Halloween Blogfest: Sofia Diana Gabel

November 1, 2013 by 7 Comments

Real Life Ghost Story
By Sofia Diana Gabel
I’m not really the superstitious type. I tend to believe in cold, hard facts, not things that go bump in the night, but my whole belief system was shaken a few years ago when I realized that there might really be ghosts living among us.

It happened after my children, our three cats, and I moved into an old rental house that was built back in 1921. The house was small, cozy and had all of the charm and character that comes with being built so long ago. We settled in and went about our lives until one night my eldest daughter got up in the middle of the night and woke me up.

“Mom, there’s a cat in my room and it won’t stop meowing,” she said.

Being a little bleary-eyed from getting woken up at three in the morning, I tried to comprehend what she was saying. It sunk in, finally. “Sweetie, it’s a cat outside of your window. All of our cats are right here with me.” I pointed to our three felines, sleeping quietly at the bottom of my bed.

“Oh. But it sounded like it was right near my bed.” My daughter shrugged and went back to her room.

The following night, one of my other daughters came out of her room while I was doing the dishes before heading off to bed myself. She said there was a black cat sleeping on her bed. I stared at her for a minute. We didn’t have any black cats.

When I looked, there was nothing on her bed except her pillows and comforter. Okay, I reasoned, maybe she thought a pillow was a cat. That was a pretty weak explanation, but it was the only one I had.

This sort of thing went on for weeks. I even started catching a glimpse of a black cat here and there, yet when I searched the house, I found nothing. We didn’t have a doggy door and all of our cats were indoor cats, so it wasn’t like any kitties were sneaking in at night. Our cats even seemed to see the phantom now and then. They would sit and stare at a spot on the floor, then follow this invisible thing as it apparently moved around the room, up on the table and onto the couch. At first I thought it was a spider or fly or something that would explain the behavior, but trust me, there wasn’t a single thing on the floor, the table or the couch!

My eldest daughter nicknamed our phantom Ghost Cat and we sort of laughed it off. The visions continued and after our lease was up a year later, I found a new job and we moved into another rental. Everything seemed fine until after about two weeks in the new place, Ghost Cat made an appearance in one of my daughters’ bedrooms. Our cats began watching the phantom again as well. They weren’t upset or scared. In fact, they seemed to like Ghost Cat. We all started to like Ghost Cat and would talk to our phantom feline like he was one of the family.

The more we talked to Ghost Cat, the fewer visions we saw. When I had to relocate for another job, we found a lovely condo and made yet another move. This time, however, it seemed like Ghost Cat didn’t follow. Two weeks went by without a vision, then a month and then a year. We all missed Ghost Cat and figured that he must have been lonely and had been hanging around looking for a family. Could it be that once we accepted him and talked to him, he found the happiness he was looking for and decided to go to wherever Ghost Cats go? Things are a little lonely without him around, but we’re sure he’s in a better place, hopefully a place with a catnip mouse and a full bowl of kibble. Sleep well little Ghost Cat, we miss you.

sofia TwoBrothers final coverLeave a comment for a chance to win an e-book of Two Brothers: Origin, my young adult science fiction novel, in PDF, MOBI or Epub format.

About the Author: Originally from Sydney, Australia, I now live in beautiful Southern California with my three daughters and my three hairless Sphynx cats. I have lived through so much teenage angst that I decided to write a young adult book about two teenagers who aren’t exactly human and have to deal with that, in addition to the usual teenage issues.

I’m a multi-genre author and writing is a way for me to have fun, to escape, to work through tough times and enjoy life even more. It’s a part of me and I don’t think I’ll ever stop writing. I have two bachelor degrees (archaeology and environmental resource management, with additional classes in creative and technical writing). I took classes in criminal justice for fun as well as for additional knowledge into the criminal mind (helps with the thriller genre!). Now I know more about serial killers than I ever wanted to!

Social Media Sites:

http://sofiadianagabel.com/ (Website)

www.facebook.com/sofiadianagabel.author

www.facebook.com/argusdachel (protagonist’s Facebook page)

http://approachablefiction.blogspot.com/

Twitter: @sofiadianagabel

Buy the book at Amazon or Escargot Books

Filed Under: Guest Blogs, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , ,

Halloween Blogfest: Lisette Brodey

October 31, 2013 by 10 Comments

HALLOWEEN AND ME
Guest blog by Lisette Brodey
I don’t remember the first time I heard about Halloween, but my mother said it was on the day itself. I was about five, and having learned from a neighbor that you dress up in a costume and knock on doors to get candy, I informed my mother that I was going trick or treating. In a few hours.

My mother, now a retired and beloved university professor, has a whole lot of smarts and skills, but making Halloween costumes has never been one of them. There is a photo of me some 3,000 miles away showing me completely covered in paper bags, but, unfortunately, I don’t have it to share with you.

Maybe I was supposed to be a paper bag robot. Perhaps I was an escapee from Planet Paper Bag. I don’t know, but I was pretty cute—unevenly cut eyeholes and all.

Despite my exciting debut, I’ve never been a big Halloween lover. Besides being an author, I work once in a while as a SAG background actor here in Los Angeles. After being cast as a witch in the teen Halloween movie, Fun Size, I was turned into a witch by Hollywood professionals. My hair was pinned up and replaced with a long black wig. A fake chin was attached to my own with spirit glue, and most fun of all, all visible parts of me were painted green. Have you ever waited around for ten hours with your hands painted green? Trust me, it makes everything more difficult. Then, right before my scene, someone decided I was not green enough, and I was painted all over again. Ah, delightful. While I was shooting my scene, the young actor who starred in the film informed me on set, “You scared my mom.” Okaaaaay, then!

Just because I haven’t dressed up for Halloween doesn’t mean it hasn’t influenced my life. In two of my novels, Squalor, New Mexico(a 1970s coming-of-age novel) and Molly Hacker Is Too Picky! (a romantic comedy), Halloween has played a part in each novel. To a writer, this holiday offers all kinds of interesting possibilities. It’s the one night you can knock on a stranger’s door without too much suspicion, and it’s an excuse for people to conceal their identities and raise nary an eyebrow. Indeed, Halloween can be very exciting, even on paper. So, to one reader of this blog, I’m giving away a signed paperback copy of Squalor, New Mexico. It’s the story of Darla McKendrick who grows up in a family terrified by the secrets they’re keeping, and after too many lies and distortions, she sets out to uncover the truth.

Mystical–High_SmallAlthough I don’t do much for the holiday itself, I have a great interest in the paranormal. I’ve just published my novel Mystical High, which is the first book in my YA paranormal trilogy, The Desert Series. The imagination that is stirred on Halloween is a gift to writers and readers all year long. So, in that sense, the Halloween spirit is always with me.

 

 

 

 

About the Author: LisetteBrodeyHeadshotLisette Brodey was born and raised in Pennsylvania. After high school, she moved to New York City where she attended Pace University and studied drama. After ten years in New York, several of them working in the radio industry, she moved to Los Angeles, where she held various positions at Paramount Studios in Hollywood and CBS Studio Center in Studio City, CA.

Back on the East Coast, she worked for many years as a freelance writer, specializing in PR and the entertainment industry. In 2010, she returned permanently to the Los Angeles area. She has just published her fourth novel, Mystical High, the first book in her YA paranormal trilogy, The Desert Series.

Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook Author page ~ Goodreads ~ Amazon

Filed Under: Guest Blogs, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , ,

Halloween Blogfest: Shira Glassman

October 30, 2013 by 3 Comments

I’m Shira Glassman, the author of The Second Mango (available from Prizm) and its sequel, Climbing the Date Palm (due out in July 2014.) My books are fantasy novels about a young lesbian who becomes queen of her country far too young because her father died in an accident, and the hetero warrior woman who becomes her bodyguard, best friend, and surrogate older sister. In my author bio, it says that my favorite holidays are Halloween and Passover because I love freedom and make-believe.

Halloween has always felt really special to me because I love to step into the shoes of all the different fascinating characters I love. Some years while growing up I can remember changing my costume in the middle of the day, so that I’d worn three by the time I finally went inside for good. I remember spray-painting a box so that I could be one of those old Mac computers from the early ’90′s. I’ve also been a parrot, “Extinction” (throttling a plushie dinosaur), a sunflower, and this year I’m going to a friend’s party dressed as Magneto. I made the helmet myself out of four metal take-out trays from a local pizzeria.

In a way, writing is just like Halloween, only with an invisible or internal costume. When I sit down and write a scene from a character’s point of view, what is that if not pretending to be them, for the morning?

When I’m writing from Queen Shulamit’s point of view, my stereotypically feminine gender presentation gets to revel in her finery, her pinks and lilacs, her jewelry, and her always impeccably braided hair. I allow myself to dream of leading her nation, inspired by my native South Florida and made rich by prosperous agriculture, and of sinking into the soft embrace of her buxom and nurturing partner. She is also my mourning costume; through her filial grief I can remember my own deceased father–not a king as hers was, but a locally respected leader in his field.

When I’m writing as Rivka, her bodyguard, my costume is quite different. I pick up a sword, throw a mask over the lower half of my face, and stomp around the kingdom protecting the vulnerable and proving my worth. I get to try on her biceps for the night–biceps that I will never have–and the rest of her fear-inspiring, five-foot-eleven warrior’s body. Rivka is also the costume of my intimate fantasies, because she’s the one in love with the character inspired by my preferences in men, the wizard Isaac.

When I’m writing as Aviva, Shulamit’s sweetheart and personal chef, I can pretend to be someone far more competent in the kitchen and patient with people than I am. In my Aviva costume, I can always protect my spouse from stray gluten or from people who don’t believe her about her food problems, and I have the poise and charm to laugh off insults more easily. I often feel like I’m wearing an Aviva costume when I cook, not just when I’m writing her point of view.

When I’m writing as Isaac, my costume is the fantastical and mysterious trappings of a wizard who’s equally skilled in magic and keeping secrets. Who wouldn’t want to dress up as a wizard? Especially a wizard who’s earned the love of a fierce warrior.

I wish I could dress up as them ‘for real’, but as I’m just starting out, such a costume wouldn’t be recognized by most people. But, in a way, writing is better–I’m too small to look like Rivka, for example. When I write as her, I can come closer to what she really is.

I don’t know if other writers write to play dress-up and pretend like I do. I bet some do and some don’t. But it’s been a major motivating factor for my own writing.

As for Magneto, it’s really true that I like to play pretend when I’m in costume. My best friend has told me that someone’s boyfriend is coming to the party as Wolverine, and I’m looking forward to whatever hijinks ensue!

mangocoverComment with your own story about how reading or writing is like getting to dress up as your favorite characters, or tell me about the most fun you ever had in costume, to be entered in a drawing for a free eBook of The Second Mango.

Shira Glassman is a bisexual Jewish violinist living in Florida with a labor activist and a badly behaved calico.

http://shiraglassman.wordpress.com
http://shiraglassman.tumblr.com
http://www.facebook.com/ShiraGlassman

The Second Mango on eBook:
http://www.prizmbooks.com/zencart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=72
(four formats: pdf, mobi, ePub, html)
in print:
http://shop.wildirisbooks.com/product/second-mango-autographed-copy
Also available on Amazon in both formats

Filed Under: Guest Blogs, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , ,

Halloween Blogfest: Jo Ramsey

October 29, 2013 by 2 Comments

Life in a Haunted House
Several years ago, my daughters and I moved into my grandmother’s house. My grandmother was no longer living there, and my father, who was responsible for the place, wanted someone in residence until he was able to persuade my grandmother that the house should be sold.

Before we moved in, a friend of mine went with me to energetically cleanse the building. Some bad memories were left there, and we figured a good round of sage and positive thoughts would make it more pleasant.

We were barely inside the front door when my friend said, “Who’s that man in the old Army uniform? He’s standing right behind you.”

I had my suspicions, but I waited until we had gone further into the house. On the second floor, I found a framed photo of my grandfather in his World War II Army Air Corps uniform. My friend immediately said, “That’s who I saw downstairs!”

My grandfather’s father built that house in the 1910s, and my grandfather and his two brothers grew up there. When my grandfather and grandmother married, his mother gave them the house, and my father also grew up there.

I was the only grandchild, and my grandfather and I had a close relationship. In late 1994, he was hospitalized with cancer and told he had only a few weeks left. I visited to tell him I was expecting my first child, and he rallied. Within a month, he was sent home. And he lived until two days after he met my older daughter. In 1995, he passed away in the house where he had lived his entire life.

My daughters and I moved into the house just before Christmas 2006. The morning after we moved in, my older daughter said, “Mom, I felt like someone was standing in the corner of my room all night. I’m pretty sure it was Grandpa Too” (the nickname by which she and her little sister knew my grandfather).
In the two and a half years we lived there, my grandfather made his spirit’s presence known in a number of ways. Missing items would show up in spots where we had already looked for them more than once. My children told me several times that they felt him watching them while they played. Neither was afraid; both told me that he “felt nice.” And at times when I was upset or fearful about situations in my personal life, I swear I felt my grandfather’s arm around me as I sat on the side of my bed and cried.
Not all ghosts are frightening. Some just want to keep taking care of the ones they love.

My friend who first spotted my grandfather standing behind me at the front door of the house claimed to have psychic powers. In real life, many people seem to have abilities that might be considered psychic, from knowing that something is about to happen, to spotting ghosts, to knowing who’s on the phone without checking caller ID.

wherenooneknows-200 (2)In fiction, psychic powers might not be so benign. In my recent young adult urban fantasy release Where No One Knows, from Musa Publishing, sixteen-year-old Kellan McKee is on the run. His mother and stepfather accepted that Kellan is female-to-male transgender, but they couldn’t accept his psychic powers—especially after Kellan accidentally uses one of his powers to set a would-be attacker on fire. Knowing his stepfather and other members of their church are after him, and fearing for his life, Kellan makes his way across the country to safety among a group of others with psychic abilities. But is he truly safe?

To celebrate Halloween and the October 18 release of Where No One Knows, I’m giving away a PDF copy of Where No One Knows to one winner!

About the Author: Jo Ramsey is a former special education teacher with a love of books and of persuading young people to read. She has been writing since the age of five, and particularly enjoys reading and writing stories where a character learns they’re stronger than they realize. She truly believes her tagline, “Anyone can be a hero”. Jo lives in Massachusetts with her two daughters, her partner, and assorted pets.

Readers can learn more about Jo and her books, including publisher and purchase information, on her website, http://www.joramsey.com. You can also friend Jo on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/JoRamseyYA, and join her Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/148370091840937/. And you can follow Jo on Twitter, https://twitter.com/JoRamseyYA; Tumblr, http://joramseyya.tumblr.com/; and (as soon as she figures out all the pretty pictures) Pinterest, http://www.pinterest.com/joramseyya/boards/.

Filed Under: Guest Blogs, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , ,

Halloween Blogfest: Rosemary Gemmell

October 29, 2013 by 12 Comments

A Scottish Halloween
by Rosemary Gemmell
Every year, the excitement began with choosing a disguise for going out on galoshans, as we called guising in my area of the west coast of Scotland. It didn’t matter how simple or elaborate the costume, our main requirement was to have a song, a dance, or a verse ready to entertain anyone who welcomed us into their home. Trick or treat is a more modern Americanised import, so our only tricks were the magic kind, if that was the child’s party piece. Most people rewarded us with a variety of nuts in their shells, such as monkey nuts (peanuts), walnuts, Brazil nuts and hazelnuts, as well as apples and oranges. Some of us were lucky enough to receive a shiny coin.

Here’s the little rhyme I wrote for my own children to perform when young:

Witches and wizards,
Broomsticks and bats,
Wild hair and face paints,
Long pokey hats.

Turnip face lanterns
Eerie and bright,
Lighting the way
On this dark, scary night.

Ghosties and ghouls
In the streets can be seen,
But there’s no need to fear
For it’s just Halloween.

The other fun preparation was making the turnip lantern to sit at the door or on a table. Rather than pumpkins, which we rarely saw as children, our lantern was carved from a large, knobbly hard turnip. After carefully cutting the top off and removing the inside flesh, an adult then cut out the triangular eyes and curved mouth and placed a short candle inside so the lantern face grimaced at all who came near.

Many families played the traditional dookin’ for apples with anyone willing to get slightly wet. Two forms of this were popular and both involved a large basin of water into which the adults placed the apples. In our family, we used to lean over the back of a chair with a fork between the teeth. After someone gave the apples a good stir, we had to take aim and drop the fork in the hope of spearing an apple. Other families dispensed with the chair and allowed the child to kneel over the basin to catch an apple between the teeth. Both forms had disadvantages! Toffee apples on a stick were also popular at this time of year and it’s no wonder the dentist was kept busy, with hardened tooth-rotting toffee covering most of the apple. Delicious when we bit through the hardness into the soft juicy apple but not recommended so much these days!

Halloween was enormous, innocent fun for children and, although many of these traditions are still carried on, these days we make sure an adult is never far away when children are knocking on neighbours’ doors.

the Jigsaw Puzzle 200x300I’m happy to offer the prize of a free e-copy of slightly creepy Middle Grade book, The Jigsaw Puzzle, which is set in the Scottish countryside at Hogmanay.

About the Author: Rosemary Gemmell is a Scottish freelance writer whose short stories, articles and children’s stories are published in UK national magazines, in the US, and online. The Jigsaw Puzzle is her second MG/ tween book published by MuseItUp Publishing (as Ros). Her first tween book, Summer of the Eagles, was published last year. Her historical novels, Dangerous Deceit, Mischief at Mulberry Manor and Midwinter Masquerade (released on October 24th) are published under the name Romy, along with short contemporary novella, The Aphrodite Touch. Rosemary is a member of the Society of Authors, the Scottish Association of Writers and the Romantic Novelists’ Association.

Website: http://www.rosemarygemmell.com
Main Blog: http://ros-readingandwriting.blogspot.com
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Romy-Gemmell/e/B005WAJD92/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
All formats from MuseItUp Publishing: http://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/new-releases/the-jigsaw-puzzle-detail

Filed Under: Guest Blogs, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , ,

Halloween Blogfest: Sandra Cox

October 28, 2013 by 2 Comments

Halloween Kitty: The Black Cat
The poster kitty for Halloween is the black cat. For all you cat owners out there, as I’m sure you already know, it’s always a good idea to keep your kitty indoors over Halloween, regardless of its color.
But back to the black cat, how did they come to get such a bad rap?

It all came about from magic….BLACK magic. The belief of witches and their familiars (black cats) arose to hysterical proportions in the middle-ages. Many a poor innocent woman and her black cat were put to death in England. And in France, thousands of the poor innocent black kitties were burned to death monthly. During the Salem witch hunts, it was believed witches would turn into black cats to prowl the streets unobserved. The Irish also believed that if a black cat crossed your path during an epidemic you were sure to die.

Interestingly enough today, both black cats and black dogs are the hardest to move in a shelter or rescue.
In other areas, the black cat is considered good luck. For instance, in Scotland if a black cat arrives at your door, it’s believed that prosperity follows. In England’s midlands, you may even receive one as a wedding gift, for good luck to the bride. On the Yorkshire coasts, many wives of fishermen believe that keeping a black cat in the house will keep their spouses safe while at sea. And pirates believed if a black cat walked away from you it was good luck.

In more recent times, to protect his mistress, one little five pound, blind, black kitty ran off an intruder that had broken into the house. To my way of thinking…if you’re lucky enough to have a Halloween kitty in your family, you’re very lucky indeed.

Giveaway: one randomly drawn commenter will win a hardcopy of Shardai (a cat lover’s fantasy) or if something more spooky is preferred…a hardcopy of Vampire Bay. Winner’s choice.

About the Author: MinderMulti-published author Sandra Cox writes Crossover YA, YA Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Time-Travel Romance and Metaphysical Nonfiction. She lives in sunny North Carolina with her husband, a brood of critters and an occasional foster cat. Although shopping is high on the list, her greatest pleasure is sitting on her screened in porch, listening to the birds, sipping coffee and enjoying a good book. She’s a vegetarian and is a Muay Thai enthusiast.

Keep up with Sandra at Sandracox.blogspot.com, Twitter, and Facebook. Buy her books at Barnes and Noble or Amazon.

Filed Under: Guest Blogs, Romance, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , ,

Halloween Blogfest: Molly Ringle

October 28, 2013 by 6 Comments

Hades and Persephone: the ultimate Halloween gods
By Molly Ringle

For the Greek god Hades, every day is Halloween.

As king of the Underworld, he lives in a vast cave with all the souls of the dead, sorting them out into their eternal fates–heroes over there in the Elysian Fields, horrible people down there in the pit of Tartaros, and a few options in between. He has a cold and gloomy palace, a three-headed dog (Kerberos), and some eerie supernatural helpers. All in all, the Underworld is pretty much what every Halloween fake haunted house is trying to be.

That fascinated me when I discovered Greek mythology as a kid. Not only did I love Halloween and its spookiness, but I loved caves too. Though it would be scary, I wanted to see this Underworld–similar to our desire to walk through the haunted house even though it’ll freak us out.

And Hades’ story fascinated me even more when romance entered into it.

Struck by insta-love one day, Hades kidnaps Persephone, a goddess of spring and the daughter of Demeter, and installs her as queen of the Underworld without technically asking for Persephone’s or Demeter’s permission. The kidnapping isn’t all that unusual a move for a god. The gods are, unfortunately, always chasing people they fancy and forcing them into unpleasant situations. Such behavior isn’t romantic from a modern point of view, and I’m not sure if it was meant to be back then. It was just good drama.

But here’s what is unusual and potentially romantic: Hades stays by Persephone. He continues to love her, and asks her to view him as a devoted husband. He gives power to her rather than taking it away. And aside from one nebulous rumor about a nymph named Menthe, he stays faithful to Persephone. Even within the confines of the kidnapping myth, Hades is a fairly good husband–that is, going by the standards of relationships in Greek myth.

But what does poor Persephone think of all this? At first, she longs to go back home, of course. And she gets her wish: for half the year, she returns to the sunlight and her mother. But the other half of the year, bound by the magic she incurred when she ate pomegranate seeds in the Underworld’s gardens, she’s confined to the realm of Hades. Meanwhile, according to the myth, her enraged mother Demeter refuses to let plants grow or warmth touch the Earth while Persephone is away. Thus, Persephone’s time in the Underworld is winter–or perhaps autumn and winter both–and her time above ground corresponds to the revival of greenery and warmth in spring and summer.

ya 10_28 12 Persephonecover-highresIn the version I wrote, Persephone’s Orchard, I turn the myth on its ear. I created a Persephone who, admittedly, was a bit like me in my youth looking at those mythology books: a girl deeply curious about the Underworld. She grows up to fall in love with Hades, and wishes to run away with him (or rather, to him). No kidnapping required. And my immortals have limited powers, so Persephone’s descent to the Underworld does not, in my version, actually cause a change of seasons.

Nevertheless, the old myths have stuck with me and influenced my mind. At the onset of spring, when crocus bulbs push their green tips up from the wet ground, I tend to think, “Persephone has returned.” And around the autumn equinox, I think, “Persephone has gone back to Hades.” And I’m romantically pleased for them, because I still like to think they love each other.

Halloween, at the end of chilly October, lies squarely in Persephone’s Underworld half of the year. The king and queen are both in residence. Come walk through the caves of the dead and say hello.

Leave a comment for a chance to win a signed paperback copy of my latest novel, Persephone’s Orchard. It’s a New Adult (or YA) paranormal romance.

About the Author: Molly Ringle has been writing fiction for over twenty years. Persephone’s Orchard is her latest novel, and is the first book of a Greek-myth-based series. Her academic studies include degrees in anthropology and linguistics. Molly lives in Seattle with her husband and kids, and worships fragrances and chocolate.

Molly’s webpage

Facebook author page

Twitter

Blog

 

Where to order Persephone’s Orchard:

An independent bookstore near you via IndieBound (paperback)

Amazon (paperback and Kindle)

Barnes and Noble (paperback and Nook)

The Book Depository (paperback; free shipping worldwide)

Kobo (ebook)

 

Filed Under: Guest Blogs, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , ,

Halloween Blogfest: Christina Courtenay

October 28, 2013 by 8 Comments

Autumn/Fall

Autumn is my favourite time of year because I’m not a hot weather person, so when it finally starts to cool down I’m just so relieved! A lot of people complain about the fact that summer is over, the days are getting shorter and it’s so dark and gloomy, but that’s not how I see it at all. No, bring it on!

The lovely cold, crisp air is invigorating and finally, after months of being too hot and bothered, my brain starts to function properly again. I can type without my fingers sticking to the keyboard and I don’t get sleepy around midday. There’s nothing nicer than having to wrap up warm in a jacket and scarf, and getting my fingerless mittens out. And walking the dogs in the park, I get to have the paths more or less to myself, as everyone else is huddled indoors – brilliant!

I’ve never experienced a New England fall, with the spectacularly coloured leaves on display, but it gets very pretty in London’s Hyde Park too, which is my closest green area. And the acer trees in our garden really come into their own, the different reds and ochres quite simply stunning. I take pictures of them every year, even though I know I’ve still got last year’s.

“It gets dark so much earlier,” my husband complains, but that’s just cosy if you ask me. You can light a fire and lots of candles, and listen to the rain and wind tapping at your windows – what could be better? Although if you have a good book and some chocolate too, that’s just perfect.

If you agree with me, tell me what it is about autumn you like best or if not, what you hate the most!

Best answer wins a signed copy of my YA contemporary romance New England Rocks, together with a set of eight character bookmarks and a couple of mobile phone charms.

Happy Halloween everyone!

NER Front Blurb for New England Rocks:

First impressions, how wrong can you get?

When Rain Mackenzie is expelled from her British boarding school, she can’t believe her bad luck. Not only is she forced to move to New England, USA, she’s also sent to the local high school, as a punishment.

Rain makes it her mission to dislike everything about Northbrooke High, but what she doesn’t bank on is meeting Jesse Devlin…

Jesse is the hottest guy Rain’s ever seen and he plays guitar in an awesome rock band!

There’s just one small problem … Jesse already has a girlfriend, little miss perfect Amber Lawrence, who looks set to cause trouble as Rain and Jesse grow closer.

But, what does it matter? New England sucks anyway, and Rain doesn’t plan on sticking around…

Does she?

Author Bio:-

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Christina Courtenay lives in the UK and is married with two children. Although born in England she has a Swedish mother and was brought up in Sweden. In her teens, the family moved to Japan where she had the opportunity to travel extensively in the Far East.

Christina is the current chairman of the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association. She writes historical romance, time slip and contemporary YA romance and is published by independent publisher Choc Lit. Three of her novels have been shortlisted for the RNA’s Romantic Novel Awards (RoNA’s) in the Best Historical category and in 2012 her third novel Highland Storms won this award. Her fourth novel The Silent Touch of Shadows won the 2012 Romance Reader Award for Best Historical Read at the UK’s Festival of Romance.

Christina is a keen amateur genealogist and loves history and archaeology (the armchair variety).

Website – http://christinacourtenay.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/christinacourtenayauthor?ref=ts&fref=ts
Twitter – https://twitter.com/PiaCCourtenay
Goodreads –
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4112359.Christina_Courtenay (profile)
http://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=Christina+Courtenay (books)

New England Rocks, paperback – http://www.amazon.com/New-England-Rocks-Christina-Courtenay/dp/1781890307/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378762293&sr=8-1&keywords=new+england+rocks

Kindle - http://www.amazon.com/New-England-Rocks-Choc-ebook/dp/B00DRLAILU/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1372971137&sr=1-1&keywords=new+england+rocks

Filed Under: Guest Blogs, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , ,

Falling Into Forever by Tammy Turner – Guest blog and $10 Amazon GC giveaway!

October 15, 2013 by 11 Comments

VBT_FallingIntoForever_Banner

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Tammy will be awarding a $10 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. You can see the other stops on the tour here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/09/virtual-book-tour-falling-into-forever.html

The Measure of Success

Growing up every Saturday morning meant watching cartoons until my eyes bulged out of their sockets and fell into the bowl of soggy, neon colored cereal I sloshed around the living room while I pretended to be one of the caped super heroes on the television screen. That is until my father woke up from and crawled growling out of his cave to tell me to turn down the racket and get dressed. Sometimes he would let me wear the red silk cape my mother sewed for me from a ruined Christmas party dress. To this day she swears I spilled the milk on it on purpose because I hated to wear anything but cowboy boots and blue jeans until I was almost a teenager.

My father waited on the bench seat of his pick up truck tapping his thumbs on the steering wheel until I crawled in beside him. He was in a hurry to get to the library and then to the grocery store afterwards before heading home. My dad devoured books as quickly as he did donuts.

We did this for years until I went to college and then it was me by myself roaming the stacks. I even made a stop at the closest coffee shop for coffee and a donut like my dad taught me. After graduation the Saturday ritual stopped and real life intervened. As a full fledged adult on my own I did not make the time to go the library.

That changed one week when my dad came for a visit from out of town. He found a newly opened library near my house and made sure before he went home my son and I had library cards.

The first book I checked out was a popular young adult novel that has been made into a movie. I devoured it and when I was done I called my dad. “I can do this too,” I promised him.

A scene was forming in my head: a couple of teenagers, a school bell ringing, whispers and secrets on the tips of their tongues. I had no idea then the adventure I was about to undertake.

My first novel Falling Into Forever began not as words but as a sort of day dream. Full disclosure: I was at work and my mind wandered from the paperwork on my desk to a vision that stuck in my head like a wad of bubble gum on the bottom of my favorite pair of boots. I could not shake it no matter how hard I stared at the documents cluttering my desk top. My main characters had appeared and were utterly determined for me to acknowledge them.

Shamelessly ignoring my “work” I rushed to capture the scene playing inside my head. My fingers flew across the keyboard as I translated the picture in my head into a page of words. When I hit print I stuffed the paper into my desk drawer with a sly grin on my face and as coworkers meandered in from their lunch breaks they noticed the glow on my face.

“Snagged a sweet pair of Gucci heels on Ebay,” I confessed sheepishly when they asked how I had spent my lunch hour.

Only my dad knew the truth. I could not wait to tell him. When I called him that evening he said he would have to call me back. He was at the library.

Of course you are, I thought smiled as we said goodbye.

My book never had an outline. Notebooks and pens litter every table in my home. When an idea strikes I grab a pen, and I write. My first book grew steadily that way with some days more productive than others. A few months into my novel writing process I realized I felt guilty if I was not working on my story.

Responsibilities always try to get in my way of writing: Job, child, football practice, feed the cat, feed the child, fix the house, fix the car, science projects, cut the grass, wash clothes, buy clothes so don’t have to wash as often. The list is as endless as my son’s letters to Santa Claus.

Do. Not. Stop. I have told this to myself since writing that first rough page on my lunch hour. The seed will grow and sprout and with care and patience a creation will bloom.

Every day I think about my characters whether I’m listening to the radio in the car or reading a magazine in the doctor’s office. I am observing, studying characters and their actions. Inspiration can strike anywhere at any time. You do not have to be at a desk.

Am I good at this? Will I be successful? The questions crept into my head as I typed the last period in my first novel. Even with a published copy on my bookshelf they still do.

I do not measure success by book sales but by the amount of pleasure I take with the crafting of each sentence, each paragraph, and each book. My dad is not here anymore, but he is still my compass guiding me towards my goals. I keep a letter from him on my bookshelf tucked into the first printed copy of my first novel. Whenever I let doubt or criticism creep into my head I remember his advice: To be successful you have to believe in yourself. You need just one other person to believe in you. And you must work relentlessly toward a goal.

An author is a peculiar type of person. Bravery and patience are needed to see a book through to completion. The willingness to undertake the act of writing is a measure of success in itself. Bookshelves everywhere are crammed because someone fought for his ideas, his dreams. The next time I am at the library I will make sure to silently thank them and my dad.

Cover_Falling Into ForeverImmortality, thousands of years, and voodoo will make you fall in love . . .

High school senior Alexandra Peyton has a secret admirer with devilish good looks: shoulder-sweeping raven hair, brooding azure eyes, and a ten-foot wing span. But their thousand-year age difference may be a deal breaker for the shy seventeen-year-old. Kraven, the admirer (and immortal victim of an ancient curse), is certain that Alexandra is the reincarnation of his long-dead princess bride.

When Alexandra returns from a road trip to her grandmother’s beachfront estate on the South Carolina coast to the hectic, big-city life in Atlanta, Georgia, she possesses two souvenirs. The first is a once-lost package, sent to her by her now-missing father, which contains a mysterious pendant necklace. The second is a journal filled with the ravings of her dead uncle, an army officer who wrote of meeting the devil during his service in Europe during the final days of World War II.

However, a voodoo priestess who stalks the grounds of Peyton Manor is convinced that the journal will help her conjure the devil and wants the book returned at all costs. As school starts, a vicious wolf man, working for his voodoo mistress, plots an attack on Alexandra. When her life is threatened, the immortal stranger who has vowed to protect her reveals himself and changes her life irrevocably.

AuthorPic_TammyTurnerAbout the Author: Growing up in the coastal town of Charleston, South Carolina, instilled an infatuation with history, mystery, and legend in first-time author Tammy Turner. From the time she could shuffle along behind her father, they would hunt for sharks’ teeth, explore crumbling cemeteries, and dig for pirate gold along the low country beaches. Attending school in the heart of the city, the palpable lore of history fed her imagination and inspired her to craft her own stories. An honors graduate of Georgia State University, Tammy has a degree in journalism and works in the field of international trade. Now a resident of Atlanta, Georgia, Tammy plans adventures with her son and capturing the essence of make believe with her writing.

website: http://thetammyturnerbookshelf.com/

Buy Links:

BQB Publishing: http://shop.boutiqueofqualitybooks.com/Falling-into-Forever-978-1-937084-46-2.htm?categoryId=-1

Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Falling-Into-Forever-ebook/dp/B00864NZ7C

Amazon Print: http://www.amazon.com/Falling-into-Forever-Tammy-Turner/dp/1937084469

Barnes & Noble Print: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/falling-into-forever-tammy-turner/1110207402?ean=9781937084462

Filed Under: Guest Blogs, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , ,

Fearless by Chris O’Guinn – Guest Blog and $100 Amazon GC giveaway

October 15, 2013 by 17 Comments

10_15 VBT Fearless Banner copy

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Chris will be awarding a $100 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. You can see the other stops on the tour here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/09/virtual-book-tour-fearless-by-chris.html

In general, I take little bits and pieces of my own experience as the foundation for my stories and my characters. Collin, in Exiled to Iowa. Send Help. And Couture. was inspired by a guy I was friends with in high school. In the upcoming Hybrids: Arrival, the main character Joaquin is coping with the recent death of his father. I myself lost my mother when I was 20, so I pulled heavily on those memories.

I only use little bits and pieces though, because otherwise my stories would start to get repetitive. I mean, I only had so many teenage years to make stories out of. And I was a pretty reclusive teen who didn’t get much involved in, well, anything really.

This made Fearless a very different and sort of scary (ironic, no?) experience for me. I found myself pouring my teen self into Justin—all of the insecurities, the worries, the way I kind of sabotaged myself, the way I had kind of given up on people. Even his love of swimming comes from me.

His big crush in the book, Zach, was based on a guy I knew in my Freshman year. He was this impossibly sweet, cool senior guy who was actually nice to the awkward, sullen nerd he had been stuck with in science class.

Liam was initially inspired by yet another guy I knew in high school. He was this shaven-head, punk rocking, cigarette smoking tough guy who had a great smile and seemed nice in spite of his appearance. Not trying to be friends with him is one of my high school regrets.

But the character of Liam was also heavily influenced by the amazing, fighting spirit of my late wife. Though shy and introverted in so many ways, Kelly was a force of nature who changed lives the world over.

In fact, Fearless borrowed so heavily from my life that I was uneasy about releasing it. I felt exposed, which I didn’t enjoy. However, the reception has been amazing. Fearless has really resonated with people. A lot of people have commented that the experiences in the book mirror their own difficult teen years. I’m very proud of Fearless for that.

But while we’re on the subject of what I take from my experience, I feel I should mention that there’s one thing which I don’t feel comfortable doing and that’s writing characters who are aspiring writers themselves. I think Stephan King has gone to that well enough times for all authors for all time.
To me, that’s just a little too much self-indulgence. I know the old adage, “write what you know” but I think that goes a step too far. But hey, King’s the millionaire, not me, so what do I know?

10_15 MEDIA KITFearlessCoverAt fifteen, Justin is already a cynic. He’s experienced too many betrayals, too many disappointments. He doesn’t want to be involved in anything. He doesn’t want to be popular. He doesn’t even want friends anymore, since they only ever let you down. He just wants to get through high school and the best way he can come up with to accomplish that goal is to simply be invisible.

His self-imposed exile from high school life is threatened when Liam, the scary stoner, reaches out to him. What starts out as a strange and unsettling encounter with the unnerving, pot-smoking teenager evolves into the sort of friendship that changes the course of a person’s life.

But as Liam drags the reluctant Justin out of his shell, Liam’s own secret is revealed.

Fearless is the story of the myriad shades of love, how to find one’s courage and the transformative power of friendship.

Enjoy this excerpt:

“Is that you, Liam?” a woman’s voice called.

“It’s me, mom. And I brought my friend Justin with me.”

Liam’s mom was one of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen in real life. I guess I mean that she was obviously a beautiful woman, underneath the signs of exhaustion. Her green eyes were soft and kind, but under them were dark rings that hinted at many sleepless nights. Her face was flawless, but it was also gaunt.

She cleaned her hands with a towel and smiled at the both of us. “Justin, it’s nice to meet you. You can just call me Anna.”

“Um, hi.” I looked sidelong at Liam. “Uh, nice to meet you too.”

“We’re going to take Sully out to the park, okay?”

A brief squall of worry passed over Anna’s face, and when it was gone her warm smile was back. “All right. Dinner’s at five.”

“Hot dogs and potato salad?” Liam asked, and even I could tell that his hopeful look was sarcastic.

“Very funny. The store had a good sale on cabbage and spinach, so it’s Brown Rice Bake tonight.”

“Joy,” Liam sighed.

“Are you staying for dinner?”

“Uh,” I looked at Liam and I could see he didn’t want to face this mysterious rice dish alone. My mom was going to be working late anyway. “If it’s not any trouble.”

“Of course not, there’s plenty.”

“In fact, you can have mine,” Liam muttered.

“Liam….”

He affected an innocent look, which made his mom roll her eyes and head into the kitchen.

About the Author:10_15 MEDIA KIT authorpicI’ve been writing since I was fifteen, not that those stories will ever be allowed out of the dark hole I buried them in. I focused primarily on the Fantasy genre for the first two decades, occasionally diverting into modern fiction. In 2010, I embarked in a self-publishing career, focusing on the young adult novel genre. When I’m not writing, I am contributing to TheBacklot.com, a gay entertainment website.

You can follow me on Facebook and you can keep up to date with my works via Lightbane.com.

Filed Under: Guest Blogs, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: ,
Next Page»