Experiencing new traditions for New Year – blog hop and contest!

I’m back at work and everyone is asking everyone else “what did you do for New Years.” My answer is “I went to a Hogmany celebration.” This results in confused looks and the question “hog-what-y?” See, I live in Orlando where New Year’s Eve usually means fireworks at a theme park. Since I worked at Disney for a number of years, it meant watching fireworks while working at a theme park. When I no longer had to work New Year’s Eve, I relished being able to escape from the traffic and the crowds. I’m single, but I just don’t enjoy the bar scene.
But this year I was invited to a traditional Hogmany celebration with a mix of traditions from England and Wales. Hogmany is how people celebrated New Years before they invented Theme Parks. And celebrating with friends is a lot less stressful than dealing with the line for Space Mountain. We ate Chinese food and watched movies. At midnight, Paul went outside to do the “first footing” where he had to promise us abundance and all sorts of goodies and present the gift of a bag of coal before being let back in. After that we went around the house banging pots and pans to chase out any leftover bad luck from the old year. We finished the night off with champagne, pie and watching some of the neighborhood fireworks.

For the new year, I’m also working on reviving my Cassadaga mystery series. So, I’m giving away a couple of PDF copies of the first two novels. (These will be PDFs because the books are older and that’s all Skyla at Mundania and I can track down.) To enter, just leave a comment on this blog. Nothing complicated, just say hi.

Lynn is unaware of the town’s psychic connection when she drives into town for a visit with her aunt. But strangeness turns dangerous when the president of the Psychic Society is murdered after being cursed by a coven of witches. Now Lynn has to keep her aunt from being accused of concocting a poisonous brew while discovering who the real murder is.	When acclaimed spiritualist Ambrose Lunan arrives in town to host a convention he reveals that Patrick is a former student. Lynn wonders why the young psychic seems unwilling to acknowledge the relationship, but Patrick won’t answer her questions. When someone sends Ambrose to join his spirit friends, Lynn has to unravel the tangled web of Patrick’s past to solve the murder.

Books have gone out to Elizabeth (bookattict), Lindsey E, Nathalia, and Anne (who used to work the holidays). I should be doing another blog hop around St. Patrick’s Day, so keep an eye on the blog. Or follow me on Twitter. @mariedees