News & Events
Upcoming Events
Weekly on Mondays
Host of the Crime Feast Podcast
Weekly on Tuesdays
Host of the History, Books and Wine Podcast
Tuesday
November 1, 2022 @ 7pm EST
In conversation with J'Nell Ciesielski
One More Page Books
Arlington, VA
**Free ticketed event
Wednesday
November 30, 2022 @ 7pm EST
Virtual Fireside Chat with Adventures by the Book
**Free event
Sunday
July 9 - 16, 2023
Instructor - Retreat, Write and Plan for Success
Ireland Writer Tours
Halloween Reader Hop
It's that time again for some fun reader trick or treating! Hop along to each of the author's pages linked below and "collect" all the candies for your chance to win $150!
Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I love the spookiness that surrounds this month and the historical meanings behind it. Halloween originated in ancient Celtic culture and was called Samhain. For the Celts, November 1 is when they celebrated their new year, and so the night before marked the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter--which is when death rates rose because of the cold temperatures and issues with food.
On Samhain night, it was said that ghosts were allowed to roam the earth as the boundary between the living world and that of the dead blurred. People would build great bonfires, where they would make sacrifices of their crops and livestock. They dressed up in costumes made from animal skins, heads, horns, etc.. to ward off the ghosts. By the 8th Century, a pope named November 1st All Saints Day, and the evening before became known as All Hallows Eve, eventually becoming Halloween.
So why do we carve pumpkins? They used to carve turnips into grotesque heads, and set them in their windows with candles burning as lanterns to ward off evil spirits.
My favorite candy is Junior Mints!
Enjoy the hop!
