The History of St. Patricks Day ~ #StPatricksDay #StPatricksDay2019

Look at this adorable cup of clover my girlfriend gave
me for St. Patrick's Day!  So cute.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  These past few years, St. Patrick's Day has taken on a little more meaning for me, after I got my DNA results back and discovered I have a lot more Irish blood in me than I thought!  I did know I had a Sullivan on my father's side of the family a few generations back, but the results say I'm 61% British and Irish.  I've always enjoyed taking part in the holiday fun--wearing green, drinking beer, and serving a traditional Irish meal. You'll notice I said "serving", not "cooking"...cooking is not one of my strengths; however, writing is.  So rather than offering a recipe, I'm dedicating this blog post to some facts about St. Patrick and his holiday.

As a teenager, Patrick was captured by Irish pirates and taken from his home country of Great Britain to Ireland as a slave.  A rough start, for sure, but although he escaped after six years and returned home, eventually he went back to Ireland as a cleric.  The exact dates of his life are uncertain, but it is generally agreed that Patrick was an active missionary in Ireland during the second half of the 5th century.  He was also an ordained Bishop and eventually became the primary patron saint of Ireland.  St. Patrick's Day became an official Christian Feast Day in the early 17th century, observed on March 17th, the date of Patrick's death.

The day not only commemorates St. Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, it also celebrates Irish culture and heritage. There are parades and festivals to mark the occasion, as well as religious services.  Because the church lifts Lenten restrictions for the day, drinking alcohol has become a custom associated with St. Patrick's Day.

The shamrock as a symbol comes from legends involving St. Patrick using the three-leafed plant to describe the Holy Trinity--the concept of three persons in one God. Obviously, shamrocks are green, but the phrase "The Wearing of the Green" comes from an Irish ballad of the same name.  The song refers to the persecution of those who supported the 1798 rebellion against British rule. The lyrics state, "They are hanging men and women for the wearing of the green" - the color adopted by the revolutionary United Irishmen.

Some stories credit St. Patrick with driving all the snakes from Ireland; however, all scientific evidence suggests no snakes ever existed on the Emerald Isle to begin with.  Another legend related to a serpent involves St. Patrick killing a large serpent in a lake, thus turning the water red with blood and creating the name "Red Lake" or Lough Derg.  It is said that God showed St. Patrick a cave or pit on an island in the lake, revealing the spot as an entrance to Purgatory.  St. Patrick's Purgatory is now an ancient pilgrimage site which still draws pilgrims annually.

Upon his death, the struggle over possession of the saintly corpse gave rise to the Battle for the Body of St. Patrick (according to the Annals of the Four Masters - chronicles of medieval Irish history).  He is said to be buried along with St. Brigid and St. Columbia at Down Cathedral in Downpatrick, County Down, but this has never been proven.

Have a Happy St. Patrick's Day, and thanks for stopping by!

P.S. This year, I get to wear *this* green for the first time!  Woo hoo! --------->

#FridayReads Feature ~ Missing Out on Life #RomanticSuspense #Romance #Books

I'm pleased to be featuring one of my author friends, Valerie J. Clarizio, on my blog today...we were part of the USA TODAY Bestselling Romantic Suspense Thrillers Box Set Love Under Fire, and I'm highlighting her steamy Romantic Suspense novel Missing Out on Life today.  Check out the blurb and links if you're looking for a great new read!

Jaded by the Past. Closed to a Future. Shocked by Unveiled Secrets. They Were Meant to be Together

Meredith Wellington receives a call that her sister has been murdered. Her two young nieces land on her doorstep. An instant family is the last thing she needs as she reaches for the top rung of the corporate ladder.

An Unexpected Visitor from His Past Shakes Up His Simple Ranch Life

Jeremiah Crown, aka Coach, lives a simple life managing his family’s Kentucky horse ranch. When a damsel in distress decked out in a suit and spiked heels needs assistance, he’s more than happy to help, and happier still to realize this corporate powerhouse doesn’t recognize him as the man she'd deemed an enemy in high school twenty years earlier.

Overcoming Old Enmity

Once she realizes Coach’s identity, any chance of a romantic relationship disappears. When Meredith places her nieces low on her priority list, Jeremiah reconsiders his attraction to her. When danger comes calling, Meredith realizes this kindhearted veteran has the skill set to help her, if only she could set aside her pride to ask.

Can two people overcome past misunderstandings in time to thwart approaching danger?

BUY on Amazon ~ Free with Kindle Unlimited!

About the Author:

Valerie Clarizio lives in romantic Door County Wisconsin with her husband and two extremely spoiled cats. She loves to read, write, and spend time at her cabin in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
She’s lived her life surrounded by men, three brothers, a husband, and a male Siamese cat who required his own instruction manual. Keeping up with all the men in her life has turned her into an outdoors enthusiast, of which her favorite activity is hiking in national parks. While out on the trails, she has plenty of time to conjure up irresistible characters and unique storylines for her next romantic suspense or sweet contemporary romance novel.

Happy New Year! ~ Why We Celebrate #NewYearsDay ~ #HappyNewYear2019

Happy New Year!  Although often bitterly cold on Cape Cod, where I live, I like January.  It’s my birthday month, and my son’s, and it can be a chance to relax and unwind after the frenetic pace of the holidays.  Plus, there’s the whole idea of a fresh start and making resolutions.

2018 had some wonderful moments in my writerly life...I became a USA Bestselling Author, and one of my books was named Best Romantic Suspense of 2018 at a prolific review site.  But 2019 will start off with the release of The Haunting of Hillwood Farm, and book birthdays are always exciting!

So, why do we celebrate the start of a new year?  Here's a few facts I found about New Year's Day and January in general.

A statue of Janus

New Year’s Day is the first day of January according to both the Julian calendar (introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC) and the Gregorian calendar (named for Pope Gregory XIII, who introduced it in 1582).  The difference in these two calendars is a .002% change in the length of the year.

The Julian calendar was based on the Roman calendar, and the name of the month of January is generally attributed to the Roman god Janus, the god of beginnings and endings, who is depicted with two faces looking in opposite directions: into the past as well as the future.

Since the Gregorian calendar is now used, at least in practice, by most countries, New Year’s Day is considered the world’s most celebrated public holiday.

The ancient belief that the beginning of an event impacted the whole led people to offer good health and well wishes on this first day of a new year, as the long, dark days of the Winter Solstice were being left behind.  A prosperous January 1^st with plenty of food and drink would hopefully lead to the same for the entire month and year.

Of course, local traditions abound to mark this day, and one of the big ones in the United States is the making of resolutions.  If one of your goals is to reduce stress, you already probably know that reading has been proven to help with this!  What could be better after the hustle and bustle of the holidays than wrapping yourself up in a blanket, putting your feet up, and getting lost in a page-turning story?  My books are filled with steamy romance, haunting mysteries, dark secrets, and spine-tingling suspense.  Several are now available as audiobooks as well!  I hope you’ll check out my titles in the tabs below and treat yourself to a new read!  Thanks for stopping by and best wishes for a HAPPY, HEALTHY, AND FUN 2019!

Pre-orders are up for The Haunting of Hillwood Farm!  "I clung to my tablet"...5+ Stars at N.N. Light's Book Heaven, chosen Best Romantic Suspense of 2018

Gull Harbor...A dangerous ghost and an ex-boyfriend await psychic Claire Linden in Cape Cod's Gull Harbor.  A #1 Amazon / #1 B&N Bestseller, now on Audible too!

Silver Lake...A haunting, an old flame, and secrets from the past...reunion romance plus ghost mystery.  A #1 Amazon Bestseller

Dangerous Currents...One fateful night tore them apart, will they get a second chance before a killer strikes?  Steamy second-chance romance filled with secrets and suspense.

Dangerous Currents

Haunted Souls...A damaged solider, a secret baby, and a haunting mystery collide in Haunted Souls.  Voted one of the Top 3 Reads of 2016 at Read Free.ly.  Available on Audible!

Divine Fall...YA Paranormal Romance...Revenge, Romance, and a Rogue Fallen Angel.  Voted Best Young Adult Novel 2014 at The Romance Reviews.

I'm a USA Today Bestselling #Author! #amwriting #books #Romance #Suspense

This will be a Thanksgiving to remember!  On Wednesday evening, as I was juggling peeling potatoes, chopping vegetables, and preparing stuffing, I got the news...the Love Under Fire Romantic Suspense Box Set I'm a part of made the USA Today Bestseller's List, coming in at #44 for the week!  One of the authors in the set discovered this online, and the screenshot and the pdf were easy to download, but the Top 50 Bestsellers also go into the print newspaper, and I really, really needed to have my copy.

So I dropped everything and ran out the door into the frigid darkness.  I'd already been the the grocery store twice that day for last minute food items, but I started there, braving the jammed parking lot.  No copies of USA Today left.  I tried the minimart/liquor store, the gas station store, and the other major grocery store in town, trying very hard not to have a fender bender in my anxious state.  Finally, striking out everywhere and not even 100% sure the Bestseller List would actually *be* in that day's paper, I decided I'd try one more store before returning home to get on with the abandoned meal prep.  Walgreens.  I found two copies left, and I frantically flipped through until I found the list.  It was there and Love Under Fire was there!  I bought both copies and navigated the traffic home a bit more calmly.

Two spots beneath the Queen of Suspense Mary Higgins
Clark, who I once signed books next to at an event!

Many thousands of copies have to be sold to make this list, and I'm so proud of the promotional work all the authors on the team did to spread the word about our collection.  We each contributed a brand new, never-before-published novel or novella to the set, and all the stories have elements of romance, suspense, and mystery, with various subgenres represented as well (paranormal romantic suspense, historical romantic suspense, romance/cozy mystery, etc.).  In line with our release near Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving, we decided to donate 50% of our profits to Pets for Vets, a wonderful charity pairing shelter animals with veterans seeking companion animals.  So this was very much an author give-back as well as cross-promotion for all of us, with the opportunity to share our work with thousands of new readers.

Love Under Fire is a limited-edition collection, which will only be available until the end of January.  After that, the set will break up and the books will become available individually.  You can still purchase a copy of the set or get it free with Kindle Unlimited here.

My book in the set is The Haunting of Hillwood Farm, and the first editorial review from N.N. Light's Book Heaven gave it 5+ stars!  It's spooky, as it's a ghost mystery, but the good thing about the Romance genre is that Happy Endings are a must (at least for the main characters...we're not making promises beyond that!).

My ghost mystery/romance in the set

You can see a great round-up of all the titles in the set, along with each cover and blurb, here.  So many great stories!

When I started this journey 11 years ago, writing the opening lines (later cut!) of Silver Lake on a long car ride, I never dared to dream about something like this!  Over the years, I've experienced many highs and lows associated with writing, and I've spent several Novembers in the throes of NaNoWriMo, forcing myself past writer's block by getting in the required daily word count.  So it will be nice to associate Thanksgiving with this year's memory now!  As I reflect on the most important things I'm thankful for--family, friends, health, a roof over my head--I'm also thankful to have reached this personal milestone and to have helped raise so much money for Pets for Vets.  Time to open the champagne!   

Jinx wanted to help celebrate too!  All 3 of my
rescue pets love the charity we supported!