What's in a name?

Where did the name Feather Blue come from? Crazy as this sounds, it was my mom's Kentucky Derby Horse name! You can find your name on The Courier-Journal or just google Kentucky Derby horse name.  My name was Bluegrass Boots which is cute too but Feather Blue was special and later became the name for my etsy shop and for this blog. Soon after we discovered our "names" I left my position with Jos. A. Bank and went to work for..... Wait for it.... Wild Birds Unlimited and discovered my love for blue feathered birds!

Floromancy

Floromancy--the art of divining with flowers.  Sounds like an occult, perhaps something a witch would practice?  Did you know that many of us have practiced this art ourselves?  Have you ever pulled the petals off of a daisy chanting "He loves me, he loves me not"?--That, my friends is Floromancy.  I never even realized that such a thing existed until I read 'The Flower Reader' by Elizabeth Loupas.  If you love historical fiction, "witchy" stories, or even flower gardening, I think you would enjoy this book.  Following is the review that I wrote for Goodreads back in April:

The Flower Reader by Elizabeth Loupas

Challenges read for:  Ebook, Historical Fiction, Witches Reading, Women Authors

Book cover:  Pretty, more evocative of a Romance read.

I've become quite weary of novels about the Tudors and Mary Queen of Scots, but I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed this read.  Mary, QOS is a minor player in this novel, but still has an important presence in the telling of the story.  Rinette Leslie of Granmuir is our heroine--and a memorable one at that.  Rinette is present during the final hours of Mary of Guise's life and is entrusted with the delivery of a sealed casket to the newly crowned Mary, Queen of Scots.

However, just as she and her new husband deliver the casket to it's secret hiding place, her husband is brutally murdered--and so it begins.  We follow Rinette through her trials and tribulations of life at court--both in and out of the Queen's favor.  You are quick to realize that Rinette will do anything for her family and her beloved Granmuir--the place that keeps calling her back.  I loved the inclusion of floromancy--divining by reading flowers.  It gave this read a bit of occult which is why I am including it in my Witches Reading Challenge. :)

Nontheless, Rinette proves a force to be reckoned with.  Kidnapped, tortured, spied upon, threatened--she survives it all and in doing so finds a love constant and true that enables her to reunite with her family and her beloved home.  I am looking forward to Elizabeth Loupas' latest--The Red Lily Crown--I'm sure it will be just as wonderful as The Flower Reader.

All the best!

Diane