Hello, friends!
Most of you celebrate Halloween tomorrow, and I canโt tell you how lucky you are. I live in Romania, and sadly, Halloween isnโt a local tradition (imagine that, in the land of Dracula!).ย Although, if one wants to dress up thereโs always a club or party where, for one night a year, we can be whoever we want to be.
One of my favorite characters is the classy, timeless Morticia Addams, because, like her, I have a strong dose of cynicism and a macabre sense of humor at times. And I even found a man who appreciates this stuff. What more can one wish for?
Iโve always been fascinated by Halloween as a holiday, which is why I am already writing my second book that takes place around this time of year. The first one isย Killer Score, a novel from theย Irish Garda Files, which won theย RONE awardย for Best Suspense/Mystery of 2021.
Inย Killer Score, psychologist Chelsea Campbell explains the meaning of Halloween to Evan Gallagher, an ex-FBI agent recently transferred to work as a detective for the Irish police.
โHalloween really is a big deal around here, too,โ Evan observed while driving.
โSure it is. Donโt you celebrate it in America?โ
โWe do, big time. Somehow, Iโve never gotten the spirit of it. Maybe itโs because in modern times itโs more of a commercial holiday than a true celebration ofโฆ the spiritsโ worldโor whatever its meaning. To be shamefully honest, I never knew exactly what this holiday was about.โ
Chelsea shifted her body to make herself more comfortable. โHalloween, or All Hallowsโ Eve, is a Celtic holiday that marked Samhain, the end of harvest and the beginning of winter. The Celts thought this was the darkest time of the year, when the boundaries between this world and the otherworld thinned, and the spirits or fairies could come into this world more easily.ย The souls of the dead were also said to revisit their homes seeking hospitality. Places were set at the dinner table and by the fire to welcome them. The belief that the souls of the dead return home on one night of the year and must be appeased has ancient origins and is present in many cultures throughout the world. This is what Halloween is really about.โ
This explanation takes place while they drive to a Halloween party. As I wrote this scene I could almost hear Chelseaโs voice and Irish accent, that seems to enhance a good storytelling on a cold October night.
And because my books mirror life as much as possible, we also have a romantic scene at the club. Letโs see who else listens to my kind of music!ย 
The music changed and the DJ dedicated the slow version of Santanaโs Black Magic Woman to all the ladies in the place. As the exotic guitar filled the air with magic, Chelsea smiled, closing her eyes and letting her head fall back. Evan couldnโt resist. Unthinkingly, he drew her into his arms, moving his body in tune with hers. Their shoulders glided together, their hips undulated close together. The music was like a drug. His hands tightened on her hips, traveled up her back, enjoying the exquisite caress of her hair. Her fingers sunk in the muscles of his chest, clutching handfuls of his shirt. As the music grew more intense, so did their dance, the friction, the heat, the closeness. Evan buried his face in her hair, hoping for solace, finding none. The fresh, spicy scent of her was maddening, promising things beyond his imagination. He didnโt want to want her, but his body burned to touch her, to have her, to possess her. She had a magnetic quality heโd never encountered in any other woman. Maybe because she wasnโt just a babe with a stunning body. She also had a powerful and intriguing mind. She constantly challenged him, and he never backed down from a challenge.
If that got your blood warm, this nextโand final teaserโshould make it run cold again, because alas, the killer strikes again. And what better night than Halloween?
โBad doings tonight, Yank. All Hollowโs Eve should be a night for bringing back lost life, not taking it. I donโt know whatโs going on in this city, but you have to stop it. We canโt have any more lassies killed and discarded like rag dolls.โ
ย Well, you tell me guys: was this a trick or a treat?
Happy Halloween from Transylvania! (for real!)ย 
Fondly,
Melinda
Melinda De Ross is the first Romanian to become a USA Today bestselling author. A prolific writer, she weaves humorous romance and tension-filled thrillers with the same enthusiasm. Her books combine the elegance of European literature with the modern appeal of American culture. While she’s a law graduate and professional target shooter, she prefers to spend her days spinning tales for her readers. In her downtime, she’d rather read or watch a classic movie than go to a noisy club. She loves to hear from readers, so if you have a question or want to learn more about her books, visit her website: MelindaDeRoss.com
ย ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ถ๐ฑ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏโฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ. ๐ ๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ข๐, ๐๐๐ก๐ก๐๐ง ๐๐๐ค๐ง๐! ๐ ๐ด๐ธ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ, ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ท๐ช๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ! ๐๐ถ๐ฃ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ง ๐ข๐ด๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฑ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ธ๐ข๐บ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ด๐ข๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, โ๐๐ฐ๐ญ๐บ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ต, ๐ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ฏ!โย 
โ๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ง๐ง๐ช๐ค๐ช๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ-๐ธ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ถ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ณ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐๐ก๐ก๐๐ง ๐๐๐ค๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ช๐ข๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ (๐ธ๐ฉ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ ๐ค๐ ๐๐ค๐ซ๐๐ก ๐๐ญ๐๐๐ก๐ก๐๐ฃ๐๐).
