Scotland With Donna Grant

There are a few authors that are auto buys for me. If they have a new book out I don't even look at the story line, I just order it because I know the quality of writing and that I will enjoy it.  


Donna Grant is one of those authors.


I loved the Dark Sword Series from the first book and that love hasn't changed. What's not to like about fierce Scot warriors, as magical and  tough as the land that bred them? Women who are strong enough to stand up to and for their men when needed and with their own magic. 


Scotland is, in itself, a land of magic. It's been many years since I was last there but there's something about the land and history that has always called to me. When I found out Donna and her family were going to Scotland I told her, "You have to do a blog spot on your visit." 


So here she is to tell us about her impressions of Scotland.

  

Thanks, Sia, for once more inviting me to your blog. J

Sia asked me if I’d talk about my recent trip to Scotland.  Of course I said yes.  I mean, who wouldn’t want to talk about such a beautiful land?

I’ve wanted to go to Scotland for so long, that it was almost surreal to have finally gone.  I’d spoken so much about Scotland and what there was to do and what I wanted to do, that imagine my surprise when my parents wanted to come with us. So, we made it one big family vacation. 

As soon as our plane was wheels down on Scottish soil, I had my camera out.  We landed in Edinburgh, and then made our way northwest were we had rented a cabin for a week in a well known ski resort.

It was a fabulous base for us.  I was amazed at all the differences between home (the US) and there.  For one, there’s no litter there.  None.  You don’t see anything.  No huge SUVs or 4x4 trucks.  No four lane highways.  No McDonald’s around every corner.

Small cars were everywhere, and instead of huge chain restaurants, there were tons of individually owned eateries.  Which made picking which restaurant an eeny-meeny-miney-moe situation every day. J

Pictures just don’t do Scotland justice.  The land is as untamed, ancient, and magical as I’d always expected.  So many times I’d just stop and stare at where I was, wondering how many thousands of Scots (and invaders) had stood where I was, how many had died in battles, how many had loved.  How many had survived.

The history of the land cannot be ignored.  Scotland has taken great pains to keep the country much as it was hundreds of years ago.  Yes, there are roads, but not over every mountain.  The roads are few and far between, but the views are majestic.

So many times my breath was taken away by the landscape.  Even the kids would stare silently at what was around us, because words couldn’t begin to describe how we all felt.

Of course we went to several castles.  One was Dunnottar Castle in Stonehave, which was the basis for the MacLeod Castle in my Dark Sword books.   We spent so much time at this castle exploring the ruins, walking along the cliffs, and going down to the shore.

I took tons of pictures.  At one point standing in the tower looking out over the sea, you could almost hear the echo of history.  You could almost imagine the castle filled with people, the lord and lady reining over the land.  The sound of swords clanging over the sea breeze.

There were other castles, but none that held me like Dunnottar.  There was, however, something so special about being on Loch Ness.  The water is as dark as you think it is, and very peaceful.

It was thrilling to hear that Urquhart Castle was first held by a Grant, too.  The kids got a huge thrill out of that.  It was the first castle we explored, and not even a drenching rain could keep us from exploring.

But one of the best things we did while in Scotland was stay at a castle.  I knew if I ever went, there was no way I could go and not stay at a castle. J  I wanted somewhere north, and we found a gorgeous location at Mansfield Castle.  We took the tower suite (two bedrooms, bath, sitting room, and lookout from the tower).

Now, it was not my intention to stay at a castle with a ghost.  I believe in them.  I’m scared of them.  So I wanted no part of them.

But guess what we had?

Yes.  I’m not exaggerating.  I was touched.  Twice.  And I can attest to not sleeping at all that night.  My daughter also had an experience while she was reading in the sitting room in the tower a floor above us.  She heard footsteps above her and voices.  She thought it was her brother.  So she called for him, but he didn’t answer.  He didn’t answer because he was with me and my hubby.

Needless to say, my daughter ran down the stairs shaking.  I’d not told her of my being touched because we didn’t want to scare either of the kiddos, but she kept insisting there was something in the tower.

Knowing how frightened I was, my hubby waited until we were driving away before telling me he heard footsteps during the night, and even voices.  My son heard footsteps, but he’d thought it was me or his daddy walking around during the night.

My parents, who stayed in another room, never heard or saw anything, but then again, the ghost is only seen, heard, and felt in the tower.  Freaking stuff for sure!

I loved Scotland.  I loved the way they did things, the way they lived, the way they used everything local (even in their Burger King), and how proud a people the Scots are.

I never wanted to leave.  And I cannot wait to return.

Return we will because once we landed back home, we met my brother for dinner right off the interstate.  While we were inside eating, someone broke into our vehicle and stole every piece of luggage and tried to steal the truck.

Every souvenir we bought, every item of clothing (my favorite jeans!), everything you’d pack for an 11 day vacation, and my camera was stolen.

No one was caught, and nothing returned.  We lost hundreds of pictures, pictures that cannot be replaced.  Yes, we have our memories of a fabulous family vacation, but it isn’t the same. 

(The pictures you see here were taken from the web.)

I’m hoping to go back very soon and return with lots of wonderful pictures.


~*~*~

SHADOW HIGHLANDER, DARK SWORD #5  

Available now from your favorite bookstore or online.

HE CAN FEEL HER MAGIC

Sent on a dangerous mission into the shadowy world of the Druids, Galen must find a powerful ancient relic to defeat the enemies of MacLeod Castle. But what he discovers is far more powerful—and far more dangerous. A Druid lass whose beauty is as spellbinding as any magic...

CAN HE FREE HER SOUL?

Reaghan is the most enchanting woman Galen has even met—and the most enigmatic. She alone is immune to his mind-reading gifts. He alone makes her feel safe and secure. But Reaghan holds a secret power deep inside her that could destroy them both. And if Galen hopes to hold this captivating woman in his arms every night, he must defeat the darkness that draws closer around her every day...EXCERPT

The Dark Sword series captures all the power, passion, and magic of Scotland’s legendary warriors—sworn to fight for victory, in battle and in love… 

BUY:  Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indiebound,  Powells 

To find out more about Donna please visit her website at www.donnagrant.com.  To read more about the Dark Sword and Dark Warriors series, see pics of the Warriors, take the quiz, download wallpaper, search characters, or watch the book trailers, please visit www.donnagrant.com/darksword.

Magic – Do you believe?

I’m pleased to have para romance author, Donna Grant, visiting Over Coffee again. I had the chance to meet Donna at a conference and spent quite a bit of time with her. What a fun time.

There are moments in her books that I can’t help but burst out laughing at something one of the characters have said or done. After meeting Donna, I fully understand where the humor comes from. She’s a beautiful and gracious southern lady with a backbone of steel and an impish sense of humor. You will definitely meet the Cajun side of her when you read her books—hot, spicy, and satisfying.

Donna's topic today is magic.

First, thank you, Sia, for asking me to return for another guest blog!

It seems in every culture throughout history there has been mention of magic. Some would say it doesn’t exist, some would argue it does. How can something so widely spoken about not be real? And if it is real, how do you prove it?

The wonderful thing about writing fiction is that I can include all kinds of paranormal elements in my worlds. The world in my new Dark Sword series is most definitely filled with magic. Both my heroines and heroes hold magic, though in different ways.

My heroes are warriors with primeval gods inside them giving them immortality as well as enhanced senses and the ability to control something be it water, people’s minds, or the very air you breathe. The gods also transform my Warriors. Each god favors a color, so when unleashed, the heroes turn the color of their god. They also have fangs and claws, and some even have horns and wings. It has been fun matching heroes to their powers.

My heroines are Druids, blessed with certain magical abilities that will aid the heroes in defeating the evil spreading over their world. There are two sects of Druids in the series – the mie, or pure Druids, who practice healing and using their magic for good. Then there are the droughs who go through a ritual that binds their souls with evil to create black magic.

In WICKED HIGHLANDER (Nov 2, 2010) the heroine, Marcail, is a Druid. Marcail has magic that allows her to take someone’s feelings from them into herself. She uses this several times throughout the books at great cost to herself since she gets violently ill when she does take away someone’s hurt, anger, or pain. More than that, deep in her mind is the spell to bind the gods inside the Warriors. Her grandmother buried the spell so deep that it will take Marcail falling in love to unlock it.

• My question is: If you could have magic, what kind would you have?

Wicked Highlander:

A HEART IN CHAINS...


The most reckless and fierce of the MacLeod brothers, Quinn is a prisoner of the god inside him, tormented by his inability to save his family from slaughter. His fury governs him, and day by day he loses himself to the darkness in his soul. But Quinn has a profound yearning for a woman’s love...


A PASSION UNBOUND...


Raised by Druids, the achingly beautiful Marcail is as spellbinding as the ancient magic that surges through her body. To Quinn, she is the most desirable woman he has ever known. But to his enemy Deirdre, she is the perfect bait to lure Quinn into her trap. Once the two lovers are in her wicked grasp, their passion will be put to the ultimate test... Excerpt and trailer.

The Dark Sword series unleashes the magic, passion, and fury of three legendary brothers - cursed by fate but bound by desire for the women they love...

Buy: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books a Million
 
~*~*~*~
 

Donna Grant is the award winning author of more than twenty novels spanning multiple genres of romance – Scottish Medieval, historical, dark fantasy, time travel, paranormal and erotic.
 
Donna was born and raised in Texas, but loves to travel. Her adventures have taken her throughout the United States as well as to Jamaica and Mexico. Growing up on the Texas/Louisiana border, Donna's Cajun side of the family taught her the “spicy” side of life while her Texas roots gave her two-steppin' and bareback riding.

Donna’s love of the romance genre and the constant stories running through her head prompted her to sit down and write her first book. Once that book was completed, there was no turning back.

Donna sold her first book in November 2005 while displaced from Hurricane Rita, a storm that destroyed portions of the Texas Gulf Coast. Since then, Donna has sold novels and novellas to both electronic and print publishers. Her books include several complete series such as The Druid’s Glen, The Shields, The Royal Chronicles and the Sisters of Magic.

Despite the deadlines and her voracious reading, Donna still manages to keep up with her two young children, three cats and one long haired Chihuahua. She's blessed with a proud, supportive husband who's learned to cook far more than frozen chicken nuggets.

Find Donna: Website, Blog, Facebook, Twitter

Monday's Musings

Usually when I return from writing conferences I’m jazzed and can’t wait to get back to my writing. Workshops or seminars by various authors inspire and energize me. Many times I’ve learn of a solution to a roadblock I’m facing in a current WIP. My fingers itch to stroke my keyboard.

I don’t know what happened to me when I attended The Romance Times Convention. I came back …tired, but a head full of information I had amassed through seminars and personal chats with authors. But instead of wanting to write, all I wanted to do was read. I can’t blame it on all the books I brought home. I always have stacks of books I’m interested in reading, books I’ve bought, books for reviews, and books from authors I will be having on my blog.

It’s not like my story bores me; the opposite in fact, it’s fun and I really like my characters and the premise. It’s exciting. Oh there are tedious parts, like the needed research to build the world I need, but for the most part I enjoy research as my inner history geek has a ball with it.

So what’s the problem? *Shrugging. I haven’t a clue. Could be having taken in so much info my mind needs time to process it. That’s very possible. My creative mind seems to have a loop separate from everyday stuff. I can feel it processing things, clicking away, arranging, and making sense of information and how to use it. When it’s happening, I tend to dream about it. Kind of how I write. The initial germ of the idea will appear and then it rattles around until all the pieces fall into place. When that happens I have to write. The green light is blinking and it needs to come out.

I’m sure periods of sleep deprivation haven’t helped but the kid is now improving in leaps and bounds and is almost back to normal. Realistically, I knew if I opened my WIP I’d want to immerse myself and that doesn’t go well with nursing a sick kid.

I still work. I’m filling June and July’s blog calendar. I’m writing all the time, just not my WIP.

So, I’ve been reading.

I admit I’ve probably read about 20 books in the past month. Whereas I used to never start another book while in the middle of another—what’s the point? If it loses my attention why go back to it? But I do have to do reviews, both fiction and non-fiction, so I usually have a non-fiction book going on the side.

Some books I can recommend:

• Rock Paper Tiger, Lisa Brackmann—fabulous book and I feel like I spent several days traipsing around China. She nails the whole culture so very well.
• 
  Black ops Inc series by Cindy Gerard—I’m reading her backlist on the series.
• 
  Dark Sword series by Donna Grant—I loved both of them and hate I have to wait several months for the next one.
• 
  The latest by Christine Feehan in her Leopard series (she’s an auto buy for me).
• 
  Kathryne Kennedy’s also an auto buy for me and I love her new series, The Elven Lords. Para-Historical is smooth and Fire Lord’s Lover is oh so worth reading.
• 
  Alexandra Ivy Guardians of Eternity series.
• 
  Christie Craig’s Shut Up and Kiss Me, which I hadn’t read before and I love her style. I’m going into her backlist now.
• 
  I’ve read and enjoyed Francis Ray’s It Had to Be You and have some of her backlist of The Grayson Friends Novels.
• 
  Patricia Sargeant’s On Fire.
  
• Donna MacMeans, The Seduction of A Duke
• 
  I’ve also been indulging in Steven Coonts Deep Black series Thrillers. Love his books.
  
  Non-fiction I’ve been reading and like (remember History geek) is My Times in Black and White. Fascinating book about Gerald M. Boyd, editor of NYTimes. Living history.

Up coming guests: Emily Bryan, Kate Douglas, Marie Force, Kathyrne Kennedy, Graham Brown, Faye Huges/Christie Craig, and many others the next two months. So be sure to check back or watch my Twitter and Facebook for announcements.

• Read any good books lately?

Have a great week!

DARK SWORDS AND DRUIDS

My guest today is Donna Grant. Award winning author of more than twenty novels spanning multiple genres of romance – Scottish Medieval, historical, dark fantasy, time travel, paranormal and erotic.

Donna has a series called Dark Sword that I’m dying to read. The premise of the series:

A sensual historical dark fantasy series published by St. Martin's Press. In a remote Scottish castle three immortal brothers hide from the world as they battle the primeval god inside them. But another battle rages, this one for the world and an evil that will stop at nothing to have it.

I read the excerpt of Dangerous Highlander and I can tell you, I like Lucan MacLeod. This book is not only on my To Be Read List, but already ordered. I’ll let you know what I think at another time.

Donna gives us some background on the series:

I get asked a lot why I chose Druids for my new Dark Sword series. I find the legend of the Druids fascinating. There are so many conflicting accounts. Some records show the Druids to be spiritual leaders who helped heal the sick and gave counsel to kings and other leaders.

The Romans would have us believe they were the basest of humans who routinely sacrificed humans and animals in order to appease their pagan gods.

So who’s right? I don’t think we’ll ever know. We all know that whoever writes history controls history, so I think it’s safe to say Rome may have exaggerated a bit. Or maybe not. ;)

It was the knowledge that the Druids could have been a mixture of any number of things that led me into more research into them. I find their culture fascinating, especially how it continues to this day.

In DANGEROUS HIGHLANDER, there are two different sects of Druids. I have the mies, or the good Druids who keep to their pure magic. They are one with nature. They heal, share their wisdom, and protect the innocent.

Then there are the droughs. The droughs are Druids who, upon their eighteenth year, undergo a ceremony where they give their blood and soul to evil thereby forfeiting all the good inside them. The evil takes over, and in doing so gives them a more powerful magic – black magic.

So how can the mies combat the droughs if the droughs have more powerful magic? That is a good question, and one I visit with every book of this series I write.

• I’ll be giving away a signed copy of either MUTUAL DESIRE to a commenter. Happy Reading!

• Back Cover Blurb:

A DANGEROUS MAN…

He is magnificently strong — and dangerously seductive. One of the fiercest of his clan, Lucan MacLeod is a legend among warriors, inspiring fear in man and woman alike. For three hundred years, he has locked himself away from the world, hiding the vengeful god imprisoned in his soul. But then, a young lass caught in a raging storm awakens his deepest impulses…and darkest desires.

A DANGEROUS PASSION…

Cara doesn’t believe the rumors about MacLeod castle—until the majestic Highland warrior appears like a fiery vision in the storm, pulling her into his powerful arms, and into his world of magic and Druids. An epic war between good and evil is brewing. And Lucan must battle his all-consuming attraction for Cara—or surrender to the flames of a reckless, impossible love that threatens to destroy them both…

Excerpt

You can find Donna on Facebook or explore her available books and upcoming books on her Website.

~*~*~*~*~

Donna Grant is the award winning author of more than twenty novels spanning multiple genres of romance – Scottish Medieval, historical, dark fantasy, time travel, paranormal and erotic.

Donna was born and raised in Texas, but loves to travel. Her adventures have taken her throughout the United States as well as to Jamaica and Mexico. Growing up on the Texas/Louisiana border, Donna's Cajun side of the family taught her the “spicy” side of life while her Texas roots gave her two-steppin' and bareback riding.

Donna’s love of the romance genre and the constant stories running through her head prompted her to sit down and write her first book. Once that book was completed, there was no turning back.

Donna sold her first book in November 2005 while displaced from Hurricane Rita, a storm that destroyed portions of the Texas Gulf Coast. Since then, Donna has sold novels and novellas to both electronic and print publishers. Her books include several complete series such as The Druid’s Glen, The Shields, The Royal Chronicles and the Sisters of Magic.

Despite the deadlines and her voracious reading, Donna still manages to keep up with her two young children, three cats and one long haired Chihuahua. She's blessed with a proud, supportive husband who's learned to cook far more than frozen chicken nuggets.