Well, I made it through the first day — the flight was good, my rental car is cute (a bright-blue Nissan Note??), and the driving is….interesting! I left Glasgow around 9 and arrived in Oban at noon. I had to stop several times to take pictures of the dramatic scenery along the way…and for a cup of very strong tea to keep me awake!

Here’s one of the first castles I saw on my drive :  

Kilchurn Castle on Loch Awe

It is just so cool — you drive around a bend and there it is! So many places like that in Scotland — little surprises along the road.

    I’m staying at the Barriemore Guesthouse (and moving to the Glenburnie Guesthouse tomorrow – long, stupid story for another time!) and just around the bend in the road  from it is this:

Ruins of Dunollie Castle

    This castle, along with nearby Dunstaffnege, belonged to the MacDougall clan and the current clan chief (and former MAID OF LORNE) live in a much more modern house on the grounds of the ruins. I knew it was nearby, but had no idea until I went exploring around the bend that it was so close.

     After going to bed, aka collapsing into unconsciousness, at 7pm Scotlandtime last night, I slept well until about 4am here. I had a lovely breakfast and then headed into downtown Oban to catch the ferry to Mull and a bus and another ferry to Iona – the site of St. Columba’s monastery and the center of Celtic Christianity for centuries. The weather doesn’t want to cooperate — storm clouds rumbled overhead and rain threatened at every moment. It pelted us as we left the bus and ran for the ferry from Fionnphort. But soon, the abbey came into sight and the rain was forgotten!

Abbey on Iona

I took the informative guided tour through the abbey, the cloisters, the smaller temporary chapel built and used while the larger one was being built, the St. Oran’s church (from the 1200′s) and the Cemetery where dozens of ancient Scottish, Irish and even some Pictish kings are buried.  And I tried with all my self-control not to go into the Iona Bookstore….sigh….some things are just impossible to resist!

     Then, just as the time drew near to leave — the sun burst through the clouds making the trip back to Mull spectacular! The heather is in bloom and the sunlight lit up the purple mountainsides as we passed. And, though it showered again in Craignure while we waited for the ferry — we were gifted by a fabulous rainbow that seemed to touch the water in Craignure Bay –

Rainbow in Craignure Bay

Everyone ooh’d and aah’d and took photos as the ferry seemed to pass right under the archway of light on its approach. It was a wonderful ending to a wonderful day!

    So, early-ish to bed after a lovely dinner at a downtown restaurant and after catching up on hundreds of emails _ I couldn’t get online last night so I’m behind. Tomorrow? I’m going back to Mull to see Duart Castle and Tobermory and some standing stones, stone circles and cairns near Dervaig. Yeppers, driving onto the ferry boat…and off again! My next driving in Scotland challenge. . . one of many in the coming days. . .

    Keep checking back — Kilmartin Glen is in my plans before I leave for Dornie and Eilean Donan Castle on Friday. I’m going to a MacRae Clan gathering at the castle and cannot wait…. Hopefully, the elusive men-in-kilts will be seen there! Surely they will ?!?

     Terri

   

   of Loch Lomond!”

Oh yes — tomorrow I head to Scotland for just over three weeks of research, sightseeing and inspiration. I’ll be traveling mostly in the Highlands and to the Islands including the Hebrides and the Orkneys.

I plan to blog HERE (!) throughout my trip as well as on the AccessRomance blog, the Brava Authors blog and the Jaunty Quills, too. I’ll be taking lots of photos and hope to upload them on my MySpace page…

   So, please stop back…check out my blogs and photos… and sing along with me… “Oh, you take the high road and I’ll take the low road. . . .”

Terri

I had a great time at the RWA (Romance Writers of America)’s annual Conference last week in Washington DC. The weather cooperated–the usual mid-July heat and humidity was replaced by mid-80 degree days that were comfortable for walking about and eating at lovely sidewalk cafes. 

I had the chance to sign at the Literacy Signing on Wednesday (which raised more than $60,000 in two hours!) and at the Harlequin signing for conference attendees.  I got to meet readers and talk writing and to see old friends and to make a few new ones.

And, I really enjoyed being an RWA RITA finalist for Best Romance Novella. It’s like being a princess at the ball for a week. Meeting Stephanie Laurens, who won the RITA in my category, was a big thrill for me, too. My inner romance reader was screaming in delight!

So, now I’m home and trying to do a little R&R before hunkering down on a new writing deadline…But, gosh, it was fun in DC!

Terri

     I had the pleasure of meeting a cover model last Thursday evening when he visited the local Borders romance readers’ group I belong to…he was there to talk about the whole business and experience of being on the cover of romance novels.  Robert John Nuzzie is originally from South Amboy NJ and now not only models, but also acts in films and does commercials, too.

   As an author, it was interesting to finally talk to someone who ultimately represents an author’s book to readers, and who represents the author’s HERO to those readers. Sometimes, as readers and authors know, the person on the cover doesn’t even resemble the character as described in the story.  Sometimes, the cover gods rain down blessings and it’s a stunning visual of exactly what the author intended.

     Robert has posed on several Harlequin covers – and we were amazed at all the different appearance in all the poses and photos we saw…and all of them were very, very nice     Check out his website if you don’t believe me –  www.robertjohnnuzzie.com

     The interesting thing to me as an author was all the questions he had for me. It’s amazing that there is so little interaction between all the people involved in bringing a book to ‘the shelves’ — and how little we each know about the process that the others carry out for our books. Authors and translators know even less about each other — and they are the ones choosing the right words! How much more important could that be in putting my words into another/other languages? Actually, in some other countries, the translator gets top billing inside the book on the copyright page…before the author.

    So, on last Thursday, I spent a couple of hours learning more about the whole process of making covers. . . and it didn’t hurt that I spent them with a very nice man. . . and a bunch of romance readers. . . in public. . . in a store!

Terri (who is still learning this whole business even after 10 years…)