Monday, April 7, 2014

Meet our Warrior Goddess Literary Ambassador Linda Gillard

Please Welcome
Warrior Goddess Literary Ambassador
 Linda Gillard
 
 “If you live in fear, you fear to live.”

Linda Gillard lives on the Black Isle in the Scottish Highlands and has been an actress, journalist and teacher. She’s the author of seven novels, including STAR GAZING (Piatkus), short-listed in 2009 for Romantic Novel of the Year and the Robin Jenkins Literary Award (for writing that promotes the Scottish landscape.) STAR GAZING was also voted "Favourite Romantic Novel 1960 - 2010".

Linda's fourth novel, HOUSE OF SILENCE became a Kindle bestseller, selling over 20,000 copies in its first year. It was selected by Amazon UK as one of their Top Ten "Best of 2011" in the Indie Author category.

Linda was diagnosed with cancer 2 years ago.  She has shared with her fans about her fight against the disease, her mastectomy and subsequent chemotherapy, and her resulting disability and pain with peripheral neuropathy. 

Though Linda has beaten cancer, her battle to reclaim her life is far from over.  "I'm out of my wheelchair but I still need a stick & I am in constant pain from damaged nerves in my feet. "  And through it all, Linda has continued to write, releasing CAULDSTANE this January. 

Linda Gillard personifies WARRIOR GODDESS.  The money raised by the auction will be used to help Warrior Goddesses like Linda reclaim their lives after their battle with cancer.

Linda’s latest novel is CAULDSTANE, a gothic novel in the tradition of Daphne du Maurier and Victoria Holt.  "CAULDSTANE is my artistic response to he experience of cancer. It's primarily a book about the destructive power of fear & it's a ghost story/gothic romance. I've written about the "story behind the story" on my website - http://lindagillard.co.uk/cauldstane.php
(Scroll down). Many people suggested I write about cancer, but I chose to write about it indirectly."

For more info on how you can get involved with the Warrior Goddess Charity Auction, please visit http://www.innergoddessforum.com/p/events.html
 
 
 
SYNOPSIS

When ghostwriter Jenny Ryan is summoned to the Scottish Highlands by Sholto MacNab – retired adventurer and Laird of Cauldstane Castle – she’s prepared for travellers’ tales, but not the MacNabs’ violent and tragic history.

Lust, betrayal and murder have blighted family fortunes for generations, together with an ancient curse. As members of the family confide their sins and their secrets, Jenny learns why Cauldstane’s uncertain future divides father and sons.

But someone resents Jenny’s presence. Someone thinks she’s getting too close to Alec MacNab – swordsmith, widower and heir to Cauldstane. Someone will stop at nothing until Jenny has been driven away. Or driven mad.

“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” Especially a dead woman.

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Reviews for CAULDSTANE

"Absolutely modern and gloriously gothic... There's a remote and decrepit Scottish castle, (with a curse attached, of course), a wicked stepmother, a feisty but emotionally vulnerable heroine, more handsome men than you can shake a sword at, and a very dangerous ghost."
KATHLEEN JONES, author of Margaret Forster: A Life in Books

"The castle is a character in its own right, as evocative as Manderley, and a perfect setting for this gothic tale of love and the struggle between good and evil."
I PREFER READING book blog
 
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Contact Linda Gillard
 
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Note from pearls: 
 Linda's novels Emotional Geography and Star Gazing are two of my favorite novels.  In both romances, the heroines have a disability that could have left them dependent upon society.  However, both women are fiercely independent.  Their inner strength is staggering.  In fact, in both stories it is the women who save the men.  And this was before Linda's own trials began.  I can't wait to read Cauldstane!!!  
 
I am so proud that Linda chose to serve as our ambassador this year, having known of her and her struggle through a mutual friend.  In the midst of her pain, Linda found the strength to mentor that mutual friend through her own war with cancer.  She is truly a Warrior Goddess!
 
 

2 comments:

  1. Linda, we are so excited to have you serve as our Warrior Goddess Ambassador this year. Thank you for sharing your story with us. I have followed your journey since it began and take inspiration from you. I hope you continue to improve.

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  2. Thanks Tink. :-) I'm happy to be able help in any way I can.

    I tried during my cancer journey to look for the light in the darkness and I've tried to salvage some good from an awful lot of bad. CAULDSTANE was my way of making artistic use of the almost crippling fear I've experienced since a doctor first uttered those appalling words as she gazed at a mammogram, "I think it's looking like cancer..."

    I was pleased to have made an enjoyable book out of all that pain & fear. I'm now delighted to announce that CAULDSTANE has become very successful. Yesterday it hit #1 in iBooks' "Fantasy Futuristic & Ghosts" category.

    I like to think of this as me kicking cancer's butt. ;-)

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