Kampung Kreepy

It's time to get yourself a gift for the holidays! I and other authors have put together a fantastic collection of books featuring Christmas and the holiday season. Click here to check the books out. On now until Dec. 27. 

It’s the winter solstice today. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, that means today is the shortest day of the year, and tonight will be the longest night of the year.  Many ancient cultures regarded the winter solstice as a significant event.  It kicked off the 12 nights of the Yuletide (Dec. 21 to Jan. 1) for the ancient Germans. They believed that during this time, a host of ghostly hunters known as the “Wild Hunt” would ride across the night skies. These early Germans held a Yuletide feast to secure blessings from Odin and the other gods for abundant crops and livestock in the spring. The Roman festival of Saturnalia, held around the winter solstice, celebrated the end of the planting season.  The Chinese viewed the solstice in terms of the ancient philosophy of yin and yang. Under that concept, yin’s dark lunar energy peaks during the solstice, after which yang’s bright solar energy starts to gain dominance.  The Chinese winter solstice festival—known a...

Ready for a new holiday tradition?  Since it’s Friday 13th, an ill-fated day according to some, I thought I would bring up the old British custom of telling ghost stories on Christmas Eve. Charles Dickens was just continuing a centuries-long tradition when he published “A Christmas Carol” in 1843, a tale in which Ebenezer Scrooge is plagued by four apparitions. Sadly, the custom never caught on in the U.S., and it’s been mostly forgotten in Britain. However, there is no reason why we can’t incorporate the custom into our own holiday traditions.  Set aside one night during the holiday season (it doesn’t have to be Christmas Eve) to read ghost stories, or to share creepy tales with close friends. The stories could be true, or fictional. Personally, I would recommend Gothic ghost stories set during the holidays, written by the likes of M.R. James, Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, etc. “A Christmas Carol” was, after all, an example of Gothic literature. Another perfect example? “T...

I’m excited to announce a brand new holiday short story featuring Junie Soong and Joe Tham, the underdog feng shui practitioners from my Geomancer’s Apprentice books. Its cover is different from my other Geomancer books because I wanted to set it apart as a holiday special. The story is dedicated to my readers. Thank you so much for reading! Blurb The holidays haven’t been merry for feng shui consultants Junie Soong and Joe Tham. Five days before Christmas, they run into a malevolent energy that turns inanimate objects into raging monsters hellbent on death and destruction. Even worse, the monsters are headed straight for a kids’ holiday party organized by Junie’s father. Can Junie and Joe save the day with the help of their resident tiger god? And as Christmas draws near, will Junie finally get the gift she wants with all her heart? This is a brand new short story for fans of the Geomancer’s Apprentice urban fantasy series, or for readers who like magic, madcap adventure, hol...

Are you ready to get festive? This year, I and 23 author friends have teamed up to bring you an Urban Fantasy Advent Calendar .  From Dec. 1 to 24, each day of the calendar brings a surprise, including free ebooks, stories and other special treats.  Come back each day for a message from your favorite urban fantasy author and a new gift! Visit the calendar:  https://app.myadvent.net/calendar?id=vrvqlbzbsek2j2kyku4ijntpkci7ra58

Patrick Greenwood, a fellow author and host of the Writers on Writers Over a Triple Espresso podcast, recently reviewed my Geomancer's Apprentice urban fantasy books to discuss how to write a series.  Please check it out below or on YouTube .  [Patrick's review starts at 0:50 minutes]