Guest Post and Giveaway: Keta Diablo

Owen Rhys, the sin eater, has been shunned by the local villagers all his life--except for Andras Maddock, the local physician. In love with the one man he believes will never return that love, Owen is shocked when Andras saves him from death at the hands of a vampire.

Dagan, Dark Lord of the Underworld, vows to avenge his father’s death and obtain the Prince of Wales’s mystic sword from Andras. The claymore’s power holds an immunity the vampires have coveted for centuries.

Star-crossed love, sorcery, and bloodlust collide on a vengeful path where only one side will remain victorious.

Kindle US: http://amzn.to/Hl4Gn1

Kindle UK: http://amzn.to/z1lMaz

Check out my review here.

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Bloggers, reviewers and readers have asked me: “Exactly what is a Sin Eater?” Don’t worry, until I researched the topic I had no idea either. So for those who aren’t sure what a sin-eater is, almost every small village had one. When a person died, the family called the Sin Eater to their abode to absorb the sins of the recently departed. In theory, at the time of death, everyone has a lifetime of sin on their soul. The Sin Eater was considered a vehicle to take on their worldly sins so they could enter the gates of Heaven. If their sins weren’t absolved, their loved ones would wander the halls of oblivion throughout eternity. The Welsh took this ceremony to heart and truly believed in the practice of sin-eating.

In The Sin Eater’s Prince, Owen Rhys is the sin-eater of the village, taking up the mantle when his father died. Shunned by the villagers because he’s considered unholy, he leads a lonely, solitary life and has only two acquaintances, Andras Maddock, the local physician and the doctor’s ward, Carys. There are good and bad vampires in the novel, and a host of other paranormal creatures. And there’s a mystic sword that was once owned by a beloved ruler of Wales, the one object the evil vampires will do anything to possess.

Ah, but there were many superstitions about death in Wales, Ireland and Scotland. Some might seem strange to us, but we have other methods now of ensuring a person has truly passed on.

For many decades people paid others to watch over the dead for three days. They were to remain awake and watch for signs of consciousness. This isn’t too dissimilar than placing a rope in the dead person’s hand before burying them. On the other end of the rope bells would be attached above ground. That way, if the person came to and hadn’t really died, they could ring the bells.  

In Wales “Watchers” were called upon after a person died. The job of the watchers was to “raise the ghost.” They might engage in practical jokes or make lots of noise around the deceased to see if they could awaken them. Occasionally, the Welsh would engage in black magic or witchcraft to bring their loved ones back from the brink.

And then there were the “Wailers”. These were often local villagers paid by the family to mourn over the dead. While walking in the funeral procession they’d shriek and beat on their chests to show grief for the person who passed. They’d also call out the name of the dead three times in succession, wait awhile and repeat the action.

I hope you learned something interesting about a few of the customs in early Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Again, thanks so much for stopping by today.

Keta’s Bio:

Keta is a multi-published author of paranormal and historical romance and gay fiction. In 2009, her erotic romance Decadent Deceptions was a finalist in the RWA Molly contest. In 2010, Keta's entry Phoenix Rising finaled in the Scarlet Boa contest and in 2011 Keta's acclaimed paranormal shifter, Where The Rain is Made, was nominated by Authors After Dark for a Bookie Award and by Deep In The Heart of Romance for Best Romance of the Year.

Many of her books, including her gay fiction series CROSSROADS, have won numerous awards: Top Reviewer's Pick, Recommended Read and Best Book of the Month.

If you'd like to know more about Keta and her latest releases, she haunts the Net here:

Keta's Keep Blog, http://ketaskeep.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ketadiablo
Facebook Fan page: http://www.facebook.com/KetaDiablo.Author
Gay Fiction Blog: http://thestuffofmythandmen.blogspot.com

Keta is giving away two copies of her novella Blood Oath.  If you want to win, just leave a comment below!

This contest is closed. The winner is Mel B.