Celtic Festival in Flagstaff, AZ

I just got back from attending the Celtic Festival in Flagstaff, AZ. It was a wonderful experience. I did a book signing in the Hastings booth on Sunday and I made some contacts that could be helpful to me in the future.

Flagstaff is beautiful this time of year with temperatures in the 80's. It was much nicer than the 120 degree temperatures we left behind in Lake Havasu! Surrounded by mountains and tall pine trees, I felt at home there. I enjoyed watching the men in kilts wandering around the festival. I am trying to talk my husband into buying a kilt.

The trip to Flagstaff was an enlightening experience for me. I found out that my paternal grandmother's maiden name, Murray, is a Scottish clan descended from the ancient Picts. The Picts were one of the founding races of the British Isles and were believed to arrive in Scotland about the 5th century B.C. There are many legends surrounding the Picts and controversy about where they originated from before they arrived in Scotland. Some scholars believe they are descended from the Scythians or the Basques of Spain. In some myths, the Picts are believed to be the 'faery folk' of the Sidhe. I was very excited to learn that I have Pictish blood surging through my veins. Long before I was aware of this, I was intrigued by the Picts and the many mysteries surrounding them. Maybe this explains why I am enamored of mist-filled glens, fierce warriors and tales of the Fae, all of which appear in my books. This also explains my fetish with wooden chests and keepsake boxes. The Picts had wooden chests called kists that they kept their belongings and keepsakes in. These boxes were sacred to them. I must have at least twenty boxes and chests of varying sizes around my house.

I hope to attend more festivals like this one in the future.