Dear Reader,
Brr, it’s been a chilly January here in Scotland. When it’s not been snowing, there have been strong winds and rain. How has the weather been where you are?
Today, we’ve got details of an ARC (Advance Reader Copy) opportunity for The Highland Fling, as well as info on how you can grab 200 free eBooks in the quarterly Romance Book Blast (which is today!). More info below.
Castle of Light
At the start of the year, we went on a family day trip to Scotland’s capital, culminating in a night-time event called Castle of Light: Magic & Mystery.
Sitting atop an extinct volcano, Edinburgh Castle is an iconic part of Edinburgh’s skyline. We got to explore the castle after dark and experience a special light-and-sound show.
Old statues came to life and danced; soldiers climbed the walls and awoke a sleeping dragon; and our daughter met the lion mascot Rex in the 500-year-old Great Hall. Rex even made Amy laugh by tickling her nose with his tail during the family photo!
You can find a few videos of the event on our Tiktok channel, including this one.
Burns Night
This Thursday (January, 25) is Burns Night, which commemorates the birthday of Robert Burns, Scotland’s most beloved poet. “Auld Lang Syne” is his best-known work and is sung in many parts of the world at New Year. Did you sing “Auld Lang Syne” during your New Year celebrations?
Like many people around Scotland, we’ll be eating haggis on Burns Night. In fact, our meal will be very similar to the one described in Chapter 31 of The Highland Kiss. (Like Emily, we’ll be opting for the vegetarian version—personal preference!)
Advance Reader Copy Opportunity
We’re putting the finishing touches to The Highland Fling and can’t wait to share it with you all.
Before the general release on March, 5, we’ll have some eBook ARCs (Advance Reader Copies) available. If you’re not familiar with ARCs, they’re free copies of a book issued in advance of its release to help generate a bit of a buzz on release day.
ARC readers are lucky—they get to read a book before anyone else. (Yay!) If they enjoy it, they then show their love by helping to spread the word about it. This may involve leaving a review on sites like Amazon or Goodreads, or posting about the book on social media, etc.
We expect ARCs for The Highland Fling to be ready around mid-February. We’ll have more concrete details over the coming weeks, but if this sounds like an opportunity you’d be interested in, please email us and let us know. We’ll then be in touch with more information when we have it.
#RomanceBookBlast
We’re delighted to be involved in our first Romance Book Blast, a quarterly event in which romance authors get together to give away free eBooks.
The Highland Kiss is free on Amazon for this event, but if you’ve already got our book, why not check out some of the other 200 participating titles? You can browse by category (contemporary, historical, fantasy & paranormal, etc.).
It’s a one-day event, so if you’re interested, visit romancebooklovers.com now!
Please feel free to pass on the details to any fellow romance lovers who may be interested!
Scotland in the News
Craigevar Castle, said to have inspired Walt Disney, has been undergoing conservation work. Its famous pink colour has been restored to its full glory.
Earlier this month, the beautiful Duart Castle was seeking new residents. (We were quite tempted to take up the offer to live and work there!)
The Scots word hurkle-durkle has been receiving some attention. It means “to linger under the covers of a warm bed long after it’s time to get up”.
The residents of Inverurie organised “Scotland’s Biggest Snowball Fight”.
The Danish football team camped for three nights in the Highlands in extremely cold temperatures as part of a team-building exercise.
xx,
Amy and Gavin
(the wife-and-husband team writing as Amy McGavin)