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Before Beltane – A Prequel to the Celtic Fervour Series!

Ocelot Press has a new addition to its list of titles. Nancy Jardine’s Celtic Fervour Series, set in Late 1st Century Roman Britain/ Roman Empire, now has a Prequel to the series named Before Beltane.

Before Beltane was written to provide a deeper historical backdrop to the beginning of the series, to describe in more detail what was happening in Brigantia, northern Roman Britain, in AD 71. It also gives a glimpse into the lives of Lorcan of Garrigill and Nara of Tarras – the two main characters of Book 1 The Beltane Choice – prior to them meeting each other in Book 1.
Civil War between Queen Cartimandua and her ex-husband King Venutius caused strife amongst the Brigantes for some years, though by AD 71 it was time for all of the Brigantes to be at peace and to live together in harmony.
Unfortunately, the downfall of Queen Cartimandua (a Client Ruler of Rome) caused an escalation of the threat of Roman legionary invasion. The armies of General Cerialis, the Roman Governor of Britannia, not only invaded Brigantia, but by AD 71 they settled down and built wooden forts.
Before Beltane is a book of two intermingling halves. It presents an incident in Lorcan of Garrigill’s daily life, followed by an incident in Nara of Tarras’ daily life, a process that’s repeated throughout the book.

Two lives. Two stories. One future.

AD 71  Northern Britannia

At the Islet of the Priestesses, acolyte Nara greets each new day eager to heal the people at Tarras Hillfort. Weapon training is a guilty pleasure, but she is devastated when she is unexpectedly denied the final rites of an initiated priestess. A shocking new future beckons for Princess Nara of the Selgovae…

In the aftermath of civil war across Brigantia, Lorcan of Garrigill’s promotion of King Venutius is fraught with danger. Potential invasion by Roman legions from the south makes an unstable situation even worse. When Lorcan meets the Druid Maran, the future foretold for him is as enthralling as it is horrifying…

Before Beltane is now available in paperback format from AMAZON and can be ordered in bookstores.
The AMAZON eBook launch is April 29th 2022 and the eBook is on Pre-Order till then.

Wishing you Happy Reading!

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Topaz Eyes Takes a Turn!

This post is by Nancy Jardine.

A whole week has flown past in a flurry of sheer indulgence. I’ve been grandkid minding and last week we watched the series of Harry Potter films and completed a 1000 piece Harry Potter jigsaw. That was a real challenge since they returned to school on Monday 1st Nov., though I managed to finish it on Tues. 2nd. They are aged 10 and 7 years old so although they started well with the jigsaw, and helped with outlining the edges, it was not easy to maintain concentration for days on end when the binge film watching took priority.

Now what does that have to do with Topaz Eyes, you might well ask? Mainly that I forgot to promote that my Mystery Thriller Topaz Eyes has x3 days across Amazon when the #Kindle eBook version is #FREE. If you haven’t yet read it, there’s still time to grab a copy quickly!

Here’s what a reviewer said of it: “A velvety trip packed full of history, mystery and suspense. Nancy Jardine writes fluidly and skillfully to create a very unique novel that holds the attention until the very last page…”

You can use this link HERE to get your copy.
Enjoy!

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Rolling towards Bookweek Scotland 15th -21st November 2021!

This post is by Nancy Jardine.

Every year since 2012, when I was first published, I’ve been involved in some sort of activity during the festival time that is named Bookweek Scotland. It is generally held around the third week of November and has official participants all over Scotland. However, there are also many authors who do ‘something’ even if not on the official register or website. Last year was problematic due to Covid restrictions, and in all honesty this year isn’t really all that much better as some events won’t be happening as normal.

That said, back in April in a spirit of hope and optimism, I organised a booking for the Brechin and Angus Book Festival (north-east Scotland) being held from the 19th -21st of November. I’m delighted to say it’s currently still due to take place and fingers crossed that will still be the situation a few weeks from now. I’ll be doing book signings and selling of my novels alongside a number of other local authors and I’ll be giving an informal author talk/presentation on the Saturday afternoon, which I’m eagerly looking forward to. There may also be other impromptu opportunities for discussing my novels during the 3 day event. Many different activities, for adults and for children, have been arranged by the committee who have been beavering away for months to make the event a spectacular one.

Additionally, from today onwards (27th October 2021) my Ocelot Press novels will all be FREE across the Amazon network – BUT it will be different books on different weeks and for different lengths of time. Keep checking my Amazon author page to see which is available!


My FREE programme begins with the virtual reality based time travel adventure The Taexali Game. This novel is suitable for early teens through adult readers and has had many positive reviews for the ingenuity of the time travel mechanism. If you’ve not read it yet, please grab a copy HERE before the 30th Oct. and let me know how you find it. A review on Amazon of just a few sentences would be so welcome.

If you’d prefer a contemporary mystery thriller, you’ll find that Topaz Eyes – an ancestral based plot set in fabulous European locations – is FREE during the week beginning the 1st. Nov.

This will be followed by the contemporary corporate sabotage mystery Take Me Now (romantic comedy) during the week beginning 8th Nov.

Bookweek Scotland is the week 15th -21st Nov. and you’ll find the books in my Celtic Fervour Series will all be FREE on different days, on a rolling 2 day FREE duration for each of them and my FREE bonanza will finish on the 21st Nov. with Monogamy Twist, another contemporary mystery (romcom) that’s also genealogy based.

Confusing? Don’t worry. Just pop into my Amazon page every day and see what’s on offer!
Wishing you very Happy Reading!

p.s. And please remember that reviews are so important to all authors. Thank you!

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Twelve Dates till Christmas is out today!

We’re delighted to welcome the latest title to the Ocelot stable today, Twelve Dates till Christmas by Jennifer C. Wilson.

This feel-good friends to lovers story will warm the cockles of your heart coming up to Christmas.

It’s available in ebook and paperback formats from Amazon, and free to read if you have a Kindle Unlimited subscription.

The paperback will make a fabulous Christmas present for avid readers of romance. It’s never too early to start thinking about Christmas!

Read more about the story:

Callum and Lexie are perfect for each other – at least, that’s what everyone tells them. But they’re just good friends, aren’t they? And neither wants to ruin the solid friendship that’s treated them so well since university.

But when an old school friend of Callum’s asks Lexie for a date, and passions overflow on a work night out, could it be the trigger to show each of them what they have been missing out on all this time?

With twelve weeks until Christmas, that’s a lot of opportunity for romance – and for misunderstandings…

“The Twelve Dates Till Christmas is highly enjoyable, heart-warming story of a momentous turning point in the long-lasting relationship of Callum and Lexie.” (Nancy Jardine)

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One year on for Beathan The Brigante!

Beathan the Brigante,  Book 5 of the Celtic Fervour Series, by Ocelot Press author Nancy Jardine. has just passed the ‘one year since published’ mark. To celebrate, it’s having a little SPREE of FREE days across the Amazon network!

During 27th, 28th and 29th  Aug 2021, you’ll be able to pick up a kindle copy and read about young Beathan of Garrigill’s adventures when he is dragged all the way from Caledonia to Rome. Roman General Agricola might have ordered the fetters around his ankles but freedom from them eventually comes for Beathan – at a price.
Where is revenge all the sweeter? For a time the lives of Agricola and Beathan are intertwined but whose gods are doing the favouring? Is it Agricola’s, or Beathan’s?

You can get your #FREE copy HERE and find out those answers.

Enjoy!

p.s. You might also find, if you’re quick, that The Beltane Choice, Book 1 of the series, is also FREE this weekend!

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