Today’s blog will be Meet A Heroine Monday! I have Keira Drummond, of Topaz Eyes by Nancy
Jardine, answering some interview questions.
A FREE e-copy of Topaz Eyes is being offered to one lucky commenter...please leave a comment with a way to contact you should Nancy draw your name from the hat!
Hi
Keira…some background info first…when is your birthday and how old are you?
That question makes me feel even older already! I’m
a Pisces, born 15th March and I’ll be 28 come my next birthday.
How
do you spend your days and what are your hobbies?
Before I got embroiled in the quest to find the Tiru
Salana jewellery collection with Teun Zeger my days now seem pretty tame. I’d
mostly be spending the day doing my work as a translator, on the internet a
lot, and sometimes on the phone for long consultations. Occasionally I’d travel
to the client which might mean some short trips to Europe. All that didn’t
leave me much time for hobbies, but when I can manage it I love to explore new
places. I guess the hobby part is finding out what I can about the place before
I go, and where to see when I get there.
A
quest like that sounds exciting! Can you
list 3 words that best describe you?
Dedicated, tenacious, pain- butt (that’s what my
sister calls me!)
I’m
sure she means it lovingly! Where have
you traveled?
I am so…lucky about that. My work has given me lots
of opportunities for travel, and as a student I lived and worked in quite a few
places in Europe. Heidelberg –of course - is where the treasure hunt began. And the Topaz Eyes hunt also took me to
Vienna, Amsterdam… If I look at a map of Europe there are not all that many
places I’ve not been to! I’ve not made Greece yet, or Hungary, but someday I
will. The fantastic jewellery search with Teun has meant I’ve managed to get
across the Atlantic to the US, to Rochester/ Minnesota, and Duluth, and New
York. All flying visits but I’m convinced I WILL return!
Wow,
how wonderful to have seen so much. If
you could keep only one material item you own, what would it be?
Ah! That would definitely be a certain item of
jewellery that Teun Zeger has given me. I won’t tell you exactly what, or that
just might give away too much of the story!
What
is your favorite food?
Being a Scot I have to honestly say it has to be
haggis, neeps ‘n tatties. For those who’ve never heard of that famous Scottish
dish it’s a kind of oatmeal pudding. Traditionally it’s made from the sheep’s
pluck – that’s the liver, heart, lungs - mixed with oatmeal, onions, and suet.
Haggis is served with mashed neeps – that’s orange fleshed turnip in Scotland,
what the English call swede – and mashed potatoes. The veggies are usually
mashed with a bit of butter and pepper. I love a moist haggis and not too
peppery!
Well,
I can safely say I’ve tried none of those things. Favorite drink?
Well, that’s not Scottish –it’s Aurum from Italy - a
spectacular orange liqueur. You really want to try it sometime! Mmmm..
That’s
more my speed, lol. Lastly, who would
play you in a movie?
Oh, someone who looks like the English actress Keira
Knightley would be perfect.
Oh,
she’s beautiful! Thanks for sharing with
us, Nancy and Keira. Readers please
enjoy the blurb and be sure to leave a comment to enter the contest!
Topaz
Eyes Blurb:
A peculiar invitation to Heidelberg embroils Keira
Drummond in the search for a mysterious collection of extraordinary jewels once
owned by a Mughal Emperor; a hoard that was last known to be in the possession
of Amsterdam resident, Geertje Hoogeveen, in 1910.
Who among the progeny of Geertje – hitherto
unfamiliar third cousins brought together for the quest – can Keira rely on?
Distrust and suspicion among them is rife.
Which one is greedy, and determined enough, to hire
thugs to tail her… and worse… as she travels to Vienna and Minnesota? Can Keira even trust Teun Zeger - a
Californian she is becoming very drawn to – as they pair up to unearth the
jewellery?
As they follow a trail of clues, will they uncover
the full collection before the hired gun kills them? Details remain furtive and
undisclosed until danger and death forces their exposure. And who harbours the
ultimate mystery item that is even more precious than the Mughal jewels?
Greed, suspicion and murder are balanced by growing
family loyalty, trust, and love.
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