Whatcha watchin?

Early fall brings many good things, nestled in among the bad. For me, the negatives are shorter days, increasingly cooler temperatures and more time spent indoors than out. The positives are many: more time for reading (another blog topic to come), more time for writing, more quiet time for introspection and hopefully growth after the wonderfully manic pace of summer.

One of my favorite things about early fall is the start of the new T.V. season. I know it sounds shallow, and it probably is, but I LOVE good visual storytelling and recently T.V. has gone from good to really great, better even than most of the movies I’ve seen in the last year. I thought I’d share some of my favorite shows with you and hear what you love to curl up with in your down time.

I just started a new series from PBS called: “Last Tango in Halifax“. It is about two people who reconnect on FaceBook after a failed date sixty years before. It stars Derek Jacobi, who is wonderful and has a cast of really messed up family members who threaten this new love that’s actually been decades in the making. I’ve only seen two episodes, but they’ve been great. I love quirky families and these characters don’t disappoint.
Foyle’s War is back and it has some of the best writing and acting on T.V. Michael Kitchen is a master and Honeysuckle Weeks is captivating. For those of you who like WWII period pieces and mysteries, this is great.

I’ve also enjoyed Ripper Street and am looking forward to the new season. It’s set in Jack the Ripper’s London, but it’s not really about him. There are three main male characters and the interplay among them is what makes the show for me. Watching Mathew McFadden is no hardship, either.

Since I started with the Brits, here’s some more worth seeing if you get a chance: “Inspector Lewis” is set in Oxford, is well written and the relationship between Lewis and his younger partner, Hathaway, is often wickedly funny; for those of you who enjoy cozy mysteries, “Rosemary & Thyme” is easy to get hooked on; “Sherlock” is FANTASTIC! I can’t wait for that to begin again, although I’ll be waiting until the new year. The writing and acting in SHERLOCK has no peer. It’s that good.


Now onto American and Canadian T.V. I really enjoyed the first season of “Newsroom” a lot. I loved the fast pace, the odd, yet uniformly genuine, characters. I’m still loving “Supernatural” after so many seasons, probably because it’s one of those shows my son and I share an affinity for.  We watched the pilot for “Sleepy Hollow” and although I’m not sold yet, I’m hopeful for the promise of where it could go. “Person of Interest” is intriguing. I didn’t think anyone, no matter how good the writer, could get me to empathize with artificial intelligence, but these writers have. I also like looking at Jim Caviezel. Who knew he had a sense of comedic timing? “Strike Back” is great if you’re into international espionage thrillers, which I am. Both of the male leads are continual eye candy, but it’s the surprises that make this show special. And for those of you who like westerns, and who if they’re honest doesn’t, “Longmire” just gets better with every episode.

The new show I’m most looking forward to is: S.H.I.E.L.D written by Joss Whedon! I love his writing and am so happy Agent Coulson is back among the living. He made the Avengers movie for me. Hope this new show is as good. FIREFLY was one of the all time greats in my opinion and still has a loyal fan base. If you haven’t seen it, it’s on NetFlix, check it out!

Shameless Plug……..I’m excited to watch the second season of VIKINGS from the History channel. I enjoyed the look and the feel of the show as much as the acting, the writing and the story lines. It isn’t due out until winter 2014, which is excellent for me because I’m currently working on a Scottish historical set during the Viking period in Scotland, circa 900AD. I’m loving the story and hoping that the second season of VIKINGS helps draw interest!

So, what do you love to watch? What are you most interesting in seeing this fall? What about T.V. grabs your imagination and holds on? I’d love to hear about some shows I haven’t discovered yet!

Leigh

Festivals, Fishing & Fun.....Summer 2013

Summer and early fall are my favorite times of the year. When winter hits hard in Wisconsin, usually between December 15th and March 1st, I dream about Spring daffodils, summer festivals, and Scottish Highland Games. Every year we spend four days at Irish Fest in Milwaukee, the largest Celtic festival in the world. We have a team for the Run/Walk on the Saturday morning of the fest. All proceeds go to finding a cure for arthritis, something one if four Americans suffer from. It feels good to help fund research while communing with wonderful people and the greatest festival I’ve ever attended.
 
This year has been a little nuts for me. I tested for my 5th degree black-belt in karate this Spring and then for 5th degree in weapons on June 1st, which also happened to be the day of the Spring Highland Games.  Talk about a whirlwind entry into the season. I literally blinked and now it’s the last week before my daughter goes back to UW in Madison. That fast, and the chaos of a new school year is quickly upon us; my son starts High School the day after Labor Day.
 
We try to pack as much wonderfulness into our summers as we can. This summer has been no exception. One of my favorite parts of it we spent in the Tetons and Yellowstone National Park. I love fishing and we never get to do enough of it. Last month I posted about the brown and cutthroat trout we caught at the dam in the Tetons and cooking them on the camp stove. Yum!
 
The summer isn’t over…thank the goddess…and there’s still so much to do. We haven’t taken the bikes out yet and are set to this week. This is the first time we’ll have our daughter on her own motorcycle, she’s so excited and so are we.
 
This year I’m running the dog tent at the end of summer Wisconsin Highland Games over Labor Day. Cian, our son, is helping with ax and knife throwing and my daughter will be taking a turn in the St. Andrews Society (the oldest charity group in Wisconsin) tent. It’s our last summer weekend and one we look forward to all year. It’s too bad it coincides with Harley Davidson’s 110th anniversary celebration which is bound to be a fantastic event! So if you’re up for a trip to Milwaukee, check it out. If you’re not going to be here this year, come see us the third weekend in August next year for Irish Fest. I’d love to have you on our MACSKI’s Highland Food Team for the run/walk to Irish Fest, then stick around for one of the biggest and best cultural festivals in the world. A walk through the Milwaukee Art Museum after is definitely in order . Bristol Wisconsin, right over the Illinois border, is also worth a stop for the largest Renaissance Fair in the country.

I sound like a walking advertisement for my state . I guess I am. Summer and fall in Wisconsin are magical. Which leads me to my WIP (work-in-progress) part 1 of my Scottish Historical Damselfly series which takes place during the Viking age in Scotland, circa 900 AD. Merlin, from books 2 & 3 of my contemporary Warrior Chronicle series plays a leading role and I get to explore the beginnings of my Scottish secret society dedicated to preserving and sharing Celtic artifacts. It’s been fun exploring this imaginary world of myth and magic interwoven with bits of Clan Donald history. For any of you who have read FIGHTING FATE or DEFENDING DESTINY (just published last month and soon to be free on Amazon) if you’d like to see something special in the Damselfly Society lore, let me know and I’ll see if I can incorporate it. Could be fun 

By far, the best moments of this summer have been the quiet ones spent with my family. The second best have been the moments writing a world I’d love to visit in this new series. Going to each and every festival along the way is like collecting bits of inspiration, some of which even make it into my books!

So I raise an imaginary glass and say, “Slainte” friends! Here’s to living every summer moment while the sun is long and high to the fullest whether your journeys take you across the continent or just outside your front door, may every step bring joy.

Leigh

Cooking in the Mountains

(originally posted at my Authors of Main Street blog on 7/17/13)

BBQ or any kind of meal preparation that involves fun and the outdoors is always more about enjoying the company of those I love than the food itself, although that is important too. This season, summer into early fall, is perfect for outdoor life and outdoor cooking.

I'm typing this from the Starbucks in Jackson Hole, WY with very little battery life left in my husband's computer. We've been hiking and fishing and wading in alpine lakes and streams as we bond as a family. And we've been camping in tents and preparing most of our meals on a gas stove or directly over a campfire.

My favorite so far has been our dinner of Cutthroat trout which we all took a hand in catching under the dam in the Snake River. I'm happy to say I caught four of the nine we consumed! The best way to cook mountain trout is fresh with butter. That's it. That's all. Just butter, mountain air and flame until they are no longer raw. No salt. No pepper. No lemon. Just a whole lotta love and an appreciation for the atmosphere and the fish who presented themselves for our dinner.
 
When I get home I will be posting more recipes in the comment section of my post. Mainly because I LOVE to cook and I LOVE to share. :)

Below please find a link to my latest book in the Warrior Chronicles: DEFENDING DESTINY. It is available exclusively on Amazon's KDP Select until Oct. 7th, and will be widely available after that date.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Defending-Destiny-Warrior-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B00DUQ56V4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374003944&sr=8-1&keywords=leigh+morgan+defending+destiny

Happy Reading. Happy Eating. And Happy Trails, My Friends! Love from the Tetons,

Leigh