Friday, March 16, 2012

Lucky Leprechaun Hop






I have always liked Saint Patrick's Day. I can't explain why, but I think it's because I love the color green. That, and while everyone else answers "Christmas" to the question "What's your favorite holiday?" I felt like I wanted to pick something that not as many people chose. I guess I just don't like to conform to the status quo.

Rock formations at Giants Causeway - geograph.org.uk - 450050
Besides Ireland is enchanting. The scenery, the history, the legends. I love to study them. For instance, have you heard the legend of the Giant's Causeway on the northern coast of Ireland? There are a few different versions of the explanation for the amazing geological feature pictured above.


One of which says a giant wanted to build a bridge between his home and another place, so he could travel across the water and engage the enemy in battle. But when he got there, he realized the enemy was a much larger giant. This scared him, so he ran home and dressed up like a baby and told his wife to tell the approaching opponent that the father of this giant infant would soon be home. When the enemy arrived, she did just that. And when he saw the size of the infant, he ran home in fear of the enormity of giant who must have sired the baby. As he ran, he tore up the bridge between the two places leaving only what is now known as the Giant's Causeway as proof the bridge had existed.

The picture on the right is a courtyard view of Saint Patrick's Church of Ireland located in Coleraine, a town near the Giant's Causeway. It is believed to be built on the original site of Saint Patrick's church which was in use back in the early 400s. The present church building was built in the late 1800s and has undergone renovation a few times since then. The history behind this beautiful building is amazing to learn about.

Saint Patrick is a patron saint of Ireland for obvious reasons. He worked there as a Christian missionary sent from Rome for many years.

He is not the only Irish saint though. Saint Valentine was adopted as an Irish saint around 1836, when his remains (found in Rome) were brought to the Catholic church in Ireland as a gift for a famous friar who had visited Rome and impressed the Pope. These remains were enshrined at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church, which houses the shrines of a number of Catholic saints.

St-valentine 110921-01
Pictured here is the shrine of Saint Valentine at Whitefriar. The statue of Saint Valentine shows him in the red martyr vestments and holding a crocus, his special flower.

All three of these settings are explored in Sacred Ring. Kynan Murphy and his two friends are on a field trip to the Saint Valentine shrine when they hear about the existence of a ring once belonging to the revered saint. A ring with special miraculous powers that can mend broken relationships.

The rocky relationship between Kynan's parents spurs him on a quest to find that ring and use it to help his mom and dad. Their quest takes them to Saint Patrick's Church of Ireland in Coleraine to search for clues in the church's archives. Those clues lead them to the Giant's Causeway, where a hidden uncharted cave holds more than just adventure for the three kids.



Here's what happened in the archives of Saint Patrick's Church of Ireland:

The archives were nothing more than a room the size of a walk-in closet with walls lined with bookshelves and one old wooden file cabinet in the corner. There was a small table and two chairs off on the side, but other than that it was unfurnished. Not that there was room for much else.
“Feel free to look around. There may be something here to help you with your project,” the man said.
“My project?”
“Your friend said you were working on a school project,” he reminded him. Kynan could feel heat rushing to his face.
“Uh, right. Our school project… I’m sure I’ll be able to find something for it. Thanks.”
The man scrutinized him for a moment, then stepped backward out of the doorway and pulled the door closed as he said, “Let me know if you need anything else.”
Kynan took a deep breath and turned to the shelves surrounding him. He coughed. The breeze from the closing door seemed to have stirred up the light layer of dust. It must’ve been awhile since the last time someone was researching the archives. Where to start…
Tracing the shelves with his eyes, his gaze fell upon a familiar brown leather binding on the top shelf. It looked remarkably like the book Brianna had borrowed from the reference section back at the school. Could it be another copy? Brother Leroy had insisted it was the only one of its kind. He grabbed the chair and dragged it across the short distance from the table to the shelf and stepped up on it to reach the book.
As he slipped it from its place, dust particles scattered through the air, floating down into his face and hair, making him sneeze. Whatever it was, it hadn’t been disturbed in ages judging by how much dust was there. Kynan brought the ancient book down and stepped off the chair. It definitely looked like the same title. It was hard to know for sure since he couldn’t translate Gaelic. He’d have to ask Brianna. He placed the book on the table and gently blew away the dust.
Holding back the urge for another sneeze, he lifted the front cover of the book and began to leaf through the brittle parchment pages. The drawings and script were familiar. It had to be another copy of that same book. When he came to the back he noticed the glue had begun to deteriorate under the endsheet pasted to the inside coverboard and was peeling away. He smoothed his hand over the thick parchment, but it felt as though something was under it—something hidden beneath the endsheet.
Kynan lifted the edge of the curling paper but stopped and looked over his shoulder at the closed door. He wiped his palms on his thighs to blot the nervous moisture while he glanced around at the ceiling for security cameras. This was an old book. Brother Leroy had been upset about them removing the other one from the library; if Kynan was seen damaging this one, he would certainly get into much more trouble.
Satisfied he wasn’t being watched, he reached again for the detached corner and pulled the endsheet away from the inside cover. The antique glue was brittle and came easily.
Hidden beneath the fragile parchment was a pale ivory papyrus folded in quarters. The corner nearest the peeling edge of the end paper showed had discolored with age. Kynan slipped the thick paper from its hiding place and closed the book.
Licking his lips nervously, he took the folded page and slowly opened it. In aged brown ink, a hand-drawn map of the northern Irish seaboard appeared as he smoothed the creases with a gentle touch. The broad hand stroke of Gaelic script marked landmarks along the coast. Again, Kynan cringed with remorse for not having paid more attention in Irish class.
            This had to be it. The map to the Sacred Ring.


What is your favorite thing about Saint Patrick's Day?  

Follow me and leave a comment with your email address to enter the giveaway on this blog. One person with the luck of the Irish will receive a $10 Amazon gift card and a free copy of Sacred Ring. I will also give away two more free copies of Sacred Ring -- all three winners will be chosen at random and will be posted and notified on March 23rd.

Thanks for stopping by and make sure to make your way to the other blogs on this hop.

33 comments:

  1. my favorite thing about St Patrick's day is watching the NYC parade

    thanks for the chance to win and enjoy your St Patrick's day!

    catherine0807 at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  2. i like that heinz made limited edition green ketchup via burger king


    gfc olivia rubin

    oliviatheservicedog@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Cute blog! Thanks for the giveaway! My favorite thing is getting custom design request in various shades of green. That's my second favorite color besides purple.

    NB Follower!

    Katrina @ Kindred Dreamheart
    studiokd3@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. follow via GFC ape2016
    Love your background
    Thanks for the giveaway
    ape2016(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love all the info on Ireland and the excerpt!

    I'm a GFC follower Christina Kit.

    ccfioriole at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  6. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  7. Love brogues & Irish Whiskey!

    elizabeth @ bookattict . com
    GFC: BookAttict

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  8. Such great information and pictures! I love Ireland, and have always wanted to visit. Terrific excerpt! I could feel Kynan's nervousness, and can tell its a great book.

    I guess what I like about St. Patrick's day is sharing a meal of corned beef and cabbage over at my friend's house. Good times. :-)

    gwen[dot]gage[at]gmail[dot]com

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  9. I am following you as Jess/Fairday Morrow

    I loved all the information you gave in this post. So I would love to win. Thanks so much for the chance! I love St. Patrick's Day! Green is awesome and so is the music.

    My blog is participating in the hop, too. Swing by for the chance to win 2 books and a gift card. :)

    ~Jess
    http://thesecretdmsfilesoffairdaymorrow.blogspot.com/fascinating!

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  10. Green beer, and corned beef and cabbage! jessyisawinner(at)gmail(dot)com

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  11. wow i bet the place is haunted look like it
    and then i would love to see it i m follower and love to read the book

    desi the blonde at msn dot com

    ReplyDelete
  12. I follow on GFC as JenniferH

    volta2173 at sbcglobal dot net

    ReplyDelete
  13. Cool! Thanks for the giveaway.
    I follow
    denise13727(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  14. I love the color green. Thank you

    candieluster(at)gmail(dot)com

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  15. I loved the tour you gave us! That was a treat. Ilove St. Patricks day because we all gather to eat corned beef and cabbage as that is the only day of the year that we eat it.
    Lmackesy at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  16. I like that it is an opportunity to celebrate my Irish heritage.
    I follow you via GFC (Throuthehaze)
    throuthehaze at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thanks for the hop :)
    My favorite thing would be that for some reason there's usually a day off of school near then XD

    cigam9 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gotta love the honesty! Our spring break ran right up against it this year. :)

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  18. Thank you for this giveaway
    GFC pinkflower
    emilymeimei204 at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  19. After all my little ones are asleep, I sneak into their beds and paint a little green mark on their face. (cheek, nose or forehead) When they wake in the morning they are so excited that they got a Leprechaun Kiss while they were sleeping! (My High School kids don't love it as much, but they are good sports for the younger kids) :)

    Thanks for the giveaway- your book sounds great!!
    bchild5 at aol dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is a fun tradition! My kids would freak! :)

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  20. I love all of the celtic music that gets played because I am a huge fan
    GFC: Leigh Ann
    insanityisnormal(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  21. I'm a total St. Patrick's Day party pooper! I usually even forget to wear green! So this hop is probably my favorite part of it this year.
    Thanks for the giveaway!
    GFC: Lexie@BookBug
    lexie.bookbug at gmail dot com

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  22. I usually wear green, that's about the most celebrating I do!!
    Thank you!
    GFC - Kim Reid
    kimberlybreid at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  23. I think St Patrick Day brings the best out in people. Seemed to be more friendly and helpful. I Love all the different shades of green. All the Celtic music and i Love watching the dancing, Thanks for a shance to win. I am saving for a kindle wish me luck lol Joannie jscddmj[at]aol[dot]com

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  24. I like that the whole holiday revolves around wearing a specific thing. It's awesome. I mean, clearly there are more things involved. That's just the best part.
    GFC is Katrina Page
    oneagainst at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  25. i like wearing green, i follow on gfc fastone3104-fastone3104@yahoo.com

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  26. Hi Leah,

    I love the tie in between your book and St. Patrick's Day, it makes for an enjoyable and informative post.

    'The Sacred Ring' sounds like a great story and although I haven't personally visited the sites in your post, I have good friends who have, and swear that all the photos in the world can never really do justice to the real thing.

    Here in the UK, we seem to be a singularly unpatriotic bunch, as on the whole, we are completely oblivious to our own St. George's Day, whilst everyone seems to enter into the spirit of St. Patrick's Day with great gusto.

    I think that a more feasible explanation is that we just like to party and every pub in the country seems to be able to muster up an Irish themed party atmosphere for St. Patricks!

    Yvonne

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    Replies
    1. Yes, I think that's why people like that holiday over here so much too. :)

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  27. I wore green so I must got the luck of the irsh!
    puieread at yahoo dot com
    gfc as herp

    ReplyDelete
  28. My favorite thing is the green berr ;)Thanks for the chance to win.
    GFC- Krysta Banco

    Morganlafey86(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  29. gfc follower: nicolesender
    I'd love to read Sacred Ring. I love the music during St. Patrick's Day.
    nicolesender(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  30. Thanks to everyone for stopping by and leaving a comment. I enjoyed reading your favorite St. Patrick's Day traditions.

    ReplyDelete