HERE BE NEWS for December 9, 2019

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monday, December 2 - 
"HERE BE NEWS" - All the latest from the gang at Here Be Magic.

Tuesday, December 3 -
"EXCERPT FROM FERAL" - read a sample of the latest release from Nicole Luiken. 

Saturday, December 7 -
This week's Bring It Back(list) feature is “THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT”, a Paranormal Christmas Romance by Dani Harper. Scroll below for all the details.

Note: This is a sweet romance, but it does contain language and scenes of violence..

TUFFY CLAUS
Contemporary Fantasy Romance
by Linda Mooney

Word Count: 27.8K
$2.99 e / $6.99 p


Note: This is a sweet romance, but it does contain language and scenes of violence.

It’s another night on the job for Deputy Sheriff Barbara Mero, giving chase to a suspect in a stolen vehicle. But when someone beats her to the perp, she’s not sure whether to step in or not. Before she can stop him, a sledgehammer-wielding bearded biker on a red Harley delivers his own punishment, but with his parting words, Babs isn’t so sure he’s another bad guy.

After further investigation, Babs knows this vigilante “Santa” meant well, but there’s no proof he was even there. And after a few more run-ins with the red-cloaked badass, she’s torn between duty and justice, but in her heart she knows he’s the real deal.

You see, there’s a side of the story of Santa that doesn’t get told, and that’s where Dominik comes in. Being the twin to Kris, Dom’s job isn’t near as merry, though still necessary, answering the letters from the kids who want more than just toys. Those who want a better, safer life, food, and shelter. Basic needs a kid shouldn’t have to wish for on Christmas. Alhough he’s accepted his own lot in life, Dominik still has one regret. It’s a lonely life. 

There’s another side to jolly old Saint Nick, and he ain’t a saint.

Warning! Contains German chocolate cake, a modified red Harley, Sadie, justice served, a child's letter to Santa, a coffee date, and the promise of love when no hope of love had ever existed.

Excerpt and Buy link

THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT

(Haunted Holiday Book 1) 

by Dani Harper

COUNSELING GHOSTS DOESN’T LEAVE ROOM FOR A LOVE LIFE…

Shopping for Christmas, author Kerri Tollbrook is more annoyed than startled when a ghost tells her a gift she’s about to buy will end up in the nearest donation bin. He’s right, and well… gorgeous with those haunted brown eyes and self-assured bearing. Unlike most men, he’s not afraid of her unusual gift. And the connection she feels surprises her. But even she can’t date a dead man.

INVISIBLE FOR A YEAR…

Firefighter Galen McAllister is stunned the petite redhead can see and hear him. It feels almost normal to talk to another human again, but if things were truly normal, he’d already be asking her out. The woman is a triple threat – smart, funny, pretty, even if she’s insisting he needs to “cross over”. He can’t, not after an ancient evil ripped him away from his body. And he refuses to leave as long as the creature is free to do the same to others.

A RITUAL TO PURGE EVIL…

There’s no time to kiss under the mistletoe. The demon with a taste for human life force is coming back for a final feast. Helping ghosts is one thing, but Kerri is determined to banish the monster by any means necessary, even if Galen only wants enough “answers” to help him take the demon down himself.


She can’t let Galen die for real. He can’t bear to put Kerri in the creature’s path. But if they don’t work together on this, they aren’t the only ones who will die just in time for Christmas.

• “An excellent combination of sizzle and emotion.” NIGHT OWL REVIEWS
• " Absolutely one of the most memorable stories I've read.." JUST LOVE MY BOOKS
• "Action, adventure, and a whole lot of love inside." REDZ WORLD
• “One of my top ten holiday romances ever.” READING BETWEEN THE WINES
• Named a Book of the Week by BOOKWORKS

THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT is available in ebook or paperback at

https://www.amazon.com/DP/B013Z0F31M 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here Be News

New Releases:

WHEN THE HEART WHISPERS
Sweet Contemporary Romance
by Linda Mooney
Word Count: 20.2K
$1.99 e     

After losing her husband a couple years prior, Lily’s children decide it’s time for her to stop grieving and move on with her life. She’s always wanted to travel, and a few days later she finds herself in New York City. Touring the Big Apple alone on her own schedule is perfectly fine with Lily, but a guided tour from a local proves to be even better.

After repeated run-ins with the redheaded tourist from Tennessee, it seems fate is determined to bring Lily into George’s life. So he decides to take a chance for the first time in over twenty years.

Both have had heartache in their pasts. Both have loved and lost. Can they open up their hearts and risk the hurt again? Will they listen when the heart whispers?   

Excerpt and buy links     

Other News:

The Holiday Spirit by Dani Harper was included in the December Recommended Reading post by BookWorks. 

You can read it at https://www.bookworks.com/2017/12/december-holiday-reading-list/

This occurred within two days of the book receiving its BRAND NEW COVER and NEW BACK COVER BLURB (read it below), which hadn't even been announced yet!

From the Back Cover:

COUNSELING GHOSTS DOESN'T LEAVE ROOM FOR A LOVE LIFE...

Shopping for Christmas, author Kerri Tollbrook is more annoyed than startled when a ghost tells her a gift she's about to buy will end up in the nearest donation bin. He's right, and well... gorgeous with those haunted brown eyes and self-assured bearing. Unlike most men, he's not afraid of her unusual gift. And the connection she feels surprises her. But even she can't date a dead man.

INVISIBLE FOR A YEAR...

Firefighter Galen McAllister is stunned the petite redhead can see and hear him. It feels almost normal to talk to another human again, but if things were truly normal, he'd alread be asking her out. The woman is a triple threat – smart, funny, pretty, even if she's insisting he needs to "cross over". He can't, not after an ancient evil ripped him away from his body. And he refuses to leave as long as the creature is free to do the same to others.

A RITUAL TO PURGE EVIL...

There's no time to kiss under the mistletoe. The demon with a taste for human life force is coming back for a final feast. Helping ghosts is one thing, but Kerri is determined to banish the monster by any means necessary, even if Galen only wants enough "answers" to help him take the demon down himself.

She can't let Galen die for real. He can't bear to put Kerri in the creature's path. But if they don't work together on this, they aren't the only ones who will die just in time for Christmas.

...

The Holiday Spirit is available in ebook and paperback on Amazon.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Veronica Scott's scifi romance THE FATED STARS received a terrific review from the Whiskey With My Book Blog!

Bring It Back(list) Feature: see above item from Dani, as this was our Back(list) Feature of the week.

BRING IT BACK(list) - The Holiday Spirit by Dani Harper

Book 1 of the Haunted Holiday Series - 
A Yuletide Paranormal Romance

Writer Kerri Tollbrook spends her free time counseling the newly departed, but the tall, dark and handsome spirit she meets at the shopping mall claims he’s not dead. Is he just in denial? Or is something more sinister at work?

Firefighter Galen McAllister has felt like The Invisible Man ever since a malicious spell separated him from his still-living body. Kerri is the first person he's met who can actually see him. Now if only he can get her to listen … because the nightmare creature that trapped him between two worlds is far from finished!

* * * * * * * * * * * *

5 stars JUST LOVE MY BOOKS ~ “One of my top ten holiday romances ever.”
4.25 stars NIGHT OWL REVIEWS ~ “An excellent combination of sizzle and emotion.”
5 stars REDZ WORLD REVIEWS ~ "Action, adventure, and a whole lot of love inside.”

* * * * * * * * * * * *

This is a story I didn’t plan to write. The characters simply showed up one day and had an argument in my head! (Sometimes I feel less like a writer and more like a referee...)
I couldn’t get a word in edgewise, and couldn’t get rid of them, so I just wrote down what they were saying.


THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT began its life as a novella, and I was going to leave it that way … but the characters once again had other ideas. However, I can honestly say I’m happy that I listened to them! It’s a full-length novel and turned out to be one of the most FUN books I’ve ever written.

Of course, my characters couldn't be satisfied with just one book. The Holiday Spirit will be #1 of the Haunted Holiday Series!

The Holiday Spirit is available in Kindle ebook and paperback on Amazon HERE.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Scary Christmas - the Tradition of Yuletide Ghost Stories

Our interest in ghosts, ghouls, and goblins doesn't end when we put the Halloween decorations away. With the shortening of daylight hours, something primal in us awakens. It’s not only a time for reindeer and Santa and eggnog and mistletoe – it’s time for the supernatural!

Don’t believe me? Check out the lyrics to a 1960s Christmas song: “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” … among the festivities mentioned are “scary ghost stories”!

To quote one of my friends, “Where the heck did THAT come from?”

Marley's Ghost visits Ebenezer Scrooge,
by Arthur Rackham, 1868, Public Domain

We’re all familiar with the classic “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, written in 1843. It tells of a bitter old man whose life is changed by the visitation of ghosts on Christmas Eve. But Dickens’ tale (just one of several seasonal ghost stories he penned) wasn’t at all unusual for the time. 

The Victorians were very fond of telling ghost stories around the fire during the holiday season — sensational and haunting tales of mystery, murder, and tragedy. Supernatural fiction in the form of periodicals, magazines, novels and “penny dreadfuls” sold well year-round but reached its marketing peak during the Yuletide season!

The popularity of spectral stories was no doubt helped along by the rise of spiritualism at the time, the belief that it was possible to communicate with the dead and receive messages from them. Christmas séances were very much in vogue!

Although dragging out the Ouija board for the holidays may sound strange to us, the Victorian preoccupation with ghosts is not that hard to understand if you consider the very short life span of the era (the average was somewhere between 37 and 41 years). So nearly everyone had someone “on the other side” that they wanted to talk to, especially during the holidays. Even Queen Victoria and Prince Albert met with a number of mediums, and actively participated in séances as early as 1848. 

A ghost in his winding sheet, 1901
illustration by J. Torrence, Public Domain

Ghost stories go hand in hand with Yuletide for another reason too. Since ancient times, the Winter Solstice (which falls around the 20 of December) has been associated with a thinning of the veil between worlds, as the death and rebirth of the sun occurs. Spirits are said to wander freely during this time. Later traditions invest Christmas Eve itself with a unique magic, allowing the departed a chance to settle their unfinished business with the living.

Whatever the original reasons might be, the telling of ghost stories at this festive time of the year is just plain fun, and in keeping with our all-too-human nature. We simply can’t help ourselves. 

Nineteenth-century humorist Jerome K. Jerome, in his book “Told After Supper”, addressed this mortal attribute: “Not only do the ghosts themselves always walk on Christmas Eve, but live people always sit and talk about them… Whenever five or six people meet round a fire on Christmas Eve, they start telling each other ghost stories. It is a genial festive season, and we love to muse upon graves, and dead bodies, and murders, and blood.”

Indeed we do.

……………………………………….

Check out Dani Harper's ghostly Christmas romance, THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT

Get your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/HOLIDAY-SPIRIT-wants-Christmas-ghost-ebook/dp/B013Z0F31M 

Leave a comment below answering one of these questions:

What's the most FUN Christmas gift you've ever received OR what's the most fun gift you've given to someone else? 

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED. 
Congrats to Carol L - she wins a paperback copy of The Holiday Spirit.

Prize will be delivered by Amazon. Open to US, UK, or Canada.