Release Day for The Aegis

SO excited that today is release day for The Aegis, a vampires vs Light Warriors paranormal romance, from Champagne Books. Check out the cover by Petra. Click the cover to read a blurb or buy.

Melinda Kildare, antiquarian and rare book dealer extraordinaire, returns to her shop after an estate sale with a massive, sealed barrel. Too late, she discovers that the Aegis medallion that traps her head-first in the bottom of the barrel is the bait used by a family of vampires to capture and enslave women of power.

Light Warrior Damian Sinclair who has battled the Dark Ones for centuries answers Melinda’s call—the Call of a lifemate. While protecting her from the Dark Ones who pursue her relentlessly, he introduces her to passion, love, and her heritage as a Shield Bearer of the Light.

Will they find happiness as they unite to fight the Dark Ones or fall victims to the Dark forces ranged against them?

“The Aegis” Champagne Books, April, 2013
“Her Teddy Bare” Champagne’s Carnal Passions, May, 2013
“Search & Rescue” Secret Cravings, July, 2013
“Finding Eve” Champagne Books, September, 2013
“Into the Lyons’ Den” Champagne Books, 2012
“His Obsession” Siren BookStrand, 2012
“His Desire” Siren BookStrand, 2012

New Book

Hello everyone. Its been awhile. Today lets talk about if we like or dont like famous historical characters in our books. I currently have to books I am writing.  One is a western erotic romance and i am about a quarter done with it. The second book I am writing is a light paranormal.

The paranormal has two iconic heros in it that battled two thousand years ago and now are ready to battle again. But this time the old bad guy is the hero and the good guy is devious and evil!

Who are my characters? None other than Achilles and Hector! I love their stories and well even though the film version of Troy is not exactly correct its still fun to watch.

So how do you feel about famous real life heros being fictional characters in a book? And who would you like to see in a book?

Happy Tuesday folks!
Sayde

Moonday’s Heroic Hunk: The King is Found

Headline news resulted in this week’s Heroic Hunk being put aside to herald the announcement of the certain identification of the remains of Richard III, the Yorkist King of England. Richard and his Yorkist relatives had warred with the Tudor family for the throne of England. Richard’s oldest brother Edward had reigned as Edward IV. When Edward died young, he left two young sons with Richard as Lord Protector. Richard convinced his sister-in-law Elizabeth Woodville to allow the children to leave sanctuary and travel to London to be crowned king.  The oldest son who should have reigned as Edward V and  his younger brother traveled to the Tower of London and were never seen again. Many suspect the children were murdered at Richard’s order, insuring his own succession to the throne.  The discovery of the remains of two young children buried in the Tower tend to support their theory. Richard became King but reigned for only two years while defending his Crown. He was killed at Bosworth Field in 1485 when he was 32 years old.. His body was mutilated and put on display before being interred in Leicester. Henry Tudor, the victor of Bosworth, reigned as Henry VII who was succeeded by Henry VIII who was in turn succeeded by his daughters, Mary and Elizabeth. The victors write the history and the plays, so Richard has been portrayed as a poor king who valued only power.

Last year, a skeleton was discovered in a parking lot. The fact that it had numerous battle wounds and a spinal curvature seen in scoliosis convinced the excavators that they had stumbled on the body of Richard III.  TODAY, after extensive testing—DNA, soil analysis, and dental tests—researchers announced that the skeleton was that of Richard III. They announced that the skull had a mortal battlefield wound from a sharp blade. Contemporary sources relate that Richard was fighting valiantly when a blow to his skull pushed his helmet into his skull. The skeleton’s skull had that exact wound at the base of his skull.  The final proof offered was DNA evidence from Michael Ibsen, a direct descendent of Richard’s niece, Anne St Leger. The remains will be interred in the nearby Leicester Cathedral in 2014. A comprehensive TV special is in the making. Check out the earliest portrait of Richard III from the early 1500s and a pic of the skeleton Check out the curvature of the spine of the skeleton. Next week, back on schedule.  Rita Bay

Happy Holidays to All!!

Merry Christmas!!  Rita Bay

A Moment to Remember

Hello everyone! I’ve been quite for a while now but not for any other reason besides me being lazy. I have a winner for my ornament, Dianne!!

So today as we all are heading here and there to finish our Christmas shopping I want to take a moment to let you all know of something I just donated to. I don’t usually encourage people to donate to any charities that they don’t normally donate to. However this holiday season I’m stepping out on that. We’ve all heard about the Sandy Hook tragedy and we all have broken hearts over it. While I believe that no matter what law is passed or upheld a crazy person is going to do crazy evil things, I don’t want to get into that discussion.
What I’d like to share is the news that the rotary club there in Newton is raising money for funeral, short term and long term counseling for students, staff and responders as well as starting scholarships in honor of the victims. To do this they need help. While I had planned to donate to St. Judes and still will I also took a portion of my last royalty check and donated to the rotary club to help them.
I encourage you all to take a moment and think of all the things we are blessed with each day and how devastating it would be to lose it all. With help the community, school, students and others will recover over time. I support this effort and hope you all will find something you feel passionately about this Christmas season and support it also.

Thank you and yall have a Merry Christmas
Sayde

Early Christmas

So who wants early Christmas present? If you do all you have to do is answer 1 of the following questions and put the answer is the comment box for entry to enter to win 1 a Cowboy Christmas. It’s been awhile since I’ve held a contest so when I saw all the cowboy Christmas I ornaments I was inspired.

Today in order to enter time win you have to answer a question from one of my books. Besides my Built Cowgirl Tough series I have two paranormal books published. In one my hero is the unlikely heir to a werewolf pack. What is the name if that book and character?

Have fun searching and here is a picture of the ornament up for grabs today.

Thanks all and have a great day,
Sayde

Treasure of the British Museum: A Lovers’ Brooch

This Lovers’ brooch is Medieval 13th century AD from England. This gold ring brooch is set alternately with cabochon rubies and sapphires. The pin is set with a sapphire. The spaces between the gems are decorated with punched crosses and letters in Lombardic script. The reverse of the brooch carries an inscription (in abbreviated French) for the benefit of the wearer, ‘io sui ici en liu dami amo‘ (‘I am here in place of a friend love’), indicating that the brooch is likely to have been an expensive love token. Items of jewellery with sentimental inscriptions were often exchanged between wealthy lovers in the medieval period.

The outside of the hoop was often decorated to enhance the message or to form part of the message itself. Coloured enamels could be used, or chased motifs, like the sixteen stars on this example. The inscriptions were usually enamelled in black, which makes them easier to read, although very few survive with all their enamel. The language and the style of the inscription helps us to date them.

Next Week, another treasure.   Rita Bay

Treasure of the British Museum: A Gold Posy Ring

Gold ‘posy’ ring   England, 18th century AD   The term ‘posy’, based on the French ‘poésy’, describes the amatory verse or rhyming motto with which the rings are engraved. Here the inscription reads: ‘Many are thee starrs I see yet in my eye no starr like thee’.

The practice of giving gold hoop rings engraved with mottoes at betrothals or weddings was common in England from the sixteenth century onwards, and continued until the late eighteenth century. ‘Posy’ rings could, however, be given on many other occasions as tokens of friendship or loyalty, and ‘posies’ are also found on religious and memorial rings. The inscription is generally found on the interior of the ring, hidden to everyone except the wearer. Most of the sentimental mottoes were taken from popular literature of the time, such as ‘chapbooks’ (pamphlets), or from collections on the language of courtship. A few customers would supply their own composition for the goldsmith to engrave.

Next week, The Final Treasure     Rita Bay

A Salute to Our Veterans

Thank you for your service.    Rita Bay

Treasures of the British Museum: Statue of a Knight

While I’m doing NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month requiring 50,000 words in a month,), I’m posting treasures of the British Museum every Monday.     This month’s treasure is a Statue of a Medieval Knight  from about AD 1350–1450 from England.  This small statue is an accurate representation of a knight in full armour from the Medieval period. The cross seen on the shield has led to suggestions that it is a depiction of St George. At the very least, the figure is of a man-at-arms, as only the nobility or knightly classes could afford armour of this quality in the period the statue was made. The figure holds a weapon in his hands, either a lance or bow, and also carries a sword from a belt around his waist, the hilt of which can be seen below the shield. The shield is also suspended by a strap over the knight’s right shoulder, leaving both arms free for battle. He is wearing plate armour defences on his body, including a belted cuirass made up of a breastplate and backplate and full arm and leg defences. During this period steel was the preferred material for armour manufacture. The poleyn, or knee defence, which allowed the leg to bend but remain protected, is visible on his right knee. The arm defences can be identified by the articulated lames, or small, overlapping plates, on each shoulder, and the knight also wears gauntlets with articulated fingers.

For added protection a haubergeon, a mail shirt which comes to the upper-thigh, was worn beneath the plate armour as seen here. The helmet worn by the knight, a bacinet, did not give any protection to the neck and shoulders, so a mail aventail was attached to a lining band in the helmet to protect these vulnerable areas. Later the bacinet was succeeded by the great bacinet, superior because it incorporated longer plates which replaced the mail aventail and protected the neck. Around the bacinet the knight wears a bejewelled coronet, supporting the suggestion that this may be a figure of St George.     © Trustees of the British Museum

Next week, A Special Salute    Rita Bay