Monday 27 July 2015

Monday Moments with The Highland Lass by Rosemary Gemmell

Happy Monday to you! 

Not everyone is cheered by Monday mornings but we can be cheered by Rosemary Gemmell's warm smile. Rosemary's an author who hails from another part of Scotland, an area I know quite well. Today, she's sharing information about her contemporary novel The Highland Lass and there's an excerpt at the end for your enjoyment. Though a contemporary novel - the story of The Highland Lass is neatly interwoven with historical episodes which feature a certain well known Scottish figure...


A prize-winning writer, Rosemary Gemmell’s short stories, articles, and poems have been published in UK magazines, in the US, and online. She is now a historical and contemporary novelist and The Highland Lass is the first novel under her full name. She has also published historical novels and contemporary novellas with a touch of mythological fantasy as Romy and two tween books as Ros. Rosemary has a BA (hons) in European literature and history and a post-graduate MA in Humanities and she is a member of the Romantic novelists’ Association, the Society of Authors and the Scottish Association of Writers.


You'll find Rosemary at the following places:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Romy-Gemmell/1422387704702586

Rosemary Gemmell's first Crooked Cat novel - The Highland Lass - was published in March 2015 and it's a great read which I can thoroughly recommend. 


Eilidh Campbell returns to her Scottish roots from America with one main aim: to discover the identity of the father she never knew. But her mother’s past in Inverclyde is a mystery with family secrets, a book of Robert Burns’ poems with a hidden letter and a photograph link to the Holy Loch at Dunoon when the American Navy were in residence.



Staying with her childhood friend, Kirsty, while searching for answers, Eilidh begins to fall in love with handsome Scot Lewis Grant, but just how free is he? Together they trace the story of Highland Mary and Robert Burns, with its echoes to her mother’s story. In short alternate chapters, Highland Mary tells her own story from 1785-6. From Dunoon, to Ayrshire and culminating in Greenock, Eilidh finds the past is closer than she realises.

Book Trailer Video

Buy Links



This excerpt is from one of the historical chapters...

The lasses glance after him longingly and the women warn against him, for his reputation is well known. Yet there must be other sides to him, for he sits in the Kirk and listens to the word of God. And I’ve heard my
Nancy Jardine's copy
master talk of him with admiration at times. How the young man struggles to keep his farm going along with his brother, and of his writing and verses that are filled with intelligence and wit and such insight into human nature. I admire him long before I ever properly meet him.
   Risking another glance, I see he has turned away to look at the preacher. His dark hair is smooth and curls in below his neck, and his profile is strong. He is smart in jacket and neckerchief and he has not the air of a farmer. Just as I remember I’m still staring, he looks up and our eyes meet again. This time I smile shyly and briefly before returning to my open Bible. He must not think I admire him too well. I’ll not become one of the silly lasses who cast longing glances at him in the hope he will dally with them. I have too much pride for such behaviour. However, I cannot help one final glance as we stand to end the service. He smiles. And my heart tells me it is too late. But I still do not realise that this man, Robert
Burns, will have anything to do with my destiny.

Thank you for sharing with us today, Rosemary, and best wishes for a good second half of 2015. 
Slainthe!  



5 comments:

  1. Thank you very much for featuring me on your lovely blog, Nancy!

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    1. You're very welcome, Rosemary. i love having visitors. :-)

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  2. A beautiful book from a wonderful writer, I enjoyed the way the historical part is delicately laced into the contemporary story of The Highland Lass. Congratulations on its well-deserved success, Rosemary,and thank you, Nancy, for this lovely post.

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    1. Hi,Joanna. thanks for visiting and commenting. I agree- it's a gread read.

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    2. Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Joanna, and for taking time to visit Nancy's blog. Really appreciate it!

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