Christmas Spider -- Dawn Marie Hamilton

Here is a little Christmas story I hope will make you smile…

When I was young, my mother gave me an ornament each Christmas for my hope chest. Remember those? When I moved out of the family home and into an apartment, she made this ornament for my first Christmas tree. Along with the delicate spider ornament came a story:

Once upon a time, far to the north, snowflakes drifted past frosted windows. Inside, a good mother busily cleaned the house, for 'twas Christmas eve. On the morrow, Christmas day, the most wonderful day of the year, the little Christ child would come to bless the house. When she finished, not a speck of dust remained. Even the spiders had fled their cozy corner on the ceiling to hide in the attic.

Beautiful ornaments adorned the Christmas tree. The children gathered round, clasped hands and sang blessed songs. While the family enjoyed the evening festivities, the spiders became frantic, for they couldn't see the tree, nor be present for the Christ child's visit. The oldest and wisest among them suggested they wait until the family slept then sneak below stairs.

At midnight, the house darkened and fell silent. The spiders crept from their hiding place, crept down the stairs, crept to the tree. Delighted with its beauty, they scurried all over the tree, up and down, over and under braches, viewing all the precious decorations.

The spiders loved the Christmas tree. For the remainder of the night, they danced amongst the branches, leaving the needles covered with webs. When the Christ child arrived in the morning to bless the house, he was amazed yet disturbed. He loved the little spiders, for they were God's creatures, but the mother worked hard to make everything perfect and would be disheartened when she saw what the spiders had done.

With love in his heart and a smile on his lips, the Christ child touched the spider webs. The webs sparkled and shined, turning a shimmering silver, like tinsel.

Thus a legend was born: A spider among the Christmas tree decorations brings good fortune.

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Do you have a favorite Christmas ornament? A favorite Christmas tale?

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Here is another Christmas tale dear to my heart...



Available at Amazon for Kindle
and in trade paperback.
 FREE with Kindle Unlimited.

Can a determined brownie craft a perfect match in time for Christmas?

Just in Time for a Highland Christmas--a Scottish historical time travel romance with Highlanders, scheming faeries, a mischievous brownie, magic, adventure, and romance set in 16th century Scotland and the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.

When the Chief of Clan MacLachlan travels to the stronghold of his feuding neighbors to fetch his betrothed, she is gone. A year later, she is still missing. Making life more vexing, a band of reivers are stealing clan cattle, leaving behind destruction. Archibald MacLachlan determines to capture them and administer harsh punishment.

Though once in love with the man, Isobell Lamont refuses to wed her clan's enemy. After running away, she joins the band of reivers set on revenge.

Can Archibald forgive the raven-haired beauty? Will a journey through time bring them together for a Highland Christmas?

~~()~~

Merry Christmas!

~Dawn Marie

Unusual Inspiration for Sea Panther by Dawn Marie Hamilton

Thursday was release day for Sea Panther, a Scottish inspired paranormal romance. How did the vampire hero become a Florida panther? Well that's part of the story. But I will tell you how I came up with the idea of a Florida panther shifter.

At the very infancy of the story's development, I drove through Southern Florida with my husband. On the way north from  Everglades National Park, we passed one of those signs that read something like ‘Panther Crossing Next 7 Miles’. The idea hit me like a splash of cold water. What if the vampire hero shifted into a Florida panther? How cool would that be?

Florida panthers are beautiful animals, in danger of fading away, and must be protected.

Here is an excerpt form 'Sea Panther':

E-book available from Amazon,
Amazon UK, 
  Smashwords, Apple,and Barnes&Noble.
Trade paperback available
at Amazon.

She nodded and followed Robert along a corridor of closed doors until he stopped in front of a plate glass window. Inside, a young woman fed a small cat with black spots from a baby bottle. Two other young cats sat in an animal carrier on a stainless steel lab table.

“I was told these kittens were rescued from the side of the road after a car killed their mother on a highway south of here,” Robert said with a frown.

The kittens were beyond cute. It was hard to believe they would grow into full-sized panthers. Her nightmare from the evening before replayed in her mind, and she shivered again.

“You are cold.”

“I’m fine.”

He stared at her for a moment then turned. “Come on.”

She followed him along the hall, past window after window where men and women, dressed in white lab coats, worked with test tubes and microscopes.

“All of this in an attempt to save an endangered species?” Kimberly asked when they stopped in front of a closed door. “You must be proud.”

“Aye.” Robert’s cinnamon eyes glistened. “We have field biologists, veterinarians, geneticists, along with other specialists working on a solution.”
“What about your blood disease?”

His hand froze on the doorknob. She took a step back when his hard stare locked on her, his emotions masked. “Doctors and scientists are working on a cure as we speak.”


Hope you enjoyed this wee snippet.
~Dawn Marie

Pre-release Jitters and Giveaway for 'Sea Panther'

Jitters? Yep! I have them. Sea Panther is scheduled for release on March 20th. I'm as nervous as a parakeet being stalked by a cat. Or in this case a Florida panther shifter. Oh, and don't forget he's a vampire too.

Robert MacLachlan sails the Atlantic seeking to reverse the Voodoo he believes turned him into a vampire shifter. One taste of crewmember Kimberly Scot's blood convinces him she is the one woman who can claim the beast's heart and break the curse. But at what price to his honor?

For the full blurb and an excerpt, visit the Sea Panther page at my blog,
Dawn Marie Hamilton Writes


So...to overcome the jitters, I thought the best thing to do was have a Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway


~Dawn Marie Hamilton