Friday, November 29, 2013

Aloha to St. Andrew's Day with Cathy Maxwell and Scottish Romances


From the lone shielding of the misty island 
Mountains divide us and the waste of seas – 
Yet still the blood is strong, the heart is Highland, 
And we in dreams behold the Hebrides! 
John Galt 1779-1839 Scottish writer 


Today the Scots celebrate their country's patron Saint, Saint Andrew. They will proudly wave the Saltire - the blue flag with a white cross that represents Scotland's independence.  I have been blessed to visit Alba twice ... and I visited Alba after reading my first romance novel, Cathy Maxwell's A MARRIAGE CONTRACT. Cathy is my go-to-author for Regency Scottish Romance ... she always delivers heartwarming moments and humor laced dialogue.

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Cathy is sponsoring a special giveaway at Fresh Fiction (link),

I am so grateful for my readers and for the chance to do what I do, I want to celebrate this Season of Gratitude with a special contest.

THREE lucky readers can win an autographed copy of one of my books plus a set of heart shaped measuring spoons. This will make your holiday baking special because we all know love can only be measured by what we put into it, no?

I'll also include a set of bookmarks for my TWO new books THE BRIDE SAYS NO and THE BRIDE SAYS MAYBE. They'll be out on the shelves this coming February and March.

And to everyone--

May your holidays be full of the joy of love!

All my best,

Cathy


Plus Cathy is giving away the same prize here at SOS Aloha! To enter the giveaway,

1.  Leave a comment about Scotland ... if you could visit one place, what would it be?  A castle?  A city?  A distillery?

2.  This giveaway is open to all readers.

3.  Comments are open through Saturday, December 7, 10 pm in Baltimore.   I'll post the winner on Sunday, December 8.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

To learn more about Cathy and her books, check out her website at cathymaxwell.com.

To learn more about St. Andrew's, check out this link.

1805294618052947

Coming in 2014


32 comments:

  1. I love Cathy Maxwell's books! I'd also love to visit Scotland. I'd like to attend the Highland Games while there to see all the kilted men show off their strength...and visit a castle.

    Marcy Shuler
    bmndshuler(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  2. Oh man that is on my secret bucket list, going to scotland. Um you forgot the option of seeing under men's kilts! But I would just love to see the highlands and their castles...

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  3. I would visit Edinburgh Castle if I could only visit one place.

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  4. I'd want to visit a small town set in the hills. And a castle!

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  5. I would love to visit Rosslyn Chapel.

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  6. Aloha Kim (and belated Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!),
    I think I would like to see a castle (since I am not fond of alcohol) although I also would like to see some of the beautiful highlands!

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  7. I would want to see it all - maybe a trip to the distillery first lol.

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  8. I'd love to visit Scotland & see the beautiful scenery. Definitely a castle or two.

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  9. I would love to see it all but if I had to pick one thing I would pick a castle to visit.

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  10. I have been to Scotland and visited several castles. There are so many more for me to see. I love castles.

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  11. I adore all things Scottish :D Like tartan, heather & shortbread biscuit... Love 'm!!! Hard to pick a single place i'd like to visit. Definitely the Ilse of Skye, saw some gorgeous pictures of it and imagine it to be magical :)

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  12. I would just love to go to scotland and see the wildness of it. I would love to see a castle.

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  13. I've visited Edinburgh and loved it. Much as I'd like to go back, if I had another opportunity to visit Scotland, I'd want to go to the Highlands.

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  14. The Highlands calls to me, but I would start with a boat ride across Loch Ness. Must have a chance to see Nessie!
    Nancy Lee Badger
    www.nancyleebadger.blogspot.com

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  15. I think I would visit a castle since we don't have them here.

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  16. I'd like to live there for 6 months and visit everything!!! And my hubby would like to pretend to play golf at St. Andrews' course!

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  17. I agree, Cathy is my go to author for humor romance and a good story. I loved the Marraige Contract!
    I'd love to go back to Inverary. It's been almost 30 years since I visited Scotland.

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  18. I'd want to see as much as I could,

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  19. I love going to castles, so these would be on the top of my list.

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  20. I would love to visit a castle! Thanks for sharing and congrats to Cathy on the new releases!

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  21. Hi Kim and Cathy!

    Years ago when my husband and I had the chance to visit Scotland the one thing I loved was how friendly the people were that we meet as we traveled around the countryside!

    After flying into Scotland we went to Edinburgh and had a wonderful room right on the Royal Mile and within walking distance of Edinburgh Castle - since my husband is a Master Stone and Brick Mason you know that we couldn't miss going there first!

    Of course "Old Town" was next on our list an Saint Giles' Cathedral was our next stop!

    It was when we ventured out into the country side that we discovered our biggest delight - the wonderful people that helped us find our way and never failed to not only let us know about local attractions that aren't often missed as well as recommended to the best local pub to enjoy a wonderful lunch. So many people helped us find unknown out-of the places to visit that could have easily been missed.

    Our trip to Linlithgow Palace which is an easy drive from Edinburgh was also one of our favorite places. The day we went there we were the only tourist there and were able to explore to our hearts content and were impressed not only the history of the birthplace of Queen Mary but by the mystery and intrigue that we felt all the way down to our bones as we walked along the same paths that so many had before us.

    As we walked around we thought of all the people who had gone before us so many years ago and not just the Kings, Queens and the retinue but also the Englishmen who had come to try to concur them so many years ago.

    It was a magical moment as we gazed out at the surrounding landscape and thought of all those who had come before us so many years ago.

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  22. Just picking one thing to visit in Scotland is like having one potato chip - shouldn't be done. But top on my list would be a boat ride on one of the lochs (maybe there would be a castle along the shore).

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  23. I would want to see as much of the country as I possibly could. Would love to visit the castles.

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  24. I'd love to visit Edinburgh and any castle visits would be so fantastic. Reading so many historical romances like Cathy's has made me want to vacation in Scotland. But since I've never had a chance to go yet, I'll just have to keep reading those Highland romances!

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  25. If I ever end up in Scotland, I'd have to go to the Highlands and see the castles there. Of course, I'd also have to stop by Queen Elizabeth's Balmoral Castle (maybe she'd invite me in for a cup of tea!), and visit Glasgow and Edinburgh. Maybe I'll meet some men in kilts there too!!

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  26. I love Cathy's books, If I could go to Scotland it would be to see the castles and highlands I love the Historical romances set in Scotland. While living in England I have meet a lot of people from Scotland they are so nice I love hearing them talk.
    Penney

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  27. This is so generous of you Cathy, Thank You!
    My son is an avid golfer; I would love to take him to St. Andrews to play the world famous course there one day, maybe when he finishes his law degree.

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  28. I spent three days in Scotland in 1986 and saw a lot of Edinburgh and Glasgow. But we never made it to the northernmost place called Isle of Skye that I wanted so dearly to see. Skye is where my paternal ancestors came from. I still would love to see it and other northern cities like Inverness. jdh2690@gmail.com

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