Blog Tour: By Blood by Tracy E. Banghart {Guest Post + Giveaway}

Top Ten Favorite Places in ~~England~~ the UK

Guest Post by Tracy E. Banghart

Back in 2006 I went to grad school in Oxford, England. A few years later, I was feeling really homesick for the UK, so I decided to write a book set there! Many of the places Emma visits in By Blood are among my favorites - that just made writing the book even more fun. (And I'm cheating a little…this is my list of top 10 places in the UK, not just England ;-))

The Dorchester. Image source.

10. The Dorchester, London - super swanky hotel I could never afford to actually stay in - but they do the quintessential "high tea" in the lobby…and it's AWESOME. I LOVE a good high tea.

9. Edinburgh, Scotland -- Maybe the most inspiring city I've visited. The old part of the city is so mysterious, with its winding cobblestone streets…you walk around and just KNOW there are ghosts walking with you. The castle (I have a thing for castles ;-)) is big and imposing…and I love the way it's built into the cliff as if it grew there. Like many (specifically, anyone who's ever read Outlander by Diana Gabaldon!), I've always been intrigued by Scottish history, and Edinburgh is just the kind of place you can imagine imposing Scotsmen in kilts stomping around. And who wouldn't want to imagine that? ;-)

8. Avebury -- When I was in grad school, I went on a hike in Avebury, and ever since I've been haunted by the sight of these huge standing stones erupting from the ground - in the village, out in pastures with cows passing by, everywhere! Stonehenge is impressive, but it's also remote - it stands all by itself on a hill, this huge monument. In Avebury, the village sort of grew up around the standing stones, making it a really cool visual representation of the ancient with the modern, side by side. It inspired all sorts of cool, creepy scenarios in my head, one of which, of course, made it into By Blood!

7. Ben's Cookies in the Covered Market, Oxford -- one word: YUM. Best cookies I've ever had. (Emma liked them too. ;-))

Caerphilly Castle. Image Source.

6. Caerphilly Castle, Wales -- I have family friends that live near Caerphilly, and we'd always go visit this castle. It's amazing - huge and RIGHT in the middle of Caerphilly! I love the leaning tower and walking along the ramparts.

5. Thornbury Castle - It's a castle that's been reclaimed as a luxury hotel…my husband and I stayed here for one night during a trip to England (at the time he was deployed and we met in England for two weeks during his leave - the only time we saw each other for an entire year!). We stayed in the room Anne Boleyn stayed in! Luckily there were no beheadings or ghost sightings. Just the really cool experience of staying in a castle. We felt like famous people for a day. Ha!

4.The Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford -- This is one of my favorite places in Oxford and the scene when Emma visits it is one of my favorite in By Blood! It's unlike any other museum I've visited - all these incredible artifacts are piled together in glass cases in one huge room...it's sensory overload in the best way.

The Pitts River Museum. Image Source.

3. The Turf, Oxford -- My favorite pub in Oxford. I loved how it was so hard to find…and yet always so crowded! My friends and I would gather there, usually on the outside patio around a fire pit, with our pints of beer (or, in the summer, our Pimm's and lemonades), and just have a good time.

2. Christ Church Meadows, Oxford -- When I lived in Oxford, this was my very favorite place. I would walk through the meadows on my way to work each morning, and it was always misty and quiet, with the trees casting long shadows. After the bustle of the city, that walk was a welcome time to think and take a mental break from the world.

1. A teeny rental car (okay, this is kind of cheat too ;-)) -- I love driving along the narrow winding roads through tiny villages in the Cotswolds, Lake District, and the Highlands. I've taken several road trips in the UK over the years and always find new favorite routes and stops. It truly is a beautiful country.

By Blood By Blood #1 Tracy E. Banghart Publication Date: February 1, 2013 Genre: YA Paranormal

For 17-year-old Emma Wong, spending a summer in England should be a dream come true. Gorgeous scenery? Check. Lots of hot guys with accents? Yes, please.

Throw in an estranged mom, annoying new stepdad, and drooling baby half-brother, and it’s a disaster even her favorite cherry red leather jacket can’t fix. Even worse, there’s (hot) live-in research assistant Josh to contend with. The only thing more embarrassing than drunk-kissing him hours after they meet? Knowing he’ll be witness to her family’s dysfunction all. summer. long.

But when Emma meets a mysterious girl who happens to be a Druid, her vacation suddenly promises to be far more intriguing than she anticipated. Powerful rituals, new friends, an intoxicating sense of freedom...and Simon, the sexy foreign stranger she was hoping for. It’s all a perfect distraction from dirty diapers and awkward family dinners.

Trouble is, intriguing doesn’t often mean simple. And Emma is about to discover just how not simple her life really is.

By Blood is a novel about the ways that blood can bind us to others – or tear us apart.

Moon Child
By Blood #2
Tracy E. Banghart
Publication Date: August 16, 2013
Genre: YA Paranormal

Before Emma's adventures in Oxford, her best friend Diana came face-to-face with a killer...

Diana Calvert is so over high school. Who cares if Olivia hates her? And David needs to forget about having a crush on her STAT. Even Emma’s crazy fashion choices can’t keep Diana entertained. All she can hope for is a dance scholarship to a college as far away as possible from too-small, too-boring, too-nothing-ever-happens New Freedom, PA.

Then Diana meets Nicholas Woodhaven. He’s pale, angry…yet weirdly charming. The more time they spend together, the more she wonders who – or what – he really is. Because he isn’t anything like the other guys she knows. Not with the whole only-going-out-at-night thing. And living with his creepy aunt. And not going to school.

Just when Diana thinks she’s got Nicholas all figured out, people in her small, nothing-ever-happens town start dying. She has to wonder – can she trust him? And even more alarming – could she be next?

A murder mystery with a paranormal twist, Moon Child is best read under the covers with a flashlight...if you dare!

About the Author

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Tracy E. Banghart is a cheesy movie–loving, fantasy football–playing (go Ravens!), globe-trotting Army wife who began “practicing” her craft at the age of five, when she wrote her first story. She loves visiting the international friends she met while pursuing her MA in Publishing and spends a portion of every summer at her family’s cabin in Canada, where she finds inspiration and lots of time to relax on the dock. She lives with her husband, son, two lazy dogs and one ornery cat. When not writing or spending time with her family, she is on a mission to bake the perfect cupcake.