16 days and counting….

May 6th

Release Day for 

Claiming Her

 This is the story that's been in the wings since 2012. 

It started out as a novella. 

"It'll be easy," the muse said.

"No problem, we got this," the muse said.

Ha.

Heads up: it is not a novella.

Heads really up: it gets scorching hot. Scorch. Ing. 

Be prepared.

Be very prepared.

/hopes you get prepared/ 

Come and get it!!

Special Preorder price

$2.99!!

Available at Amazon

& iBooks as preorder

Available everywhere May 6th.

He's a disreputable, dishonorable and sinfully handsome Irish warlord.  

She's an English lady who knows her duty to the Crown.  

When honor and passion collide, who will win their test of wills? 

Tourney!

Okay, who loves a tourney?  I mean, besides me.

Pennants fluttering off the host's castle ramparts, villagers and nobles mingling in the busy grounds all around, merchants hawking their wares, performers juggling and wrestling.  While up in the lists, knights in shining armour preen and perform for ladies in the stands, who bestow their favors--a sleeve, a scrap of silk, and a smile--on their favorites. 




Originally, though, tournaments didn't much resemble our romantic notion of them.  The 'joust'--two men squaring off and taking a run at each other with lances--yeah, that was a latter addition, and even when the joust came to be part of the tourney, it was a prelude to the main event, the mêlée, a pitched battle with, well, pretty much no rules. 

Occasionally the type of weaponry was predetermined for the mêlée, but other than that, it was basically no-holds-barred fighting.  Lords came with their retinues, often comprised largely of men hired for the sole purpose of helping Lord Such-and-So kick Lord Whos-And-Whats knightly arse.  They came to fight, and to win. 

Oh, and to make a lot of money.  

The big money didn't come from official prizes, though, although those could be quite rich.  But the real prize was...ransom.

First came the cavalry rush with lowered lances, which quickly devolved into hand-to-hand combat, on foot, between the two opposing sides.  Death happened, although combatants were not (usually) killed intentionally.   Why kill a guy, when you can bankrupt him, and enrich yourself in the process?  Capture was a much better business plan. 

The loser had to 'yield,' then he and the victor agreed to the terms of the surrender.  Usually horse & armour were taken, and a price agreed-upon to buy them back.  Remember these horses were worth more money than a villager could make in a dozen lifetimes.  The same for armour.  Terms of the agreement were set down in a contract (yes, they signed a contract, right there on the battlefield, in a section called the 'refuge'.  Recognize it?? Cool, huh?) It was all very official and well-run. 

Except when it wasn't.

Tourneys were a dicey proposition for kings and counts. On one hand, tourneys were good training for war, could be useful for raising money, and for channeling the aggressive tendencies of all those young, male, armed citizens, who were so necessary in times of war, and so...unpredictable at all other times.

But they also wrecked destruction on the countryside and any unlucky villagers caught in the crossfire as the battle raged across the land, including farmland (!!)  Often, two villages were designated as the outer boundaries of the battleground, essentially assuring that armed knights in the heat of battle were going to come roaring through the town and across their tended fields.  Note: No village is on record as ever having requested such a dubious privilege. 

The larger concern for a medieval king was this: tourneys were a breeding ground for petty feuds, vengeance, and, at the top of any medieval lord's mind, rebellion.  

Perfect for romance fiction!  I can feel my brain cells firing up, ready to play with the ceremony and drama of a medieval tournament.  I see a dark-haired, hard-hearted hero, and the conceited, intelligent, alluring daughter of his worst enemy....  

Have you read any books with great tourney scenes??  Spill!

Not Medieval but...Castle!

It's not a medieval castle, but it's got medieval in it. 

While I was wasting time online, I ran into this gorgeous tidbit:

Château de Gudanes, in the Midi-Pyrenees region of France, built in the mid-18th century, was contructed on the site on a 13th century fortress.  Those medieval towers are within the Château today. 

The castle fell into disuse and survived destruction during the French Revolution. 






In the 1990's, an investment company bought it, planning to turn it into luxury apartments, but were denied permits (Go France!) 




Again it fell into disuse, until an Australian couple bought it and are now renovating it, very publicly. They have a website, blog, and run workshops.

What part of the restoration would you start with?  I'd be uncovering those medieval towers!

Interestingly, this region of France plays into my current work-in-progress.  I keep running into that, while I'm wasting time online.  I think I should take it as a hint and get back to writing.

More pictures:
Wimp
Château de Gudanes site