When fellow The Wild Rose Press author Sarah Hoss offered to host me today for a virtual birthday party, I was very excited. This is the first birthday I’ve had as a published author with my novel released. For the occasion, Silver Lake is going on sale for .99 cents, and the best birthday present I can think of would be for more people to read and enjoy my suspenseful reunion romance/ghost story!
So far this virtual party is all I have planned. Hopefully some family fun and a nice dinner are in my future this weekend. My interest in having some quiet time to read in bed far outweighs my desire for a big celebration of any kind. But as I fondly remember some of the more wild birthdays in my past, I thought I’d research and share some interesting info on birthday traditions and statistics.
Birthday celebrations, like many of our traditions, have pagan roots. It was believed that evil spirits visited people on days of change in their lives…birthdays obviously being one of those days. To offer protection, friends would gather and surround the susceptible person, making merry and sounding horns to frighten off evil spirits.
The gods were believed to reside in the sky, so candle flames on a cake helped to send up prayers. Making a private wish while extinguishing the candles was another way of asking favor from the gods.
In the U.S., one study showed that September and October are the most popular months for birthdays…most likely because 9 months prior, the holiday season was at its peak, not to mention long, long nights and short cold days. The most common date for a U.S. birthday was found to be September 16th. The least common, aside from February 29 because of leap years, was December 25th.
The well-known birthday song was written by two American sisters, Mildred and Patty Hill. It was originally “Good Morning to You”, but became popular when the words were changed to “Happy Birthday to You”.
Hope you enjoyed some birthday history and facts! Please enjoy the blurb of Silver Lake below and take advantage of the limited-time sale on all electronic versions!
Blurb:
Rain Anderson can't decide which is more unsettling—encountering the ghost of her missing friend, or reuniting with the man whose love she foolishly rejected. But one thing is certain: the past has come back to haunt her, quite literally.
Five years ago, Rain's tight-knit group of high school friends unraveled when one vanished during their senior year. Now, a parent's deathbed request has reunited the friends at Silver Lake, including Jason Lansing, the man Rain discarded. Rain and Jason discover the powerful attraction between them has survived, but though Jason is willing to forgive, he can't let himself forget. The possibility of falling for Rain again is too risky.
Slamming doors, crashing objects, flaring fires—clearly the ghost has a message to share. As Rain and Jason struggle to unravel the truth, they must face a desperate spirit in need of help…and a burning passion that refuses to die.
**********Don't forget- Silver Lake is just 99 cents this weekend!*******
http://www.amazon.com/Silver-Lake-ebook/dp/B009AEE6DO/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1345749376&sr=1-1
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/silver-lake-kathryn-knight/1112989132?ean=2940015628333
http://www.thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=177_139&products_id=4973
