Brenda Novak Auction - Win a basket of Ebooks by Australian authors

Brenda Novak Auction for Diabetes

  The Auction for the BEST basket 

of E-BOOKS EVER is HERE!

That's right, here's your chance to bid on a whole heap of books donated by more than a few wonderful Aussie Writers - mostly members of the HISTORICAL HEARTS.

Thanks to the hard work by the lovely Christina Phillips a large bunch of us Australian writers, mostly writers of historical romance, donated some of our favourite books to this worthwhile cause. If you are interested in connecting with Australian writers and reading a collection of books in a different sort of voice, then this is the item to bid on!

 

This is the 9th Annual On-Line Auction for Diabetes Research New York Best Seller Author - Brenda Novak has held.  Follow the links to find out more details and how to sign up for your bid here: Brenda Novak - Auction for Diabetes.

To take a look at the Basket of E-Books on behalf of the Historical Hearts Group click the link  HERE

This magnificent collection of Romance Titles takes in Historical, Sci-Fi, Paranormal, Outback, Erotic and Spicy and Contemporary Reads. Something for everyone  OR Everything for one lucky Bidder!! (Including a copy of my own best selling, multi award nominated GATHER THE BONES).

I'd like to acknowledge the support of ALL the Authors who made the donation basket, from the Historical Hearts RWA group of Writers, such a marvellous item to bid for.

Tamara Gill, Erin Grace, Maggi Andersen, Carol Hoggart, Euphrasia Holmes, Alison Stuart, Jo Duncan, Suzi Love, S E Gilchrist, Catherine Evans,   Kylie Scott, Marianne Theresa, Beverley Oakley, Annie Seaton, Keziah Hill,  Mel Teshco, Rhian Cahill, Nicole Hurley-Moore, Rhyll Biest, Shona Husk, Tracey O'Hara

There is also a virtual Gift Basket of Critiques for Writers from HERE

This basket Includes:
**From developmental & copy editor Annie Seaton:1 10-page edit
**From author Erin GraceOne 3-Chapter Critique
**From author Euphraisa Holmes
1 10-page edit.
Thanks Ladies :))

BUT WAIT - There's more ...  Check out these Hot & Spicy Reads from the Hot Downunder Authors. 14 Titles to help put a Sizzle into your Winter reading..  

You can Connect with Historical Hearts Authors on Facebook or visit the Historical Hearts Blog page

WIN A COPY OF GATHER THE BONES!

Taking Tea with ... Lisa Yarde and a wonderful giveaway

Before I open the door to my weekly guest... let me whisper to you that she has a VERY generous giveaway in her handbag, so read on my friends... George, the doorbell...

And I am delighted to welcome someone I have been simply dying to talk to for ages... Lisa Yarde. Lisa is a fabulous historical writer and den mother to the Unusual Historicals blog site and I think we have a lot in common... apart from writing historicals set in unusual historical periods!

Lisa, do come in.  I have been looking forward to welcoming you to my tea table, but first the formalities… what tea is your preference (or do you prefer coffee)?

Tea, always! I was born in Barbados, once known as “Little England” where we’ve definitely kept up our tea-drinking traditions. (AS: George... the fine china tea pot, please...!)

I know you as a prolific blogger and the founder of one of my favourite blogs – UNUSUAL HISTORICALS. As a writer of “unusual historical”, it means the world to have a place where those of us who like to venture outside the well trod historical paths, can go. What triggered you to start the blog up?

I was lucky enough in 2006 to receive an invitation from the former moderator of Unusual Historicals to do a series of posts. As you say, it’s so important to see novels outside the mainstream. I became a moderator of the blog two years ago. It still represents exactly what I write; the unusual historical, and I have a great team of fourteen other contributors who are prolific and knowledgeable writers.

You were born in Barbados, but now live in NYC. What is the journey that took you from the Caribbean to the jungles of New York?

I came with my parents when I was ten, so I didn't have any say in the decision to move. Life in Barbados was very different, less fast-paced, but we kept connections there with frequent trips back home. After twenty-eight years, I still call Barbados home although New York is also home for me. Actually Spain, too and Wales. 

What sparked your love of history and what period of history would you say is your passion?

My love affair with history started in Barbados, growing up in the shadow of colonial buildings in the capital and learning about the island’s British heritage. England’s past fascinated me, especially when I discovered the medieval era, which is my favorite period. (AS: We must have a chat about cricket...)

You have written two novels set in medieval England and Normandy but I really want to talk to you about the “Sultana” series set in the Moorish occupation of Granada where they built the wonderful Al Hambra (it’s on my bucket list). Are you able to give me a very short, potted history of this period of history?

Muslim kingdoms ruled Spain for over seven hundred years, but in the last two hundred and fifty years, only the Moors of Granada remained under the Nasrid dynasty. Just my luck that members of the family turned out to be the most dysfunctional group I’ve ever read about, with sons poisoning fathers and brothers stealing the throne from each other. Without their dynastic squabbles, the Nasrid might have held on to Granada, but then, I wouldn’t have so much to write about them.

Are the characters in your books based on real historical characters and what inspired you to write the series?

All of my novels feature the main historical figures of the period and some obscure ones when I can flesh out enough details from the sources. I’ve long realized that I write about the underdogs of history, people whose stories have been told by others with all the biases you can imagine. Everyone knows about 1492 and Columbus, but there’s the other 1492, where the Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella recaptured Granada. What was life like for the losers? The question inspired me to research the Moors of Granada.

The latest book in the Sultana series is coming out later this month:

SULTANA: THE BRIDE PRICE

In fourteenth-century Moorish Spain, a young woman caught up in the dynastic struggles between warring brothers, struggles for her survival. Wed to a husband who looks upon her with more suspicion than lust in his eyes and surrounded by enemies seeking to claim his throne, she must escape a brutal past and find redemption, forgiveness and love.

The Bride price will be available later this month... please visit Lisa's website http://www.lisajyarde.com/p/buy-books.html  for information.

·    ABOUT LISA YARDE... 

Lisa J. Yarde writes fiction inspired by the Middle Ages in Europe. She is the author of six historical novels, which take place during Europe’s medieval period, including two works set in England and France, and a series about the last Muslim rulers of Spain.

AND NOW HER FABULOUSLY GENEROUS GIVEAWAY... LISA HAS A $25 Amazon gift VOUCHER for a randomly chosen blog commenter (and as a bonus if you leave a comment, you can go in the draw for my May Rafflecopter contest - click HERE to enter)

You have to be in it to win it so please drop past and maybe tell Lisa and I which "unusual" period of history most intrigues you. 

Meet My Main Character - Sebastian Alder from LORD SOMERTON'S HEIR

Thank you to my dear friends, ANITA DAVISON and FRANCINE HOWARTH for inviting me to join in this blog hop. The timing is excellent as my first foray into Regency Romantic Suspense, LORD SOMERTON’S HEIR has just been released.

What is the name of your character? Is he/she fictional or an historic person?

Meet Captain Sebastian Alder, a career army officer in Wellington’s army. Badly wounded at Waterloo, he is facing a dire future as a soldier on half pay until the day a strange woman, calling herself the dowager Lady Somerton appears at his bedside.

Of course he is totally fictional… but very real to me :-)

When and where is the story set?

You may have guessed from the mention of Waterloo… It is set in England in 1815 (Regency)

What should we know about your character?

Sebastian is, of course, the heir to the Somerton estate, something of which he had no knowledge. He had been brought up in a country parsonage and joined the army at the age of sixteen. That has been his life. 

He has a strong protective trait and takes his responsibilities toward his two younger siblings very seriously. However even they don’t know the dark memories he is masking.

What is the main conflict he must face?

As the new Lord Somerton, Sebastian finds that his inheritance is tainted by debt and the profligate living of his late cousin. Not only must he cope with the practical difficulties of his sudden elevation, he must rise to accepting his onerous responsibilities which include dealing not only with restoring the fortunes of the estate but also his late cousin’s widow, Isabel, who has been left destitute and two rather odd “cuckoos in the nest”. 

Questions arise about the manner of his cousin’s death and it begins to look like he also has a murder to solve.

What is the personal goal of this character?

To keep everyone he loves, and has a responsibility for, safe.

Where is LORD SOMERTON'S HEIR available?

Everywhere good ebooks are sold!

Kindle (where it has been on pre order sale for .90c! Hurry you may still catch it) 

Itunes  (where it has also been on pre-order sale for .99c)

Barnes & Noble

For the other retailers, visit the Escape Publishing site. Click HERE

I have passed this on to three excellent authors who write wonderful historical novels...

Tea Cooper (Australian)
Regan Walker (Regency/nautical)
Beverley Eikli (English Civil War, Georgian, Regency, Colonial Africa)

ABOUT LORD SOMERTON'S HEIR

Can the love of an honourable man save her from the memory of a desolate marriage?

From the battlefield of Waterloo to the drawing rooms of Brantstone Hall, Sebastian Alder’s elevation from penniless army captain to Viscount Somerton is the stuff of dreams. But the cold reality of an inherited estate in wretched condition, and the suspicious circumstances surrounding his cousin’s death, provide Sebastian with no time for dreams, only a mystery to solve and a murderer to bring to justice.

Isabel, widow of the late Lord Somerton, is desperate to bury the memory of her unhappy marriage by founding the charity school she has always dreamed of. But, her dreams are shattered, as she is taunted from the grave, discovering not only has she been left penniless, but she is once more bound to the whims of a Somerton.

But this Somerton is unlike any man she has met. Can the love of an honourable man heal her broken heart or will suspicion tear them apart?

TO CELEBRATE THE RELEASE OF LORD SOMERTON'S HEIR, I WILL BE RUNNING A RAFFLECOPTER CONTEST FOR THE MONTH OF MAY.

Prize:  An Alison Stuart "goody bag" worth over $50 - details on my website

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Taking Tea with Ebony McKenna... Ondine and Snowgoating

Thank God, it's Friday and for an extra special Friday treat I have EBONY McKENNA with me today.  EBONY is the Emeritus Professor (Hon.) of BRUGELESE STUDIES and author of the wonderful ONDINE SERIES of young adult books set in the (fictional) kingdom of Brugel. 

You may recall she visited me back in September 2013 (Taking Tea with Ebony McKenna) and we enjoyed an interesting introductory discussion on the history and culture of Brugel, a small country somewhere in Eastern Europe. You may have difficulty finding it on a map...

It is a little known fact about Brugel that it was a candidate for the 1984 Winter Olympics. Despite an absence of mountains, Brugel is in fact the world champion in "Snowgoating" and it felt for that reason alone it should be considered. The Olympic Committee disagreed... 

However the snub severely offended the Brugelese and here to set the record straight on the beloved sport of "Snowgoating" is Ebony McKenna.

Welcome, Ebony. George has polished the samovar...

It's wonderful to be taking tea again with you. I've made a pot of my new favourite tea, Brugelish Brunch. Brugel is the country in Eastern Europe where my Ondine novels are set. Brugelish Brunch tea is an aromatic black tea that goes beautifully with a slice of lemon. It's designed to always be drunk as a black tea, and was blended specifically for students living in shared accommodation, who can never be too sure if the milk's fresh. They also struggle to wake up prior to breakfast.

There's a goat eating the cakes...

Don't mind the house goats, they're very friendly, but don't put your scarf over the back of the chair, they're likely to run off with it.  (AS... too late and it was my favourite pashmina too. I wonder if I should point out that eating my scarf is a form of cannibalism...?

We're heading into winter here in Australia, Ebony, which for Brugelese expats means ramping up the training for the SnowGoating season. The readers would love to know more about this sport.

It's a relatively new sport in Australia. It originated in Brugel, hundreds of years ago. Don't let anyone tell you SnowGoating began in the neighbouring country of Slaegal. It's simply not true.


The main difficulty in SnowGoating here in Australia is of course finding decent amounts of snow (it must be at least two metres thick). New Zealand has much more reliable snow, all year round in some places. Alas, the goats aren't as interested.

Future champions getting acclimatised to the altitude.

A compliant champion goat is essential to a good SnowGoating season. Start with a young goat (called a kid). Colour is not important, but flexibility is. The tighter they can tuck themselves into a ball the better. Early training in hessian sacks is fine provided the goat is happy and comfortable. Hoof binding is not acceptable under any conditions.



Two horns or four is fine, but a lack of snow hampers the competition.

For a good SnowGoating competition, you'll need to herd at least six goats (or ten) to the top of a snow-covered mountain. Once they're in a straight line, (this can take some time) trainers encourage their goats to reach the finish line at the bottom of the hill. Goats can slide, roll, or ski on their horns. Or ride another goat if they feel like it (at least, that's what we tell the kids when some of the goats get a little frisky).

Points are awarded for speed, panache and kilograms of snow collected on their wool on the way down.

When the snow melts, the goats then move into their summer training schedule, which includes tree climbing, surfing and sprints in the sand.

This Billy and Nanny goat train all year round.

Champion Snowgoat "Monarch of the Vale" (deceased)

Thank you for that interesting lecture, Ebony... I'm not sure I'm any clearer about the sport of Snowgoating but in the interests of impartiality, all I can say is "All the very best for Brugel in this year's Snowgoating Championships"!

What else is happening in your life...?

In other news, slightly related to winter and Brugel, but not to goats, is that the third book in the Ondine series is out at last, just in time for spring in the northern hemisphere and autumn down here. Naturally.

This third enthralling instalment in the young adult fantasy romance series takes a dark turn, as the country of Brugel descends into anarchy.

THE WINTER OF MAGIC

Mutating magic is spreading across Europe. 'Normals' are developing supernatural powers at a startling rate and 16-year-old Ondine appears to be at the heart of it.

To unravel the mystery, Ondine and her boyfriend (and part-time ferret) Hamish infiltrate CovenCon, a gathering of hundreds of witches presided over by wanna-be-witch-queen Mrs Howser. There, she tempts Ondine with an intriguing offer - but can Mrs Howser be trusted? It transpires the powerful witch has her claws in the arrogant royal heir Lord Vincent, in a covert bid to control all of Brugel.

As dark magic riots break out in the nation's capital, Ondine is left with a heart-breaking choice that could tear her apart from her beloved Hamish. Forever.

The Winter of Magic is the third novel in Ebony McKenna's comedic and wonderfully weird four-part ONDINE series. Fans will devour this spellbinding adventure, which will have readers gasping in shock and laughing with delight. Occasionally at the same time.

Connect with Ebony McKenna:

twitter - twitter.com/#!/EbonyMcKenna

email - author@ebonymckenna.com

web - www.ebonymckenna.com

*** No goats were harmed in the making of this post.

And don't forget to enter my May Rafflecopter contest...extra points for leaving a comment on this post!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

RELEASE DAY for LORD SOMERTON'S HEIR

I have a love/hate relationship with release days. On one hand there is the excitement of seeing your book baby go out into the big wide world. You have laboured long and hard over every sentence and every word, suffered rejection, rewrites, the anticipation of submission. Then the contract arrives and there is the long wait for edits (which you then curse) and the thrill of seeing the cover for the first time... and then the wait to that magical date:  RELEASE DAY.

The journey for this book has been particularly tortuous. This is the story that won the 2012 Romance Through the Ages Award. It then went through the a series of submissions and rejections until a big US publisher showed an interest, provided I completely rewrote it. You may recall my agonies over this process which culminated in me walking away from that particular door (The Black Moments of a Writers Soul). I took my poor, mangled story ("the Frankenbook") and I did rewrite it, with some help from some wonderful beta readers. I wrote the story I wanted to tell, not the story someone else thought I should be telling.

I have no regrets about that decision. The wonderful people at Harlequin Australia's Escape Publishing picked it up, with a few minor tweaks, and here it is, all wrapped up in a gorgeous cover and ready to face the world.

(Blame Blogger!)

To celebrate the release I will be running month long contest for a "Goody bag" worth over $50. The prize contains:

• A canvas bag
• A notebook
• Fridge magnets (including a "Mr. Darcy" fridge magnet)
• A Mesopotamian bracelet
• An autographed copy of Alison's Stuart's collected short stories TOWER OF TALES
• A voucher for the purchase of an ecopy of any one of Alison's books (excluding Lord Somerton's Heir). Winner's choice.

Entry is by Rafflecopter... and you can enter HERE, or on my website or on my Facebook author page or below...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Over the month I will be out and about as a guest on other blogs, so there will be plenty of opportunities to enter!

In the meantime, I will love you forever if you add LORD SOMERTON'S HEIR to your bookshelf (oh dear, that sounds kind of needy!). 

Anyway here are the BUY links:
Kindle (where it has been on pre order sale for .90c! Hurry you may still catch it) 

Itunes  (where it has also been on pre-order sale for .99c)

Barnes & Noble

For the other retailers, visit the Escape Publishing site. Click HERE

If you love Regency Historicals, particularly those with a suspense element... I hope you will like LORD SOMERTON'S HEIR.

Can the love of an honourable man save her from the memory of a desolate marriage?

From the battlefield of Waterloo to the drawing rooms of Brantstone Hall, Sebastian Alder’s elevation from penniless army captain to Viscount Somerton is the stuff of dreams. But the cold reality of an inherited estate in wretched condition, and the suspicious circumstances surrounding his cousin’s death, provide Sebastian with no time for dreams, only a mystery to solve and a murderer to bring to justice.

Isabel, widow of the late Lord Somerton, is desperate to bury the memory of her unhappy marriage by founding the charity school she has always dreamed of. But, her dreams are shattered, as she is taunted from the grave, discovering not only has she been left penniless, but she is once more bound to the whims of a Somerton.

But this Somerton is unlike any man she has met. Can the love of an honourable man heal her broken heart or will suspicion tear them apart?

EXCERPT....
(Lead up:  Having installed Sebastian Alder as the new Lord Somerton, Isabel leaves him in London and departs for the country estate at Brantstone...)

...A coach stood at the front of the house, the Somerton arms emblazoned on the door. As he watched, Lady Somerton descended the front steps with a quick, firm step, a black feather in her bonnet waving jauntily, at odds with the deep mourning she affected. She handed the bandbox she carried to her maid and allowed one of the footmen to help her into the coach.

Intriguing woman, Sebastian thought, and, as if he had called out to her, she glanced up. She must have seen him at the window and, while her gaze held his for a moment, she did not in any other way acknowledge his presence.

With her departure he felt oddly cast adrift, as if she had been the one familiar person anchoring him to this strange new life; a life that was proving to be even stranger than he could have imagined, if there was truth in what the lawyer in the room behind him was saying.

The man’s nasal voice ceased and he heard the Somerton man of business, Bragge, clear his throat. Sebastian turned around in time to see a quick, nervous glance pass between the two men.

‘I blame myself,’ Bragge said. ‘His late lordship was not disposed to confide in me. I had no idea that he had...’ The man swallowed, wiping his upper lip with a large kerchief. ‘If I had known... The damage to the estate should have been more readily ascertainable.’

Sebastian regarded the man with cold eyes. Bragge had brought with him a complete accounting of the Somerton inheritance.

What inheritance? Sebastian had thought with mounting anger as Bragge and the lawyer laid the full extent of his cousin’s inept management out for him.

It had all gone, expended on clothes and horses and who knew what else besides. There were large, unexplained monthly payments, which Bragge suggested were probably gambling debts and a foolish investment some two years earlier in a gold mine in Guinea on the basis of a prospectus issued by a group calling themselves The Golden Adventurers Club. It was this last bit of idiocy that had taken every penny, including, it seemed, Isabel’s jointure. Brantstone and the London house were mortgaged.

Any man of business worth his pay should have known to the penny the extent of his master’s debts at any given time, regardless of other concerns. Sebastian regarded the man without sympathy. If he had been his quartermaster, Bragge would have been flogged. As it was, he may well find himself looking for a new employer before this day was out.

‘Does Lady Somerton know that her jointure is gone?’ he enquired.

Bragge shook his head. ‘No, my lord.’...

Anzac Day 2014: Remembering Lemnos

Anzac Day 2014 and a particularly personal one for me as I have just returned from a visit (a pilgrimage) to the Gallipoli Peninsula and the Island of Lemnos (or Limnos). As you read this I will have joined the crowds at the Australian War Memorial ... far from the beaches and cliffs of Gallipoli.

The reason for the trip primarily came from an idea of my husband’s to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, E.A. Bottrill (EAB) who served with the 22nd Battalion AIF. EAB was among the second contingent of Australian troops at Gallipoli. EAB’s story is not mine to tell but in the quest to walk in his shadow, DB expressed a wish to visit not only Gallipoli but the small Greek island of Lemnos, which played a crucial role in the Gallipoli campaign, and so off we went.

Why Lemnos?

Lemnos itself lacks the glamour and romance of the southern islands such as Santorini and Crete (and I think I can confidently attest to possibly being the only tourists on Lemnos in late March). It lies in the far north of the Aegean Sea and it is in its geography that you can see its importance, not just in 1915 but in ancient times.  Historically it boasts some of the oldest ruins of a “city” ever found - Poliochni - with close ties to Troy. Guarding the entrance to the Dardanelles,  it lies just sixty miles off the Gallipoli peninsula and Moudros harbour is a large, deep, natural harbour, well concealed from a casual passing ship. It played a small, but crucial role in the Gallipoli campaign of 1915.

  

(Ironically even before DB mentioned a desire to go to Lemnos, I had been researching its role from the perspective of the nurses who served in the Australian hospitals stationed on Lemnos between August 1915 and January 1916.)

The first soldiers landed at the beaches of the Gallipoli peninsula on April 25th 1915. In February of that year, the Greek Government had offered the island of Lemnos, with its deep water harbour, as a base for the naval attack on the Dardanelles (which failed). It was decided to use Lemnos as the staging point for the land attack on the Gallipoli campaign. The geography of Lemnos does not lend itself to large scale habitation, however temporary. It is a dry, rocky and hilly island with a chronic shortage of water but by 21 April, thousands of allied troops were gathered on the island itself or in boats in the massive harbour of Moudros.

Nurses arrival on Lemnos

Originally it was planned to use Lemnos for the lightly wounded troops but early casualties quickly overwhelmed the facilities and it soon became apparent that there was a need for a closer medical facilities. In August 1915 the first Australian nurses (led by the redoubtable Matron Grace Willson) arrived on Lemnos to set up the Field hospital. They found the conditions dire. Wounded men lay on the open ground and lacking any supplies, the nurses had to tear up their own clothes for bandages.

Two areas were set aside for the wounded. The main Australian encampment comprising No. 3 General Hospital and No.2 Stationary Hospital (along with a British and Canadian Hospital) were sited on a promontory known as Turk’s Head (Moudros West). A second encampment was based around the little town of Moudros.

By mid October 4000 cases had passed through No.3 GH: 30% Australian troops, 13% NZ and 57% British and Indian troops. In the two months to October 57,000 sick and 37,000 wounded men were evacuated from Gallipoli. The hospital accommodation was increased to 9000 beds, accommodated in tents. Ships, known as the “black” ships, transported the casualties on to Egypt, Malta and England. In total from August until October 100,000 sick and wounded men left Moudros.

No. 3 General Hospital on Turks Head

The conditions the nurses worked under were atrocious. There was a chronic water shortage, making the washing of soiled linen almost impossible. This in turn led to illness caused by the insanitary conditions. The flies were atrocious and the rations sparse. Once winter came the conditions became even worse, the dust turned to clay so thick the women had to wear army boots. They lived in bell tents that provided inadequate protection against the cold winter wind.

In December 1915, the allies withdrew from Gallipoli. Having survived his Gallipoli experience unscathed, EAB spent several weeks recuperating on Lemnos before being shipped back to Egypt for exercises in the Sinai desert before being sent to the Western Front. The nurses left Lemnos in January 1916 aboard the Oxfordshire, profoundly grateful for comfortable beds, fine china, table linen and decent food. However as one wrote “… we can’t have worse times than we had for the first two months on Lemnos. Still I never regret going there…”*

Today on Lemnos there is nothing to see of the encampments. The only indication of the island’s involvment in the Gallipoli campaign are the two beautifully tended war cemeteries…one at East Moudros and one at Portianos. There you can see the beautifully tended graves not only of those soldiers, Australian, Canadian, New Zealand and Indian but also Egyptian workers. Turk’s Head remains a wild bluff inhabited only by curious sheep.

Site of the Military hospitals on Lemnos 2014

With the centenary of Gallipoli in 2015, the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee has been established and you can read about its activities and the history of Lemnos’ contribution to the Gallipoli campaign on its website. Click HERE or visit them on FACEBOOK. They are raising money to build a proper memorial to the work of the nurses on Lemnos.

Pontias Military Cemetery 2014

*For more information on the World War I nurses, I refer you to THE OTHER ANZACS by Peter Rees. 

Fulfilling a lifetime's dream...

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine

As I was born in colonial East Africa of peripatetic parents, I am afraid travel is in the blood so if you think I have been missing in action for the last few weeks, you will be right. I have been travelling again. My friends now roll their eyes and ask "And where is it this time?" 

The Parthenon

This time it was Greece and Turkey. Primarily the trip was a 'pilgrimage" for both of us.... for my husband, it was to walk in the footsteps of his grandfather and the experience of Gallipoli (more about that next week) and for me it was to visit places I had dreamed of for 40 years.

It's no secret that the little girl in me really wanted to be an archaeologist. Digging up ruins in the Middle East or Europe was all I wanted to do. My father, ever a pragmatist, suggested I study law as "something to fall back on". He was probably right... I have yet to meet a fully  "employed" archaeologist.

The wall of Priam's Troy

As it turned out archaeology as a subject of study did not exist in Australia in the late 1970s (only if you were interested in ancient Australian archaeology which I wasn't) so I had to resort to the second best thing, a study of ancient civilizations. My history Major is in Ancient and Roman History and my Minor is in Classical Studies... and I write books set in the seventeenth century. (In fairness I started out in first year with sixteenth and seventeenth century history but it was so incredibly dry that I gave it away in favour of the classics!). The law degree had to be finished but I had the entry forms for the London School of Archaeology in my hot hand... but then I met a man... and I became a lawyer... and the dream faded. (My father probably heaved a huge sigh of relief!) 

But I have never lost that lust for ruins and finally after nearly 40 years I made it to the sites I had so assiduously studied in my youth. This was real "bucket list" stuff.  As the airport bus wound its way down into central Athens I got my first sight of the Acropolis between the buildings and, dear reader, tears came to my eyes. 

The Lion Gate at Mycenae

I was blown away by my emotional response not only to the Acropolis, but to Mycenae, Epidaurus, Olympia, Delphi, Troy and Ephesus... and all the other sites in between.  I have read and studied Homer's Illiad and Oddyssey and Virgil's Aeneid and there I was standing at the gates of Agamemnon's city or the walls of Priam's Troy.  It was not just the physical sites, the statuary, the vases and the people came to life for me. The Parthenon statues (those NOT in the British Museum!), the Delphic Charioteer, the statue of Zeus... I could go on but I won't. I think the pictures tell it all! Like lines between dots, each step on the journey intersected with another place and time and even my husband who had no background to ancient Greek history, picked up the threads (excellent guides helped of course!)

The Charioteer of Delphis

So many different senses to dwell over... the call of the Muezzin clashing with the bells of churches, the scent of wild chamomile crushed under foot, the taste of a rough wine drunk with a spinach and fetta pastry on a warm day looking out over Athens from a seat on the ancient wall of the city and the nodding scarlet heads of poppies among the worn and weathered stones.

And I got to play the archaeologist... at a crusader castle on the island of Lemnos where bits of broken roof tile, pottery and other "finds" litter the ground. In a country with so many ancient monuments to study and protect, a crusader castle is just a nuisance... In true time team fashion I gathered up the bits and pieces and drew my conclusions - a bit of 14th century pot, a cooking pot with its blackened exterior, roof tile... It was fun to muse and then return my "finds" to the earth.

As my grandmother used to say. "Good memories are like nuts for the winter... to be taken out and treasured in our darker moments."

We all have dreams that may be unfulfilled or places of the heart we must visit. I would love to hear of your experiences or wishes...

Wildflowers among the fallen stones of the ancient city of Athens

 PS And on my travels I met a man who was living my dream. After a lifetime in accountancy, in his retirement he has returned to study archaeology and is going off to dig on Hadrian's Wall over summer. Perhaps... one day...?