Believe it or not

I've posted the covers of my books for you to linger on before reading the clip from a news story. It has nothing to do with romance and love but it shows the stupidity of a jerk who thinks a woman's breasts are playthings for a stranger to maul. Read on.

"Student gets 2 months for kissing woman's breast." The headline of a newspaper story from St. John's, Newfoundland.
An Iranian man studying in Newfoundland has been sentenced to two months in jail for kissing a woman on her breast while the two were sharing an elevator..." His excuse. "Mr. Azarsina said he didn't realize the seriousness of the offence in this country. "You can't expect all males to control themselves when the breasts are out," he said. I doubt if the girl's breasts were "out." Showing a little decolletage is fine in our country but in Iran? The religious police would have hustled her off to jail to undergo - who knows what.

Having got rid of my irritation at the jerk I am now feeling peaceful. There was a picture of Ewan McGregor in one of our papers accompanying an article about him promoting a movie he has made with Woody Allen. McGregor's smile is "vulpine" according to the woman journalist. I tend to agree. His smile is dazzlingly friendly yet there's something else there. A "come into my parlor" invitation. Foxy. He's Scottish with an accent. Can't get enough of those Scots.

And that leads me to a historical romance I'm revising. It's 1820. My Scottish heroine, Ailsa MacDonald and her father are brutally driven from their highland home during the Clearances. Falsely accused of stealing sheep, they escape over the border into England and make their way south far from the long arm of the Scottish authorities. Ailsa's father has a dream of reaching Bristol and taking ship to Canada but ... they never make it to Bristol and my story begins in Wales near the town of Usk.

If any of you know Usk, leave a comment. Roman legions camped there two thousand years ago so the area is a treasure trove of Roman ruins.

Anita
www.anitabirt.com