24 Details You Might Have Missed
1.) Bear Claw Bakery is a group of bakeries first mentioned in Rumpled Bear Skin as a line of bakeries owned by Jasper Dixon.
Santana owns the Bear Claw Bakery at The Wreath which is odd because most are owned by Jasper’s company. That is why the bakery we read about is operated oddly and isn’t like the other Bear Claw Bakeries. Bear Claw Bakery has been mentioned in various books and will be featured in Freshly Baked Furry Tails! We’ll be reading about the Bear Claw Bakery in Port Jameson, near two lumber camps.
2.) Pandora and Jack stole a sleigh just before the first chapter of the series.
In Chapter 1 of Miss Claws, we learn that Pandora and Jack stole a sleigh and went to Bear Claw Bakery the first day they met, which was December 1st, 2007. December 1st, 2007, was the first day that Sean and Joy met. That was the day Krampus had Sean finally row over to Bear Claw Bakery. Krampus could have kept Sean at Camp Kringle for as long as he wanted, but, he was sent to Bear Claw Bakery by Santana. Why? To get the sleigh back from Pandora and Jack. That’s why there’s a fleeting mention of a sleigh in Dasher Claws, and that’s why Krampus says he dealt with something while he was over there.
3.) Krampus leaks straw starting with Dancer Claws, Book 2.
More and more straw leaks out until Demon Claws, Book 9, because Krampus was originally a goat made of straw, and because he hasn’t claimed a mate, he is losing the magic that binds him together. I did not include straw leakage in Dasher Claws, Book 1, to provide a contrast, and to show that the straw leakage is recent.
4.) Jasper Jackson can summon demons.
He can summon Krampus via a telephone. That counts.
My boyfriend theorizes Jasper can actually summon demons in the traditional sense. He thinks this is how Krampus originally got in touch with Clan Marron and that Jasper Jackson was the original bad boy at The Wreath because he was Naughty and summoned a demon.
5.) In the epilogue of Vixen Claws, Candy and Cain are wearing goofy Thanksgiving sweaters.
In the prologue of Comet Claws, Connor makes fun of Cain for his goofy Thanksgiving sweater, and Krampus gives him a tongue lashing for it. This not only shows the link between the books (each epilogue being the prologue to the next book for the first eight books) but it also indicates that the relationship Krampus has with the lumberjacks changes once they’ve proved themselves.
6.) Nearly every couple’s first kiss is under the mistletoe.
The mistletoe was usually put up by Pandora and Jack. Pandora can summon mistletoe, but usually, she just grabs some and carries it around, waiting for an opportune time and place to hang it. This is why many of the first kisses happen after the heroine talks to Pandora!
7.) The locations visited by Pandora during her version of The Ride included locations featured in past books.
Namely, Bear Buns strip club from the original The Twelve Dancing Bears series, Spinning a Yarn knitting supply store from Sleeping BBW and the Billionaire Bear, and The Mesquite Manor from The Feminine Mesquite and parts of Fated Mate Speed Date. I included these because readers often ask for Christmas follow-ups to stories and while writing full follow-up stories is risky, I can still involve those places and characters when the time calls for it.
8.) The wooden bed from the photoshoot in Vixen Claws is stored in the basement of Bear Claw Bakery.
That’s the same bed several couples have sex on in later books, and it’s there because of the events of Vixen Claws. I do not know who cleans the sheets. I’d like to assume the bed magically changes the dirty sheets because I hope Avery doesn’t have to touch them.
9.) Nivek Durphy’s name forms a pun.
He’s Nivek Durphy, of the Durphy Diaper family. Durphy Diaper sounds like dirty diaper. Nivek is also Kevin backward, and Nivek Durphy rhymes with Kevin Murphy, showing they are similar but at the same time, total opposites. They are both bear shifter males from Clan Marron who are on The Naughty List, but the similarities end there.
Stella Schumaker’s name reflects the fact that the story is based on The Elves and the Shoemaker…because her surname is literally ‘Shoemaker,’ as that’s what Schumaker sounds like, and what it originally meant. One of her family’s products: Neverworn Baby Shoes. “For sale: baby shoes, never worn” is an example of an extremely short story and is sometimes attributed to Hemingway. The full story is that phrase: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” That’s why the Schumaker family makes the Neverworn as a product. They’re shoemakers…and it’s a reference to a specific famous shoe. Also, it’s related to babies, which is why an alliance between the baby shoe and the diaper families made sense (to the parents).
10.) Perchta treats Santana with contempt during the ending of Demon Claws as a lead-in to Daddy Claws.
At that time, she knew Santana was the ex of her best friend Befana and wanted nothing to do with Santana. She knew she’d see him in Hell and wasn’t surprised, because, unlike Krampus, Perchta goes to Hell for Christmas pretty regularly so she would’ve known Santana would’ve been there at the same time.
Perchta is Krampus’ cousin, and because they hung out for the first time in too long during the events of Demon Claws, that’s why they ended up getting together in the epilogue of Demon Claws, to set up the date between Santana and Befana. Perchta dislikes Santana for breaking Befana’s heart, but was fine helping them get back together, for Befana’s sake, and because she likes meddling. Must run in the family!
11.) The epilogue of each book features the hero giving the heroine a piece of jewelry based on their romance.
Often times, it has to do with a specific date. Book 1 features a partridge in a pear tree, because that’s the first item given in The Twelve Days Of Christmas song, and the hero and heroine met on December 1st. The pattern pretty much continues through all twelve books. In each book, the heroine gets jewelry based on the book number and how it corresponds to The Twelve Days Of Christmas, and in each book, the hero and heroine must see each other on the day of December that matches their book’s number. The jewelry and the day in December aren’t always linked.
I know that The Twelve Days Of Christmas refers to The Epiphany and that’s why I mention it a few times throughout the series, perhaps most ham-handedly in the epilogue of Daddy Claws. However, popularly, people think The Twelve Days Of Christmas refers to December 1st through 12th, so that’s what I used in the series. Plus, if I used the twelve days after Christmas, the books would be very different…because they’d involve the time after Christmas, rather than the lead-up.
12.) Each book features someone telling the hero (or heroine in the case of Miss Claws) ‘the true meaning of Christmas’ toward the start of the book (usually in the prologue).
In the first eight books, the heroes are told the meaning by a member of the Council of Clan Elders or by the previous bad boy, and it’s repeated by Avery at the end of the book.
The true meaning of Christmas was in front of the heroes (or heroine) the entire time!
The true meaning of Christmas also changes in each book, and ironically, some of the heroes from Clan Marron tell the next heroes that the true meaning of Christmas is something entirely different from the meaning of Christmas in their book.
For example, the meaning of Christmas in Comet Claws is different than the meaning of Christmas in Cupid Claws. In Comet Claws, Connor learns the true meaning of Christmas. In the prologue of Cupid Claws, Connor tells Rowan that the meaning of Christmas, but it’s different than the meaning of Christmas learned by Connor.
This isn’t an oversight. This was intended to be funny but also about how our ideas of the ‘meaning’ of something can change, and there can be multiple meanings of something.
13.) Krampus collects ribbon and string through some books in the first eight books. He makes a ribbon ball, and that’s the ribbon ball he uses in Demon Claws.
14.) The colors of Naughty and Nice switch each year!
The colors of the year match the colors on the book. For instance, Sean in Dasher Claws has a green Naughty mark and a red Nice mark. Ryan in Dancer Claws has a red Naughty mark and a green Nice mark. It swaps every year for reasons explained in Daddy Claws — basically that things are complicated and aren’t black and white. Red and green aren’t entirely opposites — they’re just different.
15.) At the start of Prancer Claws, Ethan mentions the Asher-Dixon and Scoville clans from other Sable Sylvan books!
16.) Krampus gives the hero a pickle at the end of each book to contact them for the prologue of Miss Claws.
This one should be pretty obvious, but some people might’ve missed it, especially if they skipped around the books or skimmed.
17.) At the start of Dasher Claws, it’s mentioned that Jasper Dixon is single at the time. This is to reiterate to the reader that many of these books take place before 2015 when the first Sable Sylvan books were written and set.
18.) Krampus doesn’t allow electronics, phones, social media, etc. at Camp Kringle. This is why those methods are not used to contact heroines. Things like using a lamp or microwave are fine. Camp Kringle is a return to basics. Also, the first book is set in 2007. A lot of people didn’t have cell phones or social media at the time!
19.) Krampus brushes by the mail from Lucy in Demon Claws multiple times.
It was in his pockets the entire time.
Krampus makes various human errors throughout the book. He’s more human regarding character (rather than magical abilities) than he cares to admit. For instance, in Cupid Claws, when he was avoiding Avery because he thought she was with Boreas, he forgets to do various things regarding Rowan.
20.) The cursed cookie cutters that Hope cuts herself on in ‘Blitzen Claws’ are the same cookie cutters Krampus gave to Avery during Secret Santana in ‘Prancer Claws.’
21.) Krampus’ ‘sleeve of mate marks’ shown in many of the first eight prologues is like his mate mark. He can choose to hide it or show it at will. He usually chooses to hide it.
22.) Every hero has the same relevant shifter paw marks when they have certain shifts, even if they are not mentioned.
The heroes of the first eight books usually have reindeer hoofprint marks on their hands, except for when they can become bears when they get their bear paw print marks back. However, this isn’t mentioned often because a lot of people in my world don’t really ‘get’ shifters. Some don’t get how the mate mark process works. Some do not know how to tell animals apart.
Let me ask you this. If you went online and looked up random animal tracks, without the names listed below the tracks, would you be able to tell what tracks are from what animals?
The same applies to the heroines. Unless they dated a shifter before, they probably wouldn’t recognize a specific mark, but they would know from the presence of a mate mark or print on the hand that the person was a shifter.
23.) Shifters are considered separate from other magical beings.
Humans consider them magic. Magical beings consider them rather human, because they cannot use magic (like ice magic types of magic, not the magic of love, the magic of Christmas [different than Christmas magic], etc.). There are many magical beings in my world, and unlike shifters, many keep themselves hidden for various reasons…but people still believe in them, so they are still strong.
24.) The twelve books Pandora releases into the world are The Twelve Mates Of Christmas, the same books you read, and they were based on her journals.
That means that there’re:
- The Twelve Mates Of Christmas: The True Story
- The Twelve Mates Of Christmas: Pandora’s Journals Edition
- The Twelve Mates Of Christmas: The In-Story Romance Novels
- The Twelve Mates Of Christmas: Sable Sylvan Edition