“Monsters! Incidental Wedding Guests” is an Urban Fantasy Romance. What happens when superheroes plan a wedding? Monsters, that’s what.
Kennedy and Jason are ready to get married. They just have to deal with evaporating monsters first.
There are several other books and TV shows that have a similar style, in one way or another, to our book. Here are the images I made with all the covers of the style comparisons.
Similar books are Alien in the Family and Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch, Flights of Fantasy edited by Sheellah Kennedy and Joy Wandrey, Fire and Hemlock by Dianna Wynne Jones, The Enchantment Emporium by Tanya Huff, The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley, Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers by Jen and Éric Desmarais, The Cursed Key by Miranda Brock and Rebecca Hamilton, Discount Armageddon by Seanan McGuire, Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews, Hunt the Stars by Jessie Mihalik, Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett, Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong, Heroine Complex by Sarah Kuhn, Libriomancer by Jim C. Hines, Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire Similar TV shows are Sanctuary, Haven, Alphas, Sleepy Hollow, The Librarians, No Ordinary Family, Being Human, Midnight Texas, Grimm, Heroes, Neverwhere Both images surround the book cover image of Monsters! Incidental Wedding Guests by Jen and Éric Desmarais
Summary
The week before Kennedy and Jason’s wedding is busy. There are cake tastings, dress fittings, a formal ball, and, as their superhero personas the Phantom and the Wraith, fighting monsters.
These behemoths are destructive, smell like snack food, and are only after one thing: Door Tech Industries technology.
Adding to the chaos are their friends and families; Jason’s grandmother has returned after having been missing for half a century, Kennedy’s mom is dead-set on keeping things traditional, and Jason’s best friend is kidnapped before the rehearsal.
Kennedy and Jason just want to get married, preferably before the next monster attack.
The second book of four in The Gates of Westmeath series.
Well I (Éric) was interviewed last week. It was a lot of fun, and Derek is a fantastic interviewer, steering my hectic mind in a semi-coherent direction.
“Hey, Tommy. Are you taking a bath with me?” Kennedy asked the seven-month-old, who was sitting in the empty laundry basket next to the tub.
The little boy smiled happily at her and waved the yellow duck bath toy clutched firmly in his fist.
“No, he had his bath this afternoon,” her mother said. “He’s here because the big kids have chores and homework to do.”
“Oh, I don’t mind.” Kennedy made quick work of her clothes, dropping them in a little pile next to the basket. “I love hanging out with him.”
The water was nice and hot, and she sank into it with a sigh of satisfaction, propping her elbows on the edge of the tub so she could continue to watch Tommy playing.
“I got a call from Mrs. Fox, Sadie’s mom, this afternoon,” her mother said, digging a washcloth out of the linen closet behind the door.
Kennedy dropped below the edge of the tub, sinking as much of herself under the water as possible, but didn’t say anything.
“Sadie told her that her bloody nose wasn’t as bad as your black eye.” Her mother squirted a bottle of bubble bath into the water near the faucet before perching on the edge of the tub and sighing. “Kennedy, we need to talk.”
“They were being mean to the grade ones!” Kennedy blurted out.
“The grade eight boys?”
Kennedy nodded and swished herself around until she was sitting cross-legged, her knees poking out of the water. “Sadie told them to leave the kids alone, to stop telling lies about Santa not existing. They wouldn’t leave!”
“And instead of going to get a teacher, you decided to fight them?”
“I was angry.” Kennedy scooped some bubbles up with her hands and made them into a tower.
“Did it solve anything?”
“Maybe they’ll think twice next time.” Kennedy squished her mountain fiercely, sending bubbles splashing up the wall and onto her mother’s leg. “Oops. Sorry, Mom.”
“Would it be worth it if I got angry with you right now? You know you’re not supposed to splash in the tub.”
“No,” Kennedy replied quietly.
“What could you have done differently?”
Kennedy gathered the bubbles into a large circle in front of herself. “They attacked Sadie first. If I’d run for a teacher, she might have gotten hurt worse. I suppose… I could have asked a little kid to get a teacher and screamed my head off?”
“They attacked Sadie first?” Her mother’s mouth thinned. “I hadn’t heard that part. I think we need to have a discussion with those boys and their parents with the principal present.”
“Good idea. They need to know that they can’t tell lies and get away with it.” Kennedy started making a smaller circle above the big one.
“You’re right, but Kennedy, darling, we need to talk about Santa Claus.”
“Did he not get my letter?” Kennedy asked, sloshing the water when she flailed.
“Sweetheart, he doesn’t exist.”
“Of course he does!” Kennedy said, brushing off her mother’s words unconcernedly. “I have his letters to me in my closet.”
“No, dear, your father wrote those.”
“They don’t look like his writing.” Kennedy narrowed her eyes suspiciously at her mother. “Why are you saying this?”
“He wrote them with his left hand.” Her mother waved a hand in the air. “That’s not the point. The point is that you are old enough to understand that Santa is a concept used to teach little kids about the spirit of giving.”
“But…” Kennedy couldn’t stop the tears, her throat going tight with the pressure of them. “But Santa!” she gasped. “He’s real!” She buried her face in her hands, regretting that she was in the bath and couldn’t hug her mother.
“Oh, sweetie.” Gentle hands smoothed her hair back. “I think you know I’m telling you the truth.”
“What about Tommy?” she sobbed.
“What about him?”
“If Santa’s not real, how can he bring Tommy presents? It’s not fair that he doesn’t get presents from Santa!” She inelegantly wiped her nose with the heel of her hand.
Her mother chuckled. “Your father and I will buy him Santa presents, just like we did for you and your older siblings.”
“What about the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy? They’re real, aren’t they?” Kennedy asked, grasping at straws. She couldn’t believe it.
“What do you think?”
A fresh wave of sadness swamped Kennedy. “No,” she said softly, tears flowing silently down her cheeks. “I guess they’re not either.”
“But now that you know the truth, you can help make Christmas special for Tommy and for the other little kids at your school,” her mother said.
“How?”
“Well, what is it that Santa does?”
Kennedy swallowed a knot in her throat. “He gives presents.”
“Okay. And?”
“He spreads joy.”
“How do you think you can do that?”
“By being nice to people?”
“How do you want to do that?”
“I could give them presents?” Kennedy frowned. “I don’t have any money.”
“You don’t. But you have time. How would you like to volunteer with the church youth group? They’re going to be wrapping presents for the homeless shelter after the service on Sunday.”
Kennedy brightened. “I can do that! I wrap really well!”
“You do.”
“I can wrap the presents for you too!”
“Not yours,” her mother teased.
“Of course not! I want to be surprised!” Kennedy said, shocked at the idea. She leaned over the edge of the tub and gave Tommy a kiss on the forehead.
He burbled back at her and grabbed for her hair.
“No, Tommy. We don’t grab hair,” her mother said firmly. “Are you feeling better about the whole Santa thing, dear?”
Kennedy sniffed. “I’m sad that he’s not real. I feel like someone I loved died.”
“He’s still here. He’s in all of us.”
“That’s what you said when Great-Uncle Ernest died,” Kennedy accused.
“So I did. Was I wrong? He lives on in the stories we tell about him.”
“I suppose.”
“Come on, let’s get you washed.”
“But I didn’t get to play!” she protested, sticking her bottom lip out. “And you just told me that Santa doesn’t exist!”
Her mother chuckled and shook her head. “That will only work for tonight. I can make your favourite for dinner, how’s that?”
“Chicken casserole? The one with the carrots?” Kennedy said, perking up. Usually that was dinner when they had company.
A short story for Christmas when Kennedy was 8 years old. This was not written for small children.
It was, however, written for those who recently found out the truth about Santa Claus, a group to which my daughter now belongs.
Friday the 9th of December, 1988 – Parry Sound, Ontario
Kennedy wiped her nose on the back of her woollen mitten as she waited for her older siblings to pass her on the bus. The eight-year-old avoided eye contact with the other kids on the bus, fixing them on the grey leather of the seat back in front of her.
“Come on, kiddo,” Phillip said, pushing her hat down over her eyes as he passed.
Kennedy fixed her hat and got up, dragging her backpack by a strap behind her.
“Have a good day!” the bus driver called after her, but she didn’t answer the way she usually did.
Instead, Kennedy trailed after her sisters, her backpack bumping against her leg with each step.
“You going to be okay?” Phillip asked. He was still beside her and she hadn’t noticed.
Not that she cared. She shrugged.
“Can I check your eye?”
“Okay.” Kennedy paused and looked up at her big brother. “When did you get so tall?”
He chuckled. “Probably when I turned sixteen last year.” He bit the finger of his glove and worked it off before gently holding her chin in his hand and tilting her head toward the light of the moon. He exhaled slowly, the steam of his breath fogging the air between them before putting his glove back on. “That’s a beauty. It’ll be nice and purple tomorrow. Does it hurt?”
“Only when I smile.”
“Best not to do that then.” They started walking again. “Why were you fighting?”
“The big kids ganged up on Sadie,” Kennedy said. “I couldn’t let her face them on her own.”
Phillip’s eyebrows rose. “Sadie, your best friend, who wouldn’t hurt a fly? Why?”
“They were saying mean things. Telling the little kids that there wasn’t a Santa Claus. Why would they do that?” Kennedy sniffed hard. “Of course there’s a Santa Claus. Why make up such an obvious lie?”
“Let me get this straight,” Phillip said, frowning. “You heard some of the big kids telling lies to little kids, Sadie stepped in, then you joined her, and where exactly did the fighting come into play?”
“We were all yelling pretty loudly, and one boy took a swing at Sadie’s head. He was probably the biggest there. When she fell, I jumped on him and bit his nose,” Kennedy said unapologetically.
“Bit his nose?” There was a strange squeaky tone to Phillip’s voice, but when the eight-year-old glanced at him suspiciously, his expression was devoid of emotion.
“It was the only part of him not covered by winter gear,” Kennedy explained.
“Right.” He coughed. “And then?”
“We fought.”
“So I gather.” He sighed. “You’re going to get in trouble with mom.”
“I know.” She pouted.
“You were very brave to help your friend.”
She brightened. “You think so?”
“I know so, kiddo.” He pushed her hat down again and ran ahead, slowly enough that once she could see, she could chase after him.
The twins were still hanging up their coats by the time Kennedy and Phillip burst through the front door, rosy-cheeked and out of breath. Phillip’s jeans were soaked, but Kennedy’s snow pants had kept her dry.
Their mother was waiting for them, the baby on her hip. “Kennedy, it’s time for your bath.”
“Before my snack?”
“There’s a piece of cheese wrapped in cold meat on the counter. Grab it and let’s go.”
Kennedy brought her My Little Pony lunch box into the kitchen and left it on the counter next to the sink. Grabbing her snack, she returned to the front hall.
“You’re in trouble,” Eliza sing-songed, MacKenzie joining in on the second round.
Kennedy ignored them and trudged up the stairs. She could hear the water running in the shared bathroom at the top before she entered.
It’s a great interview and gives you a great insight into how she works and does so many fantastic things.
Jen says:
I was interviewed for Speculating Canada yesterday!! It was so much fun.
We discuss Queer writing, the interrelationship between craft-making and writing, writing with a community, and writing with a partner (specifically my husband).
It’s a long interview, about 50 minutes, so get comfy!
It certainly made me blush from all the compliments.
I absolutely love writing with Jen. It’s like having a super-fan to pump you up for writing and like getting to read your favourite book as it’s being made!
This going to be book 3, and book 2 Monsters! Incidental Wedding Guests will be coming out spring 2024. We’ll post pre-order links as soon as we get them, and stay tuned for the cover reveal and other sneak peeks!
I’m so excited to be writing this book and I can’t wait to see what happens.
Yesterday, Jen and I had our first signing at a big bookstore. We were signing Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers at Pinecrest Indigo.
There are still several signed copies if you hurry to the store!
We had a few issues getting the whole thing set up, our original date was back in February and then Indigo had some hacker issues and everything was postponed.
We had more issues today when we got there and they were surprised. Thankfully the staff were extremely nice and accommodating and got us set up with time to spare.
We spoke to a lot of people and even sold 6 books.
Thank you to everyone who stopped by and said hello.
