I’m Looking Over A Four-Leaf Clover – If I’m Lucky

Photo courtesy Google Images

So today’s all about the green. My way of getting into the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day? I’m hosting the lucky Irish Take It Or Leave It game.

Before we embark on the this journey of totally random guessing, let’s explore a few facts about St. Patrick and his very party-friendly day.

1. The color green is commonly associated with Ireland, the Emerald Isle, but did you know that the actual color of St. Patrick is blue. In several artworks depicting the saint, he is shown wearing blue vestments. Green in Irish legends, was worn by faeries and immortals and by people who wanted to encourage their crops to grow. I didn’t even know saints had colors.

2.   St. Patrick wasn’t Irish, and he wasn’t born in Ireland. Patrick’s parents were Roman citizens living in modern-day England, or more precisely in Scotland or Wales. Go figure.

3.  The shamrock is a popular Irish symbol, but it is not the symbol of Ireland. The national symbol of Ireland is the harp. And I would have guessed the bag pipe. Duh.

4. Speaking of shamrocks, one estimate suggests that there are 10,000 3-leaf clovers for every 1 four-leaf. So your odds of finding a four-leaf clover are, about 1 in 10,000. Rather like the lottery.

5.  The very first St. Patrick’s Day parade was not in Ireland. It was in Boston in 1787. Hey, I don’t make this stuff up.

Photo courtesy Google Images

6.  The activity most associated with St. Patrick’s Day is drinking. However, Irish law, from 1903 to 1970, declared St. Patrick’s Day a religious observance for the entire country meaning that all pubs were shut down for the day. That meant no beer, not even the green kind, for public celebrants. The law was overturned in 1970, when St. Patrick’s was reclassified as a national holiday – allowing the taps to flow freely once again. Praise the Lord!

7.  Speaking of drinking, the phrase “drowning the shamrock,” is from the custom of floating a shamrock on the top of whiskey before drinking it. The Irish believe that if you keep the custom, you will have a prosperous year.

So, now that you know all that, let’s see how well you think you know me. Here’s a reminder of the rules: Post your guesses (would I take it, or leave it) in the comments section below. I will post the choices on Monday and my responses on Thursday. The person with the most correct guesses is my winner, but you must re-post in the comments section in order to claim your prize. Unclaimed prizes will be forfeited after one week from posting the answers.

Good luck and happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Photo Courtesy Google Images

1. Kiss the blarney stone.

2.  Kiss a drunken Irishman.

3.  Sing Danny Boy acapella in a bar full of drunken Irishmen.

4.  Eat corn beef and cabbage.

5.  Drink green beer.

6.  Drown the shamrock.

7.  Perform an Irish jig in the St. Patrick’s Day parade.

8.  Spend a hour looking for 4-leafers in a field of clover.

9.  Wear blue instead of green in honor of St. Patrick.

10.  Dye my hair green.

Do you do anything special for St. Patrick’s day? Are you Irish, or even a little bit Irish, or wish you were Irish?

Word of the day:  Davit

Fun fact about me:  I was once part of a bowling team.

Original post by Jansen Schmidt, March 2014. Photos courtesy Google Images.

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Spring Break – Down Mexico Way!

It’s that time of the year again – time to be thinking of warm places, beaches, sun tans, getting a new tattoo, and adult beverages! It spring time! Time for spring break.

Cabo San Lucas

This month I’m hosting my very first guest blogger, author and good friend, Loucinda McGary, otherwise known as Aunty Cindy from Aunty Cindy Explains it all www.auntycindy.blogspot.com. Aunty Cindy and I will take you on a virtual spring break to Mexico! We hope you enjoy the ride.

Cindy is a chapter mate of mine at the Sacramento Valley Rose writers group. She writes contemporary romance with paranormal elements set in exotic locales. Her interesting characters quite often have unique talents.

She recently took the plunge into the world of Indie publishing, with her novelette, The Sidhe Princess, a prequel to her debut novel, The Wild Sight. Today we will be talking about her latest release, High Seas Deception.

Everyone who visits today can take advantage of this coupon offer of $1.05 (35%) off the already incredibly low price of $2.99 toward the purchase of High Seas Deception from SmashWords. Use coupon code UT63X when you order (expires March 10th). One lucky visitor will receive a certificate for a free download (Amazon, B&N or SmashWords). But you must leave a comment to qualify.

High Seas Deception is a story of intrigue and suspense set aboard a cruise ship. Cindy is no stranger to cruising the oceans of our great planet. In January she completed her 22nd cruise. Her frequent voyages to foreign lands provide much fodder for her stories. High Seas Deception is no exception.

Without further ado, let’s get on board ship, have a celebratory drink (make mine a double) and chat with Aunty Cindy:

Hello, Aunty and welcome to my blog. I’m very honored to have you as my very first guest blogger.

Cindy: Thanks a bunch, Patricia! I’m tickled PINK to be the first guest on your wonderful blog and I appreciate the opportunity to talk about my newest release, High Seas Deception. But I’ll also be happy to answer questions about any of my other works, or writing and publishing in general.

High Seas Deception takes place on the Mexican Riviera, the west coast of Mexico. Why did you choose Mexico for the location instead of someplace in the Caribbean or the Bahamas?

Cindy: You know that old saying “write what you know?” Well, that was the case in me choosing the Mexican Riviera as the setting for High Seas Deception. As you and most of my friends know, I’ve been on twenty-two cruises to date. Fifteen of those have been to the Mexican Riviera. But never fear, I will be setting future books in the series in the Caribbean and other great cruise locations (I’ve actually never been to the Bahamas, yet)!

High Seas Deception involves another of your famous Irish heroes. Why Irish?

Cindy: Two words — cute accent. But seriously, being Irish myself, I’ve always had a preference for dark haired, blue-eyed lads (think Pierce Brosnan), and my readers seem to enjoy them too. However, my current work-in-progress (WIP) will have a non-Irish hero. I hope readers will enjoy his story just as much as my Irish lads. 

In HSD your heroine works security on the ship. Why did you choose a security guard role instead of a more glamorous cocktail waitress or cruise director position?

Cindy: My hero, Malone has a blatant disregard for rules if those rules hamper his objectives. The end definitely justifies the means as far as he is concerned. I thought it would be fun to match him up with a woman who has a great sense of justice and following the law. Skylar turned out to be a good foil for Malone, and they both learned and grew from being with the other.

Again, in future books I’ll have characters with more “glamorous” cruise ship jobs. Matter of fact, the heroine of my WIP is Skylar’s roommate and assistant cruise director, Avery Knox.

The plot revolves around a “package” that your Irishman is trying to intercept before it reaches Los Angeles. What can you tell us about this “package” and why someone is trying to smuggle it into LA?

Cindy: Without giving away any too many spoilers, “the Irishman” (as Malone is called) is a mercenary with a reputation for being both ruthless and deadly. He’s a bit of a James Bond type who is adept at extricating himself from dangerous situations.

There is a smuggling ring on board the cruise ship Intrepid that serves as a ‘middleman’ in transporting illegal things between Mexico and California. Malone is hired by a third party to retrieve a package which could prove lethal in the wrong hands. Of course, the problem is that almost everyone is “the wrong hands” and they all would like to possess the contents of that package.

So, veering away from the book for a moment, of all of the cruises you’ve taken, where has been the most interesting place you’ve visited and why?

Cindy: They have all been fun and interesting in their own ways. I’d say one of the most interesting places I visited was last September on cruise #20. We sailed out of New Orleans and visited Belize, Honduras, and the east coast of Mexico. We took this cruise specifically to see Mayan ruins, and we toured a fabulous site outside of Belize City called Altun Ha.

If you ever have a chance to visit this area, do not miss the Mayan ruins! They are spectacular. Here’s one of my pictures from my visit.

Thank you, Cindy. It’s always a pleasure to hear about your travel adventures and your books. What can we look forward to following HSD?

Cindy: Right now, I’m working hard on Book 2 in the Adventure Cruise Line series. The tentative title is His Reluctant Bodyguard and features Avery Knox from High Seas Deception as the heroine. I hope to have the story completed and the book available online by the end of the summer. This will be a real challenge, so please keep your fingers crossed and good thoughts coming my way to help me achieve this ambitious goal. I know I can count on you, Patricia, to offer encouragement and well-placed threats along the way!

It was a pleasure having you as my guest. Good luck with the next project and have fun on your next high seas journey. If folks want to know more about you and/or your books where can then go on line for that information?

Cindy: I’ve just revamped my website, so I’d love for everyone to pop over there and tell me what you think, http://www.loucindamcgary.com

I also have my own personal blog at: www.auntycindy.blogspot.com/
And you can find me on FaceBook: www.facebook.com/loucinda.mcgary
and Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/LoucindaMcGary

I love hearing from readers and other writers, and heck, ANYBODY! So please pop on by and say hi.

Don’t forget to enter the following coupon code UT63X when ordering your copy of High Seas Deception from SmashWords only.

So tell me readers, Aunty Cindy is partial to Irish heroes; what types of heroes do you like to read/write about? Where’s your favorite beach vacation spot?

Word of the day: Exonumia
Fun fact about me: When I was a freshman in high school I could run a mile in less than six minutes.

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