Dr Cushing's Chamber of Horrors - Virtual Book Tour and #Giveaway

Hello lovely reader - apologies for there being no Welsh Myths

this week - we're having a new shower room fitted and between all the mess, upheaval and comforting a confused little dog I just didn't manage it this week. I hope to do better next week.In the meantime, I have something a bit different for you by the prolific author Stephen D Sullivan:

 

DR CUSHING'S CHAMBER OF HORRORS

About the Book:
The monsters aren’t only in the museum!
Despite a lifetime of traveling with their father to collect strange artifacts, twins Topaz and Opal Cushing have never fully believed in monsters or the supernatural. Oh, sure, they share an eerie psychic connection, and their tarot card readings often come true, but… Werewolves? Vampires? Living mummies? None of those could be real. Those legends are just for rubes. Right?

Since the girls’ father has been away, though, strange things have been happening in the family’s little exhibit—and in the waxworks studio that shares their dilapidated Victorian mansion on the outskirts of London. Now, the twins’ dreams of a fun, romantic summer season are turning into a nightmare, and the monsters are running...
Dr. Cushing’s Chamber of Horrors!
Print Length: 437 pages
Publisher: Walkabout Publishing (August 30, 2020)
Publication Date: August 30, 2020
Language: English
ASIN: B08F13XKQG
ISBN-13: 979-8668896547
Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/y4wjflsh
Barnes&Noble: https://tinyurl.com/y235ejq3
Books-a-Million: https://tinyurl.com/y3kk4qzd
Indiebound: https://tinyurl.com/yyftpkxe


a Rafflecopter giveaway


About the Author:
Stephen D. Sullivan has over sixty published titles to his name and helped create more comics and games than he can either list or remember.

A Scribe award-winner for “Best Novel Adaptation, 2016” with his book Manos: The Hands of Fate, Sullivan lives with his wife in a small town in Wisconsin.
You can contact him via Twitter, Facebook, Patreon, or on his website: www.stephendsullivan.com

For insider news and subscriber-only info, subscribe to my occasional Newsletter. I promise not to spam and your in-box will only see an email from me every 3 or 4 months or so - unless of course I have something really Newsworthy to share! I also promise that I never have and never will share your information or email address with anyone or any organisation.  http://madmimi.com/signups/196357/join

Can you see the Devil in the Welsh Lady's Shawl - Salem Painting

Halloween is upon us,  so I thought I'd tell you a creepy story about a well known Welsh painting, and a few Welsh traditions which I found on The Welsh Book Shop's blog.

I love the Welsh Gift Shop and often purchase gifts  from their large selection of lovely items,from there, for friends and family . This is their website:
 https://welshgiftshop.com 

In Wales, Nos Galan Gaeaf (Halloween) is celebrated the day before Winter (Calan Gaeaf - 1st November) it is a 'Ysbrydnos' - a night when the ghosts and ghouls are rife.

Have you heard about the Salem Painting?  It is a depiction of Welsh piety, an illustration of traditional Welsh costume and, if you look closely, you might see  a portrait of the devil himself!

The 1908 painting by Sydney Curnow Vosper is called Salem as it is set in Capel Salem in Pentre Gwynfryn, Gwynedd (nothing to do with the witch trails of the 17th century)

The Welsh lady is Siân Owen, a real person. She was 71, a widow, and lived in an isolated farmhouse. Siân died in 1927 and is buried in Llanfair churchyard, near Harlech.
There are a few hidden meanings to spot in the painting.

Can you see the ghostly face in the window? Whilst the artist denied he had deliberately painted the devil - he did admit to adding this spooky character
    

Her bright shawl is in contrast to the modest dress of the congregation. Perhaps this highlights the sin of vanity. Did she made a fashionably late entrance to show off her shawl? The Devil himself! See how to find him in the below diagram by Wales Online:

Reproduced with permission
With thanks to Becca Hemmings of the Welsh Gift Shop - see her original post here:  
https://welshgiftshop.com/blogs/welsh-gift-shop/see-the-devil-in-the-welsh-ladys-shawl-salem-painting?

Here are some ancient Welsh traditions:

Avoid churchyards, stiles, and crossroads, since spirits are thought to gather here.

Families would build a fire and everyone would add a stone with their name on it. The following morning, if any of the named stones were missing, that person would die within the year. Imagine the sleepless night hoping your name would remain!

Legend has it that terrifying spirits in the form of a black sow without a tail and a headless woman would roam the countryside on Nos Galan Gaeaf. Keep indoors in front of a roaring fire and you should be safe!

Never look into your mirror on this night, or you might see witches and demons in your sleep!

Don't touch or smell the ground ivy - as it will make you see hags or witches while you sleep! It could also give you the power of prophetic dreams if prepared correctly; Boys would cut 10 leaves of ivy, throw one away and put the rest under their pillow. Girls would have to grow a rose, train it around a large hoop, then slip through the hoop three times before cutting the rose in perfect silence and placing it under their pillow (a bit tougher for the girls!)

In Glamorgan, tailors were associated with witchcraft. They supposedly possessed the power to ‘bewitch’ anybody if they wished!*

 With thanks to Becca Hemmings of the Welsh Gift Shop 

*(Hmm, a lot to be said for High Street Stores, perhaps.)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, EVERYONE!

For insider news and subscriber-only info, subscribe to my occasional Newsletter. I promise not to spam and your in-box will only see an email from me every 3 or 4 months or so - unless of course I have something really Newsworthy to share! I also promise that I never have and never will share your information or email address with anyone or any organisation.  http://madmimi.com/signups/196357/join

Happy Halloween - and a special Treat for book lovers!

 Happy Halloween everyone! And if you're Trick or Treating tonight stay safe and have fun!

I'm delighted to announce that all my books at All Romance qualify for a 50% rebate today. That effectively means that you can get all three books in the Destiny Trilogy for HALF PRICE! So don't miss a trick - visit the site now:

50% Rebate on books at All Romance for Halloween 

30th/31st October 

That's right - you can get all three books in the Destiny Trilogy - that's STARQUEST, CHILDREN OF THE MIST, and the latest - BELOVED ENEMY  for half price with the All Romance Rebate offer.

This is the link to 'Beloved Enemy' 

https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-belovedenemy-1979753-143.html

All three titles with rebate links can be found HERE

Happy Halloween reading!

For insider news and subscriber-only info, subscribe to my occasional Newsletter. I promise not to spam and your in-box will only see an email from me every 3 or 4 months or so - unless of course I have something really Newsworthy to share! http://madmimi.com/signups/196357/join Every new subscriber will get a FREEdownload of my fantasy novella 'Dancing With Fate' (If this doesn't arrive within two days just email me at hywelalyn@btinternet.com)