The winner of my birthday present is housemouse88

Please contact me at brwkrw83@yahoo.com with an address where you would like your present sent.

Thanks,

Hanna

Another Year Gone By. How Quickly They Fly.

Well, I have nearly made it through another year. And what a year it has been!

I sold a trilogy. How great does that feel? Dancing on the sidewalk great. Spinning in circles great. Doing cartwheels great (Okay so I didn’t do a cartwheel. Never could. LOL.) I went through rewrites with a fabulous editor, Amanda Barnette, at The Wild Rose Press. Thanks to her, I have a wonderful book, Widow’s Peak, coming out on September 23^rd.

 I met a lot of great people. New colleagues. New friends. New family.

I have attended a conference or two, bonding with other authors from around the world. I have joined new groups around Portland, adding friends that I see regularly and I have renewed and redefined old friendships as well. I have added new people to my circle. People who are more like family than friends.

I took a trip to Wales! I couldn’t have been happier than when I was driving around lost in the Welsh countryside. The Welsh were all so friendly, helping an American find her way though rolling hills and ancient forests. 

I saw dozens of castles, including Cilgerran Castle, the setting for book two of my trilogy, Kissed By A Rose. I drove around all day and blogged at night. 

Now, I am honing my writing skills, finishing up Kissed By A Rose, and starting to think about book three, Until the End of Time.

In promoting Widow’s Peak, I have met all of you readers and writers, fans of Romance. You encourage me to keep writing and I promise to give you the best book possible.

On Friday, I will begin another year. I hope it will be as exciting as this year has been.

Tell me about the highlight of your year and I’ll enter you in my birthday contest to win this gorgeous pewter and green onyx Celtic Knotwork Necklace.

 

The Beltane Fire stones have found a home with Staci

Congratulations Staci! Please contact me at brwkrw83@yahoo.com with an address where you would like your prize sent. May your home and hearth be blessed throughout the year.

Hanna

Bright Fire-Beltane

Deprived of root and branch and rind, 

Yet flowers I bear of every kind: 

And such is my prolific power, 

They bloom in less than half an hour

Who am I? 

I have to say this is my favorite time of year. Even if it weren’t almost time for my birthday, and Mother’s Day wasn’t just around the corner, I would still be happy, because it is time for Beltane. 

Beltane is my favorite holiday. It heralds the advent of summer, the time of growth. Beltane is the third of the four major holidays in earth based belief systems. Celebrated either on May Eve (April 30th) or May Day (May 1), Beltane, along with its counterpart Samhain (October 31st), divides the Wheel of the Year into its two main seasons, summer and winter.

There are countless May festivities. The making of May Dolls can be traced all the way back to the Roman celebration of the goddess Flora. The Mummers’ play directly descends from traditions of ancient Greece. In pre-Christian Europe, the crowning of the Queen of the May was the highlight of a young maiden’s year. And as late as the eighteenth century, on the Isle of Man, the Queen of the May and the Queen of Winter met in mock battle for the rite to rule the season. 

 May is the time when magical creatures like fairies and gnomes come out to play and work their magic, growing flowers and fruits and bringing bounty to us non-magicals. Many cultures take the time during the May celebrations to encourage the bounty. Herds of livestock were driven between the Beltane bonfires to bless them and make them fruitful. Taking a bit of the Beltane flame to kindle the fire in your home hearth brought blessings and bounty to your home.

Did you know that the hobbyhorse is a creature of the May? The original hobbyhorse was a man dressed in a stylized horse costume who rode out to greet the summer. This festival usually started at the tavern (as all good festivals do) and the horse rode about town giving his blessing to women. A blessed woman who was single would marry during the year and a married woman would have a baby within the year. 

I suppose the most famous May tradition is the Maypole. 

Deprived of root and branch and rind,
Yet flowers I bear of every kind: 

And such is my prolific power, 

They bloom in less than half an hour.

This is how Jonathan Swift described the Maypole. 

The symbol of the return of the spirit of vegetation and the renewal of life, the Maypole was traditionally topped with a wreath representing the fertile power of Nature. Ribbons, an ancient protection talisman, were attached to the pole to ensure the safety of the new season’s growth. The traditional Maypole Dance is both circular and spiral in nature. Male and female dancers circle in and out crossing their ribbons over each other as they go around. It’s not as easy as you may think (Believe me, I know from personal experience).  

 

In old times, Beltane often ended in a great drinking festival followed by an orgy in honor of the fertility goddess who blessed the land. As Christianity moved through Europe, things got toned down quite a bit. In some places, it even became illegal to put up a Maypole. Yet, in most areas, the customs of May celebrations never died out. In many Celtic lands, the Beltane traditions have been maintained in an unbroken line from ancient days to the present.  

These days, more and more communities in the UK, Canada and the US are holding Beltane Celebrations. If you have the inclination, find a Beltane Festival near you. They are great fun and nearly all are calm enough that you can take the kids along, but check with the coordinating group to make sure. A couple here and there still do end in the ancient style (orgiastic).

Leave a comment about any May experience you’ve had (attending Beltane, meeting with fairies, marching in a May Day Parade, Cinco de Mayo, anything that happened in May) and I will enter you in this week’s contest to win this bag of fiery stones (Amber, Red Tiger's Eye, Citrine, Bifurcated Jasper, Pyrite, and Red Jaspar). 

The winner of the Dragonfly Trinket Box is...

PhyllisC. 

Phyllis please contact me at brwkrw83@yahoo.com with an address where you would like your prize sent.

Thanks to everyone for your wonderful comments.

Hanna 

Rose City Romance Writers 2009 Reader's Luncheon

Last Saturday, the Rose City Romance Writers, the Portland Oregon chapter of Romance Writers of America, held their annual Reader’s Luncheon. Each year we donate the profits from the event to a worthy organization that promotes adult literacy. This year we chose The Portland Literacy Council.

Our guest speaker was best-selling author, Lucy Monroe. Since 2003 she has published over 40 books with Harlequin Presents, Berkley , Kensington Brava and Samhain Press  among others. She shared with us a moving speech on how Romance is Educational Inspirational and Entertaining. In a year when our industry is shrinking, our genre is not just strong, it’s growing. 

And not just more women are reading romance, but more men as well. Nearly 22% of male readers, now admit to reading romance. (I think they always did, but are more willing to admit it these days.)  

 

In a time when everything is taking a downturn, Lucy reminded us that we don’t just entertain, we give hope. More people are turning to the Romance genre to get the feeling of hope that there can be a happy ending. That’s enough reason for me to keep writing, and I’m sure for my talented fellow Rose City Roses as well.

The Portland Literacy Council helps many of the 12,000 adults in the Portland area who can’t read, by finding and supporting tutors willing to help them learn to read. The Council also has a program that helps prepare newly literate adults to take the GED and a scholarship program to help pay the testing fees if that person is unable. Lucy Monroe graciously agreed to make a considerable donation to the Portland Literacy Council Scholarship fund. Thank you, Lucy, for stepping forward to lead the way in tough times.

I attended this luncheon last year and had a wonderful time, but this was my first year as an actual published author. I was so excited. That's me grinning from ear to ear, sitting next to smash hit debut author Delilah Marvelle. Even though I didn’t yet have a book, I signed my promotional materials and I made a special limited edition $15 Visa gift card with the cover of Widow’s Peak on it. I only made 50 and each comes with an autographed special edition greeting card. For each one purchased I am donating $5.00 to the Portland Literacy Council. If you would like to purchase one of these special keepsakes, please contact me at brwkrw83@yahoo.com.

This week’s prize is a bit special so the contest involves a little bit of research. Name two heroes and their heroines from any of Lucy’s “Agents", "Mercenaries", or "Bad Boys” series.

 

You can find a list of her extensive catalog on her website at www.lucymonroe.com. Leave a comment on this post with any two sets of hero and heroine and I will enter your name in this week’s contest to win this beautiful Jeweled Dragonfly Filigree Trinket Box that I got while I was in Wales. Contest ends at 11:59pm on Tuesday, April 28^th.

 

Make sure that I can contact you either through your profile or by leaving an e-mail address. The winner will be announced next Wednesday.

Hanna.

The winner is...

The winner of the Faberge style egg is Kaye Manro. 

The winner of the Dragon Package is Raonaid Luckwell. (I guess being born in the year of the fire dragon does help.)

Congratulations ladies! Please contact me at brwkrw83@yahoo.com with an address where you would like your prize sent.

Thanks for following and commenting at Never Too Late For Love

Hanna