Jennifer Rardin, who wrote the fab Jaz Parks UF series, passed away this week. I’ve never actually met her, even though I’m a big fan (I tend not to read many UF series, simply because I write it, but I loved her books), and now, sadly, I’ll never get that chance. It never seems right when someone in the prime of their life passes away. My heartfelt condolences to her family and friends.

For fans of her series, it says on her site that the 7th in her Jaz Parks series will be out this November. The final book in the series was completed before her passing and will be out in June 2011.

Rest in Peace, Jennifer.

in the mail yesterday

Tempting Evil–French Style!

Dionne Walton! Congrats Dionne I’ve sent you an email, so as soon as you get back to me, I’ll post your copy of Kelley Armstrong’s Haunted. I will be posting another contest in a couple of days, so keep an eye out for that one.

In the meantime, I’ve been writing! Yes, I know I’m a writer and this is actually what I’m supposed to be doing, but after a three week break and a heavy dose of jet lag, to actually be able to put words on page is something of a feat. Of course, I’m not entirely sure they’re great words, but all things can be fixed in the editing process. Or that’s the theory, anyway. lol

Today is also my first day back at the gym. Expect me to be moaning about sore muscles tomorrow!

well, I’m finally back in the land downunder, and while it’s good to be here, I already miss touring around seeing all the pretty countryside and towns that is the UK and Ireland. You an safely say that I will be going back there asap! (I also miss being waited on hand and foot in plush hotels–and having to make my own meals really sucks! lol)

I had been expecting the edits for Darkness Unbound to be waiting for me when I got home, but they’re not arriving until next week, so I’ve got a few days grace in which to familiarize myself with Risa 2 again. It’s amazing just how much you can forget when you haven’t had your nose in a story for 3 weeks. Of course, this also means the muse has her critical hat on when reading, and she helpfully decided to wake me up and start picking faults with the first couple of chapters of the story at 2.30 in the morning. I was not amused (but I will be fixing those chapter when I get back to reading later today).

What was waiting for me when I got home (aside from a stack of bills that need paying) was several boxes of books–and thanks to a warehouse mix up, I now have copies of Kelley Armstrong’s Haunted to give away. So, over the next couple of weeks, that exactly what I’m going to do–random giveaways of both Kelley’s Haunted as well as some of my own novels. There’ll be no set time line–I’ll just randomly throw in a giveaway

For this first random event, I’ll give away 2 copies of Haunted. All you have to do is email me at kez @ keriarthur DOT com (without the spaces) and just put Haunted in the subject line. The giveaway will run until Sunday evening (Australian time) and the winner chosen randomly and notified by email.

Our last full day in Ireland was basically spent in the bus as we journeyed back across Ireland to Dublin. It was also what they call a ‘soft’ weather day here in Ireland, which means it merely rained most of the time rather than pissing down all of the time. So, not a lot of photos to share today.

Our first stop was at the pretty little village of Adare. They actually had a great genealogy shop here, and I finally found some historical information about my mum’s side of the family (there was information everywhere about my dad’s side, which was unexpected because there’s more Scottish rather than Irish on his side.) Anyway, here’s some pics of Adare:

then it was on to Bunratty Castle, which was a huge disappointment. I was expecting a great big castle but what we actually got was an overly large keep. And it wasn’t open for a browse around, either:

Our lunch stop was spent in Limerick , where King John’s castle resides. Now, it looked like a proper castle (even though I only got side shots of it as we cruised by):

then it was on to Dublin and an evening meal spent at the Merry Ploughboys Pub in the Dublin mountains. Great food, drink and entertainment. Two of our gang even got called up on stage—Michelle because she couldn’t catch the rhythm of the music and stop clapping when you were supposed to, and Graham to share his skills in Irish dancing. Here’s a couple of pics of the band, Michelle and Graham:

Sadly, tomorrow we head home

Today we toured the Ring of Kerry, which is a 120 miles of spectacular mountains, valleys and lakes. Actually, spectacular doesn’t really do this part of the world justice. Our first stop of the day was a brief photo stop in the hills above Killarney, where I took these pics:

Our first official stop of the day was the small town of Killorglin, the town where they hold the puck fair, one of Ireland’s oldest (and strangest) fairs. Every year towns folk go up into the mountains and catch a wild goat. This goat is brought back to the town and the Queen of Puck Fair (a girl from the local primary school) crowns the goat “King Puck”. The goat is then put into a small cage on a high stand in the middle of the town (it’s well fed and watered). From this moment on the fair has started–there’s singing and dancing, but mainly there’s drinking. According to our driver, the celebration came from when a local goat herder overheard the plans of an invading force to over run Killorglin, and he herded all the wild goats down the mountains to warn the towns folk trouble was coming. This allowed them to prepare and eventually defeat their enemies. Ever since then, the goats have been celebrated (although it seems to me they should be celebrating the herder not the goat!) Anyways, here’s some pics (the first one is a statue of puk, the next a pic of the river that skirts the town):

Then it was back on the road and some more amazing scenery:

Our next stop was the Leacanabuile Stone Fort, which was one of the most complete stone forts in the area. Here’s some pics (both of the fort, and the view from the fort):

then it was on to our lunch stop in Waterville. I indulged in some fish and chips (what else could I eat in a fishing village next to the beach?) and we headed down to the beach to eat them (and were not bothered by seagulls! Amazing). Here’s some pics:

Waterville is also the town where Charlie Chaplin much time holidaying, and they have a statue set up here in his honour:

then it was up into the mountains again, where the weather began closing in and it got as foggy as hell (which was probably just as well for the more nervous amongst us—the roads were narrow and the drop down the side of the mountain was quite awesome!)

here’s some pics of the more non-foggy views:

then it was on to the Muckross Mansion and traditional farms. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to go through the mansion itself (we got there latish), but we did manage a tour through the traditional farms. The actually had a range of farms set up–a small size farm, a labourer’s cottage, a medium size farm and a large farm. The difference between the small and large farms was quite stark (I know which one I’d rather be in!). Here’s some pics:

small farm (the first one doesn’t actually show much of the house, but I took it just because it looked good)

Worker’s cottage

Medium farm

Large farm

We had some spare time, so we walked around the outside of the mansion. I would have loved to have toured inside, but I guess I’ll just have to come back

Sadly, tomorrow is our last full day in Ireland, but we are at least going to see Bunratty Castle.
Can’t wait!

Well, the rain continued today, but its nothing we Melburnians can’t handle. It’s the Queenslanders who are struggling We left Galway today (or as some of the guys were putting it, we escaped cell block B, although I actually suspect prison would have been a whole lot more comfortable than The Carlton in Galway. Avoid at all costs, people!) Our first stop of the day was the sleepy little village of Kinvara (the driver needed to get to an ATM). Here’s a couple of shots of the ruins here (one is a Keep, the other a famine house):

Then it was on the road again as we headed for the Cliffs of Moher. Along the way, I took this pic– the mountains you see in the distance are all limestone. When we got up there, it felt like we were driving through a lunar landscape–totally not what you expect of Ireland (although the green pasture in the foreground is!):

We also stopped at the Gragan look out, which provide these stunning vistas back down to the sea:

Then it was the Cliffs of Moher, the highest (easily accessible) cliffs in Europe, which tower over 700 feet above the ocean. As you might suspect, I took lots of pics here:

Lunch was at another sleepy little town whose name escapes me, but the sandwich was amazing! Fresh brown bread cut an inch thick (at least) filled with turkey and salad—yummo I also discovered their home made neenish trarts and indulged in one of those too (god, let’s not discuss the food I have eaten on this trip—I hate to think what the scales are going to say when I get back).

Then it was on to the Killimer/Tarbert ferry over the river Shannon (which is a truly massive river that I have no pics of because it was pissing down rain again). From there, we made our way down to the Plaza Hotel in Killarney (and the hotel is stunning!). Along the way, I took these pics of green hills and abandoned keeps:

tomorrow we tour ‘the Ring of Kerry’

I’d love to say Tuesday dawned fine and sunny but that would be a lie. Grey and drizzly is as generous as the weather gods got today. But we piled onto the bus regardless (which, by the way, has a problem with the heating—it’s always on and it’s cooking us all). Our first stop was the Hill of Tara, where we viewed a video of the history of the place then did a tour. Thankfully, the weather gods took pity on us, and the rain stopped long enough for us to walk around. We were also among the first there, so got to enjoy the full impact of the place without hordes of other tourist tramping all around the place. Here’s some pics:

The church—this is actually the third church built on the site. The first was a wooden structure, and the second was medieval (you can see the remnants of this one in front of the church in this pic). The current one was built in the 16th century (I think) and is now used as an information centre:

This is a pic of the mound of prisoners:

the King’s stone:

a rear view of St Michael’s statue with the view beyond:

Then it was time to move on—on the way we passed Trim Castle, the castle that was used in the film Braveheart. It was still pissing down rain, so I only got the one shot:

We had lunch in another Irish town whose name escapes me, but the food was brilliant and the staff friendly.

Then it was on to Clonmacnoise, which holds the 6th century monastic settlement that was founded by St Ciaran. It holds the remains of nine churches (although I can’t remember actually seeing that many) and a round tower dating back to the 16th century. This place was amazing, and I got lots of pics here on my other camera.

This grieving monk statue greets you at the entrance

Now onto the remains pics:

Then it was onto our hotel in Galway, which is something of a let down after all the fab hotels we’ve had so far. As hotels go, it’s almost ok. Almost (if you skip the smell of mould, the lack of soap, no internet, phones that don’t work, and as it turns out, meals that were massed produced.) Oh, and while I’m having a minor rant, can I just say one thing to the staff of UK & Irish hotels? SHEETS ON BEDS, PEOPLE!!! Not everyone is cold blooded—not even us Melburnians—and the tendency to put only thick doonas on the beds, many of which can’t be shaken down, makes sleeping a sweaty event or nigh on impossible. At least providing sheets would mean we could throw the bloody doonas off and still have something over us!

now that I have that off my chest, I’ll just finish by saying that tomorrow we spend the day exploring the Galway area. Hopefully it’ll rain slightly less!

Today was our first day in Ireland, and to celebrate, the weather gods bought rain. Lots and lots of rain. Soaked to the skin type rain. Needless to say, not a lot of photos were taken, because I just couldn’t risk getting moisture in either camera. It was a shame, because Dublin had some fantastic old buildings.

Our first stop of the day was was Ireland’s Trinity College (not connected in any way to the other one in the UK). The book of Kells is held here, as well as lots of other medieval (and earlier) texts, so naturally enough, no photos were allowed inside. Trinity also has a hard cover copy of every book published over the years (though I bet they haven’t mine!) and walking into that room is simply amazing. Two stories, almost as long as the eye can see, with row upon row of shelves filled with leather backed books. I even saw several first edition Kipling books (one a comic!). You could smell the age and the leather and the old paper in the air—it was amazing.

This is the courtyard of Trinity college. The Book of Kells and the library are in the building you can see;

Our next stop was one for the boys—a visit to the Guinness factory. All I can say is, you’ve seen one beer factory, you’ve seen them all. I did try some Guinness (they were giving away free samples, which is no doubt why there were lots of people here), and all I can say is, bitter! (not that I’m a beer fan at any time). Though there were no photo restrictions here, I only took one—this is the wall of bottles they had to show all the different containers Guinness has come in:

After that, it was free time, so we rugged up, braved the rain, and did a walking tour of Dublin. First stop was Dublin castle. You could do a full tour of the castle, but it took 40 minutes and we wanted to see as much as we could in the brief time we had. So that’s on the list for our return to Dublin next Sunday, and we simply checked out the chapel and outside areas:

Then we trudged along to Christ Church Cathedral, expecting just ABC, but finding something totally inspiring—and crypts! Unfortunately, I have no pics of them on this camera, but they were very atmospheric. We even had afternoon tea down there (and went to the loo!) Here’s the few pics I do have:

the outside of the church, and the ancient remains of a medieval house (I think it was a priests house or something)

some pics from the inside of the church (the 1st two are entrance pics):

They also had a couple of examples of Tudor clothing here (can’t remember why, but I took some pics of them)

Then we walked some more, got soaked some more, and found the Powers Court shopping centre:

Then it was on to dinner at a fab Irish pub, and a night of listening and singing to Irish music! Heaven itself

Tomorrow we move on from Dublin to Galway. (BTW, if you don’t believe me about the rain, I just heard that we’ve had 100mm over the last 24 hours. Which makes us Melburnians feel right at home, but really, some sunshine would be nice!)

Today was our touring around Norfolk day. Our first stop was the pretty little town of Aylsham, which is not generally on any tourist track if the surprised reaction of some of the residents at seeing a large bus toddle past was anything to go by. It had the usual collection of churches and pretty houses, but given how many ABC’s I’ve shown of late, I won’t post Aylsham’s. Instead, we’ll move on to Sandringham House, the ‘favourite’ country residence of the queen. Again, we couldn’t take photos inside the house, so here’s some outside ones. First up is the stables (which was taken from the bus as we flew past:

The house and the stunning gardens:

The church you often see the Queen going to over christmas is also on the grounds. Again, no inside pics were allowed:

We also went to Norwich but didn’t have a whole lot of time here and I weirdly have no photos of the place on this camera. Then it was back to our hotel, and a goodbye dinner with our fab driver, Alan, who got that damn bus down lanes where no bus should ever have gone (without even scratching the bus) and who was also great fun.

Tomorrow it’s Cambridge then Ireland!