Under The Highlander's Spell in Stores Now!

Under The Highlander's Spell is available in bookstores today! I get so excited when a book is released. It's as if my characters finally have life. I do hope you enjoy reading about Artair and Zia and, of course, Cavan and Honora are in there too. Oh, and I can't forget Lachlan and Addie, matriarch of the Sinclare clan. Happy reading to all!

Donna's Older Titles

I'm pleased to announce that I've gotten the rights back to some of my older books, and excited that I will eventually be offering them as ebooks. My first book San Francisco Surrender will be the first one available followed by one of my favorites The Buccaneer.
I'll be letting you know more about it in future blogs, so stay tuned for all breakout news!

Reccommend - Author Peggy Webb

My friend, award winning author Peggy Webb has the first book in her Southern Cousins Mystery Series hitting bookstores the same time as Under The Highlander's Spell, Sept. 30. You don't want to miss Elvis & The Dearly Departed. It will have you laughing aloud and anxiously waiting for the next book in the series.
Learn more about the book and Peggy Webb at;
http://peggywebb.com/

A Reminder

Just wanted to remind you that you can order Under The Highlander's Spell straight from Donna's Store on my website. Happy Reading!

Patient & Pragmatic Artair Sinclare

It's hard enough having patience, but add being pragmatic to that and you would wonder if a person with those combined attributes could actually enjoy life. That's Zia's precise question upon meeting Artair Sinclare. He's a man who doesn't upset easily and handles troublesome situations calmly, while Zia is a woman with a zest for life. She possesses more of a gypsy nature. Perhaps being a healer and dealing with illness and death gives her more of an appreciation for life. She wants to fully live and part of living is falling in love. On the other hand, Artair being practical thinks much differently.
It was a joy writing Artair and Zia's story. At times I didn't know what they would do next. They both surprised me, especially Artair. Being he's so practical even when it comes to love, I wondered how he'd finally win Zia's heart. He didn't disappointment me, he emerged a true hero.
I'm so excited that there's only six days left until Under The Highlander's Spell is in stores. And don't forget that you can get a sneak peek at the book by going to the Browse Inside widget for Under The Highlander's Spell.

Ageless Love

I was out to supper with a friend who was visiting from out-of-state last night. She was in the throes of falling in love and went on and on about this wonderful man she had met in an art class. She was proof positive that people glow when they're in love, since she was absolutely radiant. She laughed and giggled between sharing the details of their budding relationship.
He had sent her flowers after their first date, her favorite, a mixed bouquet with a card that read, Busy tonight? They had spent almost every day together and endless hours on the phone. They both had been a bit apprehensive about meeting the other's children, but that had turned out better than expected.
She went on to tell me how they were taking another art class together and had signed up for an art history class. With their shared interest in art they hoped to travel to Italy and France and tour the museums.
She confessed that she had known love before, though nothing like this. To her she had finally found true love. He was her hero and she glowed even more when she told me that he was dynamite in bed.
She admitted that she had given up on love after her divorce ten years ago, but love hadn't given up on her. Her new love joined us for dessert. He presented her with a red rose and me with a yellow one. I could see in his eyes and how attentive he was to her that he truly loved her. They were a perfect match.
They left me at my car and I watched them walk away hand in hand, stop for a kiss and continue to their car, hands still clasped.
My friend was right about love. It never gives up on anyone no matter what.
My friend is 72 years young and she's found true love.

Books, My Friends

A friend of mine, a fellow bibliophile, called me with an invite I couldn't refuse. A friend of her neighbor's was moving and couldn't take all her books with her. She had carefully chosen the few she could take and were giving the remainder away, but only to people who would cherish and care for them as she had.
We arrived at a neatly kept Cape Cod style house and was greeted by a friendly woman. We followed her to the back of the house where I expected to find a few bookshelves or perhaps boxes of books. Far from it, my friend and I stood speechless staring at the floor to ceiling bookcases that covered every wall and framed all three windows. I lovingly ran my hands over the books on the shelf closest to me and thought there wouldn't be enough time to peruse them all. The woman patted my arm and said, "Take your time, dear, and take as many as you want."
I had brought only two totes with me and I actually hadn't expected to use both - wishful thinking - that came true.
My friend and I got started, the woman returning now and again to see how we were doing. I couldn't help but comment how hard it must be for her to part with the books. She smiled and told me that she would miss them, but that it was time to find them new homes so that they could give others the endless enjoyment they had given her.
Needless to say, the kind woman provided my friend and I with shopping bags since my two totes and her one weren't near sufficient.
My choices varied from a book of stunning photos on white wolves, to a couple of books on tea (I love tea), to a classic or two, art history, a Seth book which I always wanted to read but never got around to, and of course several fiction titles, romances and mysteries seeming to have been her favorite.
We thanked her profusely and she insisted it gave her pleasure to see her books go to people who would cherish them as she had. On the ride home I thought how some people would think her crazy for giving them away rather than selling them. But I understood that to her, her books were her friends and friends aren't sold - they are shared. And I'm ever so grateful she shared some of her dear friends with me.

Avon - Love Gives Back

Avon has an exciting online promotion running from September though December. This Sneak Peek/Full Access promotion is called Love Gives Back. Readers will be able to browse the first 20% of new titles online for 2 weeks before they hit the stores and also read, an author chosen, backlist title in its entirety through the Browse Inside tool for a month.
And there's more! Avon is partnering with literacy organizations in a book drive and will donate books to charity organizations based on the number of pages readers browse from new titles. How easy is that to help a great cause by doing something you enjoy!
Check out my new title Under The Highlander's Spell from the Browse Inside widget and from there you can find other Avon authors' books to browse. For my backlist title I chose The Daring Twin, which should be available to read in a day or two.
Enjoy the Sneak Peak and thanks for helping with this great project.

Books At My Doorstep

I opened my front door and there to my joy was a box from one of the book clubs I belong to. I was lucky that it was delivered later in the day. I have a writing schedule to keep and if those books had arrived earlier I would have had a hard time ignoring them.
I grabbed a glass of iced tea and settled comfortably in a chair to glance through the books. I lingered on the first one I picked, Bethany Lowe's Folk Art Halloween. Of course, I quickly grabbed pen and paper ready to make lists of what I'd need to make a few of the great projects. One caught my fancy, Gypsy, the Folk Art Witch. I enjoy collecting not just witches but also crones. I have a gorgeous papier mache crone in peasant dress, bird nest in hand, basket on her arm, a nature based woman for sure.
I don't really think of such women as witches, I rather believe them women who gain knowledge in spite of what society dictates. That is why you will find women like that in my books. I've mentioned Bethane, who you'll meet in Under The Highlander's Spell and, of course, there's Addie the Sinclare brothers' mother. And Aunt Sydney in my witch series is another woman who in a sense dances to her own tune.
They are all special woman and in a way woman before their time. You'll continue to find such extraordinary woman in my books. But for now, fingers crossed that Gypsy the Folk Art Witch turns out as great as the one in the book.

Witch "Wise"

In my research into witchcraft for my witch series The Wedding Spell, Magical Moments, Magical Memories and Remember The Magic, I came across information that challenged the fact that witch means "wise." The author made interesting points referencing the Indo-European root of "Weik" and moving through Old English, Old and Middle French, Old Norse, Old High German, etc. to connect that Old English witan "to know" and any aspect thereof were unrelated.
What the author determined through research was that wican meant "to bend." I imagine there are those who would disagree with these findings. However, if you examine the history of witches and even consider neo-paganism isn't that what witches have always done? Witches know when and how "to bend." They know how to connect to Earth's energy and know Her rhythm and so they bend with it, flow with it and most importantly live it.
I took this thought into consideration when I wrote Under The Highlander's Spell. In it you will meet the heroine's grandmother, Bethane. Who at the time would have been declared a witch, but in reality she is a woman of nature, of the Earth, a woman who knows how "to bend" with the beauty, trails and tribulations of life.
Bethane is a favorite character of mine and I do hope you enjoy reading about her.