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)
Nancy Jardine here and I’m writing this post on the 1st of May which is the Beltane Festival in the Celtic calendar. I’m also really excited to share that The Beltane Choice is the Ocelot Press Book of the Month for May!
To celebrate this event, during the whole of May 2021, the eBook of The Beltane Choice will be available across the Amazon network at 99p/99c (equivalents) You can get a copy HERE.
You’ll also find that the eBooks of the other four books in the Celtic Fervour Series will be at the fabulous reduced price ofonly £1.99 (equiv) across Amazon for the whole month of May! Copies available from HERE
Antique road , Via Appia Antica in Rome- Wikimedia Commons
On Nancy Jardine’s personal blog, you’ll find lots of posts this May which are related to festivals in May (Ancient Celtic and Roman); extracts from her novels and maybe even some other special offers. Keep popping in to stay updated.
The Ocelot Press Readers group on Facebook is another fabulous place to get up-to-date information on Ocelot Press activities. Join us there if you’re not already a member.
Once again – Happy Beltane and Ocelot Press wish you a fantastic reading time in May!
Leave 2020 behind and start off 2021 by losing yourself in a book!
Did you get a new Kindle for Christmas? Or a gift voucher? Or both? Now’s the time to top up your Kindle with New Year reading from Ocelot Press – historical fiction, historical romance and mystery, dual timeline, fantasy: we’ve got something for most tastes.
And to help you do that, we’ve reduced the prices on selected titles to 99p/c. Some of them are even free for a short time!
To see what we’ve got on offer, search for Ocelot Press on Amazon. Or have a look at the Ocelot authors’ individual Amazon pages, where you’ll see a range of titles free or at 99p/c.
Yesterday, 20th August 2020, was the official e-book launch of Beathan The Brigante – #5 of Nancy Jardine’s Celtic Fervour Saga series. It’s now available from Amazon in e-book and paperback formats for readers to enjoy! Paperback versions are also available for ordering in bookstores.
The continuous saga is set in late 1st Century AD Roman Britain AD 71-89, and follows the adventures of warriors who originate in the Hillfort of Garrigill, Brigantia. (present day Cumbria/North Yorkshire/Northumberland) Across the five books of the series, the reader will find that each book features different warriors of the clan, and as the series progresses some Ancient Romans also become main characters.
The threat of Ancient Roman domination is a major feature of the stories and is highly instrumental in influencing what the Garrigill warriors do to thwart Roman invasion. When complete destruction of their Celtic lifestyle is inevitable, the Garrigill clan become refugees and flee northwards to Caledonia. They have not in any way given up, it’s more that they are finding other ways to defend themselves against the Roman invaders. As the books progress, so do the years of Roman occupation during what is historically termed the Flavian era. This equates roughly to AD 69 – 96.
The genuine historical figure – Gnaeus Iulius Agricola – held various important positions in Britannia. According to the historical record, Agricola was Legate (Commanding Officer) of the Legio XX (Twentieth Legion) c. 69-73. Then, from approximately AD 77-84, Agricola was Governor of the Province of Britannia and was Commander of the Britannic Legions. Some of the concepts of the novels are formed from a study of the writing of the Ancient Roman writer Cornelius Tacitus (the son-in-law of Agricola). Tacitus’ work on the ‘Life of Agricola’ is the main historical source for information on Roman Britain.
In Books 4 and 5, second generation Garrigill warriors are the main Celtic characters, though their parents still there in the background. Book 5 is mainly Beathan’s story, with the first half of the novel depicting the interlinking of the lives of Beathan and General Agricola.
All of the novels can be accessed using this LINK to Nancy Jardine’s Amazon Author Page. If you’d rather just read more of what Beathan The Brigante is about use this link HERE.
Antique road , Via Appia Antica in Rome, Italy on sunset
Nancy Jardine bringing you another update from a sunny North-East Scotland. On Friday last, the 29th May 2020, I was scheduled to board a train for York, England. I love walking the wall and wandering the Shambles. I adore visiting the museums, and doing general tourist pursuits. Five years ago, I had a wonderful seminar weekend with some of my co-authors at Ocelot Press, in York. Though, back then, we were published authors with Crooked Cat Books.
York Museum grounds- c. Nancy Jardine
My visit this time was to join the fun at the 2020 Eboracum Roman Festival, organised in the main by York Museums. Loads of Roman themed events and activities were organised – some indoors, though many of them outdoors in the streets of central York. I had planned to fill my camera with amazing photos, but the highlight of the ‘Friday through Sunday’ event was joining a lovely line-up of authors in a ‘pop-up’ bookstore, all of us selling our Roman themed historical novels. I imagined lots of impromptu information being shared with customers, and me getting to know the authors I’ve only met ‘virtually’ via Facebook. In 2019, the author tables were set up in the ‘Hospitium’ in the grounds of the York Museum and I was hoping for the same venue this year. Sadly, COVID 19, changed the plans. Like other major events, it was cancelled.
Though not compulsory to wear re-enactment outfits, I had noticed that a number of the authors got into the swing in 2019. I’ve always meant to make myself a Late Iron Age outfit, so going to York was a brilliant excuse.
In January (2020), I researched possible cloth. The ‘Celts’ used standing looms to weave their cloth which is thought to have been either plain, or with fairly sizeable checks (though not Tartan). Textiles do not survive well in the ground, but there are a few excavated examples that have been found across the Ancient Roman Empire. The fragments found indicate an open weaving technique was used, and they also give an idea of what might have been used to dye the wool.
Dark green commercial dye.
I fancied a mid-green colour for the long dress and a checked material for a bratt (shawl). York in late May can be pretty warm, so a pure woollen cloth sounded very hot and scratchy. I wanted to be as authentic as possible but suitable green cloth eluded me. I opted for light grey which, I imagined, could be dyed to my preferred colour. The cloth arrived but it wasn’t the open weave I expected from the little photograph. (It must have been a very high magnification)
And it didn’t dye. Not at all!
I tried a deep green commercial hand dye which dulled down the checked material I had bought for the shawl, but the grey for the dress was still grey.
I then thought maybe if the suiting material (supposedly 55% wool) had a mordant process done to it, it would accept a natural dye. Using beetroot might make it a pale dusky pink – which I could live with, instead of green. Beetroot is a more recent variety of the Beta Vulgaris species, but 2000 years ago the Iron Age Tribes would probably have eaten a variety more like chard. However, it’s also possible that the Ancient Romans introduced to Britain the forerunner of the modern sugar beet that we grow and eat today, since Ancient Romans ate a number of Beta V. varieties.
The Beetroot Broonies!
The mordant treatment, a boiling in (vinegar and salt) for an hour was pretty stinky, but the soaking in the cooked beetroot juice was even more so. 24 hours later, the indestructible cloth was STILL grey but a machine wash, thankfully, got rid of the pong. The dyeing processes were useless, but all was not lost – I used some of the boiled beetroot to make beetroot brownies, which were yummy, and the remainder is pickled.
My ‘goonie’ is a bit boring so I used some of the shawl material to give it a lift. Is it authentic for Northern Romano Britain? Since we don’t really know what styles they wore, I can only imagine that any embellishment to dresses was of a practical nature!
What do you think of it? It’s surprisingly comfortable and I will wear it when selling my paperback novels, or for author talks etc.
I’ll be putting my name on the 2021 list of authors selling at the next Eboracum Roman Festival…and who knows what I’ll be wearing.
p.s. I’m thinking that when the COVID 19 situation eases and I can shop again, I might look out for some more exciting cloth that I don’t need to dye!
My stock for the Festival, available in paperback and kindle formats from:Amazon Author Page
If you’re quick, you’ll find that Books 1 and 2 are at #99p/99c across Amazon for a limited time in early June!
Ocelot Press 