Those cute Easter Bunnies.

 A few months ago, we were all enamored of those darling Easter Bunnies. History, however, indicates these sweet furry critters may have a more eye opening beginning. And perhaps the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog in Monty Python's "In Search of the Holy Grail" wasn't so outrageous after all.

 Killer Rabbit Of Caerbannog Tapestry

From TeePublic

  Along the edges of Medieval books, manuscripts’ marginalia, we  find odd images with all sorts of monsters, half man-beasts, monkeys, and more. Even in religious books the margins sometimes have drawings making fun of monks, nuns and bishops. 

    Were these fascinating inserts the dark humor of the monks who spent millions of hours copying manuscript after manuscript? More likely, the illustrations were used to add humor, showcase imagination, and occasionally provide social commentary by mocking contemporary life. 

   These images, opposites of real life, became known as drollery. According to Webster droll means having a humorous, whimsical, or odd quality. Drollery, is the world turned upside down. 

    In these examples, the unassuming gentle bunny, frequently hunted and eaten by the local people, is shown turning the tables and attacking the hunter. 

  

 Here, an axe-wielding rabbit dares attack a king. The Gorleston Psalter, East Anglia, England, 1310-24

   But rabbits-gone-wild wasn't a flash in the pan idea. The practice of drollery in illuminate manuscripts spanned several hundred years with many fantastic beast/human combinations. 

       It's kind of  reassuring to think this covert sense of humor survived during a time when so many had so little. And wouldn't this be a good plot devise, secret information in the margins of an old manuscript...or a new manuscript depending the time period and genre in which you write. 

   I really liked Peter Austin's idea that these drolleries are like modern day memes, and we have been sending one another comical animal cartoons for centuries. 

 visit Peter Austin here

Here is a look at Rabbits in Art from 

    https://www.facebook.com/archaeologyart/reels/

 

                                     

My Stories: 

Western Romance: Break Heart Canyon * Undercover Outlaw * Cowboys, Cattle and Cutthroats * A Cowboy’s Fate*Special Delivery. 

Contemporary Romantic Thriller: Fatal Recall

Medieval Romance: The Dragon and The Rose * Iron Heart        *Promise Me Christmas. 

Victorian Romance: Lady Gallant * Victorian Dream 

Romantasy: The Fae Warriors Trilogy: Solace * Bliss * Portence 

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Amazon gift card at Audio book party.

 

Available here

Enter contest here

Special Delivery
Clover City, Colorado—1888
A mysterious letter and the drop-dead handsome town marshal, are the last things Mariah expects to find making rounds as a midwife. 
Mariah McAllister plans to be married before her next birthday. Too bad Marshal Virgil Kincaid barely knows she’s alive. Not one to give up easily, she’s determined to show him she has an abiding passion for more than her work.
Virgil Kincaid loved a woman once—after she broke his heart, he spent three years in prison. Women can’t be trusted, no matter how good they look. He’s sworn off relationships in favor of Saturday night poker games. Life is simple—the way he wants it…until a stranger turns up dead in the road. 
Forced to work side by side with Mariah, Virgil begins to wonder if she might be his second chance at love. As they trade kisses and oh so much more, he’s willing to take the gamble. But when a killer threatens their once peaceful town, all bets are off.  

****
Excerpt:
        Virgil Kincaid was a prime cut of man. Over six feet tall, he made Mariah’s five-foot seven height seem less gawky and awkward. And he was built for action, long and lean with broad shoulders—shoulders she hankered to hold onto—and with narrow hips—hips she could easily envision pressed up against her own. 
      And then there were his eyes. Grey as the sky in winter, full of secrets, revealing nothing. Virgil had been the town Marshal for nearly three years, yet no one knew where he’d come from or how long he intended to stay. What would it take to light a fire in those eyes and put settling down in his thoughts? 
       Her gaze drifted lower and latched onto the front of his denim trousers. A picture of what he might look like naked skittered across her mind and her cheeks grew hot at the imagining. 
       “You done lookin?” he asked.
        Her gaze snapped up to meet his and the heat of humiliation replaced the lustful warmth. 
        “Yes,” she babbled, “there doesn’t seem to be anything of interest here.”  
        “Really?” he challenged, with a cocky grin and a raised brow. 
         He stepped closer and stood so near she could smell the man sent of him as she tried to ratchet her breathing down to a more normal rate. 
        “You’re a very unusual woman, Miss McAllister.” 
        “Is that good or bad?” she dared to ask.
        “I’m not sure yet.”  

             

My Stories: 

Western Romance: Break Heart Canyon * Undercover Outlaw * Cowboys, Cattle and Cutthroats * A Cowboy’s Fate*Special Delivery. 

Contemporary Romantic Thriller: Fatal Recall

Medieval Romance: The Dragon and The Rose * Iron Heart  *Promise Me Christmas. 

Victorian Romance: Lady Gallant * Victorian Dream 

Romantasy: The Fae Warriors Trilogy: Solace * Bliss * Portence 

Blog www.ginirifkin.blogspot.com

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Amazon gift card giveaway during Audio Book Month

 

    A Cowboy’s Fate by Gini Rifkin is a Celebrate Audiobook Month pick with giveaway. Imagine a Wild West road-trip from Denver to Leadville, filled with danger, humor, and the predictions from the Tarot cards.

Book Blurb:

Colorado, 1880

  Kicked out of England for offending the Royal Family, Britania Rule heads for Leadville, in the Colorado backcountry. Passing herself off as a highborn lady, she pursues her dream of opening a parlor of spiritual enlightenment.

   Cody James, her guide, thinks he must be half-crazy to hire-out to a female. But his luck at the gaming tables has run dry, and she’s his meal-ticket out of town. Betrayed by the only woman he ever loved, and shot and left for dead by a man he once called friend, Cody declares himself a loner.

   Traveling side by side, they deny their desire for one another, but the Tarot cards say otherwise—their hot night of passion confirms the prediction. Will love be waiting at the end of the trail? Or could Cody’s past destroy their future?

                           Enter giveaway here

Author Biography:

Gini Rifkin writes stories of romance and adventure. Her settings include the American West, Medieval & Victorian England, and Contemporary thriller & fantasy. The Colorado Authors’ League honored Gini with two prestigious awards- Best Historical Romance of the Year and Best Romantic Thriller of the Year. She has also won The Beverley Award from Colorado Romance Writers, the Reviewer’s Choice Award from the Paranormal Romance Guild, the Reader’s Choice Award from Still Moments Magazine, and Best Thriller of the year from N.N. Light. Her new passion is spinning and weaving fleeces from her friend’s rescue sheep. Her lifelong passion is caring for her own rescue animals, including donkeys, goats, ducks, and one demanding cat.

   

My Stories: 

Western Romance: Break Heart Canyon * Undercover Outlaw * Cowboys, Cattle and Cutthroats * A Cowboy’s Fate*Special Delivery. 

Contemporary Romantic Thriller: Fatal Recall

Medieval Romance: The Dragon and The Rose * Iron Heart  *Promise Me Christmas. 

Victorian Romance: Lady Gallant * Victorian Dream 

Romantasy: The Fae Warriors Trilogy: Solace * Bliss * Portence 

Blog www.ginirifkin.blogspot.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/people/Gini-Rifkin-Author/100001680213365

Amazon author  https://amzn.to/2R53KA9

Pinterest             https://www.pinterest.com/ginirifkin/pins/

Goodreads                     http://bit.ly/2OnHbrK

Barnes and Noble          http://bit.ly/2xPs9S4

AudioBooks                  https://adbl.co/2OlWbGJ

LinkedIn                        https://www.linkedin.com/in/gini-rifkin-15950489/

Universal link                https://books2read.com/u/3JLGMv

The wild rose press     https://wildrosepress.com/?s=rifkin&post_type=product&type_aws=true