Today I'm welcoming the very talented Melinda De Ross to my blog. I've long been a fan of Melinda's. I love her storytelling technique and her poetic use of language. And, since there is nothing I enjoy more than a romance tinged with horror and suspense, I couldn't wait to hear more about Melinda's latest book, Chronicles of The Blood Countess! 

About the Author
Anca-Melinda Coliolu, writing as Melinda De Ross, lives in her native Romania with her husband and a pair of rude parrots. She attended Law School and got her degree but worked as a journalist for several newspapers, polishing her writing skills. 
It never occurred to her that she wanted a career as an author until she began writing, as therapy to get perspective on a crucial part of her life.
Melinda was a professional target shooter for a decade, winning multiple National Championships. She was breaking records in her teens until health issues forced her to give up the sport.
Out of that heartbreak, Rendezvous with Hymera – her first novel – started taking shape and so began her career as a Romantic Suspense author.
Melinda has always been a fan of writers like Diana Gabaldon, Nora Roberts and Sandra Brown. Currently she weaves romance into tales laced with the paranormal and occult. Her interests in yoga, philosophy and a large range of other disciplines give her work depth and color.
Other books by Melinda De Ross include: Unabridged, The Coriola Series (Mirage Beyond Flames and Dante’s Amulet), Chronicles of The Blood Countess, Be My Valentine, and A Touch Of Poetry. 
She loves to hear from her readers, and you can find her at:
http://melindadeross.wordpress.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Melinda-De-Ross/513999791983330
https://twitter.com/melinda_de_ross
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7163748.Melinda_De_Ross

George, eldest son of King George III and Queen Charlotte, was born in 1762. He rebelled against the strict discipline imposed by his parent and, as a young man, supported the Whigs while his father favoured the Tories.
At the age of eighteen George began an affair with an actress, Perdita Robinson, which was followed by a relationship with Lady Melbourne. He secretly married Maria Fitzherbert, but the marriage was illegal because she was a Catholic.
George was notorious for being a gambler, womaniser and heavy drinker, all of which further damaged his relationship with his father. He ran up huge debts and, in an effort to persuade Parliament to pay them off, agreed to marry his cousin, Caroline of Brunswick. The couple took an instant dislike to each other and, after the birth of their daughter Charlotte in 1796, they lived apart.
In 1811, George II was no longer able to carry out his duties as king and George, Prince of Wales, was appointed Regent. Despite his earlier promises to the Whigs, he quickly became a firm supporter of the Tories. 
During this period, the Regent commissioned John Nash to build Buckingham Palace and to rebuild the Royal Pavilion at Brighton.
On the death of his father in 1820, George became king. When Caroline tried to claim her right to be Queen, he tried to have their marriage dissolved. There were public demonstrations against the new king, which intensified when Caroline was turned away from the doors of Westminster Abbey when she tried to attend the coronation. Caroline died suddenly in 1821.
George's decadent lifestyle took its toll on his health. He was grossly overweight and addicted to alcohol and probably laudanum. He also showed some tendencies towards the mental illness which had affected his father. George IV died in 1830. His only child, Princess Charlotte, had died in 1817 and George was succeeded by his brother, who reigned as William IV.   

George III was the son of Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, and grandson of George II. He was born in London in 1738. 
There were concerns about his development and he did not read until he was eleven, although his tutors confirmed that he put a great deal of effort into his studies. 
George became king in 1760. He had fallen in love with Sarah Lennox, but was persuaded by his friend and mentor, the Earl of Bute, to end the relationship. George married Princess Charlotte of Mecklenberg-Strelitz, who bore him fifteen children. George made some unpopular political decisions, including the appointment of the Earl of Bute as Prime Minister and the policies which led to the American War of Independence. He was also accused of trying to influence and manipulate Parliament. 
In November 1788, George attacked his eldest son George, Prince of Wales and had to be restrained. His doctors tried a variety of treatments and declared in April 1789 that he was recovered from his bout of madness. 
George III was a deeply unpopular king and several attempts were made to assassinate him. His health was poor and he had recurring mental breakdowns. In 1810, when his insanity was declared permanent, his son, George, was appointed Regent. 
George III died in 1820.
The Prince of Wales has revealed that King George III is the king he most respects. Although people at the time thought George III was mad, Prince Charles said he had an illness and that he was actually a good man and a very dutiful king.
Critics have said that George III, who was on the throne from 1760 to 1820, did not adequately protect Britain's interests because he supported policies that led to the American War of Independence.
In 1788 he suffered his first bout of what was believed at the time to be insanity. When he tried to kill his eldest son (later the Prince Regent then George IV) he had to be placed in a straight-jacket and an iron chair was designed to restrain him. 
It is now believed that he suffered from porphyria, an iron deficiency that has affected other members of the Royal Family, which can cause seizures. 
His story was told in the 1994 film 'The Madness of King George', in which the king was played by Nigel Hawthorne. 
In 2004, Prince Charles told a television documentary that King George was one of Britain's most dutiful, cultured and misunderstood rulers who studied the arts and sciences and was involved in agriculture, astronomy and clock-making. 
"George III led Britain through 60 years of enormous social upheaval, industrial revolution and terrible hardships inflicted by war with Napoleon," he said. "Yet history remembers him above all as 'the mad king' or the king who lost America.

Count Philip Christoph von Königsmarck was a charismatic Swedish count born in 1665 who was the lover of Princess Sophia Dorothea of Celle. He disappeared in 1694 and it is widely believed that he was murdered.  
The correspondence between Count Philip von Königsmarck and Sophia Dorothea (wife of George Louis of Hanover, later King George I of England) was preserved by his sister, Aurora. It tells the story of a doomed love affair. This is one version of events that was told at the time.
On the night of 1st July 1694, Königsmarck was seen entering Sophia Dorothea's apartments in the Leineschloss Palace. He is believed to have received a note, purportedly from Sophia Dorothea summoning him to meet with her. The note was actually from Countess Clara von Platen with whom Königsmarck had had a brief affair. She was the mistress of Elector Ernest Augustus, a beautiful, scheming woman who was in love with Königsmarck and was intensely jealous of Sophia Dorothea. 
Clara von Platen was so desperate to preserve her youth that she bathed daily in milk and, to ensure her popularity, had the milk distributed to the poor after she had finished with it.
Königsmarck had arranged a carriage to take him and Sophia Dorothea to Wolfenbuttel. She was desperate to escape from her husband (who became King George I of England) who had attacked her and come close to killing her when he learned of her affair with Königsmarck. This was in spite of the fact that he lived openly with his mistress, Ehrengard Melusine von Schulenberg.
While the lovers made their plans, Clara von Platen was nearby with her servants. When Königsmarck tried to leave, he found his way blocked. He fought bravely but was outnumbered and, as he lay dying, Clara von Platen ground her heel into his mouth. She then ordered her servants to throw his body into the palace latrines, cover it with lime and brick it up. 
The following day, George Louis had his wife imprisoned in the castle of Ahlden where she remained until her death over 30 years later.
Two of the servants involved in Königsmarck's murder are believed to have confessed to the crime several years later.

Charles Edward Stewart, the Young Pretender, was routed by the Duke of Cumberland on Culloden Moor in 1746. Aided by the Jacobite heroine, Flora MacDonald, Bonnie Prince Charlie escaped to the island of Skye in the inner Hebrides. He was finally taken by a French vessel to Morlaix on the coast of Bretagne. The first half of the tune is said to be an old sea shanty, the other half is traditionally attributed to Miss MacLeod.

Skye Boat Song
Speed bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing,
Onward, the sailors cry
Carry the lad that's born to be king
Over the sea to Skye

Loud the winds howl, loud the waves roar,
Thunder clouds rend the air;
Baffled our foe's stand on the shore
Follow they will not dare

Though the waves leap, soft shall ye sleep
Ocean's a royal bed
Rocked in the deep, Flora will keep
Watch by your weary head

Many's the lad fought on that day
Well the claymore could wield
When the night came, silently lay
Dead on Culloden's field

Burned are our homes, exile and death
Scatter the loyal men
Yet, e'er the sword cool in the sheath,
Charlie will come again.

Words by Sir Harold Boulton, Bart. 1884. 
Music by Annie MacLeod.