Virtual Book Tour: Stone of Destiny by Margaret Izard

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Margaret Izard will be awarding a Stone of Destiny Swag Box to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Bound by destiny, torn by fate—their love stood unbroken, victorious over all.

Kat MacArthur still feels the loss of her brother to another time. Seeking solace, she stumbles upon Ceallach, a Fae warrior, she’s had feelings for ever since she met him. The emotion grows stronger whenever they are together. Yet he warns her to stay away from the upcoming gathering for the Iona Stones. Kat refuses—she needs to be there to help her family and Ceallach.

Ceallach is torn between duty, magic, and the ache for mortal love. His Fae soul is sworn to protect the Iona Stones during the Gathering, but his heart is lost to Kat. With the prophecy looming, he cannot promise her forever—no matter how much he longs to. The maiden of the Iona Stones now faces sacrifice, and he fears if his beloved gets too close, he cannot save her.

When dark forces rise to take the Iona Stones along with their powers, Ceallach is forced into an impossible decision—to defy destiny or surrender to love?

Read an Excerpt

Still wearing a grin, he strode forward with confidence, and a sensuality Kat had not forgotten. The man still took her breath away with one look. Ceallach arrived before her, a smile playing on his lips. As his eyes swept across her face, the expression faltered. His brows knitted together in a frown, shadowing the sudden tension in his gaze. Reaching with his finger, he lifted a tear from her cheek, gripped his fist hard, and when opened, a small, clear teardrop-shaped gemstone sat in his palm.

“Dry yer tears, sweet Kat. Yer face is much prettier without them.” He took her hand and, with his other placed the gemstone in her palm. “When ye hold the gem, yer tears will fade, and happy thoughts shall fill yer heart.” When the stone touched her skin, her mind cleared, and a sense of ease washed over her.

Ceallach released her hand and strode past her to the doors.

Kat turned, calling after him. “Wait, why are ye here?”

The attractive Fae stopped and turned. “Dagda sent me. I’ve come to meet with the guardian of the stones. All the stones have returned. The gathering and battle of good vs evil is upon us. The gods have called, and we must answer.”

He opened the heavy oak doors without effort and strode through. The doors weight closed them, leaving Kat in the shadows again. She blinked, almost not believing her eyes and the truth before her. Her secret love had just casually strolled back into her life. Gripping the gem, he’d shaped from her tears, warmth washed over her. Ceallach was here. A smile crossed her face.

Ceallach was here.

Author Interview

Tell me about yourself. Where are you from?

MI: I’m a Texas-based romantic fantasy and paranormal romance author, and I’ve lived most of my life in Houston. While Texas is home, many of my stories are rooted elsewhere—especially in Scotland—because history, myth, and landscape all shape the way I imagine a world. I’m a former performer with a background in dance and theater, a mother to triplets, and a lifelong storyteller who came to writing full-time after years of carrying stories in my head. I write emotionally driven, myth-steeped romances filled with Fae, time-twisted history, and love that demands courage and choice.

What genre do you read? Who's an author you read? Name your top 5 authors.

MI: I love romance and some sci-fi. Top 5 -too many to pick from.

What book are you reading right now, and what do you like about it?

MI: I don’t read when editing or writing like I am now.

Favorite sports.

MI: Swimming, snorkeling, walking, riding bikes and my ballet. I still have injuries I must work around. My husband built me a small wooden floating dance floor to go with my ballet barre and this is where I work out. My injuries, the major ones, I have a full fusion in my lower back, a rebuilt knee from a skiing fall on New Year’s Eve and a torn Achilles that bothers me from time to time. 

Favorite thing about the state/country that you live in.

MI: What I love most about Texas is the scale of it—the land, the sky, the sense that there’s always room to breathe and become something new. Texas carries a fierce independence paired with deep-rooted hospitality. People here work hard, speak plainly, and show up when it counts. That mix of strength and warmth feels familiar to me, and it mirrors the kind of characters I’m drawn to write: resilient, loyal, and unafraid to stand their ground.

How long have you been writing?

MI: Full time – over six years although I started writing in my 30s, quit when I had triplets and returned to it recently. 

What inspired you to become a writer?

MI: I’ve always been a storyteller. I grew up in dance and theater, telling stories through movement and performance long before I ever put them on the page. I wrote off and on for years but didn’t fully commit until later in life, after raising my triplets and coming out of that chapter knowing it was finally my turn. Once I decided to take writing seriously, there was no going back—the stories had been waiting.

What is your writing process like? Are you more of a plotter or a pantser?

MI: I’m a plotter by nature. Before I ever start drafting, I need to understand the full arc of the story—where it begins, where it’s going and ends and the emotional and thematic beats along the way. Plotting gives me freedom rather than restriction; it lets me write deeply emotional scenes without losing my way or breaking the world’s internal rules.

My outlines are extensive—often more than fifty pages long—and break the story down chapter by chapter, then scene by scene. At times, I even map out key lines of dialogue. By the time I start drafting, the structure is solid, the path is clear, and I’m free to focus on emotion, depth, and execution rather than stopping to figure out what happens next.

How did you come up with the ideas for your series? (If your book is a standalone, please skip)

MI: The ideas for my series grew organically from my love of history, mythology, and emotionally driven romance. I’ve always felt drawn to the thin places between worlds, which led me to the Tuatha Dé Danann and their deep ties to land, fate, and power. They are who I’ve based my Fae on. From there, the Coronation Stone or Stone of Destiny caught my imagination—its journey through Dunstaffnage Castle, Scotland to the Isle of Iona sparked a question I couldn’t let go of. What if that stone held magic? And what if it wasn’t the only one? Once I started asking those questions, the world expanded naturally, and the idea of multiple stones—each tied to human emotion, sacrifice, and choice—took shape. That curiosity became the foundation of the Stones of Iona, and the series grew outward from there, stone by stone, story by story.

How do you celebrate finishing a book?

MI: Wine and chocolate. When I publish a book, pizza and wings with book Bday cake.

What would you tell a writer who is just starting? What program do you use for writing? What advice would you give to a writer working on their first book? What’s your writing software of choice?

MI: That’s four questions….

1. To the aspiring writer – Read. Read a lot of what you want to write, see what’s out there. Don’t do this alone. While writing is a solidary task you don’t have to do this alone. Find a group or guild and work with others to get feedback on your writing. And the last, Feedback is a gift. No matter the type of feedback, good, bad and ugly, view it as a gift because in this industry it’s hard to find.

2. Word

3. See #1 and add, find a critique group. Find someone to look at your work and you should also critique others. The activity is insightful and helps your growth as a writer. Take a class or workshop – I took many when I started and still take them from time to time. 

4. Word – nothing fancy over here, just me and the keys on my laptop. FYI – I’ve typed so much many keys are worn off.

How do you organize everything and find the time to sit down and write?

MI: OCD – seriously. My outlines can be upwards of over fifty pages. And that OCD keeps the series continuity on track.

As an author, what would you choose as your spirit animal?

MI: The fox fits me because I survive through adaptability and quiet intelligence. I read the room, adjust when I have to, and find creative paths forward instead of forcing my way through. I move between worlds—practical and imaginative, fierce and playful—and I protect what matters most while choosing carefully when to be seen.

Who has been the biggest supporter of your writing?

MI: My husband. He’s read my work from the start, proofed and edited when I needed help and helped dry my tears when tough times came my way. 

How do you name your characters?

MI: I name my characters very intentionally. Most names carry meaning within the story or connect to a historical or mythological marker that adds another layer to who that character is and what they represent. I choose each one carefully, making sure it supports the world, the themes, and the emotional weight of the story. That said, there has been the occasional exception—once I named a character after my cat simply because I needed a name in the moment. The name itself wasn’t central to who she was or what she did in the story. And after a time, the name fit anyway.

Can you describe a typical day in your writing life?

MI: I’m a 9-5 girl finding my ambition in imagination, coffee and chocolate.

Tell us about your current release.

MI: Stone of Destiny is the culmination of everything I’ve been building toward in the Stones of Iona series. It brings together the threads of love, sacrifice, prophecy, and choice that have echoed through every book before it. That’s six books! This story forced me to balance an intimate, deeply emotional romance with the weight of an entire saga reaching its end—where every decision matters and not everyone gets what they want.

At its heart, Stone of Destiny asks whether love can survive duty, and whether fate is something we inherit or something we dare to challenge. It’s a story about standing at the crossroads of past and future, about the cost of devotion, and about what it means to choose love even when destiny demands otherwise.

AA: Thank you for being here with me!- Melissa

About the Author

Margaret Izard is an award-winning author of historical fantasy and paranormal romance novels. Her latest awards are 2024 Reader’s Favorite Honorable Mention for Stone of Love and 2024 Spring BookFest Silver Award for the same title. She spent her early years through college to adulthood dedicated to dance, theater, and performing. Over the years, she developed a love for great storytelling in different mediums. She does not waste a good story, be it movement, the spoken, or the written word. She discovered historical romance novels in middle school, which combined her desire for romance, drama, and fantasy. She writes exciting plot lines, steamy love scenes and always falls for a strong male with a soft heart. She lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband and adult triplets.

Website: http://www.margaretizardauthor.com
Buy Links: https://linktr.ee/mizardauthor
Readers Group: https://www.facebook.com/mizardauthor