The holidays are always a wonderfully hellish time accompanied by weight gain, family issues, and skeletons falling out of the closet. Join four of the best paranormal authors whose characters celebrate the season in a decidedly different style, one in which that skeleton in the closet is quite real and ready to come out and kibitz at the kitchen table.

Two Ghosts For Sister Rachel - Kim Harrison
Cincinnati, Ohio

Although it's been years since Rachel Morgan was so ill she couldn't get out of bed, she is still somewhat fragile, though much better at hiding it. Her one goal is to follow in her father's footsteps and becoming a runner for the Inderland Security -- a group that polices paranormals. Furiously opposed to the idea is Rachel's brother Robbie, visiting for the Solstice celebration, who believes she would be much stronger and powerful as a practicing witch.

Rachel and Robbie agree that the best way to answer the question is to ask their father. Too bad he died a few years ago. But a brother/sister bet and a bit of magic change that tune. Unfortunately, the quite naked ghost that appears is not their father. Can these two return things to normal before the situation gets any worse?

Well, young Rachel doesn't seem to be that much different from older Rachel, beyond a little life experience, and things quickly go downhill in Two Ghosts For Sister Rachel. Fans of the series will enjoy meeting Rachel's family, who've been referred to but have not made an appearance on center stage heretofore in The Hollows series. This brief foray into the past gives a wonderful glimpse of the circumstances that shaped Rachel into the woman she has become, and is not to be missed.

Run, Run Rudolph - Lynsay Sands
Present Day

Jill has been friends with neighboring shop owner Nick since he opened his shoe store almost a year ago. She'd like to be more than friends, but he's never made a move even though she's made it clear she wouldn't mind a relationship. But it looks as if she'll finally get her chance to go on a date, albeit a group one, with Mr. Handsome Shoes after they finish their stint as Mr. and Mrs. Claus during the Christmas parade. Unfortunately, John Heathcliffe, Jill's brother Kyle's ex-partner has something else in mind for Jill's day.

Kyle and John had a falling out when John went psycho and attacked Kyle and his wife Claire with the destabilizer, Kyle's invention that changes an objects molecular structure. John was subsequently arrested and jailed while Kyle and Claire suddenly became able to physically morph into whatever they wanted to. Wanting his own way of studying the effects of the ray, John decides Jill will be the perfect subject and tricks her into getting zapped. So, instead of anticipating a date and waving to the crowds while clad in a jolly red suit, Jill finds herself on the run for her life. Will Mr. Handsome Shoes come to her rescue?

A fun and funny tale, Run, Run Rudolph has poor Jill running around town stark naked, morphing into different people and animals to avoid John. Thankfully, Nick doesn't seem put off by her new abilities, so maybe it'll be a wonderful Christmas anyway.

Six - Marjorie Liu
China - Present Day

From a very young age, Six was groomed to become one of the deadliest women in China. Now a member of an elite peacekeeping force, Six uses her skills to keep her country safe. Six believed she could handle anything.

Then she faces a vampire, and, while unbelievable initially, Six manages to hold her own. The thing that throws her is a man. Joseph Besud is unlike anyone she has ever met or will meet. Is Six willing to give up the life she's known for an unmapped future and a man who calls to her soul?

It's hard to pick a favorite from among these four wonderful authors, but Six slightly edged out the competition. Raised to be machine-like in her thoughts and actions, Six is confounded when Joseph incites her feelings. Watching the soldier flower into a woman is appealing, especially when equally matched with action and romance.

The Harvest - Vicki Pettersson
Las Vegas, Nevada

Zoe Archer has always followed a hard road, and being a superhero didn't help. With no thought to her own life, Zoe did what she had to do as an Agent of Light fighting to stop the Shadows, even up to giving up her own powers. Now her children, whom she hasn't seen in years in order to protect them, are at risk. Her oldest child, Joanna, was raped by a Shadow agent and, though Joanna will survive the ordeal, the child that resulted must be protected.

In a bizarre twist of fate, the Shadows have unwittingly taken the child who is a mix of Light and Shadows. In order to save her, Zoe will need to approach her former Light colleagues, whom she has also hidden from, and Warren, their leader and Zoe's ex-lover. Even worse, Zoe must walk into the heart of the darkness and once again seduce the Tulpa, the leader of the Shadows, to save her grandchild. Will Warren understand the choices she has had to make?

It might be the season of Thanksgiving, but don't expect happily-ever-after from The Harvest. Dark fantasy at its best, Ms. Pettersson, similarly to Ms. Harrison, gives readers a glimpse into her main protagonist's past through the eyes of her mother. Zoe's name is spoken, and she is mentioned in the first two books in the series, but this is the first time readers get to meet her and understand why she's done the things she has. Though mortal now, Zoe Archer is definitely not a weak woman, and it looks as though she's content to wait in the shadows until she's needed. I can't wait to meet her again!

'Tis the Season! As you sit down to that massive turkey dinner or to watch football or a parade on television, take a moment to acknowledge that sometimes HOLIDAYS ARE HELL and enjoy as four authors celebrate the season, paranormal style.

Kathy Samuels