Got back from Ireland Thursday night. It was wonderful — and I would have been here earlier but I got food poisoning on the drive back home from the airport! Argh.

I will spare you details of that, but just say that I’m now vertical for the first time since Thursday evening.

We had a wonderful trip with lots of high points — but for me the “highest” point was my experience with Flynn’s drafty castle.

It was, of course, the reason I went. I needed some first hand experience with old manor houses of Ireland, a sense of what it would have been like to grow up there — and a sense of how it would have felt to Sara to suddenly be thrust into that world.

I got it at a wonderful country house called Ballyvolane.

You can read all about the real Ballyvolane on their own website. I won’t reproduce it here. But I wil say that it was a marvelous venue for a “house party” which I had with Kate Walker and her husband, another couple from Dublin and my friend Nancy who came along as gadget-master, voice-over artist, key-misplacer and potential cat-slayer (no, not really, it just looked that way).

The day we arrived at Ballyvolane — after a drive from Galway — we were just in time for afternoon tea. I must get the recipe for the lemon cake which was superb. We enjoyed sitting by the fire in the drawing room and getting to know Noodle, a terrier with opinions, Wriggle, a spaniel chocolate lab mix who was a wonderful hostess and absolutely determined to share every inch of her domain with us, and Archie, the largest cat in Christendom — or at least Ireland, here in Kate’s arms. Noodle, Wriggle and Archie alone would have made our stay memorable.

But then we had dinner. And what a wonderful dinner it was. I’ll dig up my menu and post in sometime soon. I still haven’t dealt with the contents of my suitcase. Suffice it say it was a grand meal, after which we spent more time lazing about the drawing room before tottering up to our beds.

The next day we awoke to the “soft day” I wrote about earlier — the one where the rain was bucketing down and the winds were howling. I was sitting in the drawing room by the fire typing that. It was a wonderful blustery day. We learned first hand about drafts — and how to avoid them. I can see that Flynn will have his hands full making his castle airtight. If he can!

We spent most of that day indoors. But Nancy the intrepid braved the gale early and came back to report on wonderful paths through the woods and a magnificent walled garden. So while it was still windy but with a break in the rain, I went out and wandered around, too. Early spring flowers were already in bloom — some daffodils, with more waiting in the wings, crocuses, snowdrops. The rhododendrons were almost ready to burst forth. In another few weeks Ballyvolane will be awash in spring colors. It will be — if possible — even more beautiful than it was when we were there a few days ago.

We dined out that night and came back to a clear night sky with the most incredible profusion of stars imaginable. I haven’t seen that many since the moonless night I was driving from Wichita to Dodge City and the milky way was spread before me in such a dazzling display of starlight that I didn’t expect to ever see anything come close. Last week at Ballyvolane, it came close.

And then there were the trees. I was looking for trees because Flynn and Liam are going to build a treehouse (nothing like giving away the book, right?). But I knew I had to have a place they could do that. And Ballyvolane came through. It has treehouse potential in spades. Perfect places for father and son to do a bit of bonding.

And I didn’t even have to imagine it as a home for little boys. It has its own in residence right now. And their own children’s room — not to mention the vast gardens complete with soccer goal — provided plenty of inspiration for how Liam will cope.

I couldn’t have asked for a better castle for Flynn. It was a great success.

The book is here in my head. Now, as Kate says, all I need are the words!

It is, as they say here in Ireland, a “soft day.”

That means it’s raining.

It is actually pouring. The rain is coming down in buckets. It’s enough to make you reconsider the sign in Abby Green’s day job office that says there is NOT a never-ending supply of water, so please conserve. There is — pretty much — a never-ending supply here.

But that’s just today. Every other day since we’ve been here it’s been beautiful. Amazing, really. And since we left home in a blizzard, we are impressed. It’s a funny thing about weather. It’s entirely subjective. While we were sitting in the airport contemplating the swirling snow that made entire buildings disappear, we said things like, “I think it’s letting up. No problem. We should be able to get out easily.”

But at the same time we were taking photos and mini-movies of it which, when we show them to people now, they gasp in horror and say, “You left in THAT?”

Well, we wanted to get here. And we figured the pilot did, too. And we did. And he did. And we’ve had a wonderful trip so far. And if you notice Sara dealing with a blizzard when she takes off for Ireland, you’ll know that she is speaking from experience — my experience.

I found a few copies of The Santorini Bride in Galway. That was fun. Of course it might have been more fun if they’d been sold out. But then I might simply have worried that they had never appeared at all. So it was probably better this way.

Been taking lots of pictures. Have met two great dogs — Wriggle and Noodle — and a tuxedoed cat called Archie. Archie is sawing wood rather loudly in the next chair even as I type this. I’ll post his picture later, when I can actually upload them.

Have enjoyed the whole trip. Fantastic time with Abby Green in Dublin. Super couple of days in Galway. Now we’re deep into the drafty Irish castle part of the trip. This isn’t a castle. It’s better. It’s a real country house, built in 1724. Exactly the sort of place that Flynn would have loved as a child. But later . . . well, later he had to think things out.

Kate has been charming Archie. He has taken a great liking to her pashmina with its scent of Sid — and wrapped himself up in it. I think he wishes Sid had come along. They could have gone salmon fishing together.

Back to work . . . (Well, somebody’s got to do it).

It’s the year anniversary of this blog. I can’t believe it’s been a year.

Basically what that means is that at this time last year I had just finished Theo and Martha and had sent them off to my editor. And now they’re out and about leading their own lives, going on a honeymoon, having a kid. Wow.

A lot has happened this year. I’ve had comments and correspondence from people in far-flung corners of the earth. I met a real Theo Savas. I’ve had comments from a rodeo supply guy about bull-riding school. I’ve had correspondence from CJ at ClustrMaps and Roberto at Neoworx. Just the other day I sent a query to a company about their software after reading about it on a blog. The next morning I had an email from the software’s developer. I’m smiling.

This year on our first blogday I’m off to the airport to go to Dublin. We weren’t supposed to leave until tomorrow, but I think we’re going today because there seems to be a momentary lull in the snow fall. It’s supposed to pick up again in a few hours and continue into tomorrow. So today looks like the better bet. I hope.

Domenico has announced his winner in the Grooms’ Contest — she is Mona Hassan of Egypt. Congratulations, Mona. I have your books packed and will be sending them off this afternoon as I leave town. I hope you enjoy them. Max must be having too good a time on his honeymoon to bother to announce his winner on Liz’s blog. But she told me he’d sent her an email, so her winner will be getting books as well. But the announcement will have to come from Liz or Max on her blog.

I will hope to get a chance to post sometime while I’m gone. Maybe internet cafes will abound in Dublin, Galway and points south. We shall see. I’m not taking the computer, only my DANA, which is great for notetaking and doesn’t cause near the hassle getting through airports. It doesn’t “boot up” either — it just turns on and off. So I’ll be taking lots of notes, but it isn’t configured to go online, so I’ll have to be at a computer for that.

When I get back I want to write a “thank you” post to the two people who got me into writing romance in the first place. One is a childhood friend. The other is the Harlequin author whose book became my first “keeper.”

In the meantime, check back and see if I’ve found an internet cafe. Read lots of books. Track down Theo and Martha (aka The Santorini Bride) and put them at eye level! Ditto Domenico and Alice. Buy a copy of Max and Louise — they are now on the bookshelves as well. I saw them last night.

See you soon!