Blarney Booty!

Sorry to be so very late with this post. Aunty has been so stressed lately that she wouldn't even know her own name if the other Banditas didn't keep yelling it at her!

Can't believe my fantastic launch party was almost two weeks ago...

So without further adieu, the commenter whose blarney carried the day was:
Pat C. with her blarney about the "him-acane!"

And because it was just about impossible to pick only ONE winner, I am awarding another signed copy of The Wild Irish Sea to:

Chris In Hawaii!!
Yes, any guy who will write a limerick to try and win a book for his wife is definitely FULL of BLARNEY! And Aunty means that in the nicest possible way.

Please send Aunty your snail mail info at the bandit email: romancebandits AT gmail DOT com so I can get your autographed books in the mail to you!

BIG THANX to everyone who helped make my launch party so much fun! Sven and the Cabana Boys are still muttering about it, and that's no Blarney.

A Launch Party with Plenty of Blarney!

posted by Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy

Cabana Boys! Break out the blenders and fill the taps with green beer!

LAUNCH DAY IS HERE for The Wild Irish Sea!

It seems like only last July, I was stuck in the depths of the deadline cave trying to FTFD (finish the first draft) of this book. Oh wait, that's exactly what I was doing... Well, I'm thrilled to say that all that hard work has paid off!

It was such a treat for me to be able to return to Ireland to tell another story of suspense, magic, and love. I hope you'll enjoy reading about my characters and their adventures as much as I enjoyed writing about them.

Even though the 'official' release day is July 6th (the same day as another Bandita's book *KOFF*Susan's Money Honey*KOFF), I received my author copies last week (SQUEE! It's even prettier in person), and Amazon is already shipping copies. I haven't seen a copy in my local bookstore yet, but I figure it is in the back room waiting for the clerk who stocks the romance section to put it out.

The reviews have started coming in and so far they have been mostly positive. (Check out The Long and Short of It Reviews, My Book Addiction and More, and The Romance Studio if you want to read a few.) And in case you haven't already heard what the story is about, here's a blurb to entice you into reading more:

The telepathic image of her twin brother Parker fighting for his life sends Amber O’Neill rushing to the rocky shores of Ireland. Desperate to find him, she turns to reclusive local inspector Kevin Hennessey.

His past full of pain, Kevin has withdrawn from the world. But when the rain-drenched American appears on his doorstep with her wild tales of danger, something more than her sensuous beauty makes it impossible for him to turn her away.

The wildness of the sea, the mystery of a selkie prince, and a dangerous band of ruthless smugglers bring two lost souls together in a connection of mind, body, and spirit that can’t be denied.

Now time's a wastin'! Today is for celebrating and we need to get started. I think the Cabana Boys have the first round of drinks ready to go. The gladiators have set up a chocolate fountain in the foyer. And Sven is loosening up his magic fingers for a massage marathon!

It's 5 o'clock somewhere, so raise your glasses of cyber-bubbly and help me toast my new book!
Sláinte! (that's Irish Gaelic for "To Your Health") and Croi follain agus gob fliuch! (A healthy heart and a wet mouth!)

Now no Launch Party in the Lair would be complete without a giveaway, but instead of the usual random selection, I'm going to hold a wee contest.

All true Irishmen (and women!) are born with a gift of the gab. In fact, most are so proficient that Irish "storytelling" has become legendary. Those with the most well-developed and creative abilities are said to have "kissed the Blarney stone" or simply be "full of Blarney." Yes, yer olde Aunty has received such accolades on more than one occasion. Here's an example of what I mean:

Sure and I've not had a decent amount of sleep in 47 days and nights, then. No amount of pills, potions, or other remedies known to mankind have shut my eyes for more that a moment or two, not even a wee drop of medicinal whiskey. Saints in heaven, but a massage with Sven's magic fingers should have helped, but alas no! 'Tis in right desperate straits, I am, but I'm thinking that reading a few pages of Aunty Cindy's latest tome will drop me right off to dreamland.

Now it's YOUR turn my esteemed Banditas and BBs! Tell me why YOU need to win a copy of The Wild Irish Sea. Don't be shy! Lay on the Blarney as thick as you can. And if you can do it with a wee bit o' brogue, so much the better! I'll award the commenter who tickles my fancy the most with an autographed copy of The Wild Irish Sea.

Let the PAR-TAY begin!

First Look at The Wild Irish Sea

posted by Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy

Today is June 18th, which means in 18 more days, my third book The Wild Irish Sea is scheduled to hit bookshelves. Less than three weeks?!?! The reality hasn't quite sunk in yet.

It doesn't feel like that long ago when my editor asked me for "another Irish book," and I was happy to oblige. I had recently watched the beautiful movie The Secret of Roan Inish which was filmed on location on the rugged northern coast of Ireland and I decided I would set my new story there also.

So now I had a setting, the rugged coast of Donegal. But what kind of people would be there? And wouldn't it be more interesting if my main characters were strangers instead of natives? Then all the things they saw and did would be new and fresh. Like those high-prowed row boats I'd read about and seen a few times -- curraghs. How would an American like me handle one of those? An image of a man in a big coat rowing in a rain storm popped into my mind. I knew he wasn't the hero, but who was he?

Ten years ago, my niece gave birth to fraternal twin boys, the first (and so far only) twins in our immediate family. Watching my grandnephews interact with each other (even as infants) sparked my interest in twins and their relationships. After reading a lot about twins, I thought it would be fun to write about them. Oh good, now I knew the man in the boat was the heroine's twin brother, and their names were Amber and Parker O'Neill.

But these two weren't just twins, they were twins with a special secret... all their lives, they had been able to communicate telepathically with each other! Amber and Parker can speak to each other mentally, send each other images, and feel what the other is feeling.

So what if one of them witnesses a murder and now the killers are after him? Because that man in the boat in the rainstorm? He's rowing like crazy, and I'm pretty sure that was a gun shot behind him! YIKES!!! And what are those dark shapes swimming around his boat?!?!

When Amber receives her brother's mental distress call, she rushes to the rocky shores of Donegal to rescue him. But first, she has to find him, and to do that, she'll need help...
Kevin Hennessey held out his hand toward the smoldering turf fire and listened to the wind rattling through the eaves and down the chimney. Rain pinged on the tin roof as the third squall in a week, and by far the strongest, buffeted the lone cottage.

But what did he expect during summer in Donegal, especially in these parts? His old man had lived here nearly ten years when he’d died this spring, and the entire time, he groused to anyone who visited that Malin Head possessed only three kinds of weather--barely tolerable, foul, and more foul
.
A rapping noise interrupted Kevin’s reverie. Had one of the shutters on the front window blown loose? Jaysus but he hoped not. He most decidedly did not want to go outside in the dark and the rain to fix the bloody thing.

The noise came again, louder and unmistakable, and thoroughly improbable. Someone was pounding on the front door. Kevin turned in slack-jawed surprise at the realization.

The house stood at the end of a perpetually muddy lane, an isolated sentinel on the ragged bluff, more than three kilometers from its nearest neighbor. No one ventured out here without an express invitation. ‘Twas the way Declan Hennessey had liked it, and Kevin preferred it the same.

What feckin neddy would be out in a storm like this, then?

He snatched the battery-powered lamp off the end table and strode to the front door to find out. Gripping the light in his left hand, he threw the bolt and eased open the heavy wooden door.

A dripping figure in a yellow rain slicker stumbled forward. Nearly dropping the lamp, he stuck out an arm and the woman steadied herself. He knew the stranger was a woman the moment her slender fingers gripped him, a Yank judging from her muddy jeans and trainers.

She jerked away from him as if burned, her dark eyes enormous in her pale face, wet hair plastered against her head.

“Are you a policeman?” she asked, her accent confirming his assumption that she was indeed American. “They told me at the pub that a policeman lived at the end of this road.”

...“My father was constable of our village in County Derry,” Kevin answered gruffly. “But he’s been dead these past three months.”

“I’m sorry, but are you Mr. Hennessey’s son? They told me you were a policeman too.” The woman’s voice crackled with tension, and deep shadows purpled the skin beneath her eyes. “I need your help. My brother’s in trouble and I have to find him!”

Will Kevin help Amber find her missing brother Parker? And what other adventures await them? I'm afraid you'll have to wait 18 more days to find out.

Do you know what the "secret" is in The Secret of Roan Inish? Have you read other books with twins? Please let your Aunty know if you liked them or not. And while we are on the subject of books, what is lurking near the top of your TBR pile?