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Vikings
They came from the cold north on ships dancing on the waves. For two hundred and fifty years the people of Europe trembled at the name “Viking.” “From the fury of the Northmen, deliver us, O Lord” was one of the prayers of the Christian churches. Yet we owe them a great deal, these fearless and skilled sailors. Our very language is filled with their words and historical and geographical names. The English-speaking nations are bound to these colorful peoples.
A woman's passion--A Viking's fury......
She was a beautiful young Irish woman, he was a bold Viking--mortal enemies drawn together by an emotion much stronger than hatred. Despite the differences of their worlds their love would overcome incredible odds.
GENTLE WARRIOR (Sequel to FLAME FROM THE SEA): A shipwrecked Viking; A bronze skinned beauty: destined to find love is the greatest discovery of all…..
The Pendants of Ragnar
RAGNAR
Ragnar Haraldsson was handsome, brave, intelligent, and daring. He would emerge out of the mists of a violent age to become a Viking leader of great renown and would unite his people. Touching on the shores of Britain, Scotland and then Ireland, he will not only find love but will march into legend as Ragnar Longsword.
Young Ragnar Haraldsson, could hardly wait to grow to manhood so that he could be as brave as his Viking father. One day he would be jarl and exchange his wooden sword for one that was real. Little did he know that day would come much sooner than he could have realized, nor that his childhood would come to a brutal end because of an enemy’s brutality. In order to escape death he is forced to hide out and become a mercenary until he can at last come face to face with the man who murdered his life and stole his childhood.
Ragnar’s women were as remarkable as he…. Cynnefed: the healer who saved his life and was his first love. Flora: daughter of a Highland chieftain with the gift of second-sight. Tara: the female bard with the voice of an angel, and Nissa: daughter of the man who killed Ragnar’s family.
OUTCAST
From the Hebrides and Ireland, to the shores of Iceland, a search is underway to find the three sons of Ragnar Longsword, the daring Viking jarl whose bold raids and conquests of the heart are already legend. To each of his lovers Ragner had given a pendant, set with a jewel from his Viking sword--to hang around each “son’s” neck when they were born. Now those pendants are the only key to his quest.
In Scotland the quest begins, bringing together two brave and determined lovers, a half Viking, half Scots highlander of the clan MacQuarie of Ulva and a Viking who has been branded as an outcast.
CONQUEROR
Swarming out of their longships in an ever-growing host, the Vikings sought not just to plunder but to conquer and carve out vast territories to rule. Amidst this turmoil a search is underway to find the sons of Ragnar Longsword, the daring Viking jarl whose bold raids and conquests of the heart were already legend. To each of his lovers he has given a pendant set with jewels from his Viking sword to hang around his child’s neck when each is born. Now those pendants are the only key to the quest.
In Wessex the quest continues, linking a Viking once betrayed and sold as a slave, with the greatest prize of all, the English daughter of his greatest enemy.
EXPLORER
The Magyars were derived from tribes loosely named Ugri or Igurs (hence ogre). They had a strong infusion of Hun and Turkish blood but spoke a language closely related to their relatives the Finns. They were hunters and warriors, who fished in winter and like the Vikings, made a profit from the slave market. When they were captured they were likewise sold into slavery in many of the slave markets of the ancient world, including Ireland and the Russ (Russia) where part of this story takes place.
Woven into the fabric of these happenings the search continues to find the last son of Ragnar Longsword, the daring Viking jarl whose name is already legend. Will the last pendant reveal the whereabouts of Ragnar’s long lost son?
In Ireland the third quest begins, linking a man with a mysterious past, who has been raised in a monastery school, with a daring Magyar slave who is determined to escape her circumstances at any price.
"Gripping Beast" Pendant
There was a great deal of imagery and symbolism in the Viking world and unfortunately the meaning of the imagery is now lost to us. It is assumed that many symbols have religious myths behind them. Most common is the serpent biting its own tale, which is also common to many cultures and is a cyclical image that implies that all things run in a rotation sequence and return to where they begin. This is also true of the rugged, forceful and spirited gripping beast, an apt symbol for the Vikings.
The “gripping beast” motif appealed to the Vikings and remained an element used in Norse art for over a hundred and fifty years. The chief features of the gripping beast are its paws that clutch the borders around it, parts of its own anatomy, or neighboring animals. Often it is depicted with the front paws clutching or gripping the back paws. At times the animal has bulging eyes or a Cheshire cat grin, and a bear-like face with big ears. It may possibly have been an amulet that brought good luck. To Ragnar Haraldsson it brought protection from death and the opportunity to pursue adventure and power.
Viking Legacy
The Vikings were frightening, yet there was also much to admire about them. Motivated by a need to find new trade routes and suitable lands—their own land had a harsh climate and rocky soil—they colonized new territories, traded over seemingly impossible distances, fought bravely with daring spirit, and established themselves intimately in a series of societies. Their achievements were nothing less than spectacular. The daring Viking navigation of so many years ago has been a source of wonder to those who came after them. Their explorations by sea reached as far south as the Mediterranean and North Africa and westwards across the Atlantic to America.
The Scottish Clans
The MacLeods vs the MacDonalds
An aura of adventure and romance clings to the distinctive way of life of the Highland clans. It was said that out of the Celtic myths and mists the Irish Celts came to settle in the highlands and islands of Scotland, bringing with them a powerful perception of their racial kinship and blood-ties.
The MacLeod's most treasured heirloom is a tattered silk banner called the "fairy flag", said to have been given to a MacLeod husband by his wife before she returned to fairyland after twenty years of marriage.
Niall MacDonald is determined to prove himself brave enough to become the tanist of the MacDonalds and his uncle’s successor. He intends to go by boat, traveling the waters in the disguise of a fisherman, and lay claim to the MacLeod’s daughter and the tattered silk banner that because of superstition is the MacLeod’s source of courage. Little does he know that he will soon be caught in a trap of his own making, bartering his heart and his soul.
Can Caitlin MacLeod forgive the man who stole her heart and her pride? Will Niall claim his happiness and win back the woman he treasures above all others……
The Campbells vs the MacQuaries
Amid the ancient splendor of the lochs and glens, Ian of Clan Campbell and Brianna of Clan MacQuarie were willing to battle for their love against a twisted vengeance-- nursed in bitter hatred for nearly twenty years.
It seemed as if the MacQuaries and Campbells would always be at war. The price of peace--the leader of the MacQuarie Clan was to give up one of his twin daughters in marriage to the Campbell heir. Lachlan had decided that his gentle daughter Glenna would be the Campbell heir’s bride, but when she tearfully confided to her sister, Brianna that she was in love with the clan’s bard, Brianna offered to take her sister’s place. Little did the Campbells know that they would get much more than they had bargained for.
Ian Campbell was anxious to prove his valor, bravery and daring. He would travel to the MacQuarie stronghold and bring back Robbie Campbell’s bride. Falling in love was not part of his plan, nor did he realize when he kissed a red-haired beauty on the shores of Loch na Keal that their destinies would be changed forever—for the legend of their love would sing through the ages.
The Camerons vs the Macintoshes
SECOND SIGHT: Often called “the fey” (an dara sealladh) is a phenomenon of those with Scottish, Hebridean, or Irish heritage. It is a sixth sense—the ability to perceive images or knowledge of events past or present, including the death of someone who is either close or far away.
In the misty highlands, Shona of Clan MacKinnon felt isolated and alone. Sent by her father to live with another clan for the sake of an alliance, she soon gave her heart to dark-haired Colm Cameron. She dreamed of becoming his bride and finding happiness at Castle Tor. Little did she know that Colm’s brother, Reid, who coveted everything his brother possessed, would want her for his own.
Colm Cameron was anxious to prove his courage, bravery and daring. Falling in love was not part of his plan, nor did he realize when he kissed a tawny-haired beauty beneath a silvery moon that his life would soon be endangered.
It didn’t take her mystical powers for Bánflùr to become aware of a twisted game of vengeance that marked the handsome stranger she had seen in the forest. Even though he was one of the ‘others’ she felt her life somehow entwined with his. Could she warn him in time or would he become just another ghost that would join the others in haunting the castle, the moors, the woodlands and her dreams?
Africa - The Mysterious Continent
Grab interest
Africa brings to mind jungles, rain forests, wild animals, dangerous rivers and a colorful and dynamic people. It is a country of tangled vines and thick foliage, said to have birds as bright as butterflies and butterflies as big as birds. Because the interior was so hard to penetrate, little was known of it for many centuries. It came to be called the "Dark Continent".
Europeans began exploring interior Africa in the 18th century. Unfortunately it became an area that was greatly exploited. Several major countries at one time or another held colonies or territories there, partitioning the land to their specifications.
Africa drew slave traders to its shores, mercenaries, soldiers as well as those people of a more peaceable nature. Doctors came to heal and relieve suffering, scholars to show a better life and missionaries touched upon Africa's shores hoping to bring the word of God. Journalists whetted Victorian England's appetite for more news from the mysterious continent. Daring explorers brought Africa to the attention of America and Europe in the 19th century.
A Mismatched Pair.......
Like the shadow of a huge beast waiting to entrap its prey, the outline of “the dark continent” rose up in the early morning mists. Dr. Amanda Jane Lawton had come to this land of fierce exotic animals, dangerous vine-infested jungles and unexplored rivers, to find her lost missionary father. Now as she waited for the boat that would take her up the Congo she was having second thoughts—about the journey, the bad weather, and the wisdom of putting her life in the hands of a man she had never even met.
Captain Dante Roth was a man who valued his solitude and was determined to live his life just the way he wanted to. Adventure. Travel. Exploring. Freedom. That was what life on the river gave him. He would never have agreed to take some doctor up the river on his boat—the Dante’s Desire—if he didn’t need the money. In his mind he pictured Dr. A. J. Lawton as some paunchy, pompous, bespectacled old reprobate with a face frozen into a perpetual frown. Little did he know he was in for a big surprise!
The English-born-and-bred doctor—the stubborn, unshaven, determined boat captain—a mismatched pair of traveling companions who seemed to be at odds over everything until they surrendered to their untamed desires in the steamy wilds of the jungle.
A Beautiful Land of Mystery
River of Passion takes place on the River Congo and tells the story of a man whose hunger for adventure has drawn him to the remote areas of the heart-shaped continent of Africa. Hired to guide a woman doctor down the river in search of her missionary father, he finds something infinitely more valuable than gold.