Spring: The Most Romantic Season of All

As you might suspect from my branding as the Celtic Romance Queen,

 I’ve written Romantasy set at the Summer Solstice.

The longest day of the year. 

The Unicorn and the Druidess

At Summer Solstice, people aren’t what they seem—they could be… a unicorn …a god…or someone you fall in love with.

Druidess Maelona pursues a unicorn into the woods and returns with a runaway slave boy she takes under her wing. Before she can go back to look for the unicorn, a handsome stranger ignites a fiery attraction within her. But she can tell he's keeping something from her. She suspects that he may be a Roman spy.

God Epon’s blood burns at first sight of the gorgeous Druidess. Goaded by his desire for her, he passes through the portal from the otherworld as a unicorn. Then he runs into the forest and she gives chase. There, he shapeshifts into human form to get to know her better. Plus, to win her trust, he fights the Romans and saves her tribe. 

But even then, will he and Maelona be able to overcome the insurmountable odds of a romance between a mortal and an immortal being anything more than a summertime tryst?

And I've written Romantasy set at the Winter Solstice. 

The longest night of the year. 

The Bear and the Druidess. 

Sometimes a secret must be revealed to move from the winter of love into its spring.

Romans stole all the winter grain from Druidess Bronwen’s tribe. Now, pursued by Romans, she ducks into a cave to hide. There she finds a handsome warrior who offers to help. He ignites a fiery spark of attraction within her but she can tell he’s keeping something from her.

The prayers of a beautiful druidess he can’t resist lead the Bear God Artaois into the cave where Bronwen is hiding. He pretends to be asleep until she finds him.

Artaois (Art) is determined to spend the longest night of the year with her. But Bronwen doesn’t realize he’s a god. He keeps his secret from her and even though he can transform into a bear, he only reveals himself in human form.

With the Winter Solstice upon them, can Artaois (Art) find a way to save her tribe from starvation? And, when Bronwen finally discovers his secret, will she leave the romance building between them out in the cold?

But I’ve never written about the Spring Equinox—Ostara.

That may change after attending an Ostara celebration the other day at Lark & Owl Bookstore in the Austin, Texas area.

Ostara falls at the spring equinox, usually between March 19 and 22, when day and night stand in perfect balance before the year tips toward the sun.

The name comes from a root meaning to shine, to rise, to bring light. Eostre was a dawn goddess tied to the east, where the sun rises after darkness. That is where we get Easter from—the Saxon name for the goddess, Eostre—which means east.

The festival honors rebirth and new beginnings, but in a gentler way—a slow unfolding. The first green breaking through the cold. Life stirring, even before it’s fully seen.

Its symbols—hares and eggs—reflect that same sense of new life.

This is a video of a recipe for a soothing salt bath you can make at Lark and Owl for Ostara.

Lark and Owl also has a book of Love Spells. 

In my enemies-to-lovers novel, The Celtic Prince, which takes place during the Saxon Wars, my heroine, Alefreada, is a Saxon and would have celebrated Ostara as a child. She also has a love potion of her own. 

Happy Ostara to Everyone.