- Celebrate Shakespeare Day! A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA audiobook 60% off!
- Vacation slideshow! Not boring! Really! Not boring!
- Book info and yet more photos!
- Hudson Valley Shakespearean Festival playbill!
Today is International Shakespeare Day, which celebrates the playwright who wrote family drama, comedies where so many characters cross-dressed, and made up words (because it made him sound smartalicious. Also, he didn’t have a copyeditor.) His most famous, well-known play is Romeo and Juliet, which to date has irked millions of romantics who…wait for it…don’t like their lovers to tragically die.
Thankfully, in the Daughter of Montague, I’ve rectified his error, and to celebrate you can get the audiobook of A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA for 60% off, which is $8.00. Trust me on this. I didn’t do the math. Click here, listen to a sample, and get the wildly entertaining A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA for yourself or, here’s an idea, your mom! (Mother’s Day is May 10, and remember, you’re her favorite kid.)
Yay for Shakespeare Day and a superdiscount on Romeo and Juliet’s daughter Rosie and her first adventure!
There comes that moment on vacation when you’re able to say with profound inner knowledge…ahhhhhhh. Daughter Arwen and I boarded the Lindblad/National Geographic ship Endurance for an expedition to Portugal (Lisbon and Porto,) France (Douarnenez in Brittany,) the UK (Cornwall and Wales,) and Ireland (Dublin.)
The “ahhhhhhh” moment came on Tristan Island outside of Douarnenez when our guide took us into a walled garden that contained an orchard and tall grasses rippling in the breeze, and as we stood there — cue the sheep! — four brown sheep wandered down a path to visit. They chewed on one guy’s shoes and nibbled on Arwen’s jacket, and were generally happy to see us and be petted. It was definition of bucolic, and so peaceful and relaxing.
After we finished the tour of the island, we went into Douarnenez. I swear, it was as if Disney had created a picturesque French village just for us. I want to go back there and spend time roaming the streets, staying in a quaint hotel, and visiting the sites, which is no doubt part of their clever scheme. 😊 Well played!
Next we sailed to Penzance in Cornwall. Yes, that Penzance. I saw no pirates, but hiking along the coast was rugged with a new breathtaking scene around every corner, and this happened:
WTH?
That said, I had a Cornish pasty for lunch and immediately recovered.
That’s when things got, um, not surprising. A violent storm developed in the Irish Sea. Because we were stopping in ports that required landing in zodiacs, a “a smallish rubber boat that can act as a tender to deliver people safely to rugged shorelines …The key qualities of a Zodiac are its rigid hull and inflatable pontoons, which double as seating… Because they are nigh-impossible to sink, maneuverable, and adept at nosing up to treacherous terrain, these boats have developed avid followings within military, commercial, and recreational boating spheres.”
Let us pause for a moment to remind you I’m 5’2” and 194 years old, give you a moment to picture me getting in and out of these “impossible to sink” vessels, and
I CAN HEAR YOU LAUGHING!
Knock it off.
Anyway, in the evening debriefing, our person said, “In a zodiac, we can get you to the Welsh shore, but we can’t promise a dry landing, and we can get you away from the Welsh shore, but we can’t promise when.” Wales, with its castles, its scenic outlooks and its long history, was beyond on our reach. Arwen and I were heartbroken, but we both know enough about the British Isles to not be surprised by a storm in the Irish Sea in the spring, and we were cheered by the fact we were headed for Belfast where, honest to God, the crew had put together five Belfast expeditions for us to choose from. Arwen and I went to Hillsborough Castle and Gardens, which is the home of the royal family when they visit Belfast. A stately home and we loved the gardens.
That evening, our last night on the ship, our naturalist gave a speech on seals and selkies, which tossed me right back to A WELL FAVORED GENTLEMAN, one of my early historical romances which sparks outrage among the politically correct. Heh.
Selkie of legend (My selkie is a guy.)
We ended in Dublin where we stayed for a couple of extra days to visit the sights (Dublin Castle and the gardens!) and, as it turned out, eat fabulous food. Dublin is a small city packed with unbelievable restaurants. We had Chinese, Middle Eastern, fine dining and of course pub food (at the Hairy Lemon, and I have got to figure out how to make that Irish stew.)
Mezze plate at Falafel in Dublin
Have you ever seen me look so happy?
On the voyage, when we weren’t hiking or eating or watching for sea life, we ran around the ship and snapped photos of the Daughter of Montague books. Don’t worry, it’s not like I’d insert a photo in the middle of…
…a paragraph or anything. 😉 Yes, I left autographed hardback copies of A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA and THUS WITH A KISS I DIE in the Endurance library. In case you travel on the Endurance anytime soon.
Thus ends my vacation slide show 😊 but remember—
THUS WITH A KISS I DIE is on sale on Kindle for $3.99 in the month of April. Get your copy today!
AND!
Hear Suzy Jackson, the talented voice actress, read the tale of Romeo and Juliet’s daughter who, with sharp humor, explains how her parents survived the tomb, and now live together, rapturously in love while not understanding at all how their eldest continues to evade matrimony. Click here to purchase the audiobook of A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA, on sale for $8.00.
If you have read the Daughter of Montague stories, I’d love to see your opinion in an online review, and please tell a friend!
Already wrote a review or told a friend? Thank you so much!
AND!!
Today, April 23, Shakespeare Day, on Threads, you can enjoy a sneak peek at TEACH THE TORCHES TO BURN. Think My Big Fat Verona Wedding…with murder. And wit. And oh, so much romance. 💖 Coming June 30 in hardcover, eBook and audiobook.
TEACH THE TORCHES TO BURN enjoying an English tea
“Upon finishing chapter 1 of this book, I told my family, “Don’t mind me if I’m cackling and having trouble breathing, it’s just that this book is that funny.”… I had to remind them multiple times.” — Reader Rhonda on Goodreads about TEACH THE TORCHES TO BURN
AND!!!
My publisher, Kensington Books, placed an ad in the Hudson Valley Shakespeare playbill. Hudson Valley Shakespeare is a major festival that celebrates Shakespeare and his plays.
😍
Finally, you should know I got almost no writing done while I was roaming around Western Europe, but I did get some serious plotting worked out, and I’m now tackling Daughter of Montague book four hard with great joy. Nothing says comedy like the early days of a marriage, and nothing says “Festival of Love” like a few inexplicable murders. (Quote I like: “Only in the English countryside could violent death remain something that is ‘cosy’” – Liz Williams from Midsomer Murders) You’ll see, I promise. Right now book four is called ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE.
What do you think? Will it stick, or will my publisher rename it? Stay tuned!
Until next time, happy reading!
Warmly,
Christina Dodd
New York Times bestselling author who is now on Substack which provides room for me to be verbose. Join me!
Printable/downloadable booklist sorted by genre, series and in order.
Books by Series with covers and links.
“Well, you’ll be glad to know that scientists have finally explained why we’ve been enduring this rather long spell of disappointing weather. Apparently…we live in Britain.” — Hugh Dennis
