Wales - my homeland

A couple of nights ago I stopped by at one of my Publisher The Wild Rose Press's Tuesday 'chats'.  I wasn't able to stay long as I'm in  the UK, five hours ahead of Eastern time, and it was past my bedtime. I did promise, however, to post some pictures of Wales, so here they are.  Although I currently live in a small village in England, my heart is still in Wales and its scenery and legends inspired much of my writing.

Wales is a land of waterfalls, and I love waterfalls
This is one of the most famous, at Devil's Bridge.

And this is the bridge itself - which is actually
three bridges, one above the other.

The Graig Goch Dam (Red Dragon Dam) When I was doing
long distance and endurance riding in Wales, part of the course on one of the
rides was down the steep mountain on one side, then right over the dam
to the other side, an amazing experience!

This is the road to my sister's place in Wales where we stay when
we are visiting the family.  You can see the water lying in the
fields - it was a rare rainy day! 😉

Part of the bridleway where I used to ride

The shingle beach 

the harbour

Portmeirion, the Italianate village where the TV seriesThe Prisoner was filmed

Two more pictures of Snowdonia.  I could see the mountain range from
my home in Wales, and one day I looked across at sunset, to see the snow
sweeping down across the mountains like a mist.  This inspired the planet
Nifleheim, which appears in STARQUEST and CHILDREN OF THE MIST

I hope you enjoyed my little tour around some of my favourite parts of Wales - and if you visit the UK, don't forget Wales.  Most people visit the chocolate box villages in England, the rugged scenery and lochs of Scotland and the lovely countryside of Ireland, but forget all about Wales, which has some of the most spectacular scenery!

Highway Cafe Christmas Blog tour

Hi, Merry Christmas - and welcome to the Highway Cafe Christmas Blog Hop!                                                                                                         
(Well, I know it's not actually Christmas yet, but Santa has us reciting those words so often it's become something of a habit!) And actually Christmas is just around the corner and for Santa's elves it's a very, very, very busy time! Oh, I'm Lindy Lou by the way, and my job here at the North pole is putting the manes and tales on rocking horses and brushing them until they're really silky and shiny. I love my job because I've always loved horses and even though these aren't real, you never know if a bit of magical elven dust might bring them to life!

I always have the Nutcracker Suite playing in the background as I work - it's so Christmassy and gets me in the mood! Of course it's hungry work, so I have the occasional snack of Christmas fruit cake, washed down with Christmas mead to keep me going. The time flies and before I know it, it's Christmas and Santa is chuckling away, encouraging us to get all the toys loaded on his sleigh.

Oh, Santa doesn't get to be the only one delivering gifts either.  We're all 'Secret Santas' and have a gift for one of the other elves.  This year my gift is a sack of special carrots and apples for the reindeer, and a big box of chocolates and cookies for Taleisin Elafir, who does such a good job of caring for the reindeer.  I'd also like to give her a free copy of 'Dancing With Fate' if she'd care to take a moment from feeding the reindeer, to pop in and say hello.

I thought you might like a couple of Christmas decorating ideas.  In my little cottage at the North Pole, I love, love, love decorating for Christmas.  Here's one of my windows, and I cover the sill with white artificial snow (cotton wool will do) and throw on a little sparkle.  Next I get all my Christmas woodland animals, some little model houses and Christmas  dolls, angels and a Post Box I was given a few years ago.  I trim the window with coloured fairy lights and edge the display with gold tinsel and some clear fairy lights. In between I dot some pine cones, which I sprayed with with splashes of white paint to look like they're edged with snow. Of course any Christmassy ornaments can be used, they don't have to be the same as mine, just let your imagination run riot!

Another thing I like to do is create a 'teddy bear grotto.  I have a collection of tiny teddy bear figures. I keep them in a glass fronted curio cabinet with a deep display shelf underneath.  At Christmas I cover this shelf with a large sheet of white card and sprinkle it with that sparkly fake snow stuff you can buy in packets. I place a piece of white tinsel all around to keep the 'snow' in place. Then I just place some of my little teddies in the snow and let them play. Again, you could use any small Christmas figures and any alcove or spare bookshelf, It would also work well for a nativity scene.

Just a couple of easy decorating ideas, I'm sure you'll find lots more - and some recipes - on the other elves Blogs so be sure to visit them all. They're listed at the bottom of this page.

Oh - and before you go I'm offering a free copy of either Starquest or my fantasy novella  Dancing With Fate to a randomly drawn commenter on this page. Good Luck!

BELOVED ENEMY (Book3 of the Destiny Trilogy)

What if you had sworn to kill the man responsible for the death of your sister but found yourself falling in love with him instead?

BLURB

Cat Kincaid is obsessed with killing the man she believes is responsible for the torture and death of her sister, but when she eventually catches up with him, survival becomes a greater priority than revenge.

Kerry Marchant, haunted by memories, regret, and self-blame, shields himself from the pain of the past by committing himself totally to the starship, Destiny, of which he is part owner. However, the beautiful, red-haired woman who reminds him of his lost love, and who he suspects is working for a corrupt regime, represents a possible threat not only to the ship, but to his heart.

Marooned on an inhospitable planet, they need to work together to stay alive, fighting not only unknown assailants, but their growing attraction. But how can they learn to trust each other when he has vowed never to get close to a woman again, and she made a solemn pledge to destroy him?

Purchase from Amazon HERE

Join my fellow elves on the follwing blogs taking

 part in this tour: Pinky Twinkleton, Serendipity Sparkles, Candy Cane, Twinkle Bright, Bob, Puddle, Sugarplum Silverfluff, Granny VanElfington, Goth, Sparkle, Annie, Lindy Lou, Taleisin Elafir, Krafty Kelly, Frangelica Tinselbaubles, and Kandy Kane.

findingthewritewords.blogspot.com
http://www.tenastetler.com/my-blog/ 
https://barbaraburkeauthor.wordpress.com/ 
www.writerknapsack.com 
http://msspencertalespinner.blogspot.com/ 
http://www.maureenbonatch.com/blog/ 
http://nancyfraser.ca/wordpress/holiday-blog-hop/
http://www.sorchiadubois.com/ 
http://www.carolhenry.org/ 
http://www.fantasypages.ca 
www.hywelalyn.blogspot.com 
http://casimclean.com/casis-christmas-…cal-mystery-tour/ 
https://kaydenclaremont.wordpress.com/ 
http://mariahlynneauthor.blogspot.com/ 
http://kkweil.blogspot.com 
http://www.clairdelunebooks.co.uk/ 

http://blog.lindacarroll-bradd.com  (participating on Dec 6 only) 

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! http://madmimi.com/signups/196357/join Every new subscriber will get a FREEdownload of my fantasy novella 'Dancing With Fate' (If this doesn't arrive within two days just email me at hywelalyn@btinternet.com)

Earth Escape - Book Tour and #Giveaway

It's always a pleasure to welcome another Science Fiction Author to the Flight Deck. Please welcome Real LaPlaine, and let's find out a little more about him and his book. Don't forget to enter the Rafflecopter contest at the end.

Earth Escape: 

Odyssey to the edge of the universe
By Real Laplaine
Genre: S.F. Adventure

Earth Escape is a science fiction thriller set in the very near future, bordering on a dystopian age where geopolitical powers on Earth are edging toward nuclear war, and meanwhile, the interstellar ship, Evolution, and its captain, Jim Tale and his Ai companion, CASS, are light years away in search of a new home and answers to the dilemma facing mankind. Was it the Big Bang, Divine creation or were we put here for reasons we have forgotten? In this thrilling space odyssey, Jim Tale, a misfit - a man haunted by demons of his past and plagued by these existential questions, faces the most brutal truths about who we are and the creation of the cosmos and the role he must play if he hopes to save Earth from an imminent apocalypse.

Goodreads * Amazon

​

Victor Hugo said ... "A writer is a world trapped in a person."

That about sums it up for me. Besides the fact that I have a passion to unleash a world of ideas inside of me, my purpose for writing is to inspire others, to remind them that good does prevail over bad, to entertain the minds of readers, and to spark fires all over the world which introduce ideas, which incite activism, evolution for change and not an abiding faith to crusty old mediocrity; and ultimately, to repeat the message which sometimes gets lost in the miasma of life - that no dream is too big to realize - no matter what others may say the stars can be reached by those who want to.

Everyone enjoys the escape. The thrill of living vicariously through the eyes and skin of characters who do things we may never do, or who in fact, mirror parts of our own lives, or who taunt us to live up to our ideals, our potentials - to our dreams. I write because it's a thrill, because coffee is cheap and I can sit and drink it all day while conjuring up stories for readers to enjoy. Reading is soul food. It opens new horizons to us, it stretches the mind and it reminds us that no dream is too big to realize."

Amazon * Twitter * Facebook * Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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! http://madmimi.com/signups/196357/join Every new subscriber will get a FREEdownload of my fantasy novella 'Dancing With Fate' (If this doesn't arrive within two days just email me at hywelalyn@btinternet.com)