Eleanor and Cinderella

Ah, yes, Eleanor is no Cinderella, she who owns her lands and chase and castle as a fief from the wretched Lord of Litchfield, but, she has the wherewithal and spunk to defeat most anyone. Most of all, she would like to defeat Lord Hugh, who, at the moment is aggravating her to the umpteenth degree by being his usual arrogant self, disparaging her ability to manage her lands and forest, and, heavens forfend, impugning her honor by accusing her of being so inept that the poachers have almost overridden both their chases. But, all that said, Lady Eleanor would love to write something that would sting Lord Hugh into recognition of her abilities and her honor and her integrity. But, for that, she may need to be published….and even then, if he were to read it, would he be able to infer her longing for him, despite her rancor? So many mixed emotions, dear reader. What think you?

Eleanor and Hawaiian Music

Though being quite well-traveled and well-read for 1272, Lady Eleanor has no idea that far-off Hawaii even exists, and if she did, oh, my, gentle readers, she would daydream about being in that tropical paradise with Lord Hugh, dreaming that he’s holding her gently in his arms as the trade winds caress them….But (cold hard reality!), that’s not likely to happen, since Lord Hugh has made his antipathy toward her very obvious, not to mention his condescending treatment of her, and it’s all over the poaching conspiracy in their adjoining forests and his conviction that women are all brainless ninnies. Little does Lord Hugh know that he is about to  get to know the real Lady Eleanor, whose intelligence and wit will vanquish him, leaving him bereft until he can make her his. Oh, so perhaps Eleanor can dream of those tropical sunsets after all, and, the music, oh, the music! ‘Tis not like that music the jongleurs and musicians play in her Great Hall. Nay, not at all. Should you like to sample some, click on the last link below!

If you enjoy real, traditional, lyrical Hawaiian music, and if you’re ever on Oahu, don’t miss Sunday and Tuesday evenings at the O’Lelo Bar (families and kids welcome — outdoor venue w/great pupus, etc.) at the Aulani with island treasure Jerry Santos: http://www.olomanamusic.com/index.html and here’s a favorite song known all over the islands: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgraeK4M9a0

Eleanor and Daniel Boone

Of course, Eleanor has no idea that Daniel Boone (his national day is June 7) ever existed, because he lived in the 19th century, and she lives in the 13th, but, were she to see this painting and to read about him, she would mark a resemblance between him and *sighs* Lord Hugh. They are both brave, intrepid, scornful of risks, and enjoy pursuit of game. Eleanor wishes Hugh would pursue her, naturally, but, so far, he treats her with condescension–when he’s not lambasting her about the management of her forests. Ah, well, Eleanor must needs be patient, just as Daniel Boone was, and she may win her quarry. Perhaps, just perhaps, Lord Hugh will decide he cannot resist her charms any longer. What do you think, dear readers? Will Lord Hugh change the venue for his hunting from his forest chase to Lady Eleanor’s castle?

Why She Writes….

Ah, doesn’t this make you wonder what Eleanor is writing with her quill pen on the parchment in front of her? She loathes the despicable William, thus his treatment as a cur on the pages of TORCH IN THE FOREST. On the other hand, she holds tightly the secret of her powerful attraction to that arrogant Lord Hugh, and she holds it so tightly she can hardly bear to admit to herself. How shall Lord Hugh be portrayed on those pages…? Those intense blue eyes, that chiseled chin, the arrogant tone…? What think you, dear readers? Many thanks to Eleanor’s writing companion, Meradeth Houston, for this gem of a graphic!

New Cover Alert!!

What say you, dear readers?

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Verona, Italia, the home of those star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet!

In Honor of Valentine’s Day….

 

Of course, we all know Valentine’s Day is coming up, and not only Eleanor from TORCH IN THE FORESTY is thrilled, but, Spencer, the main character in my Young Adult novel, PLAYING WITH FIRE, is happy, too. She is crazy about Colby, the take-no-prisoners catcher on the varsity baseball team, but she has a secret she doesn’t want him to find out about. Can she handle the stress? Then there’s Mia, the main character in PLAYING CATCH, my new adult romance that I’m working on. She has to keep a secret from Cal, the baseball coach (do you see a pattern, here?) :), but it’s that she absolutely can’t stand him!

Dear readers, how do you keep secrets from your one-and-only?

Eleanor and Rocky Road Ice Cream

Oh, heavens, forfend! Eleanor has never tasted such delight! Tomorrow being Rocky Road Ice Cream Day, she has asked the cooks to concoct as close a treat as they can to this fabled dessert, though ’tis known in the British Isles as “cream ice,” and was brought to Europe by the famed explorer Marco Polo. Of course, marshmallows were unknown in Eleanor’s England, but, she is very partial to the chocolate and almonds in the cream ice. She wonders if Lord Hugh would enjoy Rocky Road. Frowning, she thinks of Lord Hugh. Ah, but she has traveled her very own rocky road with Lord Hugh. Imagine the brass — he returned from the Crusades and immediately accused her of allowing poachers to run rampant in her forest, crossing into his lands and forest to poach at will. Where was he all those years? Not managing his own forests, ’tis for certain, and most likely chasing skirts as well as Moors. Eleanor has had her huntsmen and Chief Forester on the watch, trying to catch the miscreants for months, but, does Lord Hugh take account of that? She knows he casts aspersions on her abilities, for he has accused her to her face of being a worthless ninny! Rocky road, indeed. Hmmmm. Eleanor wonders and a smile twitches the corners of her mouth. How handsome would that arrogant Lord Hugh look with a dish of ice cream mashed across that stern visage? She giggles. Then, Lord Hugh would have his very own rocky road!

Syttende Mai and Eleanor: Norwegian Independence Day

Eleanor doesn’t know about Norwegian Independence Day, of course, because in her day the Norsemen, (oh those Vikings!), were feared, and rightly so. They had roamed and conquered at will for the last eight hundred years, even bringing law and order to her British Isles in 1066, in the person of William the Conqueror, he of Normandy. That is one reason the British no longer painted themselves blue with woad and wore rabbit skins and now had a legal system that worked. She had no idea the Norwegians would eventually become part of the kingdoms of Sweden and Denmark and finally wrest their independence from their rulers. She has an affinity for those Vikings, however, because she can be fierce in her own way, confronting that cur, Lord William of Litchfield, as well as hunting down the poachers in her forests. Where she finds she cannot be fierce is in her thoughts of Lord Hugh, that handsome, arrogant neighboring lord. Well, yes, she puts up a good fight when she must meet with him, and he thinks her an impertinent young woman hardly worth his time, but, in secret, to her embarrassment, she discovers she harbors sweet longings for him, longings that make her blush. Where are those fierce Viking feelings? Alas, they say love conquers all, even those who wish they were more like Vikings. Why can she not conquer her own feelings?

The Feast of San Nicola and Eleanor

Of course, Eleanor has heard of San Nicola, the revered bishop of the fourth century, who was known for giving people unexpected gifts, and who is celebrated on May 7 in Italy. Fishermen take his statue out to sea and then bring it back in again, to commemorate his return to Bari. Eleanor is definitely less interested in the ceremony than she is in what San Nicola was known for. An unexpected gift, she muses. What would San Nicola bestow on her? Would it be the ability to stare down that arrogant Lord Hugh? Ah, no, because one look in those piercing blue eyes sets her heart a-fluttering. Perhaps her unexpected gift might be to best Lord Hugh in one of the many altercations they are engaged in over her management of her forests — he calls it “mismanagement,” of course, and his constant accusations of her allowing poaching to run rampant. ‘Twould be a gift, indeed, that one. Then, Eleanor blushes hotly, what if the gift were a kiss from Lord Hugh? That, indeed, would be MOST unexpected….and, she admits, perhaps most welcome…..