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As the first sign of the zodiac, Aries represents the raw energy of life itself, which is the first step in being part of the universe. Babies think of themselves as the centre of everyone else’s universe. As they grow older, they learn they are not the centre but part of a family group. It is the karmic responsibility of the Aries-born to accept the idea that they are not the centre of the universe but part of the larger social order of all men. Aries personalities who do not develop this kind of maturity are demanding and infantile in…
Easter is called a moveable feast because the date changes every year. Easter Sunday can fall on any date from 22 March to 25 April. The reason for this variation in the date of Easter is based on the lunar calendar (moon) rather than our more well-known solar one. Easter always falls on the first Sunday following the full Moon after the 21st March. In 2021 Good Friday is on 2nd April and Easter Sunday on 4th April. Symbolism has always played an important part in festivals and celebrations, and Easter is no exception to this rule. Before Christianity…
Tumblr is a microblogging platform and social networking website. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content to a short-form blog. Users can follow other users’ blogs, as well as make their own. Much of the website’s features are accessed from the “dashboard” interface, where the option to post content and posts of followed blogs appear. This site provides a good opportunity for promotion, and interests for non-authors too! https://www.tumblr.com/login
St. Patrick’s Day is officially observed on March 17 each year, which is believed to have been the date St Patrick died in the 5th Century. Strange as it may seem, the man who would become St. Patrick was born in Britain (part of the Roman Empire at the time) as Maewyn Succat in the late 4th century. His family were Christians, but it’s said that Maewyn himself was an atheist until he reached 16 years of age. His life changed at that point when he was kidnapped by pirates and taken to Ireland. After 6 years in captivity herding…
This year, Mother’s Day in the UK will be celebrated on the 14th March. As with most of our celebrations, Mother’s Day can be traced back to Greek and Roman times. The Greeks used their annual spring festival to honour Rhea, the wife of Cronus and the mother of many heroes of Greek myth. The Roman Spring festival of Hilaria was held to celebrate Cybele, a mother goddess. Offerings, games and parades began on the Ides of March and lasted for three days. Those Romans knew how to celebrate… In early Christianity, the fourth Sunday of Lent was chosen to…
Pinterest is an online bulletin board – mostly for collecting images of whatever you want your viewers to see. It is popular to make your own boards, and to look at other people’s ideas. All authors especially should consider making a Pinterest page based on each of their books! It is free to join and easy to use, and you can also post your pins to Twitter. You can post to Twitter as you repin or pin images, or you can post images when you view them. You can tweet images on a pin-by-pin basis rather than potentially overwhelming your…
Ox Years: 1901, 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021 This is for people born in any of the above years! Born under the sign of the Ox (also known as the Buffalo) you will be diffident, slow, precise, methodical and balanced, hiding an original and intelligent nature behind a homely façade. You have the gift of inspiring others with confidence. You like to be alone to think, and can be rather self-centred which you will be criticised for at some time in your life. Despite your tranquil appearance, you are prone to intense (and fortunately rare)…
According to legend, the Lord Buddha summoned all the animals to come to him before he departed from Earth. Only 12 animals came to bid him farewell. As a reward he named a year after each one in the order they arrived. First came the Rat, then the Ox, the Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. These animals represent the 12 signs we have today. The Chinese New Year is the most important holiday in China. In 2021, Chinese New Year began on February 12th and is the Year of the Ox (also known as…
St Valentine’s Day has its origins in a number of different legends that have been passed down to us through the ages. One of the earliest popular symbols of Valentine’s Day is Cupid, the Roman god of love, represented by a young boy with a bow and arrow. One of the first mentions of ‘Valentine’ was in Ancient Roman times when everyone was expected to worship the many Roman Gods. Valentine, a Christian priest, was thrown into prison because of his beliefs. On February 14th he was put to death, not only for his Christianity, but because he was said…
By Louise Mercer, author of ‘If Only You Knew’ Amy is the best friend any girl can have! When Laura finds herself in a new village, running a business she has no experience of and battling an unpleasant ex-boyfriend as well as her attraction to an extremely bad tempered but gorgeous looking vet, Amy becomes her rock. Fiercely loyal with a vulnerability that makes your heart melt, Amy Sharples very quickly became one of my favourite characters. Ask me for my inspiration behind her? Well, I can’t do it justice without an explanation about myself. Like so many people I…
Calling All Beta Readers!
Witch stones, stones with natural holes through them, have many magical qualities. They have been referred to by a variety of names over the years, Witch Stones, Adder Stones, Snake Eggs, Hex Stones, Fairy Stones, Holey Stones and Eye Stones, to name but a few! Whatever you prefer to call them, it is said that to have power, the stone must be found by the person who will use it. To be given a witch stone, or to buy one, is not the same. True believers insist that people don’t find stones, the stones find people… Legends tell us they…
All formats of our books are available on Nielsen. Who are Nielsen, you might ask? About Nielsen “Nielsen Book Discovery range of search and discovery services are used by booksellers, libraries and publishers in over 100 countries worldwide. We collect bibliographic metadata from publishers in over 70 countries (including the UK, Ireland, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa) and work closely with the leading data providers in the US to ensure we have the most consistent and comprehensive global database of title records available. The Nielsen Book database, which now holds over 30 million title records, is available to booksellers, libraries and publishers worldwide to inform…
In 2011 President Barack Obama issued a Presidential Proclamation, designating each January to be National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. The anniversary of this proclamation became known as National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. Slavery was officially abolished in the USA by the Thirteenth Amendment in December 1865 however human trafficking grows at an alarming rate and despite the USA being a first world country, human trafficking has become a lucrative business for some members of society. The victims affected and forced into modern day slavery are often of foreign nationalities but could be anyone. They are all subjected to…
Christmas has certainly been a different one this year, through no fault of our own! It will have been what you made it, and based on what you were able to do. However it passed for you, we are now faced with the task of taking all the decorations down again. Which brings with it the usual question of, when? Maybe some of you have already moved everything away hoping for a better Christmas next year, but for those of you still surrounded by the trimmings, when should they officially come down? We have all had enough bad luck in…
Customs in celebration of the New Year take place the world over. Strangely enough in Europe, the New Year was celebrated in the past at different times varying from Christmas to March, and the official celebration on 1st January is comparatively new in the scheme of things. Until the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in 1752, the official New Year in Britain began in March! As far as the common people were concerned however, it has always been celebrated on 1st January. Many of the customs associated with this turning point combine the elements of death and rebirth. The…
There are several theories as to the origin of Boxing Day, but in general the tradition has long included the wealthy giving money and other gifts to the poor. The European tradition dates to the Middle Ages, but some claim it dates back even farther to the late Roman/early Christian era when metal boxes were placed outside churches to collect special offerings connected to the Feast of Saint Stephen. A reference to Boxing Day’s origins appears in the Christmas Carol, “Good King Wenceslas.” Wenceslas, who was Duke of Bohemia in the early 10th century, saw a poor man gathering wood…
The giving of gifts at Christmas probably originated with St Nicholas, who actually lived in the 4th century AD and was the Patron Saint of children and travellers by sea; known by his red cape, flowing white beard, and bishop’s mitre. He was a kind and generous man who gave gifts of money and assistance in times of need. The giving of gifts used to be carried out on 6th December in memory of the Saint, for on his feast day people gained the habit of being particularly nice to children and placing small gifts in their shoes to…
In the northern latitudes, midwinter’s day has been an important time for celebration throughout the ages. The Winter Solstice occurs exactly when the Earth’s axial tilt is farthest away from the sun. On this shortest day of the year, and longest night, the sun is at its lowest and weakest; a pivotal turning point of the year from which the light will grow stronger and brighter. The Romans called it Dies Natalis Invicti Solis, the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun. The seasonal significance of the Winter Solstice is in the reversal of the gradual lengthening of nights and shortening of…
The Holly and the Ivy are as much a part of a traditional Christmas as are Christmas trees and presents. Both are very hardy plants, and an old belief was that if they could survive harsh winters, so could the households that displayed them. The holly was sacred to the Roman god, Saturn, and the Romans gave each other holly wreaths to deck their homes. Ivy was the plant most associated with the Roman God, Bacchus, who wore a crown of it to symbolize his immortality. Bacchus, the God of wine and frivolity, and his followers believed their crowns of…
The Ancient Druids began the tradition of the Yule log, though they probably didn’t expect it to become a chocolate one after the passage of time…The name ‘Druid’ has been said to stem from the word ‘Duir’, or ‘oak’, which gave rise to the assumption that the Druids were priests of the sacred oak groves believed to have once spread across Britain and Ireland.They worshipped trees as symbols of the Gods, chanting to them and making offerings. The custom of ‘wassailing’ (meaning to wish good health to) is descended from the Druidic worship of these powerful trees. The Yule log…
by #FRIPPTOPIA aka William Fripp III Here’s some truth for your day… …right now, in this country, MILLIONS of people who HAVEN’T BEEN TESTED have CORONAVIRUS… …they’re STOCKING SHELVES, working the DRIVE THROUGH, DOING YOUR TAXES, or, if you’re from Charlotte, DEFENDING YOU IN COURT… …in OTHER WORDS, the CHANCES ARE GOOD that YOU ‘GON GET THE ‘RONA… …whether you KNOW IT or NOT.You’ll think back and say, “You knowww, I DID have the cruds for week in April…: …coughing, wheezing, fever, food tasted like what you would imagine s**t would taste like had you a point of reference… …and…
The use of greenery and lights at Christmas goes back to the celebration of the Kalends of January in ancient Rome. Kalends was a celebration of the Roman New Year when people gave each other gifts of green boughs, honey treats, lamps for light and warmth, and silver and gold objects (The latter probably being the most popular.) They also trimmed trees with trinkets and toys during Saturnalia, and put candles on them to indicate the sun’s return to earth. The Druids honoured Odin by tying golden apples and other offerings to tree branches, and set lighted candles on…
Have you written all your Christmas cards yet? No, neither have I. We all will be soon though won’t we, but why? Where and how did this tradition begin? The first Christmas card designed for sale was by London artist John Calcott Horsley and commissioned by Sir Henry Cole, a wealthy British businessman of the 1800’s, who found himself too busy in the festive season to send individual messages to all his friends. Yes, I know the feeling. Being a man who liked to be prepared therefore, in the summer of 1843 Sir Henry commissioned Horsley to design an impressive…
Learn from professional Crimson Cloak Publishing executive editor Denna Holm (and prolific writer) on how to best avoid the dreaded slush pile upon submitting to publishers.
So, it is almost Christmas again, and time for the mad panic that it always causes as we rush around for cards and presents. That means it’s time too for my first Christmas blog, all about the origins of the special day. The word ‘Christmas’ comes from the Old English term ‘Cristes Mæsse’, meaning the ‘Mass of Christ’. The story of Christmas, as we all know, begins with the birth of a baby in Bethlehem. Many believe that Christ was born on the 25th, although the exact month is unknown. December could well have been chosen so the Catholic Church…
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on varied dates of the year in the United States and Canada celebrating the harvest and other blessings of the past year. Americans generally believe that their Thanksgiving is modelled on a 1621 harvest feast shared by the English colonists (Pilgrims) of Plymouth and the Wampanoag people. The Pilgrims travelled from Europe to the New World, a continent they had never known before, in hopes of creating a community free to worship God away from the strict rules of their old government. For many hard months they journeyed across the Atlantic Ocean enduring vicious…
It is hard to believe that some authors do not complete their Amazon Author Central Page to use in their promotional work. So many readers tend to use Amazon to look at an author’s complete list of books, so by making the most of your Author Central page you’ll find that you could bring in more returning readers than ever before. If you are a reader, don’t miss this easy opportunity to check out your favourite author’s other books! Simply click on their name under the title of any of their books to take you to their Author Central page….
Friday the 13th has long been considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. The day occurs when the 13th day of the month falls on a Friday. This happens at least once a year and sometimes up to three times in the same year. Very little is known for sure about the origins of the day’s ill omens. Some historians say the superstition began in the late 19th century. The first documented mention of the day can be found in a biography of the Italian composer Rossini, who died on Friday the 13th. Many reasons have been suggested for why…
The historic origins of Bonfire Night date to the conflict between virtually outlawed Catholics and the Protestant establishment of the 16th and early 17th century. On November 5, 1605, Guy Fawkes (the real one, not the stuffed variety) and a group of Catholic conspirators who felt badly treated by the King put 36 barrels of gunpowder in a cellar underneath the Houses of Parliament. (Not a bad idea, do I hear you say?) Some of those involved in the plot however, realised that innocent people would be killed in the explosion. One plotter wrote a letter warning his friend to…
by Paul White Ex Libris The book was old and covered in worn, cracked, scratched leather. It must have in existence for almost forever, during which time it was used and abused, thumbed through again and again. Its pages turned countless times, corners bent, folded and straightened once more. The gilt worn from the edges of those pages and, what little was left, was no longer bright and shiny but aged to an antique bronze. The blood-red silk ribbon, the page marker, was frayed. Long strands of silk thread dangled scruffily over the page. Each of those pages slowly yellowing…
If you already pay the monthly subscription for Amazon Kindle Unlimited, do you also know that ALL Crimson Cloak Publishing’s books are available on Kindle Unlimited? That means that if you would like to check out any of our authors and their books, you could do so for free! We cover so many genres from children’s books to Sci Fi, Fantasy, horror, romance, westerns, YA, crime, murder, suspense and more, there is something for everyone! Why not check out what is available on our website, then nip over to Amazon and choose your free kindle unlimited books? If you are…
It will soon be Halloween everyone. I’m sure my character ‘Gertie’ will enjoy this important day in all witches calendars! Though we celebrate Halloween on 31st October each year, do you know why? Well, here is a brief explanation! Halloween seems to have its roots in the Celtic celebration of Samhain, the last day of the Celtic calendar. Samhain was a Pagan harvest festival celebrated by huge sacred bonfires in honour of the dead, marking the end of the Celtic year and the beginning of a new one. Fire often symbolised the power of the sun, or…
by Denna Holm Want a free eBook of Rise of a Warrior? This is the newest book in Denna Holm’s Immortal Warrior’s Series. Simply go here: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/313266 Read below for a excerpt of the book: Carla Trystan is a half-breed vampire who has spent her entire life running from powerful Hunters—aliens from another world. She is also plagued by nightmares, hearing the same deep, dark voice say night after night, ‘If you wish to live, child, take my hand.’ When she finally meets the man behind the terrifying voice, it is to discover he is one of the aliens she…
Just to show that not all children’s books are necessarily meant only for children! Many thanks to Madeline Dow for sending us this lovely blog post and photo! “Thanks to our very capable marketing director and fellow writer, Lynne North for her hot off the press first in the series, astrological signs book for children. I gave a copy of You’re An Aries to my grown up son, who is now a HS chemistry and physics teacher, to remind him of his Aries roots!“ Madeline Dow
Get The Trafficking Murder (just released) for a special price, and get The Doom Murders (book 1 in the series) for $0.99. All books are in Kindle Unlimited as well!
Does anyone read dedications in books, I wonder? I always do, because it took me some time to try to get mine right in just a few words. How can you sum up the importance of the person you are dedicating your book to in so few lines? My first two published books are dedicated to my Mum, who I lost to a stroke very suddenly in 1997. I wish she could have seen them published, as she always believed it would happen. In my way, the dedication keeps her memory alive forever. So, when you skip by…
by Louise Mercer Ever since being a little girl, I have always wrote short stories. More to humour myself than anything else. Despite reading large quantities of Enid Blyton and as I got older, romantic fiction, I never found the ‘perfect book’ for me. Back then, I couldn’t quantify what my perfect book would be either, but at bed times, particularly during the colder months when my feet were snuggled around a hot water bottle and the rain blew hard against my window, I would imagine myself in another world, somewhere safe, warm, cosy, and of course….with the ‘perfect…
by Peter D. Capen Author of Random Reflections on American Society, Politics and the Human Condition, a book of Aphorisms. I have often wondered in a culture where everything is treated as having a price, including “human beings”, what if there was something that was “without a price”, no matter how much was offered for it? Where would someone draw the line and not be seduced by money? It is often said that one cannot buy love. Are there other things that are priceless as well? I, for one, believe some things, be they tangible or not, and no matter…
Written by Elizabeth Crocket Author of books: A Path to the Lake, Full of Grace, The Smell of Roses and a children’s haiku book Happy Haiku (illustrated by Jack Foster) Like many authors and poets, I am constantly looking for ways to promote and share my work. But during this time of struggle for so many people, in so many ways, I have to admit I’ve struggled with a ‘look at me, look at my work’ approach to marketing. I remind myself writing and creating is what I do, and so I carry on posting my latest review or poem…
It is my pleasure to bring you a discount for the book A Light in the Darkness by Lisa Sniderman aka Aoede. On Monday, September 21st – September 26th, it will be on sale through Kindle. Get it here: http://mybook.to/ALightintheDarkness Here’s a short description and some applause: What can we do when we struggle with an illness that doesn’t go away? An inspirational story of the healing power of music, creativity, following your dreams and finding your true purpose. In 2008, singer-songwriter Lisa Sniderman was living the dream in California. As Aoede, the Muse of Song, her star as a…
Yes, 3rd test post. This is really fun, I tell you. Ever try to mess with technology and programming after not having a good night’s sleep? Yeah, not a good combination. Gotta love little sleep, no coffee and technology.