dissolved, and Patrick released the lass and took another step back. Although he refused to show it, the experience shook him. Somehow, in the deepest elemental part of his soul, he knew she belonged to him. He’d instinctively branded her with his bold kiss, staking his claim.

“You followed me. Why?” He glared at his cousin.

“To guard your back, you dolt. Elspeth is worried. You have been acting odd.” A smirk curved his lips. “I see ’twas a lass that had you a wandering. Are you bewitched then?”



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



~Dawn Marie

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Look What's in Bloom - Dawn Clematis

Dawn clematis. Isn't it lovely?

Since the Highland Gardens series has a garden theme running through it, and gardening is one of my passions, I thought I would include garden themed posts on the blog. Today, I'm sharing a couple of photos of the Dawn clematis blooming in a pot in my yard. This plant has been in a pot for about ten years and moved with me from the NJ Sandy Hook bay area—salty winds—to an apartment balcony in Southern Maryland, to a small townhome garden nearby.

There is quite the range of clematis available in the marketplace. An array of colors, forms, and growing habits. Over the years, I've grown many varieties—mostly the climbing types. I selected the Dawn clematis for its name. I had to grow a flowering plant baring my name. J I also selected it because the Dawn clematis is one of the early season, large-flowered cultivars. Dawn blooms as a pearly-pink open flower in May and is perfect for container culture. Sometimes my plant reflowers in August with slightly smaller blooms. Beautiful nonetheless.

Do you have a favorite clematis?

~Dawn Marie

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Sneak Peek Sunday -- Just Beyond the Garden Gate

For today's sneak peek, we'll continue from where we left off last Sunday. Hope you enjoy!

The current flowing between them became overpoweringly seductive. No man had made her feel this way before. For several moments, she wavered between fighting him—a familiar stranger—and succumbing to the delicious sensations swamping her. He deepened the kiss, and the internal battle ended. Desire won. She clasped hold of the front of his shirt with shaky hands and kissed him back with pent-up passion.

Satiny lips anchored her in a storm of unfamiliar sensation. Pleasure vibrated along her body. She opened her eyes a slit. The intensity of the man’s shocking kiss matched the masculine power burning in his startling blue eyes.

His grip tightened. His fingers burned through her clothing, searing her skin. She closed her eyes and sank into the reality of her dream lover’s embrace.
 


Patrick closed his eyes and growled deep in his throat as desire pooled in his groin. Their kiss, potent and deep, an intoxicating aphrodisiac, became more and more heated. At first, he’d been shocked by the arc of power, but he couldn’t stop himself from claiming what he sensed belonged to him. What started as an unconscious display of dominance became a much more meaningful symbol of possession.

His forceful kiss demanded surrender.

She melted against him, and he savored his victory as her response matched his passion. He stroked and caressed her soft curves. Her well-rounded backside fit perfectly into his large hands as if God made her for him. He dragged his lips away from hers for only a moment, grasped a firm hold of her buttocks, and lifted her off the ground. The movement released her hands from the prison within his arms.



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

~Dawn Marie

Friday, May 3, 2013

Folklore Friday -- The Fenoderee of the Isle of Man

Are you a lover of Celtic folklore? I've decided to move my folklore posts from Tuesdays to Fridays and call the posts Folklore Friday. This article was previously posted at Castles & Guns and Celtic Hearts.

The Isle of Man sits in the Irish Sea. With its Celtic and Norse origins, Manx folklore includes many stories of mythical creatures. One such creature is the Fenoderee.

Originally a knight of the Ferrishyn royal court, the faerie tribe of Man, the Fenoderee lost his status by falling for a mortal woman and missing the faerie's autumnal festival while courting his lover. In punishment, his handsome glamour was taken from him, and he became an ugly, satyr-like creature, covered with copious body hair. At least, that is what I believe.

Some compare him to the
Brùnaidh, the Scottish brownie.

The Fenoderee prances about without clothing, complaining that trousers and coats and hats are naught but discomfort. He becomes offended if offered garments, and will vacate the area in a huff.

He is known as an able worker of considerable strength, offering services, such as the herding of animals, to the farmers of Man. He is well suited to performing quarry work, lugging loads of stone too heavy for mortal men. His favorite task is mowing, and for clipping the grass with incredible speed, he has been nicknamed 'the nimble mower.'

The Fenoderee is a creature of folklore I wouldn't fear meeting.

Who is your favorite creature of folklore?
 
~Dawn Marie