What was Lughnasadh, you ask? In Ireland, it’s the feast day of Lugh. It’s like the end of summer. (Not here, of course. Here, it’s still a thousand degrees outside!)
Let’s get this out of the way first, though. Once again, for the Fantasy romance fans, since it is Lughnasadh, I thought I’d put another related book on sale. This time, it’s Keeper of the Grove.
Keeper of the Grove:
(Stewards War, book 1)
Genre: urban fantasy romance
Synopsis:
Stacy Macken has one goal in mind: saving her renowned history center from greedy creditors. Losing it would be a catastrophe—one she doesn’t know how she’ll avoid.
Until Aaron Fielding arrives. To all human eyes, he is just like any man, but he reminds Stacy of one of the fae. He certainly enchants her like a fae lover would.
But Stacy suspects there is more to this sexy fellow, with his tales of the Tuatha dé Danann, and magical warriors from Celtic legend who protect humanity from a wicked enemy seeking their destruction. Does his appearance mean the end of the world imminent?
Can she, a studious woman more intent on history books with no training in or love of war, possibly have anything to offer when a long-prophesied druidic battle explodes around her?
It will be in a Kindle Countdown sale for $.99 August 2nd.
(That is, for the next 17 hours!)
Unfortunately, again, this is only applicable to the US and UK.
But what is Lughnasadh, and why is it important to The Stewards?
It is an old Celtic fire festival in honor of Lugh, master craftsman of the Tuatha dé Danann, god of the sun, poetry and….really? All the arts. He’s the main god in the Stewards War series (though, being matrilineal, their battles take place on the goddess’ day, but there is still a nod to Lugh’s day in the series. 🙂 At least, it comes up here at there. Notably, the hero has a conversation in Keeper of the Grove in which he complains:
“Damn it! Why didn’t we find her last Lughnasadh?”
(Sorry for the curse word)
And in the follow-up (Bitter Thorn Tribe), Stacy gets to show off what she’s learned from her druid studies:
“There are safeguards.” Aaron stirred his tea as he explained. “Unseen boundaries keep the two worlds from crossing.”
“Except at important days like Samhain and Imbolc,” Stacy said.
“Samhain,” Dylen* corrected. “Because of a certain illustrious member of the human family, the other as you called them ‘important days’ are well veiled by both divine means and our own druidic means.”
Glancing at his phone, Aaron added, “And, thank all the gods, a healthy dose of superstition.”
Stacy wondered what had him distracted. “Imbolc, every five hundred years isn’t included, you mean? Because those are the two big ones. Three, Lughnasadh being the third. For Brighid, Lugh, and… well, whatever.”
Dylen nodded. “That’s right.” He toasted her with his tea. “We are making a druid of you, it seems.”
- [Dylen is one of the Tuatha dé Danann druids who are Stacy’s mentors throughout the Stewards War series.]
(I might even mention Lughnasadh somewhere in my Antique Magic series, but don’t quote me on that. I can’t find it, offhand. :))
But traditionally, for those in Ireland, it was Lugh’s Day, the first harvest. It’s a time of bringing in the harvest and expressing gratitude for the earth’s abundance. So it’s a time of reaping. Both materially, and (for modern pagans) metaphorically. What are you wishing to “bring in” (a project or energy) to your life this August? I’ll tell you mine, below.
If you haven’t checked out Keeper of the Grove before, it’s on sale, again, August 2nd. (Again, Amazon says it’s on for the next 17 hours! :))
Thank you for your patience, enjoy the books, and I’ll talk to you again soon!
Wheat Image by ParvizPhotography from Pixabay
