My darlings today we have birthday girl Maggie Robinson visiting with us! <3 She was recently in Scotland, but we like her anyway because it’s her birthday. 😉 Maggie was also totally awesome and has not only a giveaway for you, but her own question, so I’ll just leave you in her capable hands! (And remember to wish her a very happy birthday! Maggie I hope you have a brilliant day with lots of cake and ice cream :D)
I’m way past the presents-candles-spanking stage, though I would never turn away a piece of frosted cake. Hey, I’ll eat almost anything with frosting. But I love my birthday anyway, mostly because it’s in the fall. It’s as if a whole season sets itself on fire just for me, turns the sky its bluest ever, insists upon those forgivingly roomy sweaters. I’m still on a “Fall starts the beginning of everything” schedule, even though my school and teaching days are behind me. I get energized by crisp air, crisp apples, crisp leaves. October is the most glorious month, and then it’s all downhill from there, LOL. I live in Maine, where I’m soon to be buried in snow (but it’s great for staying inside and writing!).
I have a new book out too, which makes October even more special. In the Heart of the Highlander is a fun change-of-identity romp, which makes it perfect for Halloween reading. Who doesn’t like to pretend to be something they’re not? And in the birthday gift department, I’m giving readers a chance at a great one—a Harris Tweed handbag worth 77.50 pounds. (That’s about $120.) You can visit my contest page for details, and read the first chapter of the book too if you have time.
I bought the bag in my favorite Highland store, Macnaughtons of Pitlochry. Pitlochry and its Atholl Palace Hotel were the inspirations for the setting of Highlander. We’ve visited the hotel twice, and each time there have been weddings and lots and lots of men in kilts. How can one go wrong?
Scotland is one of my favorite places. It turns out my husband’s paternal side emigrated from there to Nova Scotia in the 1800s. (He tells me the family lore is that they were “thrown out” of Scotland. I can believe it.) When they came to Maine, they changed Robertson to Robinson because they thought it would make American assimilation easier and it sounded “more English.” It makes me laugh, because every time I say my name, people write down Robertson. Just think, I should be even closer to Nora Roberts on the shelf. 😉
So, happy birthday to me and all the Robertson and Robinson clans. Does your family name have a story? Have you ever been thrown out of a country? What’s in your purse that you can’t do without? Answer any or all questions and I’ll give one commenter a copy of In the Arms of the Heiress, the first Ladies Unlaced book!