Halloween Haunting – Part Three
Today, I decided to focus on the Halloween traditions more so than haunting. My point is that Halloween isn’t just for kids anymore. Today Halloween is attracting adults in a masquerade type atmosphere, much like Mardi Gras. Maybe it’s because of COVID over the past couple of years. Their costumed antics mock, challenged and tease the dread forces of the night. The other-world becomes our world on this night of reversible possibilities and transcendence. Are they reaffirming death as a part of life in in an exhilarating celebration of magic for an evening? Or like me, just enjoying the air of celebration on a night the veil between the living and the dead is purported to be the thinnest. Or maybe just one day out of the year they want to be someone or something else.
Every year with the help of my hubby,we decorate our house to the hilt on the days leading up to the first day of October and I revel in Halloween décor the entire month!
Did you know Jack-O-Lanterns originated in Ireland? People placed lit candles inside hollowed out turnips to keep away spirits and ghosts on the Samhain (prounced Sah-ween) holiday. Boy, did we do a role reversal on that aspect of Halloween.
Most present day Halloween traditions are traceable to the ancient Celtic day of the dead. Halloween consists of mysterious customs, but each has a history, or at least a story behind it.
Take wearing costumes, and roaming from door to door demanding treats. This behavior can be traced to the Celtic period and the first few centuries of the Christian era, when it was thought that the souls of the dead were out and about, along with fairies, witches, and demons. Offerings of food and drink were left out to placate them.
As the centuries wore on, people began dressing like these creatures, performing antics in exchange for food and drink. This is where the practice of trick-or-treating began. To this day, vampires, witches, ghosts, and skeletons are month the favorite costumes. Our Halloween also retains activities from the original harvest holiday of Samhain, such as bobbing for apples and carving vegetables, (pumpkins) as well as the fruits, nuts, and spices for cider associated with the day. Although at my house, hot chocolate is pretty popular!
Well, if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to try on my vampire costume, custom fitted fangs, and check out the seating arrangements at my front door. Fill up the candy bowl which will sit on a stand beside me. Check to make sure the fog machine is working, so I can greet the little trick or treaters. Or better yet, scare the bejeebers out of the older ones with my bats hanging over head and screeching on my command. Halloween, my favorite holiday! Won’t you join me? If you celebrate, please let me know how in the comments below!! Happy Halloween!!
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Posted in My Say What Blog and tagged Celtic, Halloween, Harvest holiday, Ireland, Samhain by Tena Stetler with 3 comments.
A Vampire’s Unlikely Alliance #99cents #MFRWHooks
Yippee!! #MFRWHooks presents A Vampire’s Unlikely Alliance, third book the best selling #mystery #fantasy #romance. A Demon’s Witch Series. All six books can be read as stand alone. Not what you’ve come to expect from a Vampire Tale! Be swept away into a magical romantic fantasy adventures, you’ll never want to leave. Join Stefan and Brandy for an exciting romantic fantasy where magic may save the day. But will it be too late? Join the #fantasy#adventure, download a copy or two today!
How it all began. During a camping trip we stayed right smack dab in the middle of Glacier National Park. At night around the campfire under a full moon you could hear the wolves howl and the coyotes call. I imagined a vampire running through the bush over the trails, but it couldn’t be an ordinary vampire. And who would he meet on the trails?
Stefan, a Native American vampire, was a character from my first book in A Demon’s Witch Series, A Demon’s Witch. It became a best seller five months after its release. For A Vampire’s Unlikely Alliance, I wanted to write a different vampire tale, so rather than leave him as the Vampire Council’s assassin, I released him from service and he moved to Montana, took a job as the midnight DJ for a small radio station on the outskirts of Glacier National Park. Different huh? Research for this book was a trip to Glacier National Park and I drew upon my time as a DJ at a local classic rock station KKFM in Colorado Springs. Not to mention several virtual trips to the enchanting land down under, Australia.
Won’t you join Stefan and Brandy on an exciting romantic fantasy where vampires and gryphons, warlocks and demons, witches and faeries walk among us. Some creatures are willing to put aside their differences to work together for the good of man and magic kind, other’s will stand in the way. Makes a GREAT Halloween Treat!
A little about A VAMPIRE’S UNLIKELY ALLIANCE:
Stefan is a Native American vampire, former assassin for the Vampire Council. In a twist of fate, he now DJ’s the midnight shift for a small radio station in Whitefish, Montana, on the edge of Glacier National Park where his secret is safe until…
Born in Ireland, Brandy now works as a park ranger and trail guide in the park. During a full moon, Stefan and Brandy’s paths cross in a near physical collision on a trail. Their attraction is immediate and undeniable, almost as if fate demanded it.
Their union was foretold long ago in Irish folk tales where vampires and gryphons, warlocks and demons, witches and faeries must work together for the good of man and magic kind. Is a trip to Ireland the key to unravelling secrets and returning the magic? And even more importantly, will their love survive the trip?
A new peek between the pages of A VAMPIRE’S UNLIKELY ALLIANCE:
“We’ll all rendezvous on holy ground, cast the spell before the demons regroup, and we’re home free for a few thousand years. Hopefully.”
Lightning streaked across the night sky. Thunder rumbled, shaking the ground underfoot, yet the full moon shone down on the druid altars inside the grounds of Mary’s Castle, County Cork, Ireland, where the couples gathered.
Books of Shadows lay open on hallowed ground, glowing as they turned a soft, rich liquid gold, flowing into each other, forming one. The wind howled around the stone formations and whipped around the couples as dark clouds formed, floating across the full moon. Darkness enveloped the land. Only the golden glow of the Books remained. Then it was silent. When the storm clouds parted, the moon shone blood-red with a muted ring of rainbow colors encircling it. The chanting ceased, and the Books slowly separated, returning to their ancient leather-bound form.
“The deed is done,” declared Tiarnan, King of Faeries, “The world is safe. The gates of Hell are bound tightly, the portals destroyed, the fabric of time strengthened, so there is no possibility of escape…for now.
Stefan quirked a brow and turned toward Tiarnan. “For now?” He inquired incredulously
“Yes, for now. The remainder of the legend has yet to come full circle. We cannot control the behavior of man, so there will always be a need to patrol magickind.”
Available at Amazon Amazon UK , Amazon AU, itunes, and Barnes & Noble.
About the Author:
Tena Stetler is an internationally best-selling author of award winning paranormal tales. Some call her crazy others creative. She deals with the voices in her head by writing them down and creating a fantasy world and characters you won’t soon forget. Her books tell tales of magical kick-ass women and mystical alpha males that dare to love them. Travel, adventure, magic, and a bit of mystery flourish in her books along with a few companion animals to round out the tales.
Colorado is home; shared with her husband of many moons, a brilliant Chow Chow, a spoiled parrot and a fifty-year-old box turtle. When she’s not writing, her time is spent kayaking, camping, hiking, biking or just relaxing in the great Colorado outdoors.
Pssst… While you’re here, don’t forget to check out my paranormal romance/mysteries click here.
This is a blog hop! Visit all the Book Hooks from #MFRWHooks – Your next GREAT read is waiting!
Thanks for stopping in for #MFRWHooks.
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged A Vampire's Unlikely Alliance, faeries, Ireland, Paranormal Romance/Mystery, shifters, Tena Stetler, Vampire, Witches by Tena Stetler with 5 comments.
A Halloween Spirit Search
Only nineteen days until Halloween! Can you believe it? Toil and Trouble continue their search for the Halloween Spirit. This week, The Skeleton Crew lead by Toil and Trouble found another carved pumpkin, skeleton head, ghosts, yet no one admitted to seeing the the Halloween Spirit. But Toil and Trouble’s quest for the Halloween Spirit continues.
Well, October is finally here with cooler days and chilly nights. Yippee! As we continue the annual Halloween countdown, the aspens are beginning to turn gold and the Colorado high county received its first dusting of snow. Cooling down in the lower elevations. Toil, Trouble, Bubble bat, Moby Fish, Aragon Spider, and Octavia descended on the living room only to find uncooperative spooks. Toil and Trouble were totally disgusted at their lack of progress and called Broomhilda told her about finding a ghost and carved pumpkin but no spirit. So the search continues.
Their friend, Broomhilda (skeleton), from Texas (thank you Jessica) was otherwise preoccupated enjoying the finally cooler weather with Dave looking over and promised to be more productive next week! Yeah, right, we’ve heard that before!
Join us next Thursday, October 20, 2022 for another update on The Skeleton Crew’s progress, I think I heard them say they were escaping to the outdoors in their search. Each week there will be new pictures of where the Skeleton Crew are searching and how Broomhilda is helping. In the month of October beside their search for the Halloween Spirit, the Skeleton Crew will help me list the most haunted cities in America. Have you ever seen a ghost? A visit to haunted places in Colorado, my own stomping ground, Spooktacular tips to keep your pet safe this Halloween season. Do you suffer from Samhainopobia? I’ll tell you later. These are just to name a few. Check back in the coming weeks to see what other discoveries the Skeleton Crew scare up!
Only nineteen days days until Halloween! Bwwwaaaaaaaaaa!!!!
Plus a Halloween themed book from my collection will be featured each week: You do know I write paranormal romance/mystery. Right? This week, we are talking about Demons and witches! What’s Halloween without witches, spells, demons, curses and things that go bump in the night? A Magic Redemption is up. So hurry grab your copy and join the #fantasy #adventure! You won’t believe the battle between good and evil.
A little about A Magic Redemption – Synn has extraordinary magic and power. Could she really be descended from the elite Guardians Guild made up of magical creatures formed over a millennium ago?
Synn, a demon, carries extraordinary magic and power, but there is more within her than she dreams. Kidnapped as a child, her captors murdered her family and forced her into training as a warrior assassin. When an assignment goes horribly wrong, she finds herself at the mercy of the friends and family of her intended target. Offering valuable information in exchange for protection, she gains her freedom, but it is not without its challenges.
Gavin Shaughnessy is the publican at his family’s Irish pub. He is certain Synn is meant to be his and isn’t bothered by her past. He must find a way to convince her, their future together is stronger than the dark memories that haunt her dreams.
When her past comes calling for revenge, will their love survive the raging inferno she brings down upon them? Or will the searing path of destruction destroy all they hold dear?
A sneak peek between the pages of A Magic Redemption!
Time seemed to go on forever as she slowed and walked backward for a while, her foot steps in the sand filling with water as she traveled along the shoreline, as if nature erased her intrusion. She turned around and continued her trek. Unaware of how long or how far she’d walked, the sudden outline of a figure, cloaked in the fog, jogging toward her caused panic to set in. Her heart pounded rapidly in her chest, she swallowed hard, adrenalin pumping through her veins as flight or fight response kicked in. Digging her good foot into the sand she prepared to attempt a sprint…to where. Where the hell am I? A quick glance around, she spied a light from a familiar building far off on the bluffs as the figure burst from the fog. A tall, wide-shouldered male with long muscular legs came closer. She froze.
See you back here next Thursday! You won’t believe where Toil and Trouble and the Skeleton Crew wound up. Broomhilda with her friends are always searching, will they come up with leads? Until then enjoy the warm weather, fall is coming bringing with it Halloween Spirit! I hope!! Now all we have to do is get Toil and Trouble and the Skeleton Crew to find it! While you’re here, check out my other paranormal romance mysteries.
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged A Magic Redemption, Demons, Ireland, Paranormal Romance/Mystery, Shapeshifters, Tena Stetler, Urban Fantasy, Witches by Tena Stetler with 7 comments.
Sunday Snippet from A Witch’s Quandary
Good Morning and welcome to Author’s Secrets. Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cooler, a Chocolate Chip or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate and enjoy the snippet from A Witch’s Quandary, sixth book in the award winning A Demon’s Witch Series..
First lets take a peek at what A Witch’s Quandary is about. Check out the book trailer.
Gale’s engagement is off because she refuses to leave her thriving business in Ireland to follow Dillon to Scotland. Her family and friends are on the emerald isle. Yet, when Dillon returns with the whole story and asks for her help, she must follow her heart.
Becoming a Solicitor, then partner in the family law firm was never Dillon’s dream. Now it’s his nightmare. Called to Scotland, his father demands he take his rightful place in the firm or be disowned and disinherited. Something is terribly amiss in the firm and family.
During Gale and Dillon’s investigation, they discover the enforcer for the Demon Overlord is also delving into rumors the firm is acting illegally. Magic has been stolen, someone is being blackmailed, and a member of the Witch’s council is corrupt. If Gale and Dillon want a life together in Ireland, they have to unearth secrets threatening to destroy the firm and family in Scotland.
A sneak peek between the pages of A Witch’s Quandary.
Buy links: Amazon Ibooks, Barnes & Noble, Kobo
Universal link
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged A Demon's Witch Series, A Witch's Quandary, Ireland, magic, Paranormal Romance/Mystery, Scotland, Suspense, Tena Stetler by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.
