Thursday, July 3, 2014

My Favorite Holiday - A Guest Post & Review & Contest



My Favorite Holiday
By Dawn Eastman


Halloween. Ghosts. Witches. Pumpkins. Costumes. I love it all. Even now, in the midst of summer, I’m already looking forward to Halloween. It’s my favorite holiday because, for our family, it’s all about fun. There’s no pressure with Halloween. You can dress up, or not. You can decorate, or not. There is no required large meal to be cooked and cleaned up. No shopping – except for candy, which really doesn’t count.

Autumn is my favorite season and so Halloween celebrations are an excuse to do all those great fall activities like going to an apple orchard, or a pumpkin patch. I drag my family to the local Living History museum every year for trick or treating in the old-fashioned town and horse and buggy rides through the spooky woods. We have popcorn and cider and listen to ghost stories. We roast marshmallows over a bonfire. As my kids get older, I’m worried I may have to borrow some neighbor kids just to have an excuse to go back every year.

The lead-up to the end of October is even better if there is a gloomy, stormy day so that I can read a good ghost story or gothic novel while lightning and thunder rage outside. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield is a great modern gothic. Debra Harkness’s All Souls Trilogy is wonderful and the first one, A Discovery of Witches, takes place in the month leading up to Halloween. Katherine Howe’s Physic Book of Deliverance Dane is another witchy favorite.

On Halloween, I love to see the little kids come to the door with their princess and superhero costumes.  But even more, I love to see the big kids who are trying to hold on to childhood for one more year. On his first Halloween, my son spent the evening in shocked delight that every house he went to gave him candy. Now, he walks the neighborhood with his younger sister who generously shares her loot.

When we moved to Iowa, we had to get used to the different customs of our adopted state. For one thing, our city does its trick or treating on October 30th. Growing up in Michigan, October 30th was known as devil’s night, and only the tricksters were out roaming the streets. In Iowa, the kids have to tell a joke in order to get the candy. This is a tradition that I still am not used to and often the older kids demand I listen to their joke before they will accept my candy, which tends to take the shine off the exchange for me.

Be Careful What You Witch For, the second book in the Family Fortune Mystery series begins on Halloween night. In the woods. At Midnight. With a bonfire. Hope to see you there…

What Halloween traditions do you enjoy? Do you have any favorite spooky books? I’d love to hear about it the comments!

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Leave a comment answering Dawn's questions about Halloween traditions and favorite spooky books for a chance to win a copy of Be Careful What You Witch For no later than 11:59 pm EST Monday, July 7, 20014. Be sure to leave an e-mail address so that I am able to contact you should random.org choose your comment!

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Review

Be Careful What You Witch For by Dawn Eastman
The Second Family Fortune Mystery

In Be Careful What you Witch For author Dawn Eastman brings us back to the spiritualistic community of Crystal haven, Michigan. This, the second book of the Family Fortune Mystery series, opens in the midst of Fall Fun Fest. Clyde's friend Diana is in charge of the festival and has included a Wiccan Samhain ceremony to this year's schedule of events. After Clyde sees "something" in the flames a member of the circle collapses in what seems to be a severe allergic reaction. Was it merely an accident? No.

Dawn Eastman deftly handles her characters keeping them grounded (albeit kooky at times) personable (although annoying at times), and interesting. We want to spend time with these characters and learn more about them. I especially love how she's developing the romance between Clyde and Mac. Their major obstacle from Pall in the Family has been removed, yet we know issues will abound. However, we are able to see the deep concern and, can we say love, that Mac has for her. Eastman is able to keep it sweet, but not saccharine, actions are concerned, but not controlling; all in all an adult relationship handled with aplomb.

I loved this second entry in the Family Fortune Mystery series. It is interesting to see that even in a spiritualistic community, not everyone is accepting of Wiccans. We see prejudice and the unfortunate tendency of mankind to distrust and hate what is different and unknown. Even our protagonist falls into this trap with one of the new characters. Yet the subject matter is treated with respect and knowledge. Dawn Eastman gives us a realistic look into a paranormal world and I'm delighted to follow where she leads.

22 comments:

  1. This sounds like a very interesting book. We don't have any real Halloween traditions here. My sons have outgrown trick or treating. Maybe this year we will have to start a new Halloween tradition.

    Angie Young
    angiey1974@hotmail.com
    thelittlereadingcabin.blogspot.com

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  2. Your book sounds captivating and special. We used to dress up the kids and now we dress up the grandkids who love this experience. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

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  3. I don't really read "spooky" books because I'm a 'fraidy cat! But, E.J. Copperman has a Haunted Guesthouse cozy mystery series that I do enjoy. :)

    As for Halloween traditions, I recently found out that Cadbury makes "Screme" eggs around Halloween. The Cadbury creme eggs are my favorite treat in my Easter basket, so now I treat myself to these Halloween-themed candies, too. :)

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    1. Ohhh I'll have to look for those Cadbury Scremes!

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  4. I love Halloween too, except for a while there I didn't. My brother had someone throw a full can of soda at his face, from a close range. It cut open his face from the bottom of his nose to his lip. Stitches and anger aside, it took a while for me to disconnect that from the holiday. Now that I have 3 wee ones, it makes it fun once again. I have always loved to watch the movie "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" with my friends. My kids are not old enough to handle it yet. I can't wait for that day! We go trick or treating, but to people that we know and love. It just doesn't have the same appeal anymore when you have to check for all the opened candy, unwrapped items, etc. So, we stick with what and who we know.

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    1. It's truly sad that it's not what it was when we were young.

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  5. Two things stand out about Halloween when I was young. 1-It seemed to always rain so we had to wear our yellow slickers over our costumes. 2-We lived out of town and had only one neighbor we could visit. Slim pickings.
    libbydodd at comcast dot net

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    1. lol, I often had to wear a winter coat over my costume!

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  6. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  7. We gave a party every year till my mom passed away, now we just pass out treats to the grandkids :) kathambre@yahoo.com

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  8. Thank you Kathy for yet another great review! We don't do much for the Halloween holiday, but, like you, autumn is my fave time of the year. Just the thoughts of leaves changing, pumpkin patches, sweaters being worn for the chilly evenings...it's all good!
    Sandy at sxygrndma48@yahoo.com

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    1. I'm glad you liked my review-in the current heat I can't wait for fall!

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  9. Halloween was never a holiday I was permitted to participate in, as a child......
    even as I got older, the idea of dressing up in a costume never appealed to me.....

    hope I can still enter the giveaway....

    cyn209 at juno dot com

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    1. Of course you may still enter! I'm sorry you never got to dress up-sometimes it's fun to become someone else for a while.

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  10. I like to decorate cookies for Halloween. And read a couple Halloween themed cozies.
    suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com

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  11. My favorite tradition was always dressing up in a costume and going trick-or-treating. I went with either my best friend since kindergarten and her little brother or the three kids of my mom's best friend of 20+ years. Trick-or-treating is a thing of the past for me now, but I still dress up to pass out candy. :) robbfan141729@yahoo.com

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  12. Absolutely my favorite holiday (even beating out Christmas) and I dress up every year. Last year as a rodeo clown. My department knows it and we have- Halloween party every year! I make my ghosts in the graveyard cake. Just wish it could be the safe & fun time that I remember from my childhood.

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  13. No special traditions, although I like to give out candy to trick and treaters. I don't like very many spooky books, although I read the Fourth Realm Trilogy by Johnathan Twelve Hawks, that pretty much scared the stuffing out of me.

    kaye.killgore@comcast.net

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  14. Thank you for hosting! I loved reading all the great comments about Halloween!

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  15. Congratulations Kaye! Random.org chose your comment to win. Be on the lookout for an e-mail from me. Thanks everyone for commenting and I hope you continue to visit here.

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  16. Great review, and I love the guest post, too! Kathy, you're right on target with your observations on Mac and Clyde's relationship; it's one of the things I really liked about the novel.

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