Monday Musings: Signs of spring in Lake Havasu City, AZ

Hummingbird enjoys the warm weather.

 

This roadrunner suddenly jumped up on the wall while I was trying to photograph a lizard. I’m pretty sure he was hunting the lizard and didn’t see me. I think I saved the lizard’s life because I frightened the roadrunner as much as he frightened me--he left as fast as he appeared, I barely captured this shot.

 

A beautiful cactus bloom—such beauty among such dangerous thorns.

 

Palo Verde tree in full bloom.

 

Loki enjoying the nice spring weather.

 

My first sighting of Godzilla, the desert iguana—maybe. I’m not quite sure if this is Godzilla or his mate, or possibly his offspring. This lizard didn’t look quite as big as Godzilla.

 

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

Favorite Friday: Sharing a favorite fiction book about Celtic Britain

After Rome: A Novel of Celtic Britain by Morgan Llywelyn

Book Description:

After more than four hundred years of Roman rule, the island its conquerors called Britannia was abandoned-left to its own devices as the Roman empire contracted in a futile effort to defend itself from the barbarian hordes encroaching upon its heart. As Britannia falls into anarchy and the city of Viroconium is left undefended, two cousins who remained behind when the imperial forces withdrew pursue very different courses in the ensuing struggle to unite the disparate tribes and factions throughout the land.

In Morgan Llywelyn's stunning medieval novel After Rome, passionate, adventurous Dinas recruits followers and dreams of kingship. Thoughtful Cadogan saves a group of citizens when Saxons invade and burn Viroconium, then becomes the reluctant founder and leader of a new community that rises in the wilderness. The two cousins could not be more different, but their parallel stories encapsulate the era of a new civilization struggling to be born in the Middle Ages.

 

My Review:

Not a fantasy, but a real depiction of life in Dark Age Britain

4 Stars

Morgan Llywelyn is one of my favorite authors. That being said, this wasn't my favorite book of hers, but I still enjoyed it. I like how she handles the beginning of the Dark Ages in Britain after the Roman legions leave. There is nothing to tell us what really happened, and her story, how she shows what the people must have endured, is believable enough. Dinas is a flawed main character and that's okay. People aren't perfect. I liked Cadogan better, but he wasn't perfect either. That's probably what I like about Ms. Llywelyn: she keeps it real. What I had a problem with was the comma errors, lots of them. I still recommend this book for historical fantasy readers, especially those interested in Dark Age Britain.

 

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

Weird Word Wednesday

Barracoon

bar·ra·coon

noun \ˌber-ə-ˈkün, ˌba-rə-\

Definition of BARRACOON

:  an enclosure or barracks formerly used for temporary confinement of slaves or convicts —often used in plural

Origin of BARRACOON

Spanish barracón, augmentative of barraca hut, from Catalan

First Known Use: 1848

 

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

Monday Musings: Don’t rush to self-publish your book

I’ve been doing some spring cleaning, well, more like a 15-year cleaning, and found my collection of rejection letters from 2000-2004. I forgot I saved them. Curious, I read a couple. Of course, at the time I received the rejections I thought they (magazine editors) didn’t possibly know what they were talking about—there was nothing wrong with my stories. Uh huh. Now I understand why they were rejected—they weren’t very good. Sure, the grammar was good, but there is much more to writing a story than good grammar. So much more. Plus, I was missing something even more important—a professional edit.

This made me think about all the changes that have been made in the book publishing world, how easy it is to slap together a story and self-publish. On one hand, it is a great opportunity for writers. On the other hand, it might cause newbie writers to rush to publish before they have perfected their craft.

If I could give one bit of advice to new writers it would be: don’t rush to get that first book published. Take the time to learn the craft of writing and take the editing process seriously—hire a good editor. If I had done that with my old stories, they just might have been accepted. Or maybe not.

Think twice before publishing that first book. That one is for practice. Write the next one. And work with a good editor. I didn’t realize it at the time, but my first stories were practice for better things to come.

Think of it this way—does an artist sell that first painting? It’s probably not going to be as good as the next one. Or the one after that. Honing your craft, whether it’s creating a painting or a story, takes time. Having a good grasp of grammar isn’t enough. It took years for me to understand all aspects of writing a novel. The important thing is to not give up.

 

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

Favorite Friday: Sharing a favorite book about Druid beliefs

The Druid Way Made Easy by Graeme K. Talboys

The Druid Way Made Easy is separated into three parts. Part I introduces readers to the general history of the Celts; Part II explains briefly the basic tenets of Druidry: The Inner World, The Outer World and the Otherworld; Part III goes over the Organization of the Druid Way, Ceremonial and Ritual Practice and Being Druid in the World; and the book ends with Further Reading, a useful list of books on the Celts and Druids.

This short, enjoyable read is a great introduction to the way of a modern Druid. We will never know details about ancient Druids, but we do know they lived in harmony with nature. They understood the equal importance of the material and spiritual worlds and maintaining a balance between them. I think readers will appreciate the short but detailed explanations of these beliefs. In this chaotic era of extremism, everyone could benefit from the lessons on living in harmony, not just with nature but with ourselves and others. I recommend starting with this book and then selecting some books on the further reading list to deepen your understanding of Druids and their beliefs.

Amazon Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/The-Druid-Way-Made-Easy-ebook/dp/B0056A1HLU%3FSubscriptionId%3DAKIAIOJGEB6643FVTU7Q%26tag%3Dwwwobookscom-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB0056A1HLU

Moon Books: http://www.moon-books.net/books/druid-way-made-easy-the

 

 

 

 

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

Weird Word Wednesday

BALL COCK

ball cock

noun

Definition of BALL COCK

:  an automatic valve whose opening and closing are controlled by a hollow float at the end of a lever

First Known Use of BALL COCK

1790

 

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

Monday Musings: Kelley’s Misc. pics

Loki’s first trip and hotel stay. An AZ native, he didn’t like the grass in CA.

My hubby. Christmas at his mom’s house.

Frosty. She was fascinated with Loki.

Christmas trees are so beautiful.

Me with my family.

The desert scenery driving home from CA.

Balloons fill the early morning sky in January in Lake Havasu.

Loki.

A quail visits our yard.

Christmas 2014 with my husband’s family.

 

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

Favorite Friday: Sharing a favorite book

Favorite book: The Horse Goddess by Morgan Llywelyn

Book description:

Troy is in crumbling ruin and Athens is rising far to the south. It is a time when mortal men and women are becoming gods and goddesses as news of their extraordinary adventures sweeps across the land. In this world, Epona, a woman whose life is celebrated in legend, meets Kazhak, a Scythian warrior and prince. Their stormy love affair sends them sweeping across eighth-century Europe, pursued from the Alps to the Ukraine by Kernunnos--a mysterious Druid priest known as the "Shapechanger."

Ms. Llywelyn has been a huge influence on my writing. She has a magical way of blending history with mythology, breathing life into these characters we read about in legends. Highly recommended to fantasy fans and fans of Celtic mythology.

 

 

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

Weird Word Wednesday

Balaclava

bal·a·cla·va

noun \ˌba-lə-ˈklä-və, -ˈkla-\

: a warm hat that covers the head, neck, and most of the face

Full Definition of BALACLAVA

:  a knit cap for the head and neck —called also balaclava helmet

See balaclava defined for English-language learners »

Origin of BALACLAVA

Balaclava, Crimea, site of a British encampment during the Crimean War

First Known Use: 1941

 

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

Monday Musings: AZ Cloud and Jet Stream pics #6

A jet stream streaks across the twilight sky.

Feathery pink clouds decorate the sky.

A dramatic sunset mixed with jet streams.

Nice texture, almost like shimmering fish scales.

Layers of colors paint the sky.

The setting sun turns the clouds a bright pink.

Angel or Faerie wings span the sky.

 

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

Favorite Friday: Sharing a favorite movie

Favorite movie: Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Product Description

Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder and Anthony Hopkins star in director Francis Ford Coppola's visually stunning, passionately seductive version of the classic Dracula legend. In BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA, Coppola returns to the original source of the Dracula myth, and from that gothic romance, he creates a modern masterpiece. Gary Oldman's metamorphosis as Dracula who grows from old to young, from man to beast is nothing short of amazing. Winona Ryder brings equal intensity to the role of a young beauty who becomes the object of Dracula's devastating desire. Anthony Hopkins co-stars as the famed doctor who dares to believe in Dracula, and then dares to confront him. Opulent, dazzling and utterly irresistible, this is Dracula as you've never seen him. And once you've seen BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA, you'll never forget it.

This is one of my favorite versions of Dracula. I thought Gary Oldman did a great job in the starring role, how he changed from young to old. I’m not a Winona Ryder fan. Not sure why, but I never liked her acting, so that was my only disappointment with this movie. This version of Dracula reveals the hidden sexuality in the original story using vivid colors and sensual scenes. Highly recommended for Dracula fans.

 

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

Weird Word Wednesday

Balalaika

bal·a·lai·ka

noun \ˌba-lə-ˈlī-kə\

Definition of BALALAIKA

:  a usually 3-stringed instrument of Russian origin with a triangular body played by plucking or strumming

Illustration of BALALAIKA

Origin of BALALAIKA

Russian

First Known Use: 1780

 

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

New Release!

Monday Musings: Moon pics #7

Almost full moon floating above the clouds.

Taken from the car on our way back from CA. The way the moon

hangs there above the barren desert reminds me of another planet.

The full moon led us home from CA.

Full moon at sunset.

Full moon peeking out from the top of the tree.

There is a planet shining just to the left of this crescent moon.

 

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

Favorite Friday: Sharing a favorite new TV series

Favorite new TV Show: 12 Monkeys

Series description: 27 years after a virus wipes out most of humanity, scientists send a man (James Cole) back to 2015 to stop the plague from ever happening. Cole's only lead is a virologist (Dr. Cassandra Railly), who knows the dangerous source of the outbreak.

I loved the movie version with Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt and Madeline Stowe, so I was curious how the SyFy series would handle this story. So far I like what they are doing with it. Time travel opens up a lot of possibilities for storylines.

 

 

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

Interview of Author Kelley Heckart

Interview of Author Kelley Heckart

Weird Word Wednesday

Bauhinia

bau·hin·ia

noun \bō-ˈi-nē-ə, -ˈhi-, bȯ-\

Definition of BAUHINIA

:  any of a genus (Bauhinia) of leguminous vines, shrubs, and trees of the legume family that grow in tropical and subtropical regions and include some that are grown especially for their fragrant orchid-like flowers

Origin of BAUHINIA

New Latin, from Jean Bauhin †1613 and Gaspard Bauhin†1624 Swiss botanists

First Known Use: 1725

 

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

New Release!

Monday Musings: AZ Sunset pics #6

Dark and fiery hues blend in the twilight sky.

Softer pink hues float over the golden strokes of the setting sun.

 

I like this mix of dark and light clouds floating in the twilight sky.

These clouds remind me of feathers.

The sky looks like its on fire.

I like the silhouette of the trees against the bold reds in the sunset-tinged clouds. 

 

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

Favorite Friday: Sharing a favorite supernatural creature

Sexy Centaurs
When deciding on a romantic lead for my nymph in The Bear Goddess, I knew he had to be a follower of Zeus, and he had to be an enemy of Artemis and her nymphs. At first I was going to make him human, but that didn’t seem exciting enough for such a popular Greek myth. After some brainstorming, I decided to make my hero a centaur but this posed a problem—centaurs are known for their savagery, not to mention they are part horse. So, how was I going to create a likeable centaur and not have uncomfortable romantic scenes? After giving it some thought I came up with an idea—my hero, and a few other centaurs, could take human shape.
This worked for a number of reasons. The centaurs who could take human shape were viewed as outsiders within their centaur community and due to their unusual parentage, had milder personalities than their brutal relatives. This also made a romance between a nymph and a centaur more believable and not weird when it came time to write sex scenes. Plus, it added a level of sexiness for my hero to be something as exciting and dangerous as a centaur but also able to transform into a hunky human. In his centaur body, Kasin is powerful and formidable with a pure black horse body and in his human shape, he is still intimidating but striking and handsome with long black hair and war braids.
As a follower of Zeus, Kasin is a warrior above all else, but he also has some favorite activities he keeps hidden from the rest of the centaurs. One of these is singing. Music, unless it is a battle horn, is not allowed among the fierce centaurs. My hero also likes to take scented baths; another activity frowned upon among the hygienically challenged centaurs. I had to make him attractive to a nymph who bathed often, and I’m sure readers appreciate a clean, well-mannered hero too.
Not all centaurs have to be savage and some can be downright sexy.
****
Short excerpt:
Everything had happened so fast—being caught with Kasin, being bound with silver, Kasin changing into a centaur—Callisto hadn’t had time to absorb the shock of discovering the man she loved was a centaur. Weakened by the silver chain still binding her hands, she couldn’t escape. All she could do was lay helpless in his arms while he galloped with her off into the night.
He came to an abrupt halt at the edge of a steep plateau, searching the darkened forest lit by faint beams of moonlight. The fierce set of his handsome face made her breath catch in her throat. His arms held her in a confident, strong grip. With some hesitancy, she admitted to herself that she found him exciting. He was a centaur, her enemy who she was supposed to hate, but he had never mistreated her and he saved her life once again. She could only stare at him, stunned.



The Bear Goddess on Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P74X0WY
The Bear Goddess Trade Paperback Buy Link on amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Bear-Goddess-Book-Arcadia/dp/1502982684/ref=asap_B002BMOQ3C_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1415503605&sr=1-7
To read an excerpt from The Bear Goddess, visit my website: http://www.kelleyheckart.com/TheBearGoddess.html
****
Multi-published author Kelley Heckart lives in Arizona with her musician husband, dog and a number of backyard “pets,” including Godzilla the desert iguana. Her stories reflect her passion for ancient and medieval time periods, storytelling and the supernatural. Inspired by the ancient Celts, her tales are filled with fierce warriors, bold women, otherworldly creatures, magic and romance. When not writing, she works as an editor/proofreader and practices target archery. She can be found online at http://www.kelleyheckart.com/
To sign up for my newsletter and receive special notices like new book releases and giveaways only for my subscribers: http://kelleyheckart.com/Contact_Kelley_Page.html
Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author
Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly
Website: http://www.kelleyheckart.com
Blog: http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/CelticChick
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/kheckart