HatH - Guest post and giveaway from author Claire Ashgrove

Good morning everyone! I’m thrilled to be here today, and I’ve brought Noelle, the heroine from Immortal Surrender, along with me to talk about archangels, Templar Knights, and Halloween.

Claire: So, Noelle, you’re obviously familiar with Halloween. I figured you could give us a more realistic picture of how this holiday affects the brave knights than say… Farran. Do they acknowledge the holiday at all?

Noelle: I couldn’t help but laugh, Claire, when you contacted me about this interview. You know as well as I that the Templar are cloistered and don’t really interact with our modern world, unless they have to. So Halloween is pretty much a non-event. But I figured I’d ask Farran, and I was surprised by what he said.

Claire: Oh? This does sound intriguing. They do celebrate?

Noelle: No. But from the outside, the temple looks rather…haunted. It seems Halloween is a favorite night for the local teens to investigate paranormal happenings here.

Claire: Oh, boy. I can just see it now. The wrong kid stumbles into the wrong thing and all hell could break loose.

Noelle: Yup! Mikhail has to ward the entries. For weeks leading up to the event, the men are hauling junk around, strategically obscuring anything that might draw attention. On the actual night of, the knights are either in the barracks or completely out of the temple. There’s no coming and going.

Claire: Are there guards or anything?

Noelle: Of course. Hidden appropriately. The last time Farran had duty, this poor kid got a little too close to a window someone forgot to disguise. Farran snuck up on him, dressed in full knight regalia. When the kid turned around, he wet his pants, and then passed out.

Claire: Too funny! What did he do with the kid?

Noelle: He moved him under a tree…where his friends, who had been heading back to join him, stumbled across him. The whole crew was spooked and took off, tires squealing, gravel flying.

Claire: And I suppose those encounters perpetuate the curious as much as they do to scare them off.

Noelle: (Nodding.) Rumor has it there’s quite a sum of cash involved if someone finds the courage to sleep the whole night through on our front porch. It won’t happen – you can guarantee Mikhail will interfere. But it’s rather funny.

Claire: So, it’s safe to say that Halloween has no real significance then amongst the archangels?

Noelle: If it does, they aren’t saying. But that shouldn’t surprise anyone. They have a…er…habit of being…opaque.

Claire: That’s the truth! And the whole evil spirits are about on Halloween?

Noelle: It’s really no different than any other night. Well, except for lately. Azazel’s vile creatures are more active now. I wouldn’t linger outside at night too long.

Claire: Agreed. No telling what might happen. And I certainly wouldn’t want to experience even a portion of what Bianca went through.

Noelle: No, that’s such a sad story. But we’re not here for that, are we? Anything else I can tell you about Halloween and Templar Knights?

Claire: I think I’ve got enough. See if you can convince Farran to go to a costume party. He can wear his chainmail and his sword. No one would ever know he wasn’t in costume, and I bet you’d win a prize.

Noelle: (Laughing) I’ll relay. Don’t hold your breath though.

Claire: I won’t. Thanks, Noelle!

Noelle: Of course. Anytime.

Well, there you have it folks…don’t go wandering around the old OddFellows property in Liberty, Missouri on Halloween. You might just see a ghost of a very real nature!

About the author:

Award-Winning Author Claire Ashgrove has been writing since her early teens and maintained the hobby for twenty years before deciding to leap into the professional world. Her first contemporary novel, Seduction's Stakes, sold to The Wild Rose Press in 2008, where she continues to write steamy, sexy stories for the Champagne and Black Rose lines. Adding to these critically acclaimed romances, Claire’s paranormal romance series, The Curse of the Templars debuted with Tor in January 2012. For those who prefer the more erotic side of romance, she also writes for Berkley Heat as the National Bestselling Author Tori St. Claire.

She is an active member of Romance Writers of America, and her local RWA chapters, Heartland Romance Authors, Midwest Romance Writers, and North Texas Romance Writers of America.

Claire lives in Missouri with her two sons and too-many horses, cats, and dogs. In her “free” time, she enjoys cooking, winning at Rummy, studying Ancient Civilizations, and spending quiet moments with her family, including the critters.

To learn more about Claire, visit her on the web at www.claireashgrove.com, or www.toristclaire.com. You can also connect with her via Facebook, and Twitter.

Claire is giving away one digital copy of any one of her backlist books, excepting those in the Templar series, to one randomly drawn commenter at each stop on the blog tour. In addition, commenters’ names will be added into the tour-end drawing of a 25.00 Amazon gift card. Follow the tour – the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. Complete tour dates can be found here.

There is no form to fill out for this giveaway.  To enter, leave a comment/question for Claire AND your email address.  Claire's assistant will be choosing the winner and if there's no way to contact you, you cannot win.  A winner will be drawn that the end of Claire's tour.