Celtic Romance At The Movies

My name is Cornelia Amiri and I write Celtic/Romances in the unique periods of the dark ages and ancient times so very few films are similar to my books. But lately there have been two movies which are like my two latest Celtic/Romances.

The Eagle is set in 2nd century Scotland about the 9th Legion Hispana. My book Druid Bride has the same setting and it included some of the history of the Picts and their clash with the 9th legion.

Here is an excerpt of Druid Bride that includes mention of the IX Hispana:

Breathing deeply, her heart still hammered as she ran down the hill toward the chief. The gods bestowed their foresight, handed the Caledonians a victory, but only if Calach heeded her vision, or the advantage would be lost. Now or never, together, the tribes had to move as one. As she called for Calach, the villagers ran toward the chief’s wheelhouse. She combed her fingers through her hair. She must look a fright—no food, no mirror, and no bath for three days. But it was well worth the insight the gods gave her.

Before she made it halfway to the chief’s wheelhouse, Calach—with Brude at his side—rushed up to her. Brude looked at her with a seductive gleam in his eyes. He didn't seem to even notice her disarray. They stood in the middle of the village with the entire tribe and the visiting chieftains.

“Hail druidess, what message have the gods brought forth?” Calach pierced her with an intense gaze as he waited for an answer.

“Hasten, you must raid the camp of the 9th Legion at once. Now separated from Agricola, they are vulnerable, but only at night. The gods granted me foresight of the attack, and we were the victors.”

Brude pulled her into his arms and spun her around. “You will bring us a victory.” He pressed his open lips to hers in a warm kiss of celebration.

Like fire on her mouth, she’d hungered for his wet, delicious kiss. What happened to the crowd that had clamored around them? No Romans, no chiefs, just Brude holding her in his warm embrace against his broad, throbbing chest. She and Brude. What else could there be?

Click here to see a trailer for Druid Bride.

The movie Red Ridng Hood recently came out and there are many similarities between it and my paranormal/erotica/romance The Wolf and the Druidess.

Both stories are taken from ancient legends. Red Riding Hood is from a legend over 700 years old and The Wolf and the Druidess is from a much, much older myth. The heroines in both are beautiful women who wear long cloaks and hoods. Both tales are historical stories. They both meet a wolf who shapeshifts a man, the difference is my wolf transforms to a god.

Here is an excerpt of The Wolf and The Druidess:
From the eerie silence of the forest, a haunting howl ripped through the air. She stopped in her tracks. It sounded too close. A wolf hunting. There was better game than her. Knowing there was nothing for her to be afraid of, she remained brave, yet her body trembled. With her next steps, she kept her footfalls as light as possible, walking stealthily on the path, to not draw the beast’s attention.

When she came upon the clearing, she held the torch out and gazed at the large, smooth stones, piled one on top of the other. Her mother’s cairn lay in a pool of dried leaves. Her throat tightened and she swallowed back a sob as she moved closer. She couldn’t breathe. Heat radiated from the grave as if her mother stood there. Seren bore a hard stare at the stones as if to call forth the image of the tall woman, with a compelling oval face framed by shoulder-length brown hair.

“Mam...” Her voice choked. “I have brought a basket of Samhain treats.”

Though her mother didn’t appear, she knew she soon would. Her body quivered, not from fear but from joy bubbling in her. She shone the firebrand on an old oak stump in front of the cairn and plopped down on it. Seren stabbed the end of the torch into the ground, so she had light. Facing the cairn, she called out to her mother’s spirit.

“We have a lovely feast.” Seren pulled out a large red apple. She stood, stepped forward, and stooped down to set it on the pile of stones.

When she straightened, she gasped. There, by the oak, facing her, with naught between her and it, but the cairn, loomed a white wolf with pink-tipped ears. Seren stood transfixed. Her heart hammered at the look of hunger in his amber eyes, glowing like a Samhain fire.

Fighting her fear, she remembered her druid training, her knowledge of wolf lore. In a soft, soothing tone, she spoke. “Wolf, we live in peace, you and I and your kind and mine. On this eve of Samhain, it is best you stay with your pack. For those who appear human, this eve, may not be.”

She smiled and he seemed to grin back, but the flash of his white, jagged teeth roused her fears even more. She didn’t want those fangs sinking into her flesh. She took a deep breath. “Do not chew on me, there is better meat for you in the deep dark woods.” His pink tongue, hanging from his huge mouth captured her gaze.

As the beast jerked his neck back and howled, the haunting sound reverberated in the air. Slow and quiet so the wolf wouldn’t become alarmed, she took one step back. He wiggled his nose as if smelling her. Seren shivered as she gazed at his long snout. The looming wolf took one step closer. She could not outrun him. If she managed to trick him and get away long enough to hide, he would sniff her out.

“Wolf, look what I have for you.” Pulling out a black pudding link, she tossed it toward him. It landed in a patch of grass at his side. “Food.” She smiled. “Eat your food, wolf. It is good.”

The white wolf never turned its head. With his gaze fixed on Seren, he stared hungrily, as if he thought of her as a delicious treat. Seren blinked and wondered if it was all the tall trees amid the darkness and the shadows in the night that caused the beast to appear as if his form shifted. She clutched her chest. Her heartbeat quickened as the wolf’s fur and muscles twisted. The beast’s body emitted sounds like the creaking of joints but much louder. Watching the wolf’s body expand while other features contracted made her stomach lurch. She slid her hand from her chest to her belly. A voice in her head told her what she saw couldn’t be real. She blinked, yet still the wolf changed before her eyes, his gorgeous white pelt shortened until it transformed into bronze tinted skin.

A tall man with cascading golden hair and eyes the gray-blue of a stormy, summer sky stood nude before her. Seren blinked again. The man fluttered his hands in front of his body and suddenly he was clothed in an opened white, gold-speckled druid robe and plaid pants covered his trunk-like legs. Heat emanated from him.

She gawked at the lush bronze skin of his bare, muscular chest beneath his robe. “Druid robe...shape shifted from wolf to…” As realization dawned, she dropped to her knees. ”God Gwydion, it is you?”

Speaking of movies and great romance books, I took Sunday afternoon off and went to see Jane Eyre. Loved it. Well worth seeing. They did an excellent job. Fantastic casting. True to the book. You gotta see it. So, I hope you all see some great movies and read some fantastic books, and for more on Druid Bride and The Wolf and The Druidess please visit CelticRomanceQueen.com