Hi, everyone! Today I am very excited to have a special guest here at the blog.  🙂  Fabulous author Helen Scott Taylor is here to talk Celtic Magic with us–and one very lucky commenter will receive an autographed copy of Helen’s new book, THE PHOENIX CHARM.  Thanks for joining us, Helen!

Celtic Magic.

Thank you Cynthia for having me as a guest today. I’m delighted to be here.

I’m a great lover of all things Celtic. As I live in England, I’m surrounded by ancient ruins and other Celtic memorabilia, so I’m in the ideal place to indulge my interest. I based the fantasy world of my Magic Knot Fairies’ series on Celtic mythology and have used areas rich in Celtic myth and legend to set my stories. I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Dublin and the Wicklow Mountains of Ireland where part of The Magic Knot is set, and Wales where part of The Phoenix Charm is set. This summer I spent two weeks visiting castles and other historic sites in Scotland to do research for my third book, The Ruby Kiss that will be out at the end of 2010.

Two of the most beautiful aspects of Celtic heritage are the intricate symbols and designs. When I visited Ireland, I took a tour around an ancient monastery and graveyard. The place was magical, full of beautifully decorated Celtic crosses. We also have Celtic crosses on Dartmoor in South West England a few miles from where I live.

The shape of the Celtic Knot gave me the fundamental idea on which my Magic Knot Fairies’ fantasy world is based. In my series, The Magic Knot is a magical pendant similar to a Celtic Knot possessed by every person with fairy blood. The three linked rings symbolise mind, body, and spirit. Lovers give their Magic Knot into the safekeeping of their soul mate—the ultimate demonstration of trust and commitment that binds them together in mind, body, and spirit for life.

Celtic symbols also gave me story ideas in the second book, The Phoenix Charm. My heroine is a water nymph. She has a sensual allure that her family were ashamed of, so they made her hide her natural gift by binding it with Celtic symbols painted on her skin. My heroine Cordelia has six Celtic symbols drawn on her back and mirrored on her front. These cover the energy centers of her body (also known as chakras in traditional Indian medicine).

The Celtic symbol of the maze traditionally marks the entrance to the Underworld, so this appears in the book marking the entrance to the Welsh Fairy King’s domain, as in Welsh Celtic mythology, he is also King of the Underworld.

My favorite piece of jewelry is a Celtic cross set with abalone shell that I bought when I visited Ireland to research my first book, before it was published. I’m convinced the cross brings me luck. Do you have any jewelry or keepsake that you think brings you luck?

To find out more about my contemporary fantasy series and to read excerpts, please visit www.helenscotttaylor.com.

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Thank you, Helen! And, hey, here’s some more info on Helen’s new release:

He’s Pure Temptation.

Cordelia has sworn she’ll abstain from looking into Michael’s future—particularly when the image in the gilded smoke of her divination mirror shows him half naked. Yet she can’t resist watching the sexy rascal slowly running his hand down his ribs, over his abdomen, flicking open the button on his jeans with a little flourish like a magician performing a trick.

She’s Trying To Resist.

Respectable wise woman Cordelia restrains her secret water nymph sensuality with the Celtic symbols painted on her skin. But Michael’s powerful fairy glamour leaves her breathless, off balance, struggling for control. When Gwyn ap Nudd, the Welsh King of the Underworld, steals away Michael’s infant nephew, Cordelia must work with him to save the child. But how can she trust her instincts with Michael tempting her to explore the hidden elemental depths of her nature and insisting that she believe in the power of…The Phoenix Charm.

I’m hopping around the Internet a bit today.  The great ladies at Southern Sizzlers interviewed me (thanks, ladies!), and today is also my day to post over at The Bradford Bunch (psst…giving away a free book at the Bunch!). If you get a chance, come by and visit me on the web!  Have a great day!

MIDNIGHT’S MASTER has been nominated for a CAPA!  Thanks so much to everyone at The Romance Studio!

Is the year really at an end already?  Wow, this year has truly flown by.  (I need time to slow down a bit for me.)  December 31st is here, and I haven’t even made my resolutions for 2010 yet.  Gah!

I did some digging and found my resolution post from last year.  This is what I said I wanted to accomplish for 2009:

1.  Four novels. I can do this. I know I can.

2. One novella. I love writing novellas, especially after I’ve written a 90,000+ page manuscript. It is such a nice change of pace for me.

Did I do this?  YES!!!  I did write four novels, I did write one novella, and, actually, I’m 300 pages into another novel (one that I have to finish my Jan. 15 so I’m gonna be a busy writing chick).

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to branch into a new sub-genre in 2009.  I love romantic suspense, so I was very happy to write those stories (and DEADLY FEAR, my first romantic suspense with GCP, will be out in August of 2010).  I was also thrilled to keep writing my paranormals. Oh, I do love those monsters and men.

So as I look ahead to 2010, my writing goals really will not change much.  I’ll still aim for

1. Four novels

2. One novella

But I’ll also branch out a bit and add a few more resolutions, particularly one that focuses on reading. You see, my reading time has plummeted. At one point, I had a romance book club, but, very sadly, I haven’t been able to participate in that club in a while.  I LOVE reading my romances, so I’m making it a resolution to:

3. Read a book every two weeks.

Sure, this may not seem like a lot to you, but, I was once a woman who read a book a day.   Does that tell you how my writing time has dwindled?  Now, I’m a hoarder. I buy the books, keep them in an enormous TBR pile, then read straight for two or three days to catch up.  My goal is to space out that reading.

I also have a goal to:

4. Travel more.

🙂  I like to travel.

There we go.  A semi-list for me.

What are your resolutions for 2010?  Please, share!!! And have a safe and happy new year’s celebration!

Hunting season is now open!!  ETERNAL HUNTER should be on the shelf of a bookstore near you!  (And if you should head into the store and you don’t see the book, just ask your friendly bookseller for help locating it–cause you don’t want to leave empty-handed, do you?  No way!! And I sure don’t want that for you!)

Here’s the blurb for your reading fun:

Cynthia Eden delves into the dark realms of the Others, where desires and dangerous games await the unsuspecting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Assistant DA Erin Jerome has a secret. Make that two. One: She’s not entirely human–she’s Other, desperately trying to keep her supernatural strength under wraps. Two: she’s got a killer stalking her–an Other rogue set on “gifting” her bloody corpses, not to mention nights lying awake in terror. Small wonder she’s been having bad luck with men.

But the bounty hunter on her new case isn’t worried about any of that. Jude Donovan is a shapeshifter himself, and the new DA’s midnight hair and addictive scent tell him all he thinks he needs to know:  She’s gorgeous, she’s definitely not human, and she’s bringing out the animal in him in a really good way. He might have to track a psychotic Other stalker through half of Louisiana. But he might also get the chance to watch Erin’s wild side come out and play.

***

And an excerpt for you:

“Wanna answer my question?” His voice was deep, rumbling.

Goosebumps rose on her bare arms. And it was too damn warm for her to have a chill from the weather.

“And just what question was that?” She titled her head to the right.

“Who are you?” A pause. “What are you?”

She let her eyebrows furrow. She’d fooled Other before, she could do it again. “I’m really not sure I understand. I told you, I’m Assistant District Attorney—”

“You don’t smell human.”

Her breath left on a gasp. No, he hadn’t just said—

He stepped toward her, a fast move that brought their bodies too close. Jude leaned in, lowering his head over the curve of her throat. And inhaled.

“Stop!” She shoved him, hard, and watched with no small satisfaction as he stumbled back. Oh, yeah, big guy, I’m much, much stronger than I appear. He wasn’t the first one to learn that little lesson.

She almost bared her teeth at him. Almost.

After all, she wasn’t an animal. No matter what the whispers back home said.

“I don’t know just what you think you were doing,” she snapped, glaring at him as she narrowed her eyes. “But you’d better watch what you do and what you say around me.” Was the guy crazy? You don’t smell human. He couldn’t say things like that.

The words were too dangerous.

She reached into her purse. Dug out her card. “Call my office. My assistant will take care of any paperwork you’ve got.”

He stared at her a moment longer. Then, slowly, his tanned fingers rose. Long fingers, callused. Strong. He took the card, and his fingertips brushed over her hand.

Erin didn’t flinch and she was extremely proud of that fact.

“Good work, Donovan.” After giving him that grudging token of appreciation, she nodded and began to march back toward her car.

She’d taken all of five steps when she heard his whistle. Long, loud, and very appreciative.

Erin stilled.

I really don’t need this shit.

“I’ve got your scent.” Hard words. Scary words. Because she knew what they meant.

If Jude Donovan truly was a shifter, and every instinct she had screamed that he was, then having her scent, well, it meant he had her. He’d be able to follow her, to find her, almost anywhere.

A shifter. What were the odds she’d stumble onto him?

One of the little perks in the Other world—the world full of supernaturals and nightmares, the world that, rather unfortunately, was her life—was that like recognized like. Demons, because, yeah, those conniving bastards were real, could “see” others of their breed. They could look right past the magic glamour and peer into the darkness inside.

Witches felt the power pull from their brethren.

And shifters, well, they could smell each other—a distinct scent. One that carried the wisp of power and the scent of the beast.

Jude Donovan smelled of power. Of wild, strong man. Of savagery. No denying that scent.

As for the beast…she didn’t need the marks on Bobby’s face to know Donovan had claws.

Erin began to walk again. One determined step after another.

And even when she climbed into her car, she could feel his eyes on her. Watching and seeing too much.

Oh, damn.

Now, she’d have to be extra careful to stay on her guard and not let the hunter discover the secrets she kept so carefully hidden.

***

This book received a starred review from Publishers Weekly (my first starred review from them!). Don’t you want to find out why the reviewer liked it so much?  Got to read it to find out!

This is a big release day for a few books, and as soon as my store opens, I plan to make good use of my Christmas gift cards.  Have a safe and happy day!

And to my husband…happy anniversary.