A Paranormal Christmas Romance - THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT by Dani Harper

This full-length novel is Book 1
of the Haunted Holiday Series 

Bring It Back(list) Feature:

An excerpt from
The Holiday Spirit

a paranormal romance 
by Dani Harper

“Okay, I admit it. You’ve won your ten bucks, hands down.”

Kerri stared up at the glittering tree, the charred block of firewood in her garden-gloved hands temporarily forgotten. She’d brought the Yule log inside, the small remnant of last year’s Solstice blaze, and was on her way to the fireplace when the sight of the fully-decorated tree had stopped her in her tracks. 

The transformation was nothing short of astonishing. There wasn’t a square inch that didn’t feature a sparkling ball or a loop of garland, and hundreds of lights twinkled from deep within the spruce as well as from the tips of every branch. She was certain that the evergreen itself was standing a little straighter as if proud of its finery.

“You’re just in time for the finishing touch,” said Galen.

“More? It’s already gorgeous.”

“You’ll like this, trust me.” He stood back with Kerri and she could feel the warm tingle of energy as he put an arm around her shoulders. “Go for it, Everett."

The old ghost looked nervous, but reached for a palm-sized ornament on the coffee table. It was a unique piece, half silver moon and half golden sun, the perfect symbol of the Solstice. Its braided ribbon rose by slow degrees, following the direction of Everett’s gnarled fingers, until the decoration itself bobbed in the air. 

Kerri held her breath…but she needn’t have worried. The ribbon looped neatly over a branch, and the ornament hung securely. “Omigod, Everett, you did it!”

“Guess I did, didn’t I?” he said, and hooked his thumbs in his belt loops. “I wouldn’t have tried it at all if you hadn’t replaced all the decorations with plastic ’cause of Waldo.” He shrugged. “It’s not so scary when you know you can’t break anything.”

“Um, right. Good thing I did that.” Then and there she decided she wasn’t going to tell her friend that the Solstice ornament was handmade—and the one thing made of glass that she had kept. Instead, she smiled up at Galen. “My pug used to think that all the things on the tree were toys for him.”

“Yeah, well he still does. We would have been done an hour ago if it hadn’t been for chasing Waldo. He even dragged the star under the couch when we weren’t looking.” The pug waggled his curly-tailed butt at the mention of his name, completely unrepentant.

“Speaking of things dragged, I almost forgot I brought this in,” she said, indicating the wood she still held in her hands. “It’s been in the yard under the porch since last year.” Kerri knelt by the fireplace, laying the small log carefully on top of a stack of kindling that a boy scout could be proud of. 

Of course, it wasn’t strictly necessary to have a big blaze at Yule. These days many people simply decorated logs with candles and pine cones. But for Galen’s sake, she wanted every ounce of Solstice magic she could possibly attract. The words came straight from her heart:

“The Wheel of the Year has turned again,

The earth will slowly warm.

Darkness must give up its hold

And shadows lose their form.

Welcome all that brings new life.

Welcome sun and daylight bright.

The Wheel will turn, and fire burn,

And warm us all with inner light.”

The kindling was just beginning to catch fire when the front door flew open with a crash.

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THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT

(Haunted Holiday Book 1) 

by Dani Harper

• “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

Available in ebook or paperback at

https://www.amazon.com/DP/B013Z0F31M

CHOOSING THE YULE TREE - an excerpt from The Holiday Spirit by Dani Harper

This full-length novel is Book 1
of the Haunted Holiday Series 

Bring It Back(list) Feature:

An excerpt from
The Holiday Spirit,

a paranormal romance 
by Dani Harper

Her backpack swung from one shoulder as they trudged through the snow. In reality, she did all the trudging. Galen was unimpeded by the drifted trails, and had insisted on carrying the saw “for safety’s sake.” He pointed out the merits of potential trees along the way, but none of them felt right to her.

Thirty minutes later he asked: “Are you sure you’re not just being picky? Because that last fir was a beauty. A perfect pyramid, and not a single bare spot anywhere.”

“I know, but it’s not appearance that counts.”

“Yeah, well, time counts. I don’t want you out here too long. You need to rest.”

“Hey, Mr. Bossypants, some things can’t be rushed!”

“See? Now you’re cranky.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to deny it, when she realized how childish that would sound—and how right he was. Good grief. Instead, she took a deep breath and explained: “I’m looking for something special, a tree that calls out to me because it knows that we need it.”

Galen stopped in his tracks. “You talk about them like they’re aware.”

“They are.” She waved a hand at the forest around them. “All the trees are. In fact, most things are to some degree.”

 “Sooo…you’re not looking for a perfect tree, you’re looking for a volunteer?”

“You could put it that way. We’re not walking up to just any old tree and taking it. The tree is offering up its life freely, so we can observe the Solstice.” She expected Galen to ask more questions but although his eyebrows lifted slightly, he simply motioned for her to carry on. Does that mean he’s beginning to understand? That he feels more comfortable with magic and able to trust it? With her luck, he’d probably concluded that she was crazy, and he should just humor her.

Kerri pushed all of that out of her mind and focused. Around her, the air was clear and cold, refreshing rather than uncomfortable. The snow alternately sparkled in the sun and cast blue shadows. Here and there were the footprints of many birds, a rabbit, and three or four deer. It was peaceful, and she allowed that peace to seep into her… It was only a few minutes later that she felt a faint vibration, one that barely skimmed the edges of her awareness. Following it, she worked her way around a prickly thicket of wild rose bushes and came upon its source.

“You gotta be kidding me,” said Galen.

“Shh.” Kerri pulled off a glove and gently touched the evergreen branches. The soundless thrum of life was in the boughs, slowed by the winter cold. But was there something more? “We need your help,” she whispered to the tree. In her mind’s eye, she saw the silvery wisp of energy even as she felt it flow softly over her fingers. “Thank you,” she breathed.

It was big—and the damnedest ugliest tree Galen had ever seen. Outside of being some kind of short-needled evergreen, it couldn’t look less like a holiday decoration. There were ragged cones still dangling from the boughs and at least three old bird nests inside it. No shortage of bare spots, more than a few dead twigs and branches, plus near its base a big swatch of bark had been charred from some long-ago fire. 

The oddest thing was its trunk, however. It divided into a nearly perfect U halfway up, resulting in a pair of crowns instead of one. Great, a two-headed tree, Galen thought. Where the hell do you put the star? The guys at the station would have razzed him for the rest of his natural life if he’d brought in something like this. Even Charlie Brown wouldn’t pick this tree. Hell, Frankenstein wouldn’t choose it.

But Kerri loved it, and that was all that mattered. He didn’t understand everything she’d explained about Yule and the Solstice, but if she said it was important, then he trusted that it was. Because of her, he’d been introduced to a wider world, one that he had never known existed outside of old fairy tales and fantasy novels. He watched from a respectful distance as she cast a large circle around the tree, not with salt or sword, but with birdseed, alfalfa cubes, and dried apple slices as a gift to the wildlife that lived here. Finally, she addressed the tree itself:

“Forest tree touched by water and fire, 

Please shed your light on darkness dire. 

Forest tree touched by earth and air, 

We ask you for your life to share. 

Still evergreen despite your scars, 

Please merge your energy with ours. 

This time when day wins over night 

Loan us your strength to win our fight.” 

She nodded to Galen and he entered the circle, placing the saw at the base of the tree. He felt something then—a strange expectancy as if the tree was, indeed, patiently waiting for the cut. Outside the circle, he could see that Kerri was occupied with getting something else out of her pack, so Galen took a moment to whisper to the tree. “Sorry to do this, bud and I sure hope it doesn’t hurt much,” he said. “But we really need the help, and she says you’re the one. So, thank you. And I promise I’ll do my damnedest to make you the best-looking tree on the block.”

 

When the deed was done, Kerri was holding a small spade and a handful of weird beige sticks the size of carrots. “What on earth are those?” he asked.  

“Fertilizer stakes. I’m burying them within the circle. The roots of this tree are strong, and they’ll send up shoots in the spring,” she said. “In the balance of things, new life always wins out over death. Just like today, when the year rolls around from darkness to light.”

He turned those words over in his mind as he watched her go about her task. Thought about them the whole time they walked back to the car, and during the process of carefully bundling the tree with a roll of burlap. It was even bigger and more awkward than it looked, and it was a job and a half to make it as narrow as possible for the trip home. Finally, they tied—and then retied—the tree securely onto the car roof rack. Their prize dwarfed the little red vehicle of course, but it was balanced enough to be safe.  Balance. In the balance of things, new life always wins out over death… 

When Kerri reached for the door of the car, Galen put his hand over hers. “Kerri, we really need to talk. If anything happens to me—”

“Don’t,” she said. “We can’t think that way.”

“Hey, I’m all for being positive, but we can’t shy away from the truth either. When I first came to the station, one of the older guys on the crew, Art Peters, told me two things—that you need to live each day like it was your last, and especially that you have to tell the people you care about what you want them to know. It was something I’d already learned from my mom. She was upfront about dying, and it freed us both to say the things we needed to, so that when she was gone, there were no loose ends, and no regrets for either of us.

“So now I need to say some things and I need you to hear them.”

Kerri studied the ground for a long moment, then nodded. “All right, Galen. I’m listening.”

Harper, Dani. THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT (Haunted Holiday Book 1) (pp. 174-178 Kindle Edition). 

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THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT

(Haunted Holiday Book 1) 

by Dani Harper

• “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

Available as an ebook or a paperback at

https://www.amazon.com/DP/B013Z0F31M

YULE - The ancient traditions live on

The shortest day and longest night of 2018 falls on Friday, December 21st.

We call it the Solstice, and it marks the point at which the days begin to lengthen. Our ancestors rejoiced in the return of the sun, seeing it as a rebirth of life as well as light. We get pretty excited about it too! 

The Solstice also marks the beginning of Yule or Yuletide, which will run for 12 days until January 1st, 2019. The word Yule is likely from an old Nordic word for wheel. With the coming of Yule, the “wheel of the year” has rolled around to its beginning once more.  

We still refer to the Christmas season as Yuletide. Many of the old traditions associated with the solstice have lived on, although some have evolved to better fit modern life. There are too many to list, but I've touched on a few favorites. See if you recognize them!

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THE YULE LOG

In ancient times, the Yule Log was not a tidy piece of wood but a whole tree! Selecting it was governed by a number of customs - sometimes the tree had to be a gift from someone else, sometimes it could be a tree already growing on your land. It could never, ever be bought. 

Once chosen, it was dragged into the house with great ceremony, and the wide end would be set in the fireplace, leaving the remainder of the tree extending far into the room! 

A piece of last year's log would be used to kindle the new one. And slowly the massive log would be pushed into the fire over the course of twelve days. Afterwards, the ashes were scattered over fields to ensure a bountiful harvest in the year to come. Some of the ashes might be kept to be used in medicines for both man and beast.

Medieval tradition favored a large ash or oak log rather than the entire tree. It was often decorated with evergreens, and pouring ale or wine on the log was customary. So was sprinkling flour or breadcrumbs on it, or even placing coins on the log. All were said to bring good fortune, and the blackened coins were later given as gifts.

In Victorian times the size of your fireplace dictated the size of your Yule log. As large fireplaces fell out of fashion, smaller logs were decorated and holes were bored into the wood to hold candles, which would then be burned for 12 nights. 

The French were the first to create an edible Yule log, calling it "Buche de Noel", and Victorian confectioners made these Yule cakes famous. You can still find them in bakery departments today.

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THE YULE TREE

The Celts were just one of many peoples who believed evergreens to be symbolic of immortality, of continuing life in the midst of death. In the coldest, darkest and dreariest of winters, evergreens held forth hope of returning spring. Throughout many cultures and over countless centuries, homes and barns have been decorated with evergreen boughs and other bright winter greenery. The branches were often believed to provide protection for both people and livestock from dark spirits, faeries, and other supernatural beings.

The practice of decorating actual trees originated long before what we know as Christmas today. Druidic customs called for the adorning of sacred trees, especially oak, which were leafless at this time of year.

The trees were never cut down and brought into the house, but left alive and decorated wherever they grew with offerings of trinkets, trophies, sacred plants such as holly and mistletoe, bits of metal and sometimes replicas of gods and goddesses. 

The Romans later adopted this tradition of decorating trees for their own solstice celebration called Saturnalia.


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THE YULETIDE WREATH

Wreaths have symbolized the wheel of the year since ancient times, and the word wreath comes from the Old English writhen, meaning "to twist".  In many European countries, evergreen wreaths were lit with candles during the darkest winter days, symbolizing hope that light would return. 

Holly wreaths were said to ward off the evil spirits that abounded during the darkness of midwinter, and holly might be kept near the door all year long to invite good fortune.

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THE YULE GOAT

The Yule Goat or Julbock was central to solstice traditions in Scandinavia and northern Europe. A human dressed in goatskins and wearing long horns acted out a skit in which he “died” and returned to life. This was symbolic of the sun’s resurrection at solstice. (The goat guise was chosen because the Norse thunder god Thor had two goats which drew his chariot across the sky. He would occasionally kill the goats and use them to feed guests, then would restore them to life with a blow of his magical hammer.)

Goats were originally slaughtered as offerings during Yule, but later, goats made of straw were created annually as both decorations and effigies. Since 1966, a 42-foot straw goat named Gävlebocken - who weighs 3 tons! - has made the town of Gävle, Sweden, famous. 

(PS - You can keep track of Gävlebocken on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Gavlebocken , and see if he makes it through the season this year. Many "Friends of Gävlebocken" watch over him and try to keep him intact, because a tradition has emerged to burn the giant straw goat to the ground in the middle of the night!)

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YULE GHOSTS

The Victorians were famous for telling ghost stories during the holidays, but they didn't invent it. The practice actually goes all the way back to pagan times, when the coming of Yule was believed to bring about a thinning of the veil between worlds as the death and rebirth of the sun occurs. 

Not only ghosts, but evil spirits, trolls, witches, faeries, werewolves, and many other supernatural beings were said to wander freely. Even the Wild Hunt was more active during the 12 days of Yule. 

In Scandinavia, gifts were often left outside at this time – bowls of pudding and cream, clothes, tobacco and even ale – in order to appease some of these creatures. The most perilous time occurred between cock’s crow and dawn, when supernatural beings were at the peak of their power. To go outside meant risking death or being carried off by them, never to be seen again.

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YOUR TURN - Do you follow any Yule traditions in your family? Do you know of any customs surrounding Yuletide that haven't been mentioned?
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This full-length novel is Book One
of The Haunted Holiday Series

THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT

A Yuletide Paranormal Romance 
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 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 
https://www.amazon.com/DP/B013Z0F31M

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!

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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.”

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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.

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