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These are mountains in Wales like the Mynydd y Graig,  up which Rhiannon and Sion fled in the prologue to THE MATCHMAKER'S MARE

A difficult ride in fine weather - but there was a snowstorm coming which made their journey even more dangerous...

How dangerous is told in the Prologue of The Matchmaker's Mare

available for  PRE-ORDER NOW

#BOOKQW

It's  #Book Quote Wednesday again. Today's word is #LONG

In this snippet, taken from the prologue to THE MATCHMAKER'S MARE, Rhiannon is fleeing from an arranged marriage, and racing to find her lover, the gypsy Sion.

Publication Date 5th May 2025

NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER

HAPPY EASTER MONDAY - and another Welsh legend, the Welsh Water Horse

Hello dear readers, I hope you had a lovely Easter and enjoy Easter Monday too!

Only another fourteen days until the release of The Matchmaker's Mare, I'm so excited! It's available now for pre-release on Amazon (and the paperback is reduced at the moment)

After the tale of Rhiannon, the goddess of the horse, which I told you about a few weeks ago, I thought I'd mention another of the mythical creatures of Wales, the Ceffyl Dŵr, literally translated into English this means the 'Water Horse'.

It is most commonly considered a counterpart to the Scotish Kelpie, but has also been compared to the  the Irish puca. The ceffyl Dŵr appears as a white or grey horse, or sometimes black, with a white mane and tail, sometimes glowing or wings. It is said to inhabit mostly mountain pools and waterfalls, although it has been known to frequent rivers and the sea as well. 

Depending on which region of Wales mentions the stories, the Ceffyl Dŵr was believed to shapeshift, as well as having the power of flight. For example, in North Wales, it is represented as being rather formidable with fiery eyes and a dark foreboding presence, whereas in South Wales is seen as merely mischievous. She also is known to walk on her hind legs and disappear down the well in the graveyard of St Illtyds church in Oxwich Bay, or to simply evaporate into the sea mist. Over the centuries there have been many sightings of Ceffyl Dwr mostly around St Illtyds church.

Although it appears solid, it can evaporate into a mist. In one legend the Ceffyl Dŵr leaps out of the water to trample and kill lone travellers. In another legend, the Ceffyl Dŵr rises from the sea and entices the unwary traveler to ride her, then takes to the  air, and evaporates, and the unfortunate rider falls to his death.

Hmm, rather glad not to have met any horses quite like that, in real life!

Today is the COVER REVEAL for my forthcoming paranormal equestrian romance The Matchmaker's Mare.. *Checkout the OfficialCover Reveal today, 19th March!) 

And here it is - I love it, and it's just what I envisaged myself.  Many thanks to my cover artist Teddi Black of the Wild Rose Press

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#bookqw

#bookqw Another snippet from the forthcoming publication of THE MATCHMAKER'S MARE to be released on 5th May 2025. I'm participating in #bookqw, the idea is that a word is given for each week of the month and authors post a quote from one of their books, containing that word, on a Wednesday. This week's word is 'MIDDLE' and this is a snippet containing the word.

Who knew a stray pony and a haunted cottage could bring two wounded hearts together?

For insider news and subscriber-only info, subscribe to my occasional Newsletter. I promise not to spam and your in-box will only see an email from me every 3 or 4 months or so - unless of course I have something really Newsworthy to share!
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WELSH FOLK TALES - RHIANNON

As  a horse lover, and with my latest book THE MATCHMAKER'S MARE' soon to be realeased, with one of the main characters being called Rhiannon, I couldn't resist telling you about the horse goddess Rhiannon, depicted in the Mabinogion, a collection of Welsh folk tales.

Rhiannon was married to Pwyll, the Lord of Dyfed. When Pwyll first saw her, she appeared as a beautiful woman dressed in gold, riding a magnificent white horse. Rhiannon managed to outrun Pwyll for three days, and then when he shouted to her to stop, allowed him to catch up.

When he said he'd fallen in love with her and wanted to marry her, she scolded him for not telling her  to stop before, and making his poor horse work so hard. Then she said she'd be happy to marry him, because it would save her from marrying Gwawl, who she despised and who had tricked her into an engagement. Rhiannon and Pwyll conspired together to deceive Gwawl and thus Pwyll won her as his bride. 

Three years after they married,  Rhiannon gave birth to a son, but he disappeared at night while his nursemaids, who were supposed to have been watching over him, fell asleep. Frightened of the consequences, the nursemaids smeared the blood of a dead puppy on the face of their sleeping queen. When she awoke, Rhiannon was accused of killing and her son and eating him. As penance, she was made to sit outside the castle walls, and tell passers by what she had done. Pwyll, however, stood by her,  refusing to send her away or have her more severely punished.

The newborn child had been in fact found by Teyrnon, the lord of Gwent-Is-Coed. He was a horse lord

whose beautiful mare gave him a foal every May Eve, but  each year. the foal would disappear. Before his mare had her next foal he took her into his house and sat vigil with her. After her foal was born he saw a monstrous claw trying to take the newborn foal through the window, so he slashed at the monster with his sword, before rushing outside. He found the monster gone, and a human baby lying by the door. He and his wife cared for the boy as their own, naming him Gwri Wallt Euryn (Gwri of the Golden Hair). The child grew rapidly, and had a great affinity for horses. As the boy grew, Teyrnon who once served Pwyll as a courtier, recognised his resemblance to his father. He was an honourable man, and so he returned the boy to the Dyfed royal house.

Rhiannon is also connected to three mystical birds. The Birds of Rhiannon (Adar Rhiannon) appear in the Second Branch, in the Triads of Britain, and in Culhwch ac Olwen. In the latter, the giant Ysbaddaden demands them as part of the bride price of his daughter. They are described as "they that wake the dead and lull the living to sleep."

Cover Reveal 19th March

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Monday's Welsh Legend - The Story of Blodeuwedd

I hope you enjoy today's legend. The story of Blodeuwedd (Blaw - dow- ith) is one of the legends belonging to the Mabinogion, a famous collection of old Welsh legends.

A woman named Arianrhod had two sons, one whom was named Lleu Llaw Gyffes. She had a dislike for Lleu and put three curses on him: that he would not receive a name unless it was given by her, he would not receive his armour unless from her, and the last curse was that he would never be allowed to marry a mortal woman.

When he grew to manhood, Lleu called upon his two uncles, who were the wizards, Gwydion and Math,  to help him find a wife.

With the  chant "Take the flowers of the oak, and the flowers of the broom, and the flowers of the meadowsweet, from those they conjured up the fairest and most beautiful maiden anyone had ever seen.They created a wife for Lleu Llaw Gyffes out of flowers and  baptized her, naming her Blodeuwedd, meaning 'flower face'. Blodeuwedd was beautiful and innocent; immediately Lleu fell in love with her and the two were married.

After she had become Lleu's bride, and they had feasted, Math said, “I will give the young man the best Cantrev to hold.The Cantrev of Dinodig.” The place was a palace in a spot called Mur y Castell,the old name for Tomen-y-Mur  near Traswfynydd There Lleu and Blodeuwedd reigned, and were beloved by all.

Not long after the marriage, Lleu left Blodeuwedd alone in their castle at Tomen y Mur  as he needed to visit his uncles on business. She became bored and lonely, Then one day a hunting party approached the castle, led by Gronw Pebyr, the lord of nearby Penllyn. He told Blodeuwedd that his party was looking for somewhere to stay and Blodeuwedd invited them to stay in the castle. She became infatuated with Gronw Pebyr and the two began an affair. They decided to kill Lleu, so she and Gronw could be together. However, Lleu couldn’t be killed in any normal way,
not during the day or night,  neither riding nor walking, not clothed and not naked, nor by any weapon lawfully made.

When Gronw and his hunting party left and Lleu returned, Blodeuwedd pretended to be worried about his safety and asked him what method could be used to kill him,   He revealed  that he could only be killed at dusk, wrapped in a net with one foot on a cauldron and one on a goat and with a spear forged for a year during the hours when everyone was at mass. Blodeuwedd went to Gronw Pe

byr with the information and they arranged his death. Gronw Pebyr  began working on a spear immediately.

Exactly one year later, Blodeuwedd convinced him to demonstrate how impossible it would be for him to be in the position where he could be killed, by chance, and when he did so, her lover Goronwy leapt out and struck with the spear he had been forging for one year during the sacred times of mass. Because Lleu  had one foot on the side of a metal cauldron  and the other on the back of a goat, Gronw’s plan was successful. But what Lleu had not told Blodeuwedd was that he could not lose his life. Instead, as soon as the spear hit him, Lleu turned into an eagle and flew away into the forest.

After hearing the news, the  wizard Gwydion set out to find Lleu. He found him in a tree in the forest nearby, living off the meat of a wild boar lying at the footof the tree. Because of his magic powers, Gwydion was able to turn Lleu back into a man.

Lleu set out to find Gronw Pebyr and Blodeuwedd. Lleu killed Gronw Pebyr, but  Blodeuwedd had run to the forest.  Gwydion managed to corner her and as punishment for what she had done, he turned her into a tawny owl, telling her that every other bird would fear her and thus she would have to live the rest of her life in solitude. 

The name of Lleu and Blodeuwedd's castle in the tales, Mur y Castell, is  thought to be an early reference to the site where later the Roman fort of Tomen y Mur was built, near Trawsfynydd, Snowdonia, in North Wales..

Who knew a haunted cottage and a stray pony could bring two wounded hearts together?

 

For insider news and subscriber-only info, subscribe to my occasional Newsletter. I promise not to spam and your in-box will only see an email from me every 3 or 4 months or so - unless of course I have something really Newsworthy to share!
I also promise that I never have and never will share your information or email address with anyone or any organisation.  http://madmimi.com/signups/196357/join