Tracy Garrett | Happy “All Hallows Eve”

Most everyone knows that Halloween, October 31, is the day before All Saints or All Hallows Day. But did you know that some of our modern traditions grew from the ancient Celts more than 2000 years ago? The Celtic festival of Samhain, or the Feast of the Dead, celebrates the day when summer ends and winter begins. It is believed to be the day when the dead revisit the mortal world.

Carving pumpkins—or jack-o-lanterns—dates from the 18th century, when a blacksmith named Jack consorted with the devil and was condemned to wander the earth as punishment. He begged the Devil for some light and was given a burning coal, which he placed inside a hollowed-out turnip. When the Irish came to the United States during the great potato famine, the practice of keeping a turnip with a candle in it in the window to ward off the Halloween demons came with them. Since pumpkins were easier to get here than turnips, the substitution was made and a new tradition was born and shared.

Wearing costumes also dates back to Celtic times. On Samhain night, when the living and the dead were at their closest, the Celtic Druids would dress up in elaborate costumes to disguise themselves as spirits and devils to avoid being carried away by the real thing at the end of the night. To this day, witches, goblins, and ghosts remain the most popular choices for the costumes. I’m not sure many demons would be frightened off by Iron Man or Hannah Montana.

And the masks? From earliest times people wore hideous masks when disasters struck, believing they would frighten away the demons that had brought the misfortune upon them.

So, when you venture out tonight to ring doorbells and threaten tricks to get treats, beware! The spirits of the past will be looking over your shoulder. I suggest you share your candy.

Tracy Garrett

Tracy’s new western historical, Touched by Love, hits store shelves this week!
http://www.tracygarrett.com/

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Eva Gordon | Wolves as Archetypes in my Novels

My blog is about why my fantasy and paranormal novels center on wolves as main characters, or spirit guides. In my debut fantasy novel, The Stone of the Tenth Realm, my hero is a Scottish werewolf, an alpha of his own pack. My current work in progress is an epic lycan series, which I hope to sell soon. I’m not alone. Numerous authors are following the call of the wild.
Why is the wolf a common archetype in many myths and stories, even today? Nothing sends a chill down your spine more that hearing a wolf’s howl in the night. While at a wolf sanctuary, I spent the night in a trailer on the grounds and was privileged to hear night after night of thirty wolves in their nightly serenade. No sound is more awesome.

Yet in the past the wolf had a more sinister reputation. During the development of agriculture and domestication of livestock people settled down and pushed out old hunting deities. Wolves were vilified as part of pagan beliefs and turned the wolf into Satan’s ally. Fear of the wolf once ruled Europe. Wolves were hunted and exterminated. Legends of werewolves were rampant. Little Red Riding Hood and the story of Bisclaveret brought fear to the hearts of many. Many accused of being werewolves were tortured and or burned at the stake.

Today there is more of a movement to save the wolf and what was once considered a savage killer is now becoming a spirit guide for folks who need a strong archetype and for environmentalist who see the wolf as a “spokes creature” for nature. So why is the admiration and fear of the wolf so universal? My own explanation is that the wolf’s biogeography, high intelligence; and social interaction helped them enter the mythos and literature.

The wolf is ubiquitous, found throughout most of the world from the icy Tundra in the Northern Hemisphere to the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula. Even in countries where the wolf is not found such as Australia, there are canines that serve as a wolf proxy such as the dingo. Here in our modern homes and cities our pet dogs are constant reminders of our “wolfen” companion. We after all, created the dog from the ancestral wolf, as our most loyal companion.

Wolves display common social and intelligent behavior similar to our own. They both play and have a strict social status, just as some of our cultures have. They communicate with their kind, much the same way we do, both vocally and in non-verbal ways. We have kings and presidents they have the alpha pair. Humans low in status such as slaves and peasants certainly were low on the pecking order or in a wolf pack the omega. Wolves also mate for life, which endears them to people who long to have a long and loving relationship with a mate. How romantic! What impressed me the most about the wolf sanctuary was the relationship between two wolves, Bernard and Barksalot. Bernard a white wolf had been rescued from a cruel man who gouged his eyes out, leaving the wolf blind and helpless. He was brought to the sanctuary and became friends with another rescued wolf, Barksalot, who literally became his “guide dog”. Bernard grabbed on to Barksalot’s tail and would be lead around. Barksalot would also bark to communicate with Bernard. Barking is unusual for wolves. These similarities to human behaviors let us see the good and bad in us in them.

We long to emulate their hunting prowess. Wolves use team strategy and their powerful carnassials to bring down a much larger prey. Imagine a hero that can do damage without a weapon.


The wolf is universally regarded as creatures of prophesy and omens, and have connections between the worlds of the living and the dead. The wolf is affiliated worldwide with magic, medicine, healing and transformation. In Native American culture the wolf is important archetypes. They had great respect for the wolf and often offered prayers before a hunt to the wolf spirit. Wolf spirit was also powerful medicine for shamans who traveled to the world of the dead. In the New World, there never was an attempt to eradicate the wolf from their land. In Europe just as in the New World, myths and stories about wolves are universal. Early Europeans Respected the Wolf as Protector and Teacher. From the Steppes of Asia Minor to the British Isles the Wolf and Raven were mighty totemic protector. Hecate, an Ancient Greek deity was worshipped as a goddess with three wolf heads. Rome was founded by Romulus and Remus who were fed by the she-wolf, Alcala.

Ancient Celts respected the wolf as a totem and often as a spirit guide. In the Viking world to be a member of the Wolf Clan, Ulfhednar was the greatest honour. Viking warriors believed that if they died a heroic death they would be turned into magnificent wolves. Vikings also believed wolves chasing and devouring the sun and moon caused eclipses. Two wolves accompanied Odin, ruler of the Norse Gods. He created the wolves Freki (Hungry One) and Geri (Greedy One) as loyal companions.

Today the wolf is once again a positive force in literature and as an important part of the predator/prey relationship that keeps nature in balance.

Check out Eva’s novel as a fun winter read.

Eva Gordon

http://www.ravenauthor.com/
http://www.themysticrealm.net/author_eva_gordon.html_

Sandra Ruttan | Imaginary Friends

I was staring at the wall, my hands still. My partner assumed I was taking a break and started talking to me.

"Be quiet! There are voices talking inside my head and I have to hear what they’re saying!"

He muttered something like, “Okay crazy person,” and left me to talk to my imaginary friends.

Writing a novel is an extremely personal venture. For months, these characters live inside your mind as you get to know them and try to reveal their character, intent and actions on the page. When you write a series it’s even more personal, because you develop a long-term relationship with your protagonists.

In THE FRAILTY OF FLESH, book two of the Nolan, Hart and Tain series, the storylines are very personal. In book one, events from the past are alluded to but not exploited. In book two, Nolan is confronted by some of his darkest fears, Tain struggles with a deep personal wound that will never heal, and Hart suffers a devastating loss.

Some of my friends have wondered how I could put these characters through hell. As a reader, and as someone who loves series books and gets very attached to characters, I can understand that this might bother some readers.

As a reader, I know I never want to read the same book over and over again. I never want readers to think I’m writing the same book over and over again either. Love it or loathe it, the one thing I hope everyone will agree on is that I didn’t just recycle the first book and slap a different title on it.

Confronting my characters with their personal demons was hard. Your characters live and breathe for you, and many authors I know view their protagonists as friends or children. Each of my protagonists has something of me in them, but putting them in tough situations gave me a chance to get to know them better, and it also allowed them to grow.

I have been asked if I’ll go a bit easier on them in the third book, LULLABY FOR THE NAMELESS. I take that as a real compliment, that readers care enough about the characters to want them to be happy, but for now all I can say for now is that you’ll have to wait until next fall to find out.

Want to win a signed copy of THE FRAILTY OF FLESH? Enter before November 1 via Maine Crime Writer or by November 5 at Bookspot Central

Sandra Ruttan

Kim Lenox | Romance Heroes -- and Real Heroes

I’ve heard the allegations before, and I’m sure you have too. They ("They") say that romance heroes (and heroines, for that matter) aren’t realistic portrayals. That they are such idealized fantasies that they can’t be taken seriously.

I know my personal preference: while I want a hero to be ultimately heroic – even if it’s reluctantly so -- the more flawed and complex he is, the better for me as a reader. Perfect and one-dimensional men just aren’t very interesting.

What about the physical aspects of a hero? I had a number of inspirations for Archer, my hero in NIGHT FALLS DARKLY. One was Eric Bana. Hubba hubba! He’s just a personal favorite actor of mine. I’d also found a piece of fantasy artwork on the artists’ website Deviant Art. If you’re interested you can view it here. So confession … yes, I guess as far as appearance goes, my hero, at least in my mind, was terribly idealized. Maybe I should have written: "The role of Archer, Lord Black, will be played by Eric Bana" on the inside of the book.

That wouldn’t work because … what’s attractive to my reader? What’s “hot” to thousands of different readers? I’ve recently joined a group blog with four other authors who write dark paranormal romance, and we’re in the planning stages. Our web designer is working with us on the design of the blog and we wanted a “hot” guy at the top. It’s become clear we’ve all got different ideas of what “hot” is and isn’t. One or two of us might agree on one particular model’s photograph, but the others didn’t agree at all.

Romance authors provide their readers with a basic physical “outline” of a hero, one that fits the story and the character. It’s up to the reader to fill in the more specific details in their mind. For instance, maybe I saw Eric Bana when I wrote the book, but you saw Orlando Bloom when you read it. Or perhaps you envisioned the delivery guy from Fed Ex that comes to your office every day. That’s what’s so great about romance novels – you get to decide and customize.

Whatever the case, in “real life” my heroes aren’t idealized. They don’t look like Eric Bana or Brad Pitt or Nathan Kamp (the model on the cover of NIGHT FALLS DARKLY). They don’t earn huge salaries and drive fancy cars (or carriages). My writing pal, Cindy Miles, and I went to NYC last week. We saw a couple of attractive male television personalities while we were in Times Square. Cool! But did those guys stop us in our tracks? No. But these guys did:

Talk about whipping out the cameras and snapping some shots. The NYPD and FDNY are as good as rock stars to us. Were they all tall, dark and handsome, with piercing blue eyes? I don’t remember any that looked like that. They looked like regular guys wearing uniforms. They are regular everyday heroes, like so many boyfriends, husbands, fathers, brothers and sons we know in our real lives. They are flawed and complex, but heroes nonetheless.

Despite the fact that the heroes in my books may be costumed in "handsome" and "tall" and boast a great set of abs, because those types of descriptions seem to translate well onto a romantic fantasy adventure page -- at their core they have all the authentic qualities of a real life “everyday” hero. That’s what makes them come alive.

So … a fantasy hero or a regular every day hero? Do you have a favorite? I don’t. I think women are entitled to both, and at the same time.

Kim Lenox
www.kimlenox.com/

Carole Nelson Douglas | Midnight Louie

Some folks find black cats and October 31 unlucky, but not me. Halloween was always the most significant holiday on my personal and professional calendar. Now that my new Delilah Street, Paranormal Investigator urban fantasy series is coming out, I am one happily haunted writer. Dancing with Werewolves, the first Delilah Street adventure, got a Publisher’s Weekly starred review last Halloween. The followup, Brimstone Kiss, released today, Oct. 29, and just got another PW starred review! ("Filled with kisses and kick-ass action . . . dishy writing . . . twisty plot.")

And, of course, since 1985 I’ve been intimately linked with a hunky, hard- boiled Vegas detective named Midnight Louie who was born on Oct. 31. Lucky for my husband that Louie is a cat character in my long-running mystery series named after him. Sam’s birthday is Oct. 14 and mine is Guy Fawkes Day, Nov. 5, so Halloween has always been our meet-in-the middle celebratory day. Who wouldn’t like that? Costumes, happy kids, and candy.

Midnight Louie is based on a real stray cat but I gave him an Oct. 31 birthday because I figure he’s macho enough (“Sam Spade with hairballs”) to tweak his tail at superstition. When I adopted my first black cat during a Midnight Louie Adopt-a-Cat book signing tour in the mid-’90s, he just had to be named “Midnight Louie, Jr.” And he turned out to have been October-born too.

So Delilah and her cast of friends, lovers and enemies in 2013 Las Vegas fit right into my long-established personal Halloween mojo. There's a photo of me as Delilah at Malice Domestic mystery convention last year on the dancingwithwerewolves.com website. Delilah has Snow White coloring and that pale skin attracts vampires who love that “just drained” look. I may look ghost-wan in the photo but that’s not just Delilah’s pale complexion I’m imitating: Vegas tourists in the books dress up to match the zombie celebrities at the Inferno and Gehenna hotel-casinos. These cinema simulacra combine zombie bodies with the imprinted personas of Silver Screen stars like Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade and William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles. These “CinSims” function as black-and-white casino attractions and their similarly costumed fans get to mingle with the long-dead stars.

As you can see, the rules of Halloween dominate Delilah’s slightly futuristic Vegas. Anything goes . . .white tiger shape-shifters, weather witches, demon parking valets, werewolf mob bosses, vampire moguls, Delilah’s ex-FBI agent boyfriend who can dowse for the dead and a hunky albino rock star of unknown supernatural derivation whose single mosh-pit “Brimstone Kiss” will enslave his female groupies for life. In Brimstone Kiss, Delilah finds just how potent that supernatural smooch is --one spooky thrill that is impossible for any woman to resist. To save her soul and Ric’s life, Delilah has to. Eternal damnation was never so seductive.

Carole Nelson Douglas

Check us all out at http://www.carolesnelsondouglas.com/, http://www.dancingwithwerewolves.com/, and http://juno-books.com/dancing_with_werewolves.html .

Sandi Shilhanek | Robyn Carr & Breaking Rules

This week I broke one of my cardinal book rules. I bought a book that I’ve already read, and I plan on keeping it. In case you don’t know I don’t keep books nor do I reread books. This being the case why then would I purposely buy a book I’ve already read? The answer is easy…due to the Readers-n-Ritas event I attended a few weekends back I was able to get two autographed books from the Virgin River series by Robyn Carr. I being the book fanatic than decided to see if Ms. Carr would be nice enough to autograph the third and return to me, and she agreed. So naturally I needed the book.

The trip to the bookstore went smoothly enough, but I didn’t walk out with just the one book. Does a book fanatic ever walk out with just one? I ended up buying the reissues of the Grace Valley books because of the beautiful covers. It didn’t matter that those books in their original covers are sitting on my shelf waiting to be read, the new covers call my name, and I had to have them!

I couldn’t believe I was carrying those books to the counter and willingly buying them. I never buy books because I have to have a certain cover! I know that people do it, and that some people are so fanatical about the reissue issue that they’ll buy a favorite book every time it comes out so that they have it in every cover or format available.

To buy the reissued Grace Valley books was a definite first for me. I need to know what about you? Do you buy books in their various forms and different covers? If you do does that mean you have multiple copies of the books on your shelves or do you replace the older perhaps less desirable cover with the one you like better?