No Scotland, No Party!
In this newsletter:
A chance to win some free books!
Opportunity to read an advance reader copy of Highlands Summer Wedding.
The part where I softly beg you to pre-order my book.
Updates on the second half of the Scottish Tartan Army’s invasion of Boston.
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eBook & Paperback Sweepstakes!
(2) Winners of eBook “Gift Baskets” of ALL ebooks
Other Winners of individual ebooks or paperbacks (randomly selected)
Advance Reader Copies are here!
Whether you're already on NetGalley or curious to join, here's where to find it.
Q: What’s an ARC?
A: An advance reader copy. Usually an un-corrected early version of a book. Authors and publishers release them in hopes of stirring up interest and buzz via readers who will talk the book up to their friends, write reviews, and/or share on social media.
For more information, head over to www.NetGalley.com and read their FAQs. If you enjoy reading — and since you're here, I'm guessing yes — you might want to check it out.
Scotland in Boston, Part II
World Cup fever first struck me when I was teaching Spanish 3 four years ago. I teach in a very internationally diverse school with students from all over the world and they’re all very into soccer, AKA football.
Four years ago it was a NIGHTMARE trying to teach while the students all had Chromebooks and no one had thought to find a way to block streaming the games. And the games were on during the school day because they were being held abroad.
Fast forward to this time around, the games are all at a decent hour of the day because they’re in our time zone. I knew they’d be playing some games in Boston, but I did NOT imagine the incredible impact the Scottish Tartan Army (their fan group) would have on the city. Reports of 30-50,000 kilted men in football shirts, playing bagpipes, wearing Jimmy hats (new term for me — a plaid cap with fake ginger hair poking out the back, often worn during football games) and belting out songs. We heard everything from endless renditions of No Scotland, No Party to heartfelt versions of Wild Scottish Thyme and the Proclaimer’s Sunshine on Leith and, of course, 500 Miles. It was MAGICAL.
Another big surprise was the traffic cones. I knew this went on in Glasgow, but I didn’t expect it would spread this far across the Atlantic. Three kilted young lads climbed up the George Washington Statue by the Boston Common and crowned our nation’s first president with a traffic cone. “It’s a sign of respect,” they explained.
The next statue coned went semi-viral with the headline “Boston has fallen.” Bostonians and Scots were delighted and soon every statue that was noteworthy was proudly wearing a cone on his or her head.
Always a trend-follower, I ordered two orange traffic cone hats (after learning that the one the police accidentally left in our driveway a few months ago was both incredibly heavy and horrifically filthy).
Pro tip: You know how in Presumed Innocent Harrison Ford puts on a St. Patrick’s Day green bowler hat and slips into the parade crowd, losing the police that are chasing him? Turns out, wearing a bright orange traffic cone on your head doesn’t make you blend in. In fact, you might find people wanting to take selfies with you, or podcasters approaching you with a microphone, asking you to explain what the cones are all about. I ended up in a televised interview on Telemundo speaking Spanish while wearing a traffic cone on my head. Thank God my students didn’t see me! :)
And now, the begging portion of our program:
I promised soft begging, so here it is: 🥺 Pre-ordering Highlands Summer Wedding costs less than most Starbucks drinks and means everything to an indie author. It helps the freaking algorithms and we all know we need to be allegiant to the algorithms and must never speak ill of them. One click. I wore a traffic cone on my head on Telemundo. Surely we’re even.
What’s the traffic cone thing all about?
Glad you asked.
Apparently in the ‘80s some young Glaswegian football fans decided that the statue of the Duke of Wellington needed a little something. So they accessorized the Duke with a jaunty traffic cone on his head. The police took it down. The football fans put it back up. The police took it down. Guess what the football fans did in response? This went on for a while. Scots have a reputation for being stubborn, and the footballers won. The statue can be found in front of the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow.
My grandfather was born in Glasgow and would’ve appreciated everything about this. I wore the cone to honor him. That is absolutely the only reason and I will not be taking further questions at this time. :)
HAPPY SUMMER!
Amy