Thanks so much for having me on your blog, Delilah!

Happy New Year to everyone! I can hardly believe it’s 2014. Another year bites the dust! And what do I find in the stores now that Christmas is over. Valentine’s candy, cards, and assorted gifts! I have to admit I love Valentine’s Day. Sometimes the hubby and I go out, sometimes we stick close to home. This year it will be on a Friday, so it’s kind of a perfect date night. I’m thinking fondue. A reader recently told me that was her special Valentine’s date last year.

Heads up here, I’m doing a drawing for an ebook copy of my erotic romance Kinky Neighbors. Leave a comment on this blog along with your email address (this is will not be used for advertisement, it’s only so I can contact you if you win).

And because I love Valentine’s Day, this year I decided to be a part of a brand new Valentine’s anthology with never-before-published stories from some wonderful writers, Pamela Fryer, Haley Whitehall, Raine English, Lois Winston, Melinda Curtis. And me! We’re all in Love, Valentine Style!

Here’s a blurb for my story which is called Be My Other Valentine.

Five years ago, Grace was given a sacred duty by a woman dying of cancer: Every Valentine’s Day, Grace must deliver a special cake to a girl named Valentine, addressed from the girl’s mother in heaven. But this year, Grace’s van gives up the ghost before she delivers her cargo.

His daughter Valentine is all Brian has left of his wife, but he’s forgotten the cake Valentine receives every year, and they’ve moved to a new house with no way to contact the baker who follows his wife’s wishes.

In their quest to fulfill a dying woman’s last request, can Grace and Brian find their own Valentine?

So Grace is a fabulous baker and she makes wonderful specialty cakes for birthdays, weddings, and all occasions. Of course, I’m not a baker! So when I was putting the story together, I had to come up with some cool cake ideas. The little girl in the story, Valentine, is 5, so I had to think up all the cakes Grace has made over the years. I have to tell you, the internet is a fabulous tool. You can find just about anything you want with just a few keystrokes. So here’s a couple of web pages where I found some really fun cakes!

https://spoonful.com/recipes/dessert-recipes/birthday-cake-recipes

https://spoonful.com/recipes/creative-cakes-gallery#carousel-id=photo-carousel&carousel-item=3

What’s great about this site is that there are recipes and instructions for making the cakes yourself. They’re great for a kid’s birthday party. I once made my husband a cake in the shape of cat. It was actually kind of cute, but the cake itself tasted terrible! Grace would never make a terrible cake. But she did make several of the creations I saw on this cool website! Here’s a little excerpt of the story:

He reached over to open the door. “It’s cold, get in.” When she hesitated, he added, “If your car won’t start, you won’t be able to turn on the heater.” He smiled and patted the seat next to him. “And I have seat warmers.”

“Oh God, you’re evil. I’ll put the cake on the floor behind the passenger seat. It won’t slide as much when you’re driving.”

He kept the engine running and pushed the buttons for both seat warmers. Her van was visible around the corner, and they would see when the tow truck arrived.

Settling beside him, she asked, “So I’ve been dying to know if your daughter likes the cakes.”

He smiled. Valentine was the light of his life. “She adores them.”

“Which one did she like best?”

He supposed it was like a painter or a musician or a writer asking if you liked their latest work. Her cakes were an art form. “The lamb. Or maybe that was just my favorite. Because Valentine was very partial to the pink and red ladybug.” There’d also been an amazing butterfly, its wings topped with colored fruit jellies arranged to look like a pink monarch, and a Finding Nemo fish, which had been pink instead of orange and accented with red stripes instead of black. “You’re very talented.”

Even in the shadows of the car, he recognized her blush. “Thank you. Valentine? For her birthday? I didn’t realize that was actually her name. Her mother didn’t say.”

His mood immediately spiraled. He hadn’t known what Marilyn planned until she’d done it. And when he’d seen the credit card bill later, he almost choked. But she was gone by then, and over the years, he’d realized what she’d given Valentine was worth every penny. In fact, it probably wasn’t enough. This woman—he hadn’t even asked her name—had already provided far more than the money Marilyn had paid her. A childhood’s worth of cakes, a mother lode of love. Why would she go to such lengths for a woman she didn’t know and a child who hadn’t even been born when she made the deal?

Hehe, there are the cakes! You can see samples of the lamb (they called it a sheep), Nemo, the butterfly, the ladybug. Of course, I changed the color to match Valentine’s favorite. Gosh, I should have used the panda, that one was cute, too! And what cake did Grace make for Valentine this year? LOL, you’ll have to read the story to find out!

Don’t forget to leave a comment and your email address to be entered in the drawing. You can find Love, Valentine Style exclusively on Amazon.

You can find me at:
Website: www.jasminehaynes.com
Blog: www.jasminehaynes.blogspot.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jasminehaynesauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jasminehaynes1
Amazon page: https://amzn.com/e/B001IR3N76
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/130583.Jasmine_Haynes

Thanks again for having me, Delilah!

Jasmine Haynes

Long Winter Nights

These are the dark days of winter.  In the Northern Hemisphere, the sun rises at about 7:20 in the morning and sets at 4:55 in the afternoon.  This gives us just over nine-and-a-half hours of daylight. Not much time for leisure activities.

For a person like me, who has SAD (Seasonal Affected Disorder) these short days do make me sad…and blue, and not wanting to get out of bed.

Last winter, though I found a way to make it through this time of dark. I hung around with the Kandesky vampires.

This is their favorite time of the year—their biggest holiday is winter solstice, the longest night of the year. There may only be nine-and-a-half daylight hours, but there are fourteen-and-a-half hours of dark.

During the weeks before and after winter solstice, the family gathers in Hungary from around Europe and North America. Most festivities are at Baron Stefan Kandesky’s castle but the family’s Budapest properties also host visitors. They give gifts, have parties, visit with friends and relatives they haven’t seen for a year.

And last year was even more special because they were having a death penalty trial for their worst enemy, Matthais. He headed up the Huszar vampire clan, the Kandesky’s neighbors and bitter rivals for several centuries.

Set against this festive season are the Huszar’s years of treachery, violence and deceit. These are highlighted when Maxie Gwenoch, the regular who heads up SNAP, the Kandesky’s mega-business, must take the stand and tell her story of kidnapping and rape.

Jean-Louis, second-in-command of the Kandeskys and Maxie’s lover, a stunning five hundred year old Hungarian vampire, is carrying a load of guilt because he didn’t keep her safe. Now, he’s with her—especially through these long winter nights.

And he wants to marry her and turn her. Can she give up the sun for the one she loves? Can she give up the glorious sex to stay a regular?

When I’m with Maxie and Jean-Louis, I’m in an altered state of consciousness. Their world is filled with luxury, glamour and mind-blowing sex. Of course, there’s also violence, fire fights, blood and death. With a combination like that, my “real” world of cooking, laundry and bill paying looks good…not!

I recently saw Janet Evanovich speak and she said she lives in the world of Stephanie Plum when she’s writing. Can’t wait to get back to it every morning.

I understand.

These long winter nights are bearable now because I spend them with Jean-Louis, Maxie and the family.

Michele Drier was born in Santa Cruz and is a fifth generation Californian. She’s lived and worked all over the state, calling both Southern and Northern California home.  During her career in journalism—as a reporter and editor at daily newspapers—she won awards for producing investigative series.

She writes the Amy Hobbes Newspaper mysteries and the six-book Kandesky Vampire Chronicles paranormal romance series, and has just published her eighth book, SNAP: Happily Ever After? She’s working on the seventh book in the series, SNAP: White Nights, scheduled for publication in early 2014.

Getting OUTBACK DIRTY with JoAnne Kenrick

Thanks for hosting me on your blog today, Delilah. It’s always a pleasure and an honor when my favorite authors give up a corner of their space for me to pimp my work. It makes me feel special! Very special. So seriously, thank you for the pink fluffy moment!

I’m here at Delilah’s place today to chat about my new release and the awesome new multi- author series it belongs to.

OUTBACK DIRTY, Calendar Men book one.

 Granted, I’m known for my British voice and stories. And I have been asked several times already why on earth I stepped out of my usual brand to write a story set in Australia without a Brit in sight. Well, simply put, I was homesick! Yes, I’m a Brit, but I’ve lived in quite a few different places and in Australia for three glorious years. I miss the laid back…or should that be ‘she’ll be right’…attitude of the Aussies, and the glorious landscapes and the beer. Oh how I miss Tooheys. I could just neck a frosty Tooheys right about now. That’s right, folks, XXXX and Fosters are not Aussies best beers. They keep the good stuff for themselves. Can’t blame them for that!

We lived in New South Wales. While we were there, we did travel that area, but it’s my one regret to have not travelled farther. Lucky for me, I got to do that in my mind with OUTBACK DIRTY. But really, all it did was make me want to visit the Northern Territory even more. Although I’m not a fan of the deadly creepy crawlies, I sure would love a stay at the Outback Experience…and I’d love nothing more than to get OUTBACK DIRTY (inside joke for those who’ve read the book already).

Without further a fuss, cop a load of the blurb:

She’ll do anything to win him back… even if it means getting OUTBACK DIRTY.

 Chris Ruter’s plan for Australia Day is to beat the heat by letting the beer flow. His New York ex, Janine, seems determined to drive the heel of her sharp stiletto right through the wall he’s built to avoid memories of her–but does she want him in front of her camera or in her bed?

 Janine Red is ready to get outback dirty to win back her sexy ex. Following him to his plantation, their bushwalk turns into a trip down memory lane. Can the magic of the outback heal her sprained ankle–and their hearts?

BUYLINKS CAN BE FOUND ON THE BOOK LANDING PAGE

https://calendar-men.blogspot.com/2013/12/mrjanuary-calendarmen.html

AUTHOR’S WEBSITE: https://www.joannekenrick.com

Calendar Men, the series.

Heroes doing good while looking great!

Read all 12 stories in this brand new multi-author series for 2014…

…and you’ll have a new book-boyfriend for every month of the year!

A man for every month!

Told by some of best authors in the world of romance, the Calendar Men stories have contemporary settings and star strong heroes doing good while looking great. With off-the-charts swoon-factor, the Calendar Men pose for a charity calendar to help military families of fallen heroes. Each has his own special reason for wanting to help the fictional Hero Family Fund, and each has his own obstacles to overcome before he can find a happy ever after.

Release Dates:

January 1^st – Outback Dirty by JoAnne Kenrick
February 1^st – February Lover by Rebecca Royce
March 1^st – Seducing Helena by Ann Mayburn
April 1^st – Frontier Inferno by Kate Richards
May 1^st – Shockwave by D. L. Jackson
June 1^st – The Other Brother by Lucy Felthouse
July 1^st – The Letter by Mina Carter
August 1^st – Burning Love by Cassandra Carr
September 1^st – A Model Hero by Sara Daniel
October 1^st – Falling For her Navy SEAL Again by Clarissa Yip
November 1^st – Thankful For You by Cindy Spencer Pape
December 1^st – Snow Angels by Sabrina York

Series news, exclusives, freebies, and more at the official Calendar Men blog:

https://calendar-men.blogspot.com

FINDING THE RIGHT NARRATOR

Thank you, Delilah, for having me on your site again today. I’ve just come back from a month-long vacation, a cruise starting in Italy and winding up in Brazil. This week I was thrilled to learn my second audio book in the SEAL Brotherhood series, Fallen SEAL Legacy, was live and for sale on Audible/ACX.  I worked on it with my narrator, J.D. Hart, while on board this cruise ship, and I have to say it was probably the most fun of my day! We battled the seas of the Atlantic and internet holes between Africa and South America to get this project done. But I’m over the moon pleased with the results.

There are a number of things I was looking for in a voice narrator. First, I wanted a masculine, slightly husky, mature male voice reading my story. I’m not sure why, but I prefer to listen to men narrators over women, if the voice is right. The instant I heard J.D.’s voice it was like my character came to life right in front of me. He was exactly how I thought my SEAL would sound.

I took other’s advice and asked several people to audition for the narration. What I heard was a variety of voices and tones, but none of them seemed to capture the “feel” of my story the way J.D.’s voice did. I imagined a listener spending eleven hours hearing my book on audio, and while other narrators eagerly wanted the job, I knew only one person was the perfect fit. I think an author knows when they’ve found the right voice.

Then came time for other characters to be portrayed. This is where I got to experience the genius of the narrator. Because he is a trained actor, and because of his extensive experience in doing voiceovers and commercials as well, he was able to give me accents and characterizations for my entire cast. It was not something I’d considered before. I can see that had I not chosen J.D., I would have been stuck with someone who perhaps wouldn’t be able to tackle this burden.

There are a whole host of other things I learned while doing these first two audio books, so perhaps on a future post I’ll go into them. At the end of this post, please leave me a comment. One lucky person will be chosen to receive the Fallen SEAL Legacy audio book for free.

Excerpt Cruisin’ For A SEAL:

He got up and left some coins on the table, and made the mistake of looking over at her.  He gave her a little crooked smile. She’d have to be completely insane not to pick up he found her attractive. She arched one eyebrow as he couldn’t help but admire her rack. Okay, to be perfectly honest, he wondered what they’d look like released to his hands.

He was normally the gentleman with these types of hot women, not knowing anything about them. It wasn’t proper to admire another man’s lady, and this one was too fine not to be attached. So, he closed his eyes by way of an apology and then looked back at her as if to say Sorry. I couldn’t help myself.

She did the wrong thing. She blew him a kiss with those red lips of hers in an obvious flirtation. The luscious lady slung her yellow Gucci bag over her shoulder, slipped her soft arm around his and snuggled to the side.

She said something in Italian. Marc was stunned. His legs felt like lead, unable to move as she unexpectedly squeezed her body next to his. He could feel her full chest pressing his resolve to the breaking point. His arm suddenly became the second most sensitive of his body parts. Read the rest of this entry »

What Men Can Learn from Romance Writers

Dear Lavender,

The strangest thing happened to me last Friday night, and I don’t know what to do.

I fell in lust with the most amazing man.

I don’t know how it happened. I mean, I’ve been married for twelve years and have two children. I love my family and my life, so this turn of events was a shock. Totally unexpected. And I don’t know how to handle it.

I left my office like always on Friday and when I approached my car, I discovered a tall man in a suit leaning against the driver-side door, the stem of a single pink rose in his hand. He brushed the flower down my cheek and did that thing men do with their eyes, checking me out from head to toe, and then he leaned in and kissed me full on the lips in broad daylight.

Needless to say, I was stunned. I hadn’t kissed a man in public in at least ten years, and here was this handsome man with his mouth on mine. Before I could say anything, he took my arm and led me to his car, going so far as to buckle me into the passenger seat.

He finally spoke as the engine rumbled. “I’m going to take care of you tonight.”

He took me to a restaurant I’d heard great things about but hadn’t had time to visit. It had a reputation, and well deserved, as a romantic spot, mood lighting and sumptuous intimate booths. One hand on my knee, his other on the menu, he ordered for both of us.

When the waiter left, this handsome man revealed his true intent, describing my body intimately, using words designed to bind me to him without a physical touch. A quiver began in my belly as I listened, and an erotic haze settled around me as if I were expecting to be caressed and kissed and loved in the next few moments.

His eyes. Oh, yes. His eyes burned with a deep and abiding affinity and I knew this man would change the way I thought about the male/female relationship.

The interruption from the waiter did little to abate the sexual tension and the sense of the inevitable lingered while we ate. Afterward, he stood and took my hand, drawing me to him and hugging me close to his side until he put me in the car. My body twitched, eager to know more of this familiar stranger and my brain, the most erotic part of me, longed for a permanent connection with the new man beside me.

When he parked in my driveway, I worried that the magic of the night would be lost, but when he helped me from the car his mouth came down hard on mine in a drugging kiss full of promise and passion.

I don’t know where this new man came from or how he came to be in my bed. I’m not sure I want to ask him for the details of his metamorphosis. I only know I want him to stay with me.

So, Lavender, this is where I need your help. Should I ask my husband what happened to enhance the way he loves me? Or should I simply enjoy him?

Lavender’s reply:

Men, smart men, often fall into ruts like we women do. Recognizing the slump and working to change it for the better is a wonderful thing. Enjoy.

Maybe, just maybe, he read a romance novel and gleaned a little insight into what women want in a lover.

Until next time-

Lavender

Find Lavender:
www.LavenderDaye.com
www.facebook.com/LavenderDaye
www.LavenderDaye.Blogspot.com

Lavender’s Latest Release-

Take a Chance

Steve Gladston is a security specialist, a Dom, and part owner of the new BDSM club opening south of Dallas. He and his two business partners refurbished an old country club into a state of the art fetish club. All three are looking forward to the upcoming opening of Private Delights while they finish the remodel and work at their various careers in the community.

Dena Lindsay is the office manager at her family’s firm, and with three overprotective brothers, dating is difficult. She dreams of a sensual adventure and Steve’s appearance in her life gives her hope. Discovering his penchant for BDSM is a shock, and then stimulating.

When danger intrudes in her life, she turns to Steve for protection. Proximity makes her both apprehensive and aroused. At some point, she’ll have to decide what she wants from her man. Protection or Passion?

Josephine Young is a petite Asian woman in her early twenties with delicate bone structure and startling blue eyes. She possesses cat-like grace and is capable of staring without blinking for extended periods of time. Although she appears fully human, one still receives the distinct impression that her tail is twitching.

Interviewer: Ms. Young, welcome to the Daily Show.

Josephine (smiles): Hello! And thank you. Please, my name is Josephine. My friends call me Josie. I’d like to thank Delilah Devlin for having me as her guest today.

Interviewer: I understand that you’re the heroine of A Cat’s Tale? Please tell us a little bit more about yourself.

Josephine:  Well, I’m a pure bred seal point Siamese. I’m also a shapechanger. I was  born in Florida and used to live with a little old lady from Pensacola before a vampire catnapped me.

Interviewer: Goodness that sounds terrible. Was it traumatic?

Josephine:  Oh, absolutely! That leech held me captive for three years as a blood pet. I suffered an awful amount of torment.

Interviewer: But you’re free now.

Josephine:  Well, the vamp met with a dusty fate so I’m on my own for the first time in my life.  Independence is a little bit scary but I’m enjoying it.

Interviewer: That’s wonderful. Now, let’s take a moment and talk about your story—A CAT’S TALE. I understand that the hero isn’t exactly the same… Erm, what’s the best way to put this?

Josephine:  Creature?

Interviewer: Yes, that’s it!

Josephine (sniffs): Jared is a werewolf.

Interviewer: So yours is a cross-species romance?

Josephine: I suppose you could say that.

Interviewer: How did you and Jared meet?

Josephine: In a bar. He was very attracted to me—naturally. At the time, I thought he was sorta cute but nothing to write home about. Anyway, I slipped a horse tranquilizer into his drink and abducted him.

Interviewer:  Good grief!

Josephine (innocent look): What?

Interview: You must be kidding?

Josephine (blank stare)

Interviewer: I can see you’re not kidding. Well, Jared must have been upset.

Josephine (grins): Yes, he was furious.

Interviewer: So, when you fight—it’s like cats and dogs?

Josephine (huffs in obvious irritation): Look, I understand where you’re going with this but I’m not interested in labels. Jared and I may not be a conventional couple, but that doesn’t mean we should be treated like a spectacle.

Interviewer (clears throat): Let’s try a less inflammatory topic. Josie, what is that you enjoy doing in your free time.

Josephine: I enjoy all the things other girls do: endless hours grooming, long naps in the sun, a little bit of nip now and then.

Interviewer: Uh, yes. I can see how that makes you just like other girls. Tell me, do you embrace your uniqueness, or have you always just wanted to fit in?

Josephine (brow lifts): Fit into what? I’m extremely limber. I can squeeze my body through any opening my head fits through, and as a cat, I’m not very large. So sure, I guess you could say that I can fit into almost anything… I’m very talented at getting into trouble too or so Jared says.

Interviewer:  Uh, so you’re just a conventional cat-girl.

Josephine: Exactly!

Interviewer:  Is Jared as unconventional as you? 

Josephine:  My man is a werewolf, but he’s not all that different from other wolves, at least not that I’ve noticed. I wouldn’t call him unconventional. Snarky and something of a smart ass, maybe…  Jared is also a firefighter which resulted in unfortunate and really bad jokes when we first met. I won’t go into details, but I’m sure you can imagine.

Interviewer: Yes, I can imagine. Unfortunately, our time is running out. Josie, do you have anything else you’d like to share with our readers. Any dark secrets? 

Josephine (unblinking):  I can’t tell you or I’d have to kill you.

Interviewer: I can’t tell if you’re kidding. That’s really disturbing. Er, one last question.  If you could do anything without concern for consequences, what would it be?

Josephine (smirks):  Give a werewolf a hot foot.

Interviewer: And that’s all the time we have today! Everyone, please give Josephine Young a hand!

***

ISBN 978-1-61217-215-6
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
All Romance Ebooks
The Wild Rose Press

About A CAT’S TALE:

4 Hearts From Sizzling Hot Book Reviews:
“A Cat’s Tale was an exciting tale of lust and trust as Josephine must learn to accept that Jared isn’t like other men. He is willing to do anything to protect and keep Josephine safe, including submit to the vampire. Jared is a hot sexy werewolf with more power than anyone expects. His sexual energy would drive a vampire wild but he only has eyes for his kitten.”

4-1/2 Stars from Just Erotic Romance Reviews:
“With a starting phrase ‘somewhere between Virginia and California,’ you know you are in for a treat with A Cat’s Tale. Jared is so much fun, a true Alpha male who knows when to keep his Alpha tendencies down and hidden. I love how Jared plays the vampire Evangeline, yet stays honest with Josephine. The sexual chemistry between Josephine and Jared is obvious from the first meeting, but distrust keeps the chemistry at a simmer. The dialogue between the werewolf and werecat will keep you entertained hours after finishing the story. Even though Josephine is in a bad situation, she is determined to do whatever it takes to stay alive and fight another day. Once Jared and Josephine finally have sex,  it is hot and raunchy, with the needed animalistic mating that you expect from an Alpha. There are plenty of secondary characters in the story that move the plot along though never taking away from the main characters. While there wasn’t as much sex in the story as I would have liked, I did have a great time reading A Cat’s Tale and can’t wait to read more from Ms. Snark.”

Alpha werewolf, Jared Kohl, wakes up in a vampire’s dungeon, swearing revenge upon the wily Siamese werecat who lured him there with her sultry lips and the sweetest tail. To escape his undead captor, all he has to do is seduce the skittish puss and show her that trust is often a hot and hard lesson to learn.

Enslaved feline shifter, Josephine Young, has learned the hard way not to believe in anything or anyone—not men, not love, and certainly not the blood-sucking mistress who tossed her into the cage with the hungry beast she’d betrayed. But Josephine does what she must to survive, including tempting the dominant werewolf to give her more than promises.

Imprisoned for their blood, Jared and Josephine fight for survival and discover a passion that neither can walk away from. Can these two predators survive long enough to prove that cats and dogs can be more than enemies?

Jared’s voice dropped in a ploy designed to tempt her cat curiosity. He leaned in and whispered, “Want to know another secret?”

Her ears shot forward, tall and erect, and her tail lifted. “What?” Josephine asked in spite of herself.

Jared smiled and eased closer to her. He brought his lips to her ear and resumed his former position between her thighs. Despite her better judgment, Josephine opened for him, welcoming the return of those lean hips and the button fly straining against his erection.

He waited. He pressed against her, stroking his hands over the soft fur of her haunches, teasing her nipples with his chest hair. Josephine’s breath hitched more than once, coming faster until she felt lightheaded. Her tail crept around his thigh, twining there.

“What secret?” Josephine demanded, ever impatient.

Jared nuzzled her cheek, his lips lingering in a long kiss, and the tip of his tongue tasted her flesh. The gentle caresses were a bright promise and so very tempting, because Josephine craved intimacy more than anything. Too long denied a kind word or a caring touch. At the same time, he frightened her because if she let her guard down, he’d possess the means to destroy her more thoroughly than killing her.

“Jared?” Josephine grasped his face and pulled his lips from her skin to stare up at him. “What secret?”

He gave new meaning to wolf smile. He had such big teeth. “I’m not the only one aroused, little cat.”

Mouth open in shock and attempted denial, Josephine stared as he walked away.

 Author Bio:

A friend asked me once how I chose my pen name. I told her the following: “Melissa, because when people mix up my first name, it’s the most common goof up. Snark, because it amuses me. A) I love the word ‘snarky’ and B)  I love Lewis Carroll.”

As an individual, I’m sarcastic, stubborn and blunt to a fault. I have a strange sense of humor and I like to laugh (usually at my husband or children), but also at myself. I’m not particularly extroverted, although I do enjoy time with my family and close friends a great deal.

At the moment, I’m a stay at home mom who writes in my spare time. I’ve got a B.S. from Arizona State University in Business, and I’ve worked a variety of different jobs, including as a medical device documentation specialist, a technical writer, and an auto liability adjuster. I live in the San Francisco East Bay of Northern California with my husband, three kids, and three cats.  My hobbies include roleplaying, cooking and reading.

I maintain an author blog called The Snarkology.

Where to find Melissa on the Internet:
Website
Blog
Email: melissasnark at gmail dot com
Facebook
Goodreads
Amazon Author Page
Twitter

The Christmas Monster…

Have you ever heard of the Christmas monster?

In my world, Christmas has always been about all things positive…Santa Claus, St. Nicholas, Rudolph with his red nose, snow, caroling, hot chocolate. On a religious level—it’s about the Star of Bethlehem and the birth of Jesus. Sure, I know about Scrooge and The Grinch, but something much darker lurks in the shadows.

I spent almost a decade living in German-speaking countries in Europe. I was even married to a German for eighteen years and had a mother-in-law who spoke no English. I’m ashamed to say that until a few days ago, I had never heard of the Krampus, nor seen one. Now I’m obsessed with him and what he represents.

Wikipedia describes him as, “a beast like creature from the folklore of Alpine countries…” There is a morbidly fascinating 8-minute video of a Krampus festival held annually at Graz, Austria where people dress up as the Krampus every year. If you have 8 minutes to spare, I encourage you to scroll down that page and watch it. Talk about high quality costumes and make-up—this parade of Christmastime devils makes our yuckiest zombies and ghouls of Halloween look like wimps!

Lumps of coal? Forget it, you naughty children! Things can get a lot worse than that! Krampus was the devil-like monster who terrified bad children and took them away to his cave. Their best possible fate was to be locked up and starved. Worst case scenario: they became a meal for the Krampus.

From a greeting card featured in Wikipedia

How was it that in all these years I had never heard of the Krampus? It occurs to me that this is yet another display of the theme darkness and light. Since St. Nicholas/Santa Claus is a benevolent being of light, are we surprised there is an equal and opposite being of darkness? Since Christmas falls so close to the Solstice which is the longest night of the year and the shortest day, it stands to reason there is a “dark” character involved in countries where adults would go to any length to make children be obedient and well-behaved. Krampus may be tied in with ancient pagan rituals.

There has been a general tendency toward darkness and monsters in recent years, especially around Halloween. Apparently new Krampus parades are popping up around the USA now. Just google ‘krampus parade’ to find one near you!

As a writer who enjoys sprinkling paranormal spice on my stories, my mind is already at work… how I can incorporate Krampus into an upcoming novella?

There’s no such character to be found in my two holiday novellas—Autumn Masquerade and Christmas Spirits. In both stories, the only paranormal characters readers must contend with are ghosts.

How about you—if you knew about the Krampus, please share what you know!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

GEMMA JULIANA is a multi-published author who lives in an enchanted cottage in north Texas with her handsome hero, teen son and a comical dog. She loves making new friends and hearing from readers. Exotic coffee and chocolate fuel her creativity.
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