And here we go with the fist March’s Weekly at Vivi’s. Today, I have the pleasure of having Caroline Clemmons with us.

Through a crazy twist of fate, Caroline Clemmons was not born on a Texas ranch. To compensate for this illogical error, she writes about handsome cowboys, feisty ranch women, and scheming villains in a tiny office her family calls her pink cave. She and her Hero live in North Central Texas cowboy country where they ride herd on their two rescued indoor cats and dog as well as providing nourishment outdoors for squirrels, birds, and other critters. The books she creates in her pink cave have made her a bestselling author and won awards. She writes sweet to sensual romances about the West, both historical and contemporary as well as time travel and mystery. Her series include the Kincaids, McClintocks, Stone Mountain Texas, Bride Brigade, Texas Time Travel, Texas Caprock Tales, Pearson Grove, and Loving A Rancher as well as numerous single titles and contributions to multi-author sets. When she’s not writing, she loves spending time with her family, reading her friends’ books, lunching with friends, browsing antique malls, checking Facebook, and taking the occasional nap.

Saint Patrick’s Day

by Caroline Clemmons

Everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. The day is a fun observance for those of us who participate. This celebration of Irish culture occurs globally in countries with people of Irish descent.

To start the day off right, greet those you meet with, “Top o’ the morning to you.” If given this greeting, the correct response is, “And the rest o’ the day to yourself.” When you say these phrases, put a little Irish brogue into your voice.  Are you feeling more Irish yet?

The day is more than drinking green beer or having corned beef and cabbage, although that’s enough for many. The day is commemorating the life of one of Ireland’s patron saints. Here are a few facts about the saint and his day:

To begin with, he wasn’t Irish and his name wasn’t Patrick. He was born Maewyn Succat in Britain around the turn of the 4th century. When he was sixteen, Irish raiders captured him during an attack on his family’s estate. The raiders took him to Ireland and held him captive for six years. After escaping, he went back to England for religious training and was sent back to Ireland many years later as a missionary. After six years as a captive, he must have spoken the language well. When he became a priest, he changed his name to Patricius, or Patrick.

St. Patrick is credited with taking Christianity to Ireland around A.D. 432 and was probably partly responsible for the Christianization of the Picts and Anglo-Saxons. To explain his message, Irish legend says he chose the shamrock as a symbol of the Christian church. Its three leaves were meant to represent the Holy Trinity: God, Son, and the Holy Spirit joined together by a common stalk. By the time of St. Patrick’s death on March 17, 461, he had created a number of churches, schools and monasteries dedicated to the faith.

This fact astonished me–instead of green, historians say Saint Patrick’s color was a light shade of blue! The use of green on St. Patrick’s Day began during the 1798 Irish Rebellion, when the clover became a symbol of nationalism and the wearing of green on lapels became regular practice. The green soon spread to uniforms as well. Combined with the idea of Ireland’s lush green fields the wearing of the green eventually made blue a thing of the past.

According to legend, St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland in the 5th century. In fact, there were no snakes to drive off the island.  To simplify a long and involved geologic description of the process, Ireland was formed when volcanic action caused it to rise from the sea. (Google Ireland’s geology if you want specifics.) The reference to driving out the snakes is thought by some to be metaphorical. St. Patrick converted pagans to Christianity and was the man who supposedly drove evil from the land.

The first St. Patrick’s Day parade wasn’t held in Ireland but in the U.S. back when it still belonged to Britain. In 1762, Irish soldiers serving in the English army celebrated the holiday by marching through the streets of New York City. By 1848, the parade was an official city event and today nearly 3 million people line New York City’s streets to watch the five-hour-long, 150,000-participant procession. Many cities in the U.S. have parades to celebrate the day.

Hallmark started producing St. Patrick’s Day cards in the early 1920s. They now offer more than 100 cards dedicated to the holiday. Hallmark says 12 million Americans exchange St. Patrick’s Day cards each year. The company’s sales are highest in the Northeast, with New York City topping the list. Do you send St. Patrick’s Day cards?

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Caroline brought along her latest story: STUART (Bachelors & Babies Series book 10) released last week in the Western historical romance genre.

Universal Amazon buy link http://mybook.to/Georgina

He is building for the future . . . She is escaping the past . . . Trouble could destroy their family

Stuart McGee needs the bounty from capturing the two men he’s trailing. That reward will allow him to buy the ranch of his dreams. When he encounters the men, he is forced to kill them or be killed. He learns they’ve killed a young couple. The big surprise is there’s a baby in their cabin. What is Stuart supposed to do with a baby girl?

Georgina Potter has to get away from home. Her family treats her as a screw-up. She is determined to prove them wrong. Starting over as a mail-order bride might not be the best way but it’s the only way she can get away from her family. When she arrives she learns her groom has married someone else. What is she going to do with no money, no groom, and nowhere to stay?

When Georgina and Stuart marry, neither is convinced it’s the right choice. Baby Adeline captures the affection of both. Can working together as parents ignite romance for Georgina and Stuart? When trouble comes, will their fledgling relationship disintegrate or become stronger?

“You’ve done well so far. If you have a rug or blanket Adeline can sit on while she plays, that would be all she needs.”

“Okay, there was a rug on the floor of the cabin. I don’t know if it was for her or the dog.”

He pressed a hand to his forehead. “No, I’m sure the dog’s blanket was the one I used to wrap the bodies for burial. I just laid the dog on top of them in one communal grave.” He scrubbed a hand across his face.

How horrible for him. She couldn’t imagine the scene he’d faced with two dead criminals, the dead young couple, and their dog. And to have to dig a grave large enough for the couple and their dog must have been exhausting physically and mentally.

“What a hard week you’ve had. Mine hasn’t been fun, either.” She turned to the child. “Addie, would you like to bring your baby to the kitchen?” She scooped up the little girl and her doll.

He smiled. “Yeah, we should call her Addie. That’s what her father called her. He said ‘see about Addie’ with his last breath. When she’s old enough to understand, I’ll tell her that.”

He wrapped an arm around Georgina’s shoulders. “No, don’t go sad again. We’re lucky to have this ranch paid for and have enough money to buy furniture and stock up on food.”

“Stuart, you risked your life for that cash. I’m lucky that awful Brick Larson jilted me.”

He chuckled. “We’ll see if you still feel that way after you taste what I rustle up for our supper.”

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Keep in touch with Caroline and find her here: on her blog, website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and Pinterest.

Join her and other readers at Caroline’s Cuties, a Facebook readers group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/277082053015947/ for special excerpts, exchanging ideas, contests, giveaways, recipes, and talking to like-minded people about books and other fun things.

Click on her Amazon Author Page for a complete list of her books and follow her there.

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To stay up-to-date with her releases and contests, subscribe to Caroline’s newsletter hereand receive a FREE novella of HAPPY IS THE BRIDE, a humorous historical wedding disaster that ends happily—but you knew it would, didn’t you?