All Saints and All Souls

October ends with All Hallow's Eve  and November starts with All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. What's up with that?

What might be considered the kickoff to the winter holidays, these three days fall just after the harvest, and Halloween, at least, was tied to an ancient harvest festival.

The three days combined are called Allhallowtide. All Hallow's Eve, or as we know it, Halloween, harks back to the pre-Christian traditions of the Celtic festival, Samhain. The Celts believed that the night before the new year, on November 1, was a time when ghosts could cross the boundaries and visit the living. Over time, All Hallow's Eve became the Halloween we know today.

All Saints' Day celebrates the lives of Catholic saints and martyrs. Established by Pope Boniface the IV in 609 CE, it was originally celebrated on May 13. In 837 CE, Pope Gregory IV moved it to November 1.

All Soul's Day, widely known as The Day of the Dead, remembers the souls who still need intercession to cleanse them of their sins. Originally a local feast at Cluniac monasteries, established by Abbot Odilo in 998 CE, it gradually spread throughout the Roman Catholic world in the following century.

Here are a couple of videos about All Saints and All Souls.

Authors of the Month:

Julie Moffett and Brenda Margriet 

Every month, I want to highlight favorite authors, whatever their genre.

One of the delights I have had both as a reader and as an author is getting to know the people behind the books I love to read. This month I am highlighting an old friend and a new one. 

I met Julie Moffett in 2018. I love her Lexi Carmichael books and the chance to meet her for a drink at Apollycon in Crystal City, Virginia, and sit at her table for lunch at Barbara Vey's Readers Appreciation Weekend in Milwaukee were very special for me. I just got back from her own Readers Appreciation Week at Mountain Lake Lodge in Virginia where she invited me to be one of the signing offers. How special is that to have that opportunity on the very weekend your first novel is released. 

Julie's newest Lexi Carmichael novel, No Escape, has just released  Check it out, as well as the twelve earlier novels in the series.

No Escape 

Geek girl Lexi Carmichael thought meeting the in-laws would be easy as long as they met on neutral ground and she was fully prepared with a spreadsheet full of etiquette dos and don’ts. But unfortunately for Lexi, things don’t always turn out as she planned.

No One Lives Twice (first in series)
Get your geek on! Prepare for adventure with reformed hacker and trouble magnet Lexi Carmichael as she does whatever it takes to help the good guys win.

Brenda Margriet is a new friend. We met through The Creative Academy for Writers, a Canadian-based organization with members from around the world. Her romances are steamy seasoned romance with relatable characters. Like me, she writes more mature protagonists. The settings are in Northern British Columbia, a great change of pace.

Her newest book, The Promise of Frost, a Christmas novella, releases on November 12 and will be 99 cents. 

An adventurous kitten, a curious dog, and a matchmaking eight-year-old guarantee this will be a holiday to remember.

Luca Tannon's new neighbour is a sexy but surly single dad. Which is all for the best since she's focussed on reclaiming her life after a toxic long-term relationship.

Caleb Frost won't let anything distract hi from ensuring his son's first Christmas as the child of divorced parents is perfect. And that includes the irritatingly intriguing woman living next door.

Everything is going as planned...until it's not.

And the winner is...

In the October newsletter, author April White graciously offered a paperback copy of her latest book, Code of Ethics.

The winner is Sharon Cohen. Congratulations, Sharon.

News News News

I was featured in two blogs in October.

On October 13, I had an author interview in Romancing the Genres. I would like to thank author Barbara Binns for inviting me to be her guest.

On October 22, Ally Shields shone the spotlight on me in her blog, Coffee Chat. Ally also generously gave me quite a few shoutouts over the weekend on Twitter. I will be the featured author on her blog on December 9.

On October 25, Lois Winston interviewed Max and Cress on her blog, Killer Crafts and Crafty Killers.

I also participated in an author takeover on the Seasoned Romance Salon Facebook page.

A Walk in Rogers Park   

Enjoy a few highlights from my Chicago neighborhood

I was out walking on a beautiful Sunday morning and stopped in. Glenwood Avenue between Lunt and Farwell is part of the Glenwood Arts district.

Just around the corner from me is Burrows Art Galleries, on Glenwood in Chicago. This is Walter Palmer Burrows in his art gallery, with some of his paintings including "A Walk in the Garden." 

If you find yourself in my neighborhood one of these days, stop by his gallery.

The ebook edition of At First Sight is now available  on Amazon and in paperback from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

You can also order paperbacks from your favorite local bookstore.