Okay. So every now and again I get a whirlwind of inspiration to try something new. Such happened about a week ago when, thanks to the example of Marc Gunn, I decided I’d like to plan a trip to Scotland focusing on the history and mythology in our fantasy series Rowan of the Wood.
Before I spend a great deal of time, energy, and money, I’d like to see if there is a general interest among our fans, friends, and followers to accompany us on this journey.
I’ve put together a *very* preliminary itinerary… this is so very subject to change, as I haven’t gathered any prices for the hotels/areas or even seen if they have availability.
Day 1: Edinburgh
Day trip down to Rosslyn Chapel. Filled with Green Men. Also featured in The Davinci Code.
Evening in Edinburgh
Day 2: Isle of Mull
Drive to the Isle of Mull (approx. 4 hours + ferry ride)
(here we might also look into stopping in Argyll on the way…LOADS of pictish sites there)
Check into Hotel (either on Mull or at the Argyll Hotel on Iona)
Free Afternoon/Evening
Day 3: Isle of Mill/Iona
Visit the Loch Buie Stone Cirle, Mull Where Rowan and Fiana were wed/tragically separated.
Visit Iona Abbey. Built in honor of St. Columba, the converter of the picts and mentioned in the books.
Day 4: Loch Ness & Aviemore
Visit the infamous Loch Ness (about 3.5 hrs from Mull) and try to see Nessie!
Continue onto Aviemore to the Rowan Tree Hotel, where we will stay for two nights (if we can get in). It’s near The Cairngorm National Park in the beautiful Highlands of Scotland. Perhaps there is even a Rowan tree there!
Day 5: Aberdeen & Stonehaven
Day trip to Stonehaven (2 hr one way) – optional. Here we see the remains of Stonehaven Castle. Part of Zefferelli’s Hamlet was shot there.
See the Picardy Stone, one of the oldest Pictish stones. Carved in the 7th c… 100 years after Rowan.
Visit an Ogham stone in Brandsbut, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire. One of the very few left in Scotland.
** Here is where there is a choice. Would you rather pack up and leave to a new hotel each night for Day 4/5 (staying in Inverness one day and Aberdeen the second) or stay at a centrally located hotel. It’s about the same amount of driving, maybe more to stay centrally located.**
Day 6-8: Edinburgh
After a 2.5 hr drive from the Highlands (perhaps with a stop in Perth for more history stuff), spend the rest of your vacation in Edinburgh. Lots of free time to do what you want with optional group events.
National Scottish Museum (their Early People section would cover the Celts & Picts)
Edinburgh Castle
The Edinburgh Dungeon
So much more!
Again, this is just a very preliminary sketch. The final tour might not resemble this one at all. It all depends on the feedback I get from those interested!
Other options: include some Macbeth & Harry Potter stops… other literary interest?
This is staying at the Rowan Tree Hotel or something similar in the middle with day trips to Loch Ness, Inverness, Stonehaven, and Perth… The other option is driving that route and staying in Inverness & Aberdeen at different hotels.
Preliminary quotes using a UK tour guide came back at around $2500 per person based on double occupancy, land price only. This did include meals, however.
The exchange rate from $$USD to £GBP is astronomical at nearly two USD to one GBP. Makes for an expensive trip.
I, however, am determined to get a better rate than that. The more information I have regarding what interested guests might want, the better chance I have of planning a trip that would work for all. Just while composing this blog, I found this: Edinburgh 5 Day Excursion to Mull, etc. This is already less.
CONTACT ME if you are interested and answer the following questions:
1. How much are you willing to pay (land price only) for a Rowan of the Wood themed vacation to Scotland?
2. Would you prefer a program of 5, 7, or 9 days?
3. Do you want it to include meals if possible? (Breakfast & Dinner)
4. Would you rather travel more, moving to 4 or more hotels over the 8-9 days (for example) or travel less, staying in 3 or less hotels over those days? Like perhaps staying only in the Isle of Mull and Edinburgh and taking day trips from there.
5. Would you rather see actual historical sites, even if it means more time on the road? Or would you rather see most of the historical sites in museums & go to places with gift shops and such, staying mostly in Edinburgh and either Mull/Iona or in the Highlands.
6. Do you prefer hotels or B&Bs?
7. Would you prefer April, May, or June for travel?
Please, please, please CONTACT ME if you are interested. I’ll give it until August to get emails from at least 20 interested parties (based on double occupancy) because we need at least 8 (4 couples) to come in order to make this work.
The autumnal equinox known commonly as Mabon is traditionally a day of thanksgiving. The main harvests have been gathered. The store houses are full. Abundance abounds. People celebrate by feasting with their family and friends.
The Druids in the meantime are giving thanks by pouring libations of cider and wine for the trees in the forest. Gifts of fertilizer are given to the earth.
Mother Nature begins her transition from Matron to Crone. The Green Man will shed his finery. The time for labor is drawing to a close. The time for rest approaches.
It is also a time for learning. Tales will be told and wisdom passed around. There will also be plenty of time for quiet contemplation and meditation.
At the Rose household, which is currently camped out at the Kansas City Renaissance Faire and 500 years in the past, we celebrated with a big pot of Christine’s harvest stew. If I’m a really good boy, she might make her famous vegan, organic Pumpkin Cheesecake!
Pumpkin Cheesecake Torte
12 servings — egg- and dairy-free
1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 10 double crackers)
1 cup sugar
1 lb. soft tofu, drained
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
15-oz. can solid-pack pumpkin
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon, plus additional for dusting
4 oz. soy cream cheese ( 1/2 cup), at room temperature (we use Tofutti’s Better Than Cream Cheese)
4 Tbs. soft canola margarine
Crust
Position rack in center of oven; preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 8 1/2-inch springform pan with cooking spray.
Make crust: In food processor, pulse graham cracker crumbs and margarine until evenly moistened. Firmly press crumb mixture into bottom and about 1/2 inch up sides of prepared pan. Bake until set, about 10 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and cool completely. Keep oven on for baking cheesecake.
Filling
In food processor, puree tofu until smooth. Add pumpkin and process
until blended. Add soy cheese, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves and process until smooth and well combined. Pour mixture into cooled crust and bake on center rack 45 minutes.
Turn oven off. Let cheesecake cool in oven 1 hour without opening door. Transfer to wire rack and cool completely. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate cheesecake at least 8 hours or overnight. (Don’t worry if cheesecake seems a little soft; it will firm up during chilling.)
To serve, run a long, thin knife around inside edge of pan to loosen cake; remove sides of pan. Lightly dust top of cheesecake with cinnamon and serve at room temperature.
PER serving: 201 CAL; 4 G PROT; 7 G TOTAL FAT (2 SAT. FAT); 31 G CARB.; 0 MG CHOL; 100 MG SOD.; 2 G FIBER
That’s the beginning of an amazing story! Story beginnings are extremely important in the craft of storytelling, whether in the spoken or written word.
In the written word, a strong opening line can be the difference between your reader reading on or putting the book down to find another.
One of the greatest opening lines ever belongs to Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis.”
As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.
I mean… how can you not keep reading after that! Even if you hate insects, one feels propelled to continue reading just to see how and why!
That’s what an opening line can do in the written word, but the spoken story is spun a little differently.
I’ve begun studying the art of oral storytelling, as I’m adding it to my repertoire while on the Geekalicious Grand Book Tour. Inspired by Damh the Bard and Fiona Davidson during the 07 Druidcast podcast, I became obsessed with telling our story Rowan of the Wood as if it were a real Celtic Myth to perform at libraries as well as Celtic & Renaissance Festivals around the coutnry.
First, I had to answer Damh’s call to go out and buy a Celtic Harp. Well. Celtic Harps are several thousand dollars, and we’re first time authors in the midst of a nationwide self-funded promotional campaign. We’re lucky we can still find money for groceries and bills! So a Celtic Harp was out. So I thought about getting a Lyre! There was one on ebay for only $150, but Ethan wanted to make one.
Now I’ve managed to pick out a little song on it, and I’m on my way to emulating a Bardic Storyteller!
I’ll be dressing in Renaissance garb during performances and teaching my listeners about the Sutton Hoo Lyre, as it would have been what Rowan and Fiana learned to play while studying through the Bard portion of their Druidic training. They’ll also learn a little about Druids, Picts, and the Oral Tradition… while listening to the magical and tragic tale of Rowan of the Wood.
As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, Ethan made me a replica of a Sutton Hoo lyre from repurposed wood! It’s pretty cool, and I’m really impressed with the finished instrument.
This is the first instrument Ethan has ever made, but I don’t think it will be his last.
We’ll be using this lyre in a performance piece I’ll be doing at Faires and libraries. I’ll be telling the story of Rowan of the Wood in the ancient Bardic Tradition of the Druids, as if it were a real Celtic Myth.
Should be fun!
Check out the video:
For now we’re in preparation mode for the next leg of our tour, so for the next few weeks, the Tues & Fri videos will be about what we do at home to prepare for the events.
1985. I was a Sophomore in High School, and my favorite band was Duran Duran. I wore two-toned tight jeans and feathered my hair. I sang along with “Sussudio” on the Q Zoo in the Morning on KKBQ Houston. I was a good Catholic girl. Well, a Catholic girl, anyway.
I remember going into the library during school. At the time I was reading books by Stephen King and V. C. Andrews for fun. Homework was a chore. The library (yes even the HS library in the Death Penalty Capital of the World: Huntsville, Texas) had books on the Occult. I remember them being huge and black and seductive. Every so often I would chance it and open one, but before too long I would close it again.
Devil worshippers! I would surely burn in hell just for looking!
I was afraid to even look at books on the Occult and Supernatural, but I was secretly fascinated by them. I wanted to learn about the unexplainable. I wanted to read everything I could on those forbidden pages, but I didn’t. Fear and guilt, the cornerstone of the Catholic Church, won.
I met my first Pagan at the Texas Renaissance Festival in 1987. He was my friend before I discovered he was Pagan. Remember: the word Pagan was synonomous with “devil worshipper” to my sheltered, Catholic brain at the age of 17. When he told me he was a Pagan, I was a little scared. But he was such a nice guy! He couldn’t be a devil worshipper.
And, of course, he wasn’t.
It was when I was 25 and in graduate school for English Literature that I finally left Christianity, gave in to my curiosity, and began studying many different spiritual paths. What I found (and continue to find) was awe inspiring. The sordid, power-hungry history of Christianity in the Dark and Middle Ages. Its violent spread in contrast to the peaceful path of Buddhism. Earth-based religions that date back millennia before Christianity. Native American animal totems and dream journeys. Wiccan. Neo-Pagan. Druidism. Rich mythologies from all over the world. All, including Judeo-Christian though, have remarkably similar messages… only their path is different. Except, of course, I have not found any trace of “The Devil” outside Judeo-Christian thought.
I lament about all the time wasted during those early, formative years. Wasted on fear. Wasted on guilt. I listen to amazing podcasts and stories of people who were much braver than I, and they speak to my soul. To the very essence of my being. I think of where I could be today if I had been brave enough to read those tomes at 15.
So for all of those out there who are curious, don’t let your fears prevent your growth. Pusure knowledge wherever it leads you, and trust your ability to recognize the relative worth of what you find.
(to be continued with my introduction to Druidry in a few days)
Last week I listened to a podcast called “Druidcast.” It’s awesome. One episode had a woman playing a Celtic Harp while telling a story in the ancient Bardic Tradition. Afterwards, the host told everybody to pause the podcast and go buy a Celtic Harp…. thus began my obsession. This idea merged with one given to us by a fellow Merchant at Hoggetowne Medieval Faire. She said we should do a short “Storytime” to introduce our book, kinda like a performance.
Since Celtic Harps are in the $1000s… I thought perhaps I’d start with a Lyre Harp for about $150. This way I can tell the story of Rowan of the Wood at Renaissance Faires. This would not only give our audience a taste of the great story that is Rowan of the Wood, but it would also teach them about the Bardic Tradition of storytelling. Since Rowan is a Druid — it’s perfect!
- Wednesday 2/18 5pm CST: TheTuberRose on blogTV broadcasting live from the Las Cruces, NM Barnes & Noble book signing!
- Wednesday 2/18 8pm CST: TheTuberRose on blogTV broadcasting live from the El Paso, TX Barnes & Noble book signing!
- Thursday 2/18 5pm CST: BlogTalkRadio “On the Road to a Bestseller with Christine Rose” talks about the Amazing Kindle with Kindle expert Leslie Nicoll, an author of The Amazon Kindle FAQ and a leading light at the Kindle Boards forum.
Here is the latest in artists’ renditions of our main character Rowan from Rowan of the Wood. This painting was done by the incredibly talented Geahk Burchill in Portland. He wanted to do a photo-realistic version of Rowan when he’s faced with the reality of losing his wife, his people, and his entire life 1400 years in the past. Geahk also happens to be Ethan’s half-brother and my brother-in-law. We have quite the talented family!
The Celtic knotwork on the shin guards and detail in the tattoos are especially impressive!
We’re in the Statesman! Even though it’s just a brief mention — it’s great publicity. And it’s all because of Ia’s awesome artwork.
I spoke with the reporter and ensured that he had her name spelled right and everything — and they he didn’t even acknowledge her as the artist… but I ACKNOWLEDGE HER — you rock, Ia!
That’s Ia, the amazing artist who did the character designs, the illustrations for our “Silly” trailer, and our gorgeous book cover! AMAZING… I can’t say it enough. And she painted this for us to bring to these conventions…
Our ArmadilloCon table… NO BOOKS! Since there were no books to sell, due to the pushback, I decided to bring my Green Man art. It at least gets people to stop and look…
A joyous Mabon to everyone!
