Happy Halloween, Samhain and Day of the Dead!

~Magickal Graphics~
If you follow my blog, you know that Halloween is my favorite time of the year. And I made sure to have both of my first two books take place during this spookiest of seasons!

In Emily's House, Emily and crew traipse around an old, Irish graveyard at night during a full moon with ravens squawking. And Emily's timing is perfect. She attempts to open a portal to the Netherworld on October 31 when the veil between the worlds is thinnest.

Emily's House may have a chapter titled "Things Go Bump in the Night", but if you really want to get your scare on, check out  Emily's Trial. In Emily's Trial, Emily and friends once again lurk in a graveyard on Halloween. But when Emily tries to open a portal, things don't go as planned. Emily's Trial is set in a world of terrors where worst fears come to life.

Emily's Trial, Book 2 of the Akasha Chronicles
by Natalie Wright

In the upcoming third book, Emily's Heart, I didn't set the book during Halloween. Instead of focusing on one spooky day, the entire novel is set during an Apocalypse. Terror is Emily's 'new normal'.

Emily's Heart, Book 3 of the Akasha Chronicles
by Natalie Wright, Launches Feb 1, 2014

In celebration of Halloween, let's get some scare on. Please enjoy the trailer and just after it, an excerpt/teaser of Emily's Heart, launching February 1, 2014.

Happy Halloween, Samhain and Day of the Dead!

Here is an Excerpt from Emily's Heart, Coming February 1, 2014!

The Apocalyptic World

Isabella ran swiftly. Her long, sandy brown hair swung from side to side as she gained distance from it. She was surefooted, not a wobble in her step. She’d make it to her house and safety. A hundred more yards to go. The shadow that followed her was quick, but she had been quicker. Today, anyway.

Fifty yards from the door. Her mother waited on the other side of that door, ready to embrace her, smooth her hair and tell her, “It’ll be okay, baby.” Fifty yards to go.

Her choice to run had been pure instinct. A cold, clammy feeling overcame her. The shadow seen out of the corner of her eye. A small but powerful voice inside beckoned her to run.

But less than fifty yards from safety, Isabella’s curiosity made her turn her head. She had to see. Her mind had to understand. A casual look behind her to see what could create such a long, wide shadow.

In an instant as fleeting as one flap of a hummingbird’s wings, she saw it. The shadow, darker than any she’d ever seen. A shadow that was not just a product of the light from without but something that came from within. And the shadow was connected to a man.

The moment Isabella glanced behind her, her eyes met his. She had wanted to see, and she saw. The man’s eyes were completely black and devoid of light. His thin lips were pulled back in a terrible smile that revealed perfectly even, white teeth.

In that moment, Isabella knew. She knew that she had looked into the face of a devil. Maybe not the devil, but into a face as evil as any human has ever seen. Into the face of the demons that she had worried might lurk under her bed at night. Isabella looked into the face of the bogeyman and into the face of death.

She knew she would never reach the door. She knew that she’d never see her mother or father or her dog, Smarty, again. She knew that she’d never again kiss her baby brother’s soft, downy head.

Before Isabella could scream, cry or utter a single protest, the shadow was all around her. It enveloped her. She felt as if the air had been forced from her lungs, her screams unable to take flight in the airless void. She heard her backpack fall to the ground, but it was muffled, as if in a dream. She knew her eyes were open, but she saw nothing but darkness. She was smothered by a black so complete that she was suddenly unsure whether she was standing up, lying down, or floating in a dark cloud.

Her skin prickled as she felt the shadow caress her. She knew a person couldn’t feel a shadow. Her brain told her it was a dream. Shadows don’t kill people. But as she thought this, the squeezing of her lungs increased. The soft caress of the dark shadow gave way as it pinched and pulled and slapped at her.

Dread spread throughout her tiny body like a supersonic cancer. The fear cut through her like icy knives. As her terror grew, so the shadow’s grip tightened. It was in her ears, her nose, her eyes and her mouth. She swallowed the shadow like a pill, and it dug deep, deep, deep into her.

The shadow filled her. She was so cold, bereft of warmth.

The shadow will kill me, she thought. As the cold spread and took over every cell of her body, she prayed for death. She prayed to God to let her join her grandpa in heaven.

Her small body could take no more. The shadow had used her energy. Her prayers were answered. All was done. Her tiny, cold corpse littered the ground as the shadow swept down the sidewalk in search of another filled with light.

Blessed Be, Samhain is Near!

~Magickal Graphics~

Samhain is just around the corner, the day of the year when the veil between our world and the world of spirits is at its thinnest.

Have you ever felt the presence of spirit more strongly on Halloween/Samhain? Do you have any rituals that you partake in each year to celebrate loved ones that have passed? Do you celebrate the harvest or the Celtic New Year at this time of year? I'd love to hear about your Samhain/Halloween rituals. Pop me a comment below :-)

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Samhain, I found this wonderful video on YouTube that explains it very well. It's beautiful - check it out.

Happy Halloween & Samhain!

Graveyards and Portals and Spells – Oh My!

Me and my family of zombies
Halloween, 2011

Halloween is my absolute favorite time of year! I grew up in the Midwest where October meant a chill in the air, fallen leaves, hot chocolate and football.

Now I live in the desert where it has been known to be in the ‘90’s on Halloween. Now, instead of worrying if our costumes will keep us warm, we consider if it will make us sweat!

But I’ve found the Halloween spirit flourishes in the American desert southwest. Adults and kids alike don costumes, trick-or-treaters come in flocks of faeries and vampires, ghosts and Harry Potters. Our neighborhood is like Mardi Gras carnival, a giant block party with food, wine and happy kids running and swirling, hyped up on sugar.

The fantasy writer in me loves the opportunity to be someone else for a night. Each year I ponder – Will I wear a saucy, sassy, sexy costume (leaving my frumpy shorts, T-shirt and flip flops in the closet)? Or will I go for the scare factor with some spooky contacts, fake blood and face paint?

While writing Emily’s House (Book 1 of the Akasha Chronicles), I researched ancient Celtic myth and lore. For the ancient Celts, the holiday that we now call Halloween was known as ‘Samhain’ (pronounced SAH-win). The Celts believed that the end of October/beginning of November was the best time to commune with the spirits of the dead and to go to the “other” worlds. The Celts had a strong belief in the existence in worlds parallel to our own. The legends are full of hapless souls wandering into the “Otherworld,” and when they found their way back – if they found their way back – those they had loved had long ago perished.

It was believed that around Samhain, the ‘veil’ between the worlds was at its thinnest, thus making it easier to slip between the worlds. So be careful on Halloween not to accidentally walk into a portal!

Day of the Dead Festival Goers
Tucson, 2011

Isn’t it weird that other cultures around the world have a similar belief? I live less than a hundred miles from Mexico, so my hometown of Tucson is enriched by its Mexican-American roots. In Mexico, they celebrate the “Day of the Dead.” In Tucson, there is a parade that ends in a festival with Mariachi bands, Mexican dancers and a festival atmosphere. It is a time when families visit the graves of their deceased family and friends, leaving offerings of food and flowers. Isn’t it strange that a half a planet from each other, two different cultures have a belief that around the end of October is the best time to converse with the spirits of the dead?

Do you think it’s coincidence? Or is there something to it?

Whether fact or fiction, the spookiest time of the year is just too fun not to use in a story! In Emily’s House, Emily and her friends have to poke around an ancient Irish graveyard at night, looking for a magical object. Then they end up at the Sacred Well – a portal to the Netherworld – on Halloween! Perfect time to ‘pierce the veil’ and travel to another dimension.

In Emily’s Trial, Emily once again has some portal hopping to do. Lucky for her, Halloween is near! And what better place for a teenager and her friends to be on Halloween than a cemetery, complete with a full moon and crypts. What will happen when she opens a portal to another world in a graveyard, surrounded by the dead? Will the spooky energy of such a place affect her spells?

I had a blast writing Emily’s Trial! I hope you enjoy reading it :-D

Excerpt of Emily’s Trial:

The Apocalypse didn’t start with four horsemen, harbingers of the horror to come. It didn’t start with a plague, or pestilence, or even zombies rising from the dead.

It came slowly and without warning. It crept up on people in the shadows, no more than a vague darkness that spread like an unseen cancer.

And it wasn’t set into action by a divine hand. A teenage girl was the catalyst for the End Times.

I should know. I’m the one that started it.

I didn’t plan to. I didn’t want to start the End Times, and I’m not evil.

Madame Wong taught me to tell the truth, and so here it is. I’m the one responsible for the Apocalypse. And this is the story of how I unwittingly unlocked the door to the darkness; of how a Priestess of the Order of Brighid, entrusted with powerful magic that was supposed to be used for the benefit of all humankind, unleashed a force that would destroy it instead.

And it all began with desire.