Hi ,

It's the most wonderful time of the year... Halloween!🎃 I'm a massive fan of the spooky season. So much so, I dedicated an entire blog post to it! It might be a bit (a lot) different this year, but I'm still planning to celebrate it as much as possible. Which is why I decided to launch my website today!

www.ciaradelahunt.com

Go have a snoop! I'm proud to say that I designed the website myself, and I kind of enjoyed it in a sadistic way. I'm a data analyst by day, but that involves app design too, so designing the website was fun... Colour schemes and when tech misbehaves, not so fun.

Now that the website is live, my newsletter has officially launched with it. What does this mean for you? Hearing from me monthly, of course, along with news of releases or any promotions I spot that might tickle your fancy.

My usual Halloween tradition of doing group karaoke with my friends can't go ahead this year. The country is in lockdown (again), so instead, I'll be curled up on the couch with my boyfriend watching rugby and horror movies. I've a feeling that rugby will get my heart rate going higher than any film. At least my screaming at the tv will be festive!👻

Halloween means NaNoWriMo starts tomorrow. If you don't know what that is, NaNoWriMo stands for 'National Novel Writing Month'. It takes place every November, a month of pure madness during which writers all over the world try to write 50,000 words in thirty days. It's intense, stressful, but so much fun along the way. Many writers have full time jobs, kids, and plenty of other responsibilities to juggle while trying to write. It's nice knowing we're all in the struggle together.

I will be drafting book two of the Hybrid Wolf Series and regularly checking in on instagram to keep myself accountable. On top of that, I'll be trying to write some extra words on a secret little side project.

Halloween (or Samhain as it's also known over here) has always been a huge tradition in Ireland dating back to the Celts. I'm writing urban fantasy, so of course I'm going to adore the holiday that celebrates witches, werewolves, vampires, and the paranormal walking our streets alongside humans!😋 It's that kind of thing that had me reading urban fantasy while everyone else was getting in with the cool crowd. Spoiler alert, we are the coolest.

When it came to deciding on what area of urban fantasy to dive into for my Hybrid Wolf Series, it was a no brainer. Halloween is pretty much the only day of the year that celebrates werewolves and shifters. Unless Ireland decides to add yet another bank holiday to our calendar (we love a long weekend!), but I think I'll have a hard time pushing for 'National Shifter Day'.

Thousands of years ago, Samhain was the division between the lighter and darker halves of the year in Celtic Ireland. We believed that during this time, the division between our world and the otherworld was at its thinnest, allowing

spirits to pass through.

There are even some sites in Ireland linked to Samhain. Rathcroghan Cave in County Roscommon is known as Cruachan, the cave of the cats, and is said to be the entrance to the otherworld.

One of the spookiest urban myths of recent years is The Hellfire Club, now a deserted ruin in the Dublin mountains. It's believed to be haunted, the topic of many ghostly tales. The most well-known Hellfire Club story is one in which the devil himself appears.

If you want to know more about Samhain and ghost stories, especially about the Hellfire Club, check out my latest blog post.

This is a bit off topic, but just a reminder to keep your furry familiars inside on Halloween night and the nights leading up to it if fireworks are bad in your area.

I better stop telling ghost stories and focus on writing, November is going to be a busy month... 🙈 Procrastinating is my thing, so if you have any cool ghost stories or pics of your pets in costumes, please send them my way. I hope you have a fabulous Halloween!

If you can’t wait until my next newsletter, you can keep up to date my writing progress, NaNoWriMo, and just life in general (ft. my furry familiars) by following my instagram or facebook.

Best wishes,

www.ciaradelahunt.com