Drake Sisters 02 - The Twilight Before Christmas

into the glass. “It’s certainly beautiful.” Instead of giving it to her, he stared into it for a long moment. The fog swirled into a frenzy, obliterating the house until only the lights on the tree blazed, then it slowly subsided, leaving the glass clear and the lights fading away. Only then did he hand it over to Kate.
    There was a long silence. Jonas grinned at them. “I’m teasing. You al take things so seriously.” He nudged Matt. “I’m not a dreamer like my friend here. I wouldn’t let a snowglobe decide my fate. Come on, let’s get that turkey carved.”
    Kate accepted Matt’s kiss and watched him go into the kitchen with Damon and Jonas. She joined her sisters as she did each year in surrounding the tree, hands connecting them in a continuous circle. The overhead lights went off, leaving them in the shadows with the flickering candles and Christmas lights. She felt the familiar power running up and down her arms. Running through her. Tiny sparks leaped into the air like little fireflies.
    Electricity crackled around them. She could feel the minuscule threads in the tapestry of power that wove them together. Energy sprang from one to the other.
    Matt stood in the doorway with Damon and Jonas and Jackson, who had come in through the kitchen, and watched the seven women as they stood hand in hand circling the Christmas tree. The women looked beautiful and fey, with their heads thrown back and the sparks leaping around them like miniature fireworks.
    Jonas nudged him. “Welcome to the world of the Drake sisters, Matt. And Merry Christmas.”
    Matt couldn’t imagine a better one.

    Christine Feehan
    recently took time from her busy writing schedule to talk to us. Here are the highlights of that conversation.
    What inspired you to write a novella about a family of witches during the holiday season?
    I loved growing up in my family. I have ten sisters. And yes, they are al biological. We had an amazing childhood. Our friendships with one another were, and remain, very strong. Christmas was my favorite time of the year. My uncle was in a wheelchair, and he lived with us. He made Christmas an exciting and special holiday. We col ected ornaments from around the world, and to this day I keep that tradition, as do my children. I think loving my sisters and feeling that when we are together there is a special magic, first brought the idea of writing about a family of very magical sisters into my head. Al of us have different talents as wel as different trials, and we’re strong women…but when we’re together, we’re at our strongest. We see one another through every difficult time and every joyous occasion. And we al love to come together at Christmas!
    Kate Drake, the heroine of The Twilight Before Christmas, is a bestselling author. Readers can’t help but wonder how much you modeled her after yourself. Any similarities?
    Maybe a few. Kate does things she doesn’t think she can do and she doesn’t consider herself courageous. I think I started out the same way, believing I couldn’t do things, although martial arts definitely changed that in me. But Kate Drake and I share a love of books. My al -time favorite thing to do is curl up in a chair and read a book by my favorite author, or to read a great new find. I’m a reader, and I read everything. I love the written word, and if I could sit in the old mil coffee shop or down on the beach and read, I’d be very content. Kate is more of a composite of two of my sisters and a wonderful, bestsel ing author, Jayne Ann Krentz, who I thought of often as I wrote this story. I even pictured her in the role of Kate. I’ve often curled up with Jayne’s book and escaped into another world, and it was easy to imagine her as Kate writing her wonderful books for me to read.
    Your martial art expertise is fascinating. Can you tell us how old you were when you started training, why you started training, and the level of your ability today?
    I started training when most women didn’t do martial arts, so in the early years I trained mostly with men. I had always been interested in karate as an art form, the beautiful and powerful katas and, of course, I wanted the benefits of gaining more confidence in myself. I loved the discipline and philosophy of the various arts and studied many of them. I was lucky enough to train under a wonderful man in the Korean art of Tang Soo Do and I hold a third degree black belt in that art. I also hold rank in several other