Celebrating WORLD FOLK TALES and FABLES WEEK

As long as there have been human beings, there have been stories.

Every culture in the world has its folklore and fables, fairy tales and tall tales, myths and legends, epics and urban legends.

In a word: fantasy.

Cinderella is a great example – this is one of the oldest folk tales we know of, with countless variations in many countries. The shoes change (fur, gold, glass, leather, even sandals) and the names change (Aschenputtel, Katie Woodencloak, Yeh-Shen, Rhodopis, Domitila and Rushen-Coatie), but the bones of the story endure. 

Although most of us experience stories through reading—and in the last century, via television and movies—many tales were originally passed down through generations as oral traditions. That always makes me think of the ghostly campfire stories that held me fascinated as a child, or my Welsh gramma telling me about the faery man who lived in her garden….

But regardless of the method of delivery, the point of any fantasy story is its underlying message. Wikipedia describes the theme of Cinderella as "unjust oppression and triumphant reward". In many versions, however, Cinderella didn't win simply because she was pretty under all that dirt, or because someone felt sorry for her. She chose to be patient and kind in a situation where others were not, and that is what brought her the reward in the end.

The following, from author Neil Gaiman, is one of my favorite quotes.

"Fairy tales are more than true – not because they tell us dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten." 

All readers, myself included, want a good story, something that takes us out of our own little world for a while. We need characters we can care about enough to root for. Add to that a sense of wonder, a little mystery and magic, and voilà, we have entertainment.

But whether we realize it or not, we're often longing for one more small but vital thing: HOPE.

One of the most appealing things about fantasy stories is the promise of hope. Hope that evil doesn't prosper forever, hope that good is eventually rewarded, hope that truth matters, that courage and honor make a difference, hope that kindness, compassion and love can win the day. 

It doesn't matter if it's The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien, or The Avengers by Marvel, or the Kate Daniels Series by Ilona Andrews, or even Aesop's fable of The Crow and the Pitcher. If the characters overcome differences big or small, if they prevail over minor struggles or overwhelming obstacles, it makes me feel that I can too.

May you discover a story this week that brings you hope.

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Note:  World Folktales and Fables Week is celebrated each year during the third week of March. 

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THE GRIM SERIES by Dani Harper

The fae are cunning, powerful and often cruel. The most beautiful among them are often the most deadly. Hidden far beneath the mortal world, the timeless faery realm plays by its own rules—and those rules can change on a whim. Now and again, the unpredictable residents of that mystical land cross the supernatural threshold…


In this enchanting romance series, the ancient fae come face-to-face with modern-day humans and discover something far more potent than their strongest magic: love.

Storm Warrior, Storm Bound, 

Storm Warned, and Storm Crossed

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

The Magic of Paper

September brings many things to love. There’s the final harvest from our vegetable garden, the glorious arrival of Pumpkin Spice Coffee, and the opportunity to enjoy some quality time outdoors without frying to a crisp. 

Best of all, the month of September is perfectly placed between my two favorite seasons, Halloween and Back-to-School.

Back-to-School? Yup, it's officially classed as a season in my mind, and I look forward to it. Like the classic Staples ad used to sing, "It's the most wonderful time of the year..." 

Yet it’s not because I have kids heading off to class and I'm anticipating some peace and quiet. I have 2 dogs, 30+ chickens, 2 roosters and a neighborhood with many ATV enthusiasts, children, feral cats, and a drummer who lives next door. “Peace and quiet” is definitely not in my future.

Nope, the real magic of September is in all the wonderful office supplies that go on sale just as the delightful Halloween decorations appear!

And my favorite? 

PAPER!

Lined, unlined, reams, pads, loose-leaf, you name it... I’ve never met a piece of paper I didn’t like. It’s purest zen for me to wander the aisles of Staples or Office Depot, inhaling the heady combined scent of all that marvelously pristine stationery.

Don't even get me started on sticky notes.

At any given time, there are enough supplies socked away in my crowded office to outfit a small classroom. But the appeal of it has nothing to do with school (my apologies to teachers everywhere) and everything to do with 

P-O-S-S-I-B-I-L-I-T-Y

Truth:  Ever since I was a kid, I’ve found an amazing bliss in simply contemplating the sheer potential of all that magnificently blank material. I find myself smiling, my brain kicks into high gear and my imagination begins whirling away at the very thought of ALL THE STORIES just waiting to be written. 

It’s a library that hasn’t happened yet, a bookstore on the verge of existence. 

See? Magic.

And in that magic lies every writer's hope: that if I work really hard and keep my mind open, maybe, just maybe, some of the magic will leach out of the paper and into the words I write.


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THE GRIM SERIES by Dani Harper

The fae are cunning, powerful and often cruel. The most beautiful among them are often the most deadly. Hidden far beneath the mortal world, the timeless faery realm plays by its own rules—and those rules can change on a whim. Now and again, the unpredictable residents of that mystical land cross the supernatural threshold…

In this enchanting romance series from Dani Harper, the ancient fae come face-to-face with modern-day humans and discover something far more potent than their strongest magic: love.

See ALL Dani's novels on her Amazon Author Page

Are you afraid of Friday the 13th?

Are you a triskaidekaphobe? 

Blame it on the Vikings.

That ten-dollar word refers to someone who is afraid of the number 13. And the Vikings apparently regarded 13 as a sinister number because their trickster god, Loki, once crashed a party for 12 at Valhalla and caused the death of beloved Baldur, god of joy and light. (No doubt this is also the origin of the term “party-pooper”)

The number 13 is bad enough, but add it to a Friday and the bad luck just gets worse. For one thing, you’ll have more big words to deal with – if you’re afraid of Friday the 13th, then you have friggatriskaidekaphobia, also called paraskevidekatriaphobia.

Think about it. Even if you don’t believe in luck or bad karma or cosmic forces, do you still hesitate before buying a lottery ticket on Friday the 13th? Or starting an important project? Or traveling? You might brush it off and carry on with your plans, but the day is so ingrained in our culture that few of us are immune. 

A calendar year may have 1 to 3 “thirteenths” occurring on a Friday, like 2012 and 2015. Fortunately for the fearful, the triple threat years don’t happen very often. This year, 2018, has two – the first one was in April, and the second in July.

Image: Bigstock.com

Superstitions about the number 13 or Friday the 13th

• If you cut your hair on Friday the 13th, someone in your family will die. (Does it depend on how good the haircut is?)

• A clock striking 13 portends a death in the family. (Again with the family!) Or it may signal paranormal activity.

• If you’re born on Friday the 13th, you’ll be unlucky for life. Not to worry, apparently it’ll also be a short life!

• It’s bad luck to marry on this day. (In Middleton, New York, in 1913, a pastor offered to marry couples for free on Friday the 13th to counteract the superstition.)

• Some folklore claims that if you’re passed by a funeral procession on Friday the 13th, you’ll be the next to die. (So is everyone the procession passes doomed? You could wipe out most of a town in one fell swoop!)

Image: Bigstock.com

• Leaving on vacation? Bad karma to do it on the 13th. Historically, mariners have declined to set sail on that day.

• Thirteen stairs? Bad news. (My knees think so too.) In British history, tradition held that a gallows had 13 steps, and Friday was known as “the hangman’s day”. Literally.

• Never have 13 place settings at the dinner table; it’s said that one guest may die within a year. Since the 1700s, tradition has held that there were 13 people in attendance at The Last Supper. In France, you could once hire a professional quatorzieme, or 14th guest to balance your dinner party and avoid calamity.

• Many airports still don’t have a Gate 13. Ronald Reagan National in Washington is on that list. So is Chicago’s Midway. Tall buildings and even hospitals still sometimes skip having a 13th floor (in name at least – the floor is still there of course, just renamed). Hotels have known for years that customers dislike rooms with the number 13 in them.

Can you escape Friday the 13th?

No matter how enlightened we think we are, a lot of us exercise caution on this calendar day. In fact, it’s estimated that the US probably loses millions of dollars in business on Friday the 13th, because so many people postpone major purchases and reschedule trips. And that doesn’t count the number of workers who call in sick.

Image: Bigstock.com

The town fathers of French Lick, Indiana, tried to be proactive in October, 1939. They decreed that all black cats in town wear bells on Friday the 13th so that people could avoid them. This practice stayed on the books through 1941. After a particularly bad Friday the 13th (no mention of what happened), the law was reinstated for 1942. The person with the worst luck in all of this was probably the town marshal, whose job it was to bell all those cats!

Of course, you can always fight superstition with superstition. To counteract Friday the 13th, folklore says you can climb to a high place (mountain or skyscraper, whatever’s handiest) and burn all of your socks that have holes in them. Or you can walk around your house 13 times on Friday the 13th and hang your shoes out the window.

It goes without saying you should avoid anyone wearing a hockey mask.

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

THE GRIM SERIES by Dani Harper

The fae are cunning, powerful and often cruel. The most beautiful among them are often the most deadly. Hidden far beneath the mortal world, the timeless faery realm plays by its own rules—and those rules can change on a whim. Now and again, the unpredictable residents of that mystical land cross the supernatural threshold…

In this enchanting romance series from Dani Harper, the ancient fae come face-to-face with modern-day humans and discover something far more potent than their strongest magic: love.

See ALL Dani's novels on her Amazon Author Page

10 Ways to Become a Werewolf – plus a Giveaway

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!  

Image courtesy of Bigstock.com

In keeping with the season of all things monstrous, I dusted off some of my favorite myths about werewolves. It’s a topic that comes naturally to me, as the author of four shapeshifter novels, and a mom whose kids and their friends quested after the ultimate werewolf costume every October.

Ask anyone on the street how to become a werewolf, and the number one response (besides sidling away from you with one finger hovering over 911 on speed dial) is “being bitten by a werewolf”. This method is a fairly modern invention, however. Myths and legends show many different paths to werewolfery, and here are just a few of them.

1. Your parents were werewolves

This is an easy one. If Mom AND Dad were lycanthropes (that’s the ten-dollar word for werewolves), you would probably inherit the tendency. Apparently it’s a recessive gene, and having just one furry parent might not do the trick.

2. You’ve been cursed by a priest

From Russia to France, if you didn’t go to church, you could be officially cursed with lycanthropy by your local religious leader. This was also rumored to be the fate of those who failed to attend annual confession – if you did this 10 years in a row, you risked spontaneously becoming a werewolf. In 14th century Normandy, excommunicated persons were believed to turn into werewolves during the Christmas season. During this time, each sinner was either redeemed or doomed to belong to the devil and run as a wolf forever.

(PS - In Finland, if you were lucky enough to break the spell, you were still stuck with a wolf’s tail for the rest of your life!)

3. You’ve offended the Devil

Yup, in some stories, being TOO good would get you a lot of excess hair too. Apparently it was safest to be not too bad, not too good, but “just right”. It's unclear where the sweet spot is, however.

4. You’ve been captured by a witch

A Polish legend says that if a witch lays a belt of human skin across the threshold of a house in which a marriage is being celebrated, any member of the wedding party that steps over it is immediately transformed into a wolf. The wolves are forced to serve the witch for a year, then regain their human form and return to their lives.

5. You picked the wrong flowers

Legend says that a “lycanthropic flower” grows wild in the Balkan Peninsula, with a sickly death-like scent and white or yellow blooms. If you pick these flowers, you become a wolf! Simply brushing against wolfsbane blossoms (aconitum or monkshood) was believed to cause you to shapeshift as well—but it’s NOT a myth that it’s far more likely to cause your demise. (An unfortunate gardener in the UK died in 2014 from handling these poisonous purple perennials without gloves!)

6. You were born on the wrong day

Seriously, what were you thinking? In Italy, it was bad luck to be born on the winter solstice, December 20-21, and a surefire way to become a shapeshifter. In many other European countries, it was believed that children born on December 24th, Christmas Eve, were destined to become werewolves when they grew up. Apparently it was a divine punishment for competing with the Christ child! In Romania, however, this legend went a step further. Children conceived on Christmas Eve were cursed to become werewolves because their parents were supposed to have abstained from sex at that time!

8. You drank the wrong water

In some European legends, especially in Scandinavian countries, accidentally drinking from a "lycanthropic" river or stream would cause you to become a werewolf. This water is said to possess a "lurid sparkle" and a faint smell that is like nothing else. Other legends say that drinking from any body of water where a wolf pack has recently satisfied their thirst will cause you to change. As for drinking the rainwater that collected in a wolf’s paw print? Honestly, becoming a werewolf might not be your only problem….

8. You looked a wolf in the eye

This is a bad idea on several levels, but in some old stories, locking eyes with a wild wolf could cause you to turn into a wolf yourself within a few days. Handy hint – Stay away from the zoo!

9. You slept outside during a full moon

In Germany, Italy, and France, it was said that both men and women could become shapeshifters by sleeping outside and allowing the full moon to shine on their faces for the entire night. This was especially effective on a Wednesday or a Friday. (There’s a reason why friends don’t let friends pass out on the front lawn after a party.)

10. You drank magic beer

Really? The warning about the water wasn’t enough? In 1555, bishop Olaus Magnus penned a collection of Nordic folklore and history. In it, he reported that you could become a werewolf by sharing a mug of specially crafted beer with a known shapeshifter while repeating the words of an ancient spell. According to Magnus, the werewolves of Livonia held a huge gathering every year in which they would drink a great deal of beer before going out to ravage the countryside.

"Werewolf" Novels by Dani Harper

As a paranormal fantasy and romance author, I have a passion for shapeshifters, and my very first series centers around the Macleod family.  Long-lived and able to become wolves at will, they call themselves CHANGELINGS.  Centuries ago, they were forced to flee the wolf exterminations in Scotland and start a new life in the wilderness of northern Canada.

Today, that wilderness has been largely settled, and an entire community has sprung up around the Changelings.  The Macleods and their pack live as humans most of the time, hiding in plain sight.  They have jobs and pay bills and go to school and mow the grass and do all the things that humans do.  But don’t make the mistake of thinking they’re tame!  There are sacred places in the hills, and wolves rule the forests at night….

You can check out ALL my stories on my Amazon Author Page.  

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GIVEAWAY

My readers know I just can't go anywhere without a giveaway! And I've got a great prize just in time for Halloween fun --- The game of ULTIMATE WEREWOLF by Bezier! Check out all the details at http://beziergames.com/collections/all-games/products/ultimate-werewolf-deluxe-edition. Plus I've included a signed copy of the first book in my shapeshifter series, CHANGELING MOON (a RITA Award Finalist).

Enter the giveaway in the Rafflecopter below.

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