Tales of the Pale; Vol 8.

Welcome to Tales of the Pale! Let’s visit with the werewolves today. This week’s excerpt is from The Fate of Wolves, Chapter 5.

This week’s news:

• If you have been checking in on my Substack page this week, you will see that I’ve been posting a poem a day. The creative dam broke last Friday and I just let the words tumble out. This week’s poetic efforts include… Tangled, Dragons and Men, The Reader, Morning Brew, The Kiss Goodbye, and The Waiting. Click here to read these.

• Readers’ Favorite came back with a glowing 5-Star review of The Souls of Witches, book 4 in the Legends of the Pale. Here’s a glimpse… “As the story begins, you will immediately recognize that this writer is talented, knows how to put a story together, and pull emotions from the reader. The attention to detail is impressive, the inner dialogue balanced with narrative and exterior dialogue, and the imagery is cinematic.” The reviewer ends with… “This is a world you can easily get caught up in, and Smith should be applauded for world-building skill, which is the foundation of a series like this. If you can't believe the world, nothing else matters. But Smith masters it. The Souls of Witches by Tarrant Smith is the perfect example of a must-read paranormal romance.” The full review can be read on my Author's Website. Click Here.

• I am now in the Dominican Republic, spending the holiday with some of my family on a warm beach. I’ve traded snow for the sand and sun of the Caribbean… but I took my laptop just in case I find myself inspired to write.

Now let’s move on to updates on the Pale Characters.

Let me first say that I am not crazy, but the characters I create live on in my imagination, as I hope they will do in a reader’s mind long after they’ve finished reading the book. The following is a glimpse of what is still happening inside the universe I created. (I will try to keep this as spoiler-free as I can for anyone who hasn’t read the books. I should also mention that not all the information I share here will find its way into a book.)

• Much like Santa Clause, Rhiannon is making her rounds to all her favorite charities. As readers are aware, the gods are a wealthy lot and give a great deal of money (anonymously of course) to causes around the world. In that same spirit of giving, I urge everyone to find a way to better the lives of someone this holiday season.

The little bit extra in this week’s letter:

I’m going to leave you with a poem this week… a Yule poem. This isn’t my best poetic effort, but tis the season for indulgences so I’m sharing it anyway.

Winter’s Dawn

Can you feel the darkness
resting heavy on your skin?

The stars have ceased their chattering,
and we hold our frosted breath.

When evergreen merrymaking has ebbed
and we long for the flicker of morning—

seek that spark of hope on the horizon,
an end to this maddening suspension.

It’s the Yuletide vigil—
a pagan rite from ages past,

when the gods guaranteed nothing
but a sun’s return.

His presence arrives slowest in winter,
to that murky edge of dawn

and so, we huddle longer tonight
than any other for our assurances.

Like a foundling,
he’s too weak to offer us warmth

yet we welcome him nonetheless
once he crests the dividing line.

With open arms and relieved sigh
we softly celebrate.

Hope walks in golden glow
and the interminable gloom gives way.

Such is the cycle of nature, of light and dark,
and the December witch who bears witness.

And as always, thank you for listening and spending time with Tales of the Pale. Please leave comments and share Tarrant.substack.com with your friends.