Trick or Treat - by Magdalena Scott

Aaack! How can my favorite month be almost over?

Our community's official trick or treat is set for the evening of Saturday the 30th. Many local groups are hosting trunk or treats in their parking lots. At least one of those is a drive-through. In 2020, due to covid, trick or treat mostly didn't happen here. I'll be interested to see whether the usual numbers of candy customers show up at the doors of folks who turn on their front porch lights to advertise: Get your sugar fix here!

In my book, A Piece of Her Soul, something frightening happens on Halloween. (Don't worry, it'll be okay. Happy ending guaranteed!)

For only 99 cents, you can buy the ebook version of A Piece of Her Soul by clicking BUY WITH COUPON. This offer is available exclusively at Smashwords during their Halloween promotion.

A PIECE OF HER SOUL: Sweet romance meets light paranormal. Don’t miss Autumn in Serendipity!

Nick Marshall has a hole in his soul, and Jacqueline must help him find the missing piece. Their teenage history in the gossipy town of Serendipity compounds the situation, as Jacqueline’s visit to help her injured mother turns into something more.

The little town hasn’t changed much. The gossip tree still has branches and roots everywhere, most folks remember the town’s past better than they can imagine its future, and the autumn colors are more beautiful than anywhere Jacqueline has traveled in the years since she left.

Jacqueline’s gift is needed here, but she won’t risk her heart, or put her family in the spotlight, by staying.

Click here to get your ebook of A Piece of Her Soul and choose BUY WITH COUPON--only at Smashwords.

A Piece of Her Soul is Book 7 in the Serendipity, Indiana series but can also be read as a standalone with its own happily ever after.

So, tell me: what is your trick-or-treat methodology this year?

Magdalena Scott

Website: https://magdalenascott.com/

A #Halloween Decorating Idea by Kristin Wallace

I can’t believe it’s October already! In so many ways time seems to have stopped mid-March and yet the calendar keeps changing.  

I wanted to share something a little more lighthearted this month. It’s a Halloween decorating idea that is super cute and easy for even non-crafty people (which I definitely am) can do. 

 

Now I did not come up with this idea on my own. I was in Party City looking for decorations to put up in my apartment for my roommate’s birthday a couple weeks ago. Since the Halloween decorations were already out in full force, I looked around and came upon a display of clear round ornaments with tiny Halloween-themed lights inside them. 

 

At first I wanted to buy the ornaments, but of course, they were just for the display for the lights. Still, I loved the idea so much that I decided to make some for my apartment. 

 

I bought 8 sets of lights, including ones with tiny pumpkins, ghosts, spiders, and bats, as well as simple colored lights. I also bought a string of lights with pumpkins on them. Mine came from Party City, but I’m sure you can find similar lights at other stores. 

 

Then I bought clear plastic balls at Michaels. Again, you might have another craft store that sells something like that. Since Christmas décor is also already out they aren’t hard to find. 

 

NOTE: Make sure you get ornaments that come with two halves that you fit together. If you get the regular ornaments with only a small hole at the top the lights won’t fit. (I realized this after buying the wrong kind of ornaments.)

 

Then you put batteries in the lights, put them inside one half of an ornament, and snap the two halves together. Then you can hang them wherever you want. 

 

It turned out really nice. 

 

The best thing is, I can change out the lights inside the ornaments for different holidays. I’ll probably try fall colors for Thanksgiving and then red & green for Christmas. 

 

Do you have any cool Halloween decorating ideas? Please share them with me! 

 

Kristin Wallace is the USA Today Best Selling Author of sweet contemporary and inspirational romance filled with Love, Laughter, and a Leap of Faith. She is the author of three popular series, Covington Falls Chronicles, Shellwater Key Tales, and Palm Cove Tales. 

Jean C Gordon Asks What Are You Doing for Halloween?

Like so many other things, Halloween has taken on a different character this year. Trick or Treating, parties, school costume parades, haunted houses--many people are uncomfortable with these traditional activities in 2020. But that doesn't mean families can't celebrate the holiday. 

Here's an idea the head of our church's Sunday School came up to take the place of our usual Haunted House the older kids put on for all the children in our village: a drive-in carved pumpkin competition. The pumpkins will be displayed in our church parking lot October 24 so families can drive around and pick the one they like best. The winner will get a yet-to-be-decided prize.

And no one will go home empty handed. Every child who attends in costume or not will receive a free book from the church Book Nook, where I volunteer. The Book Nook is also offering free Halloween costumes all month long. Many of the costumes are new, donated to the church by a local store after Halloween last year.

So, you know what I'm doing for Halloween. What are you doing?

And Keeping to a Holiday Theme . . .

Did you miss Caro's Gift in the Small-Town Christmas Wishes Series written by six Sweet Romance Reads authors last holiday season because it was Kindle only? You're in luck. It's now available for Nook, Kobo, and Apple Books, as well as print.

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Halloween History...by Kristin Wallace

So, it's October now, which means Halloween is a couple weeks away. Pumpkin Spice is everywhere. Hocus Pocus is on TV every day. Plus, there are other fall customs…carving a pumpkin, hayrides, hot apple cider, caramel apples. Choosing a costume. My mom made several of mine growing up, including a witch and a princess. There’s trick o’ treating and Halloween parties. 

Those are all big traditions of Halloween, at least in the US. But do you know the true history behind the holiday? Where did it come from and why was it celebrated? 

In the Beginning

The origin of Halloween dates back over 2,000 years with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain in Ireland and parts of England. The Celts celebrated their new year on November 1, which marked the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter. Samhain was celebrated on October 31. On that night it was believed that the ghosts of the dead were actually able to walk the earth. To commemorate the event, the Celts dressed up in costumes and built huge bonfires to burn crops and make animal sacrifices. When Samhain was over, they re-lit their hearth fires from the sacred bonfire in order to protect their families during the winter. 

The Holiday Evolves

In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 All Saints’ Day, or All Hallows Eve, a time to honor all saints and martyrs. The holiday incorporated many of the Samhain traditions, including bonfires, parades and dressing up in costumes. Eventually, All Hallows Eve became known as Halloween. 

In the US, the more popular traditions (such as dressing up & trick o' treating) didn’t take shape until the second half the nineteenth century, mostly due to the large influx of Irish immigrants who began arriving in the 1840s. It wasn’t until the 1950s that Halloween evolved into a secular holiday aimed at children.

Check out this webpage for more in-depth history.

http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween

Halloween Holiday Trivia:

Jack o’ Lanterns originated in Ireland where people placed candles in hollowed-out turnips to keep away spirits on Samhain. 

It takes an average of 252 licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop.

According to the National Confectioner’s Association, more than 35 million pounds of candy corn are produced every year. 

Tootsie Rolls were the first wrapped penny candy in America.

Halloween candy sales average about 2 billion dollars annually in the United States.

Chocolate candy bars top the list as the most popular candy for trick-or-treaters with Snickers #1.

Halloween is the 2nd most commercially successful holiday, with Christmas being the first.

Bobbing for apples is thought to have originated from the roman harvest festival that honors Pamona, the goddess of fruit trees.

Black cats were once believed to be witch's familiars who protected their powers.

What are your favorite Halloween traditions? 

Kristin Wallace is the USA Today Best Selling Author of inspirational and sweet contemporary romance filled with “Love, Laughter and a Leap of Faith”. Her latest book, SECOND CHANCE HERO, is available now. 

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Trick o' Treat - Favorite Halloween Candy by Kristin Wallace

So we are just a few weeks away from Halloween (I know can’t believe it either!) As a kid I loved getting dressed up for trick o’ treating. The best part was sorting through the collected “treats” to find the best candy when we got home. I thought it might be fun to do some research on Halloween candy and our most popular treats.

First, did you know that Americans spend about $2.5 billion (that’s right billion) on candy during Halloween? People Magazine did a poll of the favorite Halloween candy by state and somehow, candy corn was #1 in five states. I'm not sure what's wrong with those people because YUCK! 

Here is a list of the Top 25 most popular Halloween treats  according to a website called Daily Meal

25. Whoppers – Malted milk balls. Not a fan.

24. Toblerone – This candy is originally from Switzerland, but it’s caught on in the US now.

23. Smarties –  Are these the same as Sweet Tarts? 

22. Air Heads – Soft, chewy and sour, so they're good if you like sour candy.

21. Sour Patch Kids – People love sour candy that then turns sweet apparently.

20. Jolly Ranchers – Colorful, full of flavor, a little sour & sweet. These are YUM!

19. Swedish Fish – I have honestly never heard of these. Maybe it’s a regional thing?

18. Candy Corn – Again YUCK! The National Confectioners Association claims 35 million pounds of this stuff is produced every year. Mostly I think they sit around in the candy bowl until everything else is gone so you HAVE to eat them. 

17. Hershey’s Kisses – Did you know a machine wraps 1,300 kisses per minute in foil?

16. Dove Chocolate Bars – I go for the Dark Chocolate ones, bite-size are the best. 

15. Twix – Cookie, caramel and chocolate together, and it all works. 

14. Almond Joy – Why would anyone ruin good chocolate with coconut? 

13. Butterfinger – These are good, but I feel like I’m going to crack a tooth trying to eat them. 

12. Milky Way – They say this was named after a malted milk shake (not the galaxy).

11. Hershey’s Cookies N’ Cream – I don’t understand the point of white chocolate AT ALL.

10. 3 Musketeers – Did you know there were originally three flavors: strawberry, vanilla & chocolate? That’s where the “3” in the name comes from. In 1945, they started selling only the chocolate version. 

9. Skittles – Strangest commercials ever, but they are pretty tasty. 

8. Twix 4 To Go – I’m not sure how they managed to count Twix twice on this list. Seems like cheating.

7. Starburst – Chewy, fruity, delicious addiction.

6. Twizzlers – I’ll eat them if I have to, but I won’t enjoy it. 

5. Kit Kat Bar – Bet you can’t eat one without singing the commercial. 

4. Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar – This is like America’s chocolate bar. It’s been made in Hershey, Pennsylvania since 1900. 

3. Snickers – This candy debuted in 1930. Best known these days for the “You’re not you when you’re hungry” commercials featuring actors like Betty White. 

2. M&Ms – The real question for you is…plain or peanut?

1. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups - YES…chocolate, peanut butter, deliciousness!

Kristin Wallaceis the USA Today Best Selling Author of inspirational and contemporary romance, and women’s fiction filled with “Love, Laughter and a Leap of Faith”. She is the author of three best selling series, Palm Cove Tales, Shellwater Key Tales and Covington Falls Chronicles. 

Her latest release is a new installment in her popular Palm Cove Tales /Heiress Games series. SECOND CHANCE CHRISTMAS, 1 of 9 holiday novellas in Sweet Christmas Kisses 5. Available now for only 99cents. 

Buy Links:

AMAZON         BARNES & NOBLE        ITUNES         KOBO 

19th C. HALLOWEEN Party -- by Kristin Holt

by USA Today Bestselling Author Kristin Holt

Happy Halloween! If you're a lifelong resident of the United States, you've probably already bought candy for trick-or-treaters. Did you know Americans are anticipated to spend $3.8 billion on candy. BTW: Trick-or-Treating, and candy, are a 20th century development.

But Halloween's been around for ages.

Halloween--All Hallows Eve, All Saints Day, Hallowe'en, the witching eve--has been acknowledged and celebrated for centuries. Like most things, traditions followed immigrants from Europe, where paganism melded with Christianity. That's Old World history... I'm mostly concerned about the Victorians. All of my titles, thus far, are American Historical Romances.

See my post about Victorians Celebrating Halloween!

Nineteenth-century Americans had a good time with Halloween. Vintage sources (newspapers and books) show that "boys will be boys" (in quotation marks because the term was new to American English)--and they loved their pranks!

Muskogee Phoenix of Muskogee, Oklahoma / Indian Territory on November 3, 1892.

The Summit County Beacon of Akron, Ohio on November 7, 1887.

A wagon and a sleigh... on a rooftop?
Halloween was a great excuse to prank anyone and everyone:

"It is the season, when, under the cover of darkness, tricks are played on unsuspecting humanity, some of these tricks being of such an extremely practical nature as to cease to be a joke." ~ Pittsburgh Daily Commercial of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on October 31, 1873.

Victorian Americans also celebrated the holiday with parties. Nineteenth-century Americans looked for any excuse to break the monotony of long winters and social isolation (especially on the frontier) with as many social events as possible. After all, how else would a bachelor find a suitable lady to court?

Parties were held in young ladies' homes, where they invited their female friends ("a dove party")... but the boys did everything they could to crash the party.

Springfield Daily Republic of Springfield, Ohio on November 5, 1887.

Some social events were put on by clubs or churches. Some were supper parties...

The Wichita Daily Eagle of Wichita, Kansas on October 30, 1890.

... Others were all about games.

Ladies' party games were hand-me-downs from old European traditions:

"To walk down cellar [stairs] or around the house backward, holding a lookingglass [sic], at midnight, will insure a view in the glass of one's future partner in marriage. Stir a little salt in the yolk of an egg, and eat it before retiring, or say the Lord's prayer backward, and prophetic visions will come in dreams." ~ The Emporia Weekly News of Emporia, Kansas on November 6, 1874.

 

Coming Around the Corner ~

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