What a great week this has been! Spring arrived… and so did copies of my May book.
Of course, getting copies of Heart of a Thief in the mail isn’t quite as monumental as spring arriving — but it’s a pretty big deal to me. This is the first book of my miniseries for Silhouette Romantic Suspense. The series is called “The Crusaders: Chasing legends, capturing hearts,” and this first book is set in Spain, one of my favorite places on Earth.
The guy on the cover of Heart of a Thief is a Canadian actor who is gaining some prominence in films. I don’t know his name, but keep your eye out. He just might become a star! Behind him are the walls of Ávila, a medieval city in Spain I’ve visited several times.
Ávila is an interesting place. It was built in the eleventh century to keep out the invading Muslims (the Moors). It originally had a castle which was later torn down — which is a huge disappointment to me, since I’m a castle fanatic. My idea of a perfect vacation involves exploring ruins of any type, but especially medieval ones. The wall is still intact, though, and if you go there, you can walk along the top. The hero and heroine of Heart of a Thief do that in the book. Well, actually, they sneak along the wall at night so they can break into a palace, but you’ll find that out in the book.
Most people know about Ávila because it’s the birthplace of Saint Teresa, a great mystic and one of the pillars of the Catholic church. You might not know that her finger is in the museum they’ve made in her childhood home — a rather grim, but interesting thing to see.
Ávila is also the site of the first trial of the Spanish Inquisition and the burial place of Isabel and Ferdinand’s son. And it’s a fabulous place to watch swallows fly around in the summer evenings and see storks nesting on roofs. Of course, my favorite activity is drinking the fabulous local wine and eating tapas. Just the thought makes me yearn to go back!
So where’s your favorite place to travel? Is there any place you’d love to go? Are you interested in castles like I am? By the way, I have photos of Ávila and the other places my characters go on my website, including a wonderful little castle in the northwest corner of Spain. Just click on Heart of a Thief and follow the link to BEHIND THE SCENES.
And to celebrate of the imminent launch of my new miniseries, I’ll choose a random blogger to receive a preordered a copy of Heart of a Thief from Amazon. Happy spring!
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Hi Gail!
Great cover! There are so many places I’d love to see that it would take forever to list them. That is one of the reasons I love to read a great story set in a place I’ve never been to. I get to visit between doing loads of laundry.
by Maureen
on March 21st, 2008 at 5:25 am
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Wow! Great cover…sexy and definitely gets my attention.
Being of German ancestory, I would love to visit Germany. I would try to go during Oktoberfest and enjoy the people and activities, then later spend time visiting various cities, the countryside and their castles to learn more of the history of the area. I have heard of so many wonderful and exciting places to see thru family and friends that I hope I can someday visit this beautiful country.
by Shari C
on March 21st, 2008 at 5:42 am
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Hey, Maureen, I know that feeling! I’ve always thought that if I won the lottery, I’d use the money to travel all over the world.
And Shari - did you know that Walt Disney used a castle in Spain (the one in Segovia) and another one in Germany as models for his castles in Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella? I don’t know which castle goes with which film, though.
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I dream of going to Italy. The cities seem so romantic and alluring. My hubbie and I had agreed to go on our 10 year anniversary (this year) but with the economy the way it is I don’t want to spend the money this year. I have also dreamed of going to Ireland and Scotland.
The cover of the book is wonderful. I’m sure the actor will have a huge career.
by Patty L.
on March 21st, 2008 at 6:24 am
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I love ruins!
I spent four weeks in Germany a summer a long time ago, and we visited several old ‘keeps’ along the Rhine… and of course some of the Roman ruins… and oh my! :happy sigh:
Gail, the castle for Cinderella is the German one–the one Frederick built, though the name escapes me at the moment (I’m a Disney fan :grin:)
by azteclady
on March 21st, 2008 at 7:00 am
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Love the cover! 
by Karen B
on March 21st, 2008 at 7:39 am
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I dream of goin to Scotland someday. I bet to country side its amazing and I would love to visit the old ruins. I love visiting St. Augustine Florida, It has so much history and is an amazing place to tour around.
by Rebekah
on March 21st, 2008 at 8:02 am
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Nice cover!
I have visited some castles here in Finland -most them were built with defence in mind, though- and one castle in Sweden. I even lived in a town for a while where one of those castles is and which is famous for the annual opera festival.
Oh, there are so many places I want to visit: Italy, Canada, Australia, Austria, Japan…
by Minna
on March 21st, 2008 at 8:51 am
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I love to hear about your travels, Gail. Is the hero from HEART OF A THIEF Spanish? That Canadian actor is muy guapo.
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I’d love to go to Australia and all over Europe, especially Ireland and Scotland. The pictures of the castles there are always so beautiful. I’d love to see them in person.
Great cover!!
by Katie B.
on March 21st, 2008 at 10:04 am
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Hi Jill! Yes, Luke Moreno, the hero of Heart of a Thief, is Spanish. He’s actually a Gypsy, so in reality he would probably be a bit darker in coloring than the guy on my cover. But I’m not complaining!!! Actually, I am thrilled with the cover. I think the art department did a fabulous job. 
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Hi, Gail! congrats on your new coming release, I love the cover, he’s really cute! 
My great grandfather is from Spain. Catalina, I think. I’ve never been there though but I’d to travel there.
by Wendy
on March 21st, 2008 at 10:07 am
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Oh, you guys are mentioning all the places I want to go. Ireland and Australia are on my short list!!!
And Wendy, you must mean Cataluña. That’s the province in the northeast part of Spain along the Mediterranean and bordering the Pyrenees Mountains. Barcelona is there. They speak Catalán. It’s beautiful — but just about every place in Spain is beautiful. You can’t go wrong wherever you visit!!!
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The cover guy is a canadian… I have never seen him 
Congrats on the new release!
by Nathalie
on March 21st, 2008 at 11:11 am
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Gail, yes! That’s exactly what I meant.
I’ve always wanted to go to Ireland, too. It seems like such a lovely place.
by Wendy
on March 21st, 2008 at 12:16 pm
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I would love to visit Australia.
by Estella
on March 21st, 2008 at 1:38 pm
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Hubby and I would love to visit Great Britain and Australia someday.
by Cherie J
on March 21st, 2008 at 2:25 pm
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I love Hawaii. I’ve been there twice, but there are many islands I haven’t even set foot on. I would love to see Egypt and Italy for the great sites, artwork and architecture. I like castles, too. I hope to see some Scottish castles some day.
by Jane
on March 21st, 2008 at 3:21 pm
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Oh I so wish I could travel all the time. I did get to go on some very nice trips before we had kids lol. I can’t remember ever traveling to anywhere that I didn’t enjoy. Some places that I’d never been to but would love to are Sicily (all my ancestors are from there), Italy, Alaska, Australia, Scotland and Ireland - just to name a few!!
by catslady
on March 21st, 2008 at 3:26 pm
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I don’t get to travel much. If I could go anywhere that I wanted I would love to go to Irland and Scotland. I would just love it.
by Virginia H.
on March 21st, 2008 at 3:28 pm
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I am not a big traveler but someday maybe Hawaii or Alaska as I hear they are wonderful.
by Pat L.
on March 21st, 2008 at 5:00 pm
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Hi, Gail! Congrats on your newest release–that’s a great cover!! As for traveling, I’ve done some and I’d love to do more, but for now it’ll likely wait until the kids are at least all able to take care of their own carry-ons! I’ve been briefly to London and Paris (wouldn’t mind going back at all!) and would love to travel more extensively through Great Britain and the rest of Europe, Italy especially! Would love to see Greece and the Middle East (it’s an area of such amazing historical and religious significance). I’ve been to parts of Asia and would love also to travel there more extensively.
Castles are usually pretty cool–it’s always amazing to stand somewhere that was built so many years ago and think on the hands that made it and those that lived there!
And Happy Easter!
by Fedora
on March 21st, 2008 at 5:40 pm
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I would love to visit Sweden or Germany and the Austrain Alps. I would love to hike around.
by RobynL
on March 21st, 2008 at 5:45 pm
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I would love to go to Ireland and see some castles while I am there.
by Joyce
on March 21st, 2008 at 6:02 pm
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I’d love to go to both London and Scotland. I’d love to visit a castle, possibly stay overnight in one. they look so beautiful.
Nice cover too.
by Dina
on March 21st, 2008 at 8:16 pm
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I can see that we all agree on places to visit. I’ll go to any of them! Hawaii, Alaska, Australia, Ireland, Italy, Scotland…. Where is that winning lottery ticket???
Anyhow, thanks, everyone, for blogging with me. I hope spring gets to where you live soon! And Fedora, you’re my winner. Send me your snail mail address at: gail@gailbarrett.com and I’ll order you a copy of HEART OF A THIEF on Amazon.
Hasta luego!
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Congrats, Fedora, you lucky winner!
by azteclady
on March 22nd, 2008 at 6:47 am
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Fedora has graciously declined the prize because she has won several things recently. What a generous heart! So Rebekah, if you’re still listening, you’ve now moved to the front of the queue!!! Please email me your address and I’ll send you the prize.
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*standing ovation for Fedora*
Congratulations, Rebekah!
by azteclady
on March 22nd, 2008 at 6:16 pm
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I’ll second that motion 
Congrats.
by catslady
on March 23rd, 2008 at 11:39 am
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the cover is hot
by kim h
on March 24th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
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Kudos, Fedora. Congrats Rebekah.
by Pat L.
on March 25th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
