Blog Tour Links, Easter Eggs, and Knitting on Vacation

nitting on vacation!

I have to admit that I didn't do much of it, mostly because we were busy but also because it was too hot, especially in Barcelona!

But I came across two interesting things!

In Scarborough, at the Titanic exhibit:

Samples of gansey knitting (and how to tie various knots!)

In Barcelona, near the Picasso Museum:

All You Knit Is Love

This month: My book and my blog tour!

Druid's Moon by Deniz Bevan

Beauty to his Beast...
Lyne Vanlith, an archaeologist who seeks a logical explanation to any mystery, discovers an ancient Druidic curse on her first dig. When the signs foretold by the curse descend on her, Lyne can’t find a reasonable interpretation.
And that’s even before a Beast rescues her from a monstrous sea-creature. She drops a grateful kiss on the snout of the Beast, who transforms into a man, Frederick Cunnick, Baron of Lansladron. Lyne is meant to be Beauty to his Beast—and break the curse forever.
Now both spellkeeper and monster are targeting Lyne. She must take up her legendary role, to defeat the curse and save Frederick—and herself. Instead of logic, for the first time, Lyne must trust her heart.

Release date: 20 September

Pre-order links here!

Already open for comments: My guest post at Vicarious Living Book Reviews

Blog tour dates coming up!

date pending – Shalinis Books and Reviews

September
7 – Elizabeth Seckman
13 – From the Book Reviewers Desk
14 – Shannon Lawrence
15 – Armed with A Book
16 – Coffee and Wander Book Reviews
19 – Jemi Fraser
19 – Alex Cavanaugh
20 – Archaeolibrarian
20 – Christine Rains
21 – Reading Nook
23 – Sandra Cox
23 – Diane Burton
26 – Susan Gourley
27 (tentative) – J Lenni Dorner and Operation Awesome Debut Author Spotlight
28 – C Lee McKenzie
date pending – Reading Throughout the World


Easter eggs!

Not the real kind, but the sort you get in books and video games.

There are quite a few in Druid's Moon. Here are the music-related, film, TV, and book-related ones:

"The puddle covered the lower half of the street, as grey and forbidding as the Moria-lake in The Lord of the Rings."

"Nothing would ever change, but something had to break."
This is a twist on the lyrics of Wait by Marion

"rising damp"
A direct reference to the old show!

"The surface, he heard. The surface is over-rising. The earth threatens my pool."
Over Rising is the name of a song by The Charlatans

"She scrolled through her contacts at the same time as she scurried to pull on warm clothes, layered with her favourite “I Like Big Books” Diana Gabaldon hoodie."

"A whistle sounded in the distance. “Train!” She leapt back off the line, grabbed his arm and hauled him toward her, and they half-stumbled, half-walked further down the hill, toward the village, dragging the bike."
Harking back to Stand by Me

"I was dressed as an ancestor on my father’s side, the Earl of Rochester, and ready to act like him as well."

"I love Wensleydale, it’s so crumbly. Plus, it reminds me of those animated characters. ‘No cheese, Gromit.’”"
Wallace and Gromit!

"“Put the candle back—” Frederick’s order cut off so completely she thought a second wall had come up between them."
Young Frankenstein!

"Her head felt heavy and her arms too weak."
This is a twist on the lyrics of Time and Again by The Bluetones

"He had been the dog, the wolf, the cagèd man."
This is an oblique reference to the lyrics of 14 years by Guns 'n' Roses

"She read on."
This, in its repetition, is an indirect reference to "Grond crawled on" from The Lord of the Rings.

I also thought I'd used the "come crawling faster" line from Master of Puppets by Metallica, but I didn't! Which is why I'm mentioning it here.

In other news, this weekend is Oxonmoot!

"Oxonmoot is an annual event hosted by The Tolkien Society which brings together Tolkien fans, scholars, students and Society members from across the world. Oxonmoot 2022 is being held over four days, from the afternoon of Thursday 1st September until lunch time on Sunday 4th September. Like in 2021, this will be a hybrid event bringing together online delegates with those attending in person at St Anne’s College, Oxford."

I wish I could be in Oxford but I'm very glad the event (including the pub quiz!) is also online.

Are you attending any events this weekend?