Day of the Dead, Sugar High, and the Artemis Mission by Diane Burton

Sometimes I think I've led a sheltered life. I never heard of Day of the Dead until the James Bond movie came out a few years ago. 

Then, my grandsons convinced me to watch Coco. Cute movie about family. 

This Mexican holiday began yesterday and ends tomorrow. The belief is that the souls of deceased loved ones visit the land of the living during this time. People celebrate with food and music in graveyards, to entice the souls to come forth. Of course, there are parades. Fort Lauderdale, San Antonio, and Tucson have the largest celebrations in the United States.

Is anybody in a sugar coma? Since we haven't given out candy since before covid, I overbought this year. I used to send candy to school for the teachers to pass out whenever. But with so many children deathly allergic that's not a good idea. Hubs and I don't need the leftovers. I'm sure the TV station will have drop off points. Did you have many trick-or-treaters?

(Image credit: Gregg Newton/AFP via Getty Images)

 Last month, I wrote about the Artemis 1 launch that was delayed. Here's an update. On Friday, the moon rocket will roll out to the launchpad. NASA engineers have performed tests and repairs to prepare the launch for November 14th, at the earliest. Hope this time it's ready.

Hope you all have a good month. If you're doing NaNoWriMo, good luck to you.

A Book Release, an Eye Surgery, and a Drawing

I tell ya what, it’s nice to be back with my PNRom peeps this month, and with a functioning eyeball. For those of you didn’t know, life dumped me unexpectedly (and rather rudely, I might add) into the ER for eye surgery...the night before my next series short-story released. Nothing Earth shattering, just a detached retina. 

Unfortunately, the doctor did not replace my failing eyeball with a bionic one, this time. I'm still working on him about that. Fortunately, Linda Nightingale kindly stepped up to fill my September blog slot, and for that I’m grateful.

This month my eye is better and I’m back to my usual shenanigans. Let’s start with the release I missed.

Space Ranger--the story of what really happened to Graig that brought him back to Simone--re-released on Sept. 24^th. This is a companion/fan-service story to my novel Prophecy. Companion, meaning while it can be read alone, it will flow smoother if read in sequence after Prophecy. Fan service, because so many readers wanted to know exactly what Alex did to help Graig see the light. Aaaand also because you all keep asking for more Alex and Gryf.

Oh, and "re-release"...well, this story was my contribution to the first ever Pets in Space anthology from a couple years ago.

Check it out:

Graig Roble, Matiran Senior Security Commander for the Guardian Fleet, is an expert weapons specialist and combat master. Protecting others is what he was born to do. So why has his focus wavered since returning to duty aboard the Atlantis? All he can think about is the enticingly brilliant human woman he walked away from.

Simone Campbell uses her experience as a botanist to help Terr recover from the devastating Anferthian invasion. Yet she can’t seem to immerse herself deep enough in her work to expunge the memory of one blue-skinned hunk-of-an-alien. What is it about Graig that keeps pulling her attention, and her heart, away from her job?

One thing’s for sure, their bond runs deeper than either of them realized—but can Graig convince Simone of this before he loses the best thing to ever happen to him?

(This is a revised edition and originally appeared in the first Pets in Space(R) anthology.)

There are two ways to get your copy of Space Ranger:

1) Subscribe to my newsletter and get a FREE complimentary copy**

2) Purchase it from your favorite online store

** If you already subscribe, go to your email and look at the September 2019’s version of Lea’s Letters from Space for the link to get your own copy.

In other news…

Tomorrow’s Halloween! What better way to celebrate than with a sexy vampire? And boy do I know the guy for you! Read on to find out how you could win a Kindle version of my vampire novel, Made for Her….

Racing against time to return a legendary dagger to the land of the Fae, Donnie McAllister must rely on a dangerously sexy vampire to navigate a world she never knew existed. If she doesn’t deliver, it’ll cost Donnie her life and leave the ancient weapon of untold power in the hands of her corrupt, venomous boss.

Mikhail Cherneski’s nemesis is after Donnie, the human woman whose blood calls to Mikhail like no other. When Mikhail comes face-to-face with his enemy, he must risk his immortal life or watch Donnie suffer the same fate as his family.

Another bewitching story from Magic, New Mexico

**THIS DRAWING HAS ENDED. THANK YOU!**

Here are the entry rules:

1) To win, you must have a Kindle/Kindle email address (no exceptions, sorry).

2) Winner will be drawn at noon PST November 6, 2019.

3) The author will contact winner via email; winner will have 24 hours to respond.

4) If winner does not respond in the requisite amount of time, or does not qualify, a new name will be drawn. 

5) With the winner’s consent, the author will post winner’s name in her November 30^th blog.

6) Your entry is your consent for the author to contact you, and your agreement with the author’s privacy policy.

Good luck, everyone, and have a safe and fun Halloween!

 ~Lea

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

USA Today Bestselling Author, Lea Kirk, loves to transport her readers to other worlds with her sci-fi romances. 

When she’s not busy writing about the blue and green aliens of her Prophecy series, or reading about dragons, she’s hanging out with her hubby, five kids (the nerd herd), and spoiled Dobie mix puppy.

She is currently working on a novella and the fourth book in her series.

Halloween Decorating Obsession

So, after maxing out the way I decorate for Christmas, I've moved on to my other favorite holiday, Halloween. I'm a paranormal romance author, y'all. Are you really that surprised?

I LOVE the colors, and the themes, and the funny signs, and all the different things you can do to decorate for Halloween. I don't tend to go for spooky. More colorful. But I thought I'd share some of my best Halloween interior decorating tips.

Biggest Bang for the Buck
Glittery cheap boas from grocery stores. I have ones with pumpkins, one with ghosts, and one with witches. They take up a space so nicely. You can see parts of this one behind other decorations on the mantle. They're also good for long tables, entertainment hutches, and wrapping around banisters.

Wall Signs

The biggest impact to holiday decorations I've found (for every holiday) are wall signs. Something about taking down the usual stuff to put up something seasonal and unique really stands out.

Combine Smaller Items on a Larger Item
I love to put some of my smaller items together on a runner or tablecloth.

Trees Aren't Just for Christmas

Hey, they were pagan for the jolly holiday to begin with. I find that a Halloween version adds some sparkle. Thinking of doing a life sized kind.

Table Clothes Are My Jam

Tablecloths decorate a very large/long space quickly and easily. I love this tablecloth (and finding fun ones for each holiday actually. I also loved finding the pieces to make the centerpiece!

Things That Light Up

A must at Halloween. After all, the actual celebration is held in the dark.

What about you? Are you a Halloween decorating nut like me? What are some of your favorite holiday decorating tricks?

Halloween Monsters: Werewolves & Shapeshifters

Happy Halloween! October is possibly my favorite month of the year, and Halloween has a great deal to do with that. I thought it would be fun to do a little fact finding about the traditional Halloween monsters (werewolves, vampires, Frankenstein, etc.) and their evolution in folklore and literature.

Since every single one of my series (Fire's Edge, Svatura, Shadowcat Nation, Legendary Consultants) involve shifters or werewolves of some sort, you know I had to dig into the history of those creatures.

As I researched this topic, I found it very interesting that unlike vampires and Frankenstein almost every culture around the world has some type of transformation or shape-shifting mythology (typically with animals indigenous to the area). Many of these mythologies go back to antiquity.

In earlier history, shapeshifters were most commonly deities (gods or goddesses) with the magical ability to transform. In Japan they have Kitsune, a fox shifter who is typically benevolent but often a trickster. Korea and China have similar fox shapeshifter myths. In Africa, deities shift into lions or leopards. In South America they transform into jaguars. Some gods/goddesses in Greek, Roman, Norse, etc. mythology can choose their forms.

Another frequent myth seen for shifters in earlier history is humans who were transformed into something by a god or goddess as a punishment. In Greek mythology, Arachne was transformed into a spider. In Roman myth and Ovid’s Metamorphoses, King Lycaon was changed to a wolf by Jupiter (some attribute this as the beginning of werewolf mythology). But in these cases, the person changed had no power to return back to human. This theme continued in later European folklore. The Frog Prince and Beauty and the Beast both involve transformation into animals as a punishment.


Enter the Middle Ages where the werewolf mythology became prevalent. Most of the people executed for being werewolves in this time period were later found by historians to be serial killers. The werewolf mythology also closely follows witch folklore and persecution. In fact, shifter mythologies were not all that prevalent in North America until brought over by European colonists at the same time as they brought their fear of witches.

Based on what I could find, not a lot seemed to change about shapeshifter folklore for quite some time. Up to the 1940s (and even later) they were truly seen as monsters eliciting terror and revulsion. Early books and movies about werewolves have the happy ending being the death or defeat of the creature.

In my research, I couldn't find a specific trigger for the change in perception of shapeshifters and werewolves as monsters to the view of them today as sympathetic and even heroic. Even books written in the mid- to late-1900s still use a more classic example of shifters. For example, in C.S. Lewiss The Chronicles of Narnia, Eustace is shifted into a dragon but more as a learning moment or punishment, not at will.


I would argue that shapeshifters we see today both in literature and movies, unlike their earlier counterparts, become the hero of most stories in the last 10-20 years by changing these aspects:

• ability to change at will (rather than being trapped in the animal form)
• more reasoned thinking (more human attributes, previous monsters went total animal)
• usually good and are solving the problem (even if the problem stems from them)
• frequently have an entire subculture to support them / live with in peace
• more often than not, shifting/were-hood is not a punishment, but a lifestyle

What a change from the monsters they originally were. Right?

I've found this topic so interesting to research, I'll have to dig more on the psychology behind this phenomenon. My guess is that, like vampires, we've romanticized werewolves and other shapeshifters, giving them more human qualities, behaviors, and values. Dissatisfied by our human frailty, we are intrigued by the thought of what additional power assuming such a form could provide. It makes me wonder what the next 10, 20, even  100 years have in store for these fascinating and ancient creatures.

A Little Halloween in April by Sorchia DuBois

It’s been a beast of a winter!  

In my neck of the woods, it’s not been a dramatic frigid, blizzardy, epic kind of winter. Not at all the kind of winter you get a t-shirt for surviving. I would have liked that.

Nope, it’s been dreary, wet, cold, depressing, and bleak. Endless days of looming clouds, muddy roads, and raw winds.

To make matters worse, a family member who shall remain nameless insists on starting my morning by giving me a quick rundown of any news I might have missed—which this year has run a gamut from the ridiculous to the tawdry to the utterly terrifying.

Before my morning tea!

But now it’s April and it’s time to snap out of it. Flowers are blooming, birds are singing, and Halloween is only 30 weeks away.

Don’t get me wrong, I love spring! It’s my favorite season and I can hardly wait to get into my garden. BUT Halloween is a passion and even in the spring, I need a little dose of it.

If you long for a quick jolt of halloweenie chills and giggles, here are a few of my favorites.

• During the day, I don’t believe in ghosts. At night, I’m a little more open-minded. Annon.
• By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes. Shakespeare—in the Scottish play
• Double, double. Toil and trouble. Fire burn and Cauldron bubble. Willie Bill again in the Scottish Play (Bad luck to say the title, you know. Generally, in relation to the stage, but why take chances?)
• There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls. George Carlin
• On Halloween, witches come true… Nicholas Gordon
• A grandmother pretends she doesn’t know who you are on Halloween. Erma Bombeck
• Every day is Halloween, isn’t it? For some of us. Tim Burton
• Eat, drink and be scary. Author Unknown. I think I will steal this one and use it for promo this fall.

What do baby ghosts wear on Halloween? White Pillowcases.

Do zombies eat popcorn with their fingers? No, they eat the fingers separately.

What do you get when you cross a vampire and a snowman? Frostbite.

What do you call the ghost of a chicken? A poultry-geist.

How does a ghost say goodbye to a vampire? So long, sucker!

Why did the police officer let the ghost go?  He couldn’t pin anything on him.

How do ghosts keep fit? They exorcise regularly

Why do ghosts and demons get along so well? Because demons are a ghoul’s best friend.

And a couple of writing jokes to end.

How many authors does it take to change a light bulb?

Ten.
1st draft. Hero changes light bulb.
2nd draft. Villain changes light bulb.
3rd draft. Hero stops villain from changing light bulb. Villain falls to death.
4th draft. Lose the light bulb.
5th draft. Light bulb back in. Fluorescent instead of tungsten.
6th draft. Villain breaks bulb, uses it to kill hero's mentor.
7th draft. Fluorescent not working. Back to tungsten.
8th draft. Hero forces villain to eat light bulb.
9th draft. Hero laments loss of light bulb. Doesn't change it.
10th draft. Hero changes light bulb.

How many mystery writers does it take to change a light bulb? Two. One to screw the bulb almost all the way in, and one to give a surprising twist at the end.

I don't know about you, but I feel better now.  Groan at my jokes or add your own in comments.