I am thrilled to welcome back Soul Mate author C.D. Hersh. Having read their debut novel The Promised One, I am looking forward to the release of Blood Brothers. In today’s post, C.D. will explain the intriguing Samhain connection.

Here’s C.D. Hersh!

Thanks for allowing us to be on your blog today and share with your readers about how our new book, Blood Brothers, the second book in The Turning Stone Chronicles, is related to Samhain/Halloween.

Samhain originated over two thousand years ago as a festival practiced by ancient Celts to honor the dead. This end-of-the-year festival was celebrated October 31 through November 2. During Samhain the Celts believed the lord of the dead gathered the souls of those who had died that year to decide their fates. The spirits roamed the earth, visited relatives, played tricks, and caused supernatural happenings. When Christianity began to take a foothold, the church tried to integrate or lessen the impact of what they considered pagan rites by incorporating parts of the Samhain celebration into the religious holiday All Hallows Eve or All Saints Day.

On the eve of Samhain, October 31st, magic is thought to be at its most powerful, and the connection between the physical world and spiritual world is the strongest. It is this magic connection that caused us to set the first three books of our series around Samhain, because magic is what enables our characters to shape shift.

Samhain is the ideal time for a person to read the inscription inside the magic ring and acquire the shape shifting powers. Reading this incantation at this time unlocks the most magic from the ring. Family blood lines are also important, and those who have the most pure blood lines, dating back to the original three families who received the magic bloodstone from the Druid Priests, also have the most shifting skills, as well as a few skills ordinary shifters do not have. The ring is bound to the wearer until death once they are in possession of the ring on the first Samhain after reading the inscription.

In the world we’ve created, Samhain is the most important night of the year, because that is when the convention of the Turning Stone Society meets for the presentation of that year’s Promised Ones. The society is looking for the prophesied leader to bring peace between the two warring factions. The individuals presented are tested to see who has the most skills. Only the most skillful will be allowed to continue on the path of a potential Promised One. Most all fail somewhere along the way. So, on both sides of the warring factions of shape shifters, the search has been going on for centuries.

Book one of the series, The Promised One, is about the discovery of the good faction’s most recent Promised One. When book two, Blood Brothers, opens, the Keeper of the Stone has just discovered not one potential Promised One, but two: Rhys Temple and Alexi Jordan. Never in the history of Samhain has such a discovery been made, calling into question the interpretation of the prophesy about the Promised One. Shape-shifter Delaney Ramsey is called in to help the Keeper of the Stone mentor his new protégés. Unbeknownst to him, the rogue kingpin, Falhman, and his henchwoman Sylvia Jordan Riley have discovered Rhys, too. And so the battle begins.

Blurb

When Delaney Ramsey is enlisted to help train two of the most powerful shape shifters the Turning Stone Society has seen in thousands of years, she suspects one of them is responsible for the disappearance of her daughter. To complicate matters, the man has a secret that could destroy them all. Bound by honor to protect the suspect, Delaney must prove his guilt without losing her life to his terrible powers or revealing to the police captain she’s falling for that she’s a shape shifter with more than one agenda.

The minute Captain Williams lays eyes on Delaney Ramsey, he knows she’s trouble. Uncooperative, secretive, and sexy, he can’t get her out of his mind. When he discovers she has a personal agenda for sifting through all the criminal records in his precinct, and secretly investigating his best detective, he can’t let her out of his sight. He must find out what she’s looking for before she does something illegal. If she steps over the line, he’s not certain he can look the other way for the sake of love.

Excerpt

Prologue

Sylvia Jordan Riley winced as Falhman dug into her shoulder and extracted a bullet. He dropped the bullet into the trash and swabbed the wound.

“You want to tell me how you got injured?” he asked as he reached for the needle to stitch the gaping hole.

“Chasing Promised Ones.” And the man who murdered my ex-husband.

“I hope it was worth this.”

“It was.” She’d torn Baron’s killer to shreds, but that wasn’t the best part of her news. “I’ve found someone who shifted with me by using the power from my ring.”

Falhman stopped stitching and stared intently at Sylvia, his eyes glittering with undisguised interest. “Is he a rogue shifter?”

“I don’t think he’s any kind of shifter. He seemed startled when the shift occurred.”

“A non-shifter who can use the ring without the incantation? What’s his name?”

“Temple. Rhys Temple. There’s only one problem.” Sylvia paused then continued, “He’s in love with Baron Jordan’s niece, Alexi.”

“I thought that whole family was dead.”

“She’s the last one left, and I think she’s on track as a Promised One.”

Falhman went back to stitching Sylvia’s skin with practiced ease. “Get rid of her and get him. If we can control someone with that kind of power, we can control the world.”

Sylvia looked at her superior. He made it sound simple. Kill Alexi Jordan and lure Rhys to the dark side. Piece of cake? Not if a Jordan was involved. From her recent dealings with Alexi, she knew there would be one heck of a fight if she tried to take her man.

Hook

Shape shifter Delaney Ramsey’s daughter is missing, and she is bound by honor to protect the man she suspects of the deed. To bring him to justice, she must go against her code, the leader of the secret shifter society, and the police captain she is falling for.

Bio

Putting words and stories on paper is second nature to co-authors C.D. Hersh. They’ve written separately since they were teenagers and discovered their unique, collaborative abilities in the mid-90s. As high school sweethearts and husband and wife, Catherine and Donald believe in true love and happily ever after.

Together they have co-authored a number of dramas, six which have been produced in Ohio, where they live. Their interactive Christmas production had five seasonal runs in their hometown and has been sold in Virginia, California, and Ohio. Their most recent collaborative writing efforts have been focused on romance. The first book of their paranormal romance series entitled The Promised One (The Turning Stone Chronicles) is available on Amazon. The second book in the series Blood Brothers is coming October 29, 2014 from Soul Mate Publishing.

Where to find C.D. Hersh…

Website | Soul Mate Publishing | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon | Goodreads