This is my THIRD win over at Historical-Fiction.com (a great blog)! How lucky am I? I just won a copy of The Illuminator by Brenda Rickman Vantrease.

A medieval illuminator with radical views finds himself sharing quarters with a widow struggling to preserve her independence in this enthralling historical novel set in the 14th century, a time of religious strife. Lady Kathryn, mistress of Blackingham Manor in East Anglia, must be practical to ensure the future of her 15-year-old twin sons. Little as she cares for the money-grubbing worthies of the local abbey, she is happy to do them a favor by taking in a master illuminator as lodger. Finn, a widower with a 16-year-old daughter, proves to be a congenial guest. He is educated, perceptive and kind–and soon, irresistible to Kathryn. Their subsequent passionate affair blinds them to the romance developing between Finn’s innocent daughter, Rose, and Kathryn’s pious son, Colin. Meanwhile, the unsolved murder of an unscrupulous priest on the manor grounds puts everyone in jeopardy, and Finn’s secret sympathy with John Wycliffe and his Lollard followers, who champion an English translation of the Scriptures, endangers his livelihood, not to mention his life. Kathryn’s plainspoken fortitude and warring loyalties to lover and sons make her a compelling figure, and Vantrease’s secondary characters are brilliantly sketched as well: confused Colin; his carousing brother, Alfred; Agnes, Lady Kathryn’s cook and confidante since childhood; Half-Tom, a courageous dwarf. In Vantrease’s medieval England, justice is determined by the powerful; violence is a first, not a last, resort; and love must take second place to duty. This is an absorbing, expertly told tale, plainly and forthrightly written and embroidered with plenty of homespun detail.

Okay, we have winners for the contest to win one of five copies of One Scream Away by Kate Brady…

Out of 130 entries, the winning numbers are:
27, 46, 54, 95, 105

Winners:
Terri W.
bina edwards
oneangel
Cindy V
Angela

I am going to email all of you now and request your addresses. Remember, no PO Boxes and no one from any country but the US and Canada. If you do not get my email and you are a winner, leave me a comment here or send me an email at morbidromantic[@]gmail.com. Please send me your address in 3 days or else I will have to choose a new winner in your place. I would like to thank the Hachette Book Group for the opportunity to give out this amazing book.

Welcome to Friday, day five, of the week long 1000th post giveaway series.

I have been given the amazing opportunity by Hachette Book Group to give out 5 copies of Off Season by Anne Rivers Siddons.

Her family’s cottage on the coast of Maine is haunted, and that suits Lilly Constable just fine. Returning to Edgewater after the death of her beloved husband, Cam, Lilly takes comfort in carrying on detailed conversations with the spirit that she feels pervades the site of so much joy, and yet so much tragedy, in her life. Revisiting the happy times of her marriage and their unconventional courtship also propels Lilly further down memory lane, however, forcing her to recall the years spent living in isolation with her widowed father after her mother’s death from breast cancer, and the summer she turned 11 and her first love, Jon, died in a tragic boating accident. As Lilly works through her grief for her husband, mother, and old friend, she uncovers startling revelations about the very people she thought she knew best. With a powerhouse ending dazzling in its stealth and ambiguity, master storyteller Siddons delivers a dramatically evocative tale that magically summons a bygone time of innocence and intrigue.

So now… GIVEAWAY!

Would you like the chance to win a copy of by ? This is your lucky night. There are a number of ways you can win this book, each good for one entry each. For each entry, leave me a separate comment. Also, make sure that you leave me a way to contact you if you win.

1.) Leave a comment below telling me that you’d like to win.
2.) Blog about this contest and leave a comment with the links.
3.) Add me on twitter (@morbidromantic) and Tweet this contest then comment with a link to the Tweet or your username.
4.) Stumble this giveaway or my main site and comment with your StumbleUpon username.
5.) Rate my blog at Blogged. Click here or find the graphic on the sidebar under ‘ranks.’
6.) Add my RSS reader here and leave me a comment telling me that you subscribe to my feed.
7.) Comment on any of my previous book reviews and leave me a comment telling me that you have.
8.) Go to any of my book reviews and rate it using the ‘Rate this post’ option in the post header information. Leave me a comment telling me you have.
9.) Add me on LibraryThing, Good Reads, Shelfari, Book Blogs, or BookBlips and leave a comment telling me where you’ve added me and (if you can), your username/name.
10.) Answer this question: Do you think that you can live in a haunted house?

If you do all of the above, you will get ten entries. That’s ten chances to win.

Winners will be selected on 11:59pm EST on August 7th. I will be using Random.org to select the winner. When you win, I will send you an email asking for your physically mailing address, which you have 3 days to respond to before new winners are selected. No PO Boxes. This contest is open to the US and Canada only.

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I would like to welcome Pat McDermott to Morbid-Romantic.net. I recently had the honor of reading and reviewing her ebook A Band of Roses. If you would like to learn more about Pat McDermott, you can visit her official website

About A Band of Roses

A Band of Roses is an alternate history adventure set in modern day Ireland. The “what if” premise of the story supposes that Irish High King Brian Boru survived the Battle of Clontarf in 1014 A.D. and founded a dynasty that rules Ireland to this day.

Crown Princess Talty Boru, the daughter of the current King Brian, is the heir to the throne, though she wishes she weren’t. She’d prefer to pursue a military career, but she’s resigned to her royal fate until England’s Prince Geoffrey seizes a tiny Irish island in the North Atlantic and the oil-rich ocean bed around it. Geoffrey plans to return the island to Ireland in exchange for oil wells in the Irish sea. He proposes a conciliatory treaty that would marry Talty to the unbalanced young English King. Talty agrees, as the terms demand that she relinquish her title as heir to the throne. She believes she’s free of her duties as crown princess, but a murder attempt on her wedding night turns her life upside down.

Multiple attempts on Talty’s life force King Brian to send her away to protect her, though he unwittingly sends her into further danger. From Japan to California, Talty must hide her true identity until her elders can set things straight. She can’t disguise her ingrained training as one of Ireland’s ancient Fian warriors, however.

Her recruitment into International Security Forces’ top secret Peregrine Project allows her to visit strange worlds, one an eleventh century Ireland preparing for the Battle of Clontarf. She finds romance and adventure and brings back a discovery worth more than any oil well, yet all she wants is to return to her family and her lifelong friend and protector Neil Boru, the adoptive cousin she secretly loves and can’t have—or so she thinks. Talty’s warrior cousin has a secret of his own, one that emerges as the Boru clan works with England’s MI6 to thwart an invasion of Ireland and bring Talty home.

My Review of A band of Roses

Genre: Fiction – Historical
Finished: July 23, 2009
Rating: 2 Stars

Historians love the “what-ifs” of history. We really do sit around tables and discuss… what if Jackson had not been killed during the Civil War? What if Jesus had not been crucified? What if Rome had never expanded? You get the picture. A Band of Roses presents a “what-if,” but an obscure one. What is King Brian Boru of Ireland, when he fought against the Vikings at Clontarf, had not died as a result of the battle? How different would Ireland and Irish history be if the King who united the warring tribes of Ireland had lived?

That is what McDermott poses and seeks to expand upon. His modern day twentieth century descendant Princess Talty only manages to escape assassination over some off shore oil issues. A grudge held by the Regent of the Kingdom of England, Prince Geoffrey Wessex, puts Ireland into danger and it’s almost all the Irish warriors can do behind the scenes to head him off.

This book pretty much covers a variety of different genres. There is historical fiction, historical fantasy, fantasy, and science fiction. There is, of course, also the real life elements of international relations and territory rights. Of course, there is also romance in that the princess harbors a secret crush for her cousin, a love she cannot imagine ever coming to fruition. McDremott did a lot of research for her writing, but you can tell that she also at the same time allowed her imagination go. That simultaneous interplay of reality versus fantasy makes A Band of Roses a truly unique novel with a happy ending.

Interview With Pat McDermott

I have a degree in history, so I love imagining the “what if” possibilities. What made you choose your subject to be the death of Brian Boru?

My well-read aunts, who are both Irish history buffs, entertained me as a child with all sorts of Irish legends. Their tales of High King Brian Boru compelled me to explore Brian’s history. Everything I found said how sad it was that Brian didn’t survive the Battle of Clontarf, as Ireland would be a very different place today. The years I spent wondering just how different led to A Band of Roses.

What sort of research went into making this book or is this a subject you know very well?

I knew enough about King Brian to realize I didn’t know enough about him to write the story. Digging into his history became an enjoyable challenge, one that took me to the bookstores of Dublin and Galway. Not only did I visit Clontarf, the site of Brian’s battle with the Vikings and now an upscale Dublin suburb, I also spent a day in Killaloe, his hometown in County Clare, to see the new Brian Boru exhibit.

When you write something based on historical figures or events, do you worry about people finding historical inaccuracies?

Not at all. I research those aspects of a story well. I am writing fiction, however, and I do take liberties by placing imaginary characters in actual events, so I’m not as worried as I might be if I were writing a text book.

If you could spend the day as or with any historical figure, who would it be and why?

I wouldn’t want to be her, but I’d love to meet Granuaile, also known as Grace O’Malley, the sixteenth century Pirate Queen of western Ireland. I first heard of Grace from a priest named O’Malley who proudly claimed descent from her. I’ve read about her adventures on both land and sea, and I’ve come to admire the her as a powerful chieftain who defended her territory against all enemies. She locked her husband out of his castle, gave birth to a son at sea, and met Queen Elizabeth I without so much as a curtsey, as Grace considered herself a queen as well. Last year I had the pleasure of visiting the Grace O’Malley Museum in County Mayo, a wonderful exhibit depicting the life and times of this fascinating woman. Grace has inspired my writing: she plays a part in my third novel.

What do you do to prepare to write? What is the process that gets you ready to sit down a lay out a story?

Making a good strong cup of tea is the first order of business, and my daily calendar has to display the new day. Whether I’m working on my desktop or my laptop, I’ll choose a Quiet Music playlist from my media player, review the previous day’s writing, and pick up where I left off.

How much of yourself do you put in your characters? Are they extensions of you, or are they independent creations that take on a life of their own after coming from your imagination?

The characters in A Band of Roses are completely imaginary. I may offer suggestions as to how they might react in a given situation (I get to control the situations!), and sometimes they listen. Generally, they do behave as the situation warrants. But occasionally, and to my delight, they’ll completely take over a scene.

What is the most valuable piece of knowledge that you’ve picked up after becoming a published author that you wish you knew from the start?

The internet is an incredibly powerful tool.

What is one thing you’ve never done but would love to do?

I would love to live in Ireland for a year.

What would your ‘theme’ song be on the soundtrack of your life?

“If I Ruled the World” by Leslie Bricusse and Cyril Ornadel

Finally, could you share with all of us a quote that you love?

“Man’s mind stretched to a new idea never goes back to its original dimensions.” Oliver Wendell Holmes

Alfee has a dog, a rather large pug named Gizmo who quite frequently is plagued by that very bad dog smell. It is a hard smell to explain… sort of sour and stale, but also overwhelming and overpowering and definitely unpleasant. Dogs are made to cuddle, but you don’t want to get close to a dog that stinks. Not only that, but imagine the discomfort of a dog who has itchy or irritated skin. Do you like to itch and burn? No. And neither does your dog. The dog is washed ever few days, but the smell always comes back.

Is your dog itching, scratching and stinking beyond belief? It is quite a chore to bathe your dog every few days, or to have to wait a long time between washings because of your dog’s sensitive skin, which inevitably means a stinky dog.

Dogosuds ® by Dinovite is an all natural dog shampoo that contains no chemicals or perfumes to irritate your dog’s skin. The benefits of Dogosuds ® are many. The shampoo lathers nicely but rinses easily and completely, so none is left behind to make your dog itchy. As said above, instead of using chemicals and perfumes, Dogosuds ® is made with essential oils that help sooth and heal dog skin. Dogosuds ® will also help keep fleas from your dog AND wash off skunk odor. There is also a lavender blend for a healthy coat, a peppermint/tea tree blend for fleas and soothed skin, and an unscented version if you don’t like heavy scents on your dog.

Title: Under this Unbroken Sky
Author(s): Shandi Mitchell
Genre: Fiction – Historical
Finished: June 18, 2009
Rating: 5 Stars

In the north Canadian prairie lands, Ukrainian immigrant Teodor Mykolayenko was sent to prison for two years for ‘stealing’ grain that he cultivated. When his family, which includes five children, could not pay for their land, they had to vacate it despite all of the work already done on it. When Teodor tried to take some of the grain to replant somewhere else in order to give his family the start they needed, he was imprisoned for theft. With him gone, his family had no choice but to make ends meet the best way possible. Though it was a struggle, his wife Maria managed. Unable to own property as a criminal, Teodor’s sister Anna purchased land with the promise that she would sign over his portion to him. Finally home after his two year sentence, where the book begins, Teodor wants to pick up where he left off with his family, gain ownership of his land through Anna, and build a great home to take care of his wife and children properly. He wants the pride of being able to call something his.

Sister Anna is coming apart just as Teodor tries to mend everything. Pregnant with her third child, a child of rape by her drunken and often absent husband Stefan, she feels a kinship to the wild coyotes that roam the Canadian wild lands. With every howl she hears at night, she recognizes a freedom that has always been denied her. It is hard for Anna to adapt, to accept what life has given her, but Teodor wants all of them to have the best. Things get even worse for Anna when Stefan returns. Desperate to keep him, she sacrifices the love her brother has for her. Because Stefan says so, she submits to allowing him to try to take the land that Teodor has settled on because he has no legal right to it. Anna is willing to forsake her promise and her loyalty to Teodor because she does not want her and her two children to be alone.

By the end, everything has come apart. People lose their lives, dreams are shattered, and a wounded family has to once again pick up and start all over again.

There is no way to say this other than that I love this book. I honestly could not and did not put it down until it was finished. My boyfriend and I went out for a while when I started this book, but all I wanted to do was come home and keep reading. Under This Unbroken Sky is beautifully written and painfully vivid. The descriptions of the Canadian prairie and of the rough, desolate farming conditions are as lovely as they are striking. Each and every character is brilliantly developed and complex. You feel for young Sophie and her desire to be beautiful and rich. You love the innocence in Ivan and his moments of childish selflessness. You respect the strength in Maria and her desire to keep everything together for the sake of her children. And most of all, you can feel just how much Teodor wants his family to be happy. Every day, he goes out to the fields to sweat and toil, and it is all for them. The way Teodor understands and appreciates the land shows his nature as a man who is both gentle and rough, passionate about what he does and respectful of the natural world. Teodor is a pillar of strength to his family and it is easy to see through his character why this is.

There’s something about this novel that goes right to your heart. I certainly felt it in mine as I read. By the time I got to the end, I was frantic. I pride myself on being a fairly emotionally balanced person, but this novel broke my heart and almost had me in tears. It’s all unbelievably emotional to witness the ups and downs of these imperfect but good people, and you want the best to come to them. When you realize that the most horrible thing you could imagine is about to happen, your heart absolutely breaks.

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Disclaimer(s):

- More can be found in my Reviews section.
- If you would like me to review your book, send an email to me at morbidromantic@gmail.com. Read my Book Review Policy for more information.