Halloween, Baseball, and Politics

It’s the end of October. I have a hard time believing how quickly 2016 is passing. Actually, the next week can’t pass quickly enough. Don’t know about you, but I am so sick of the political ads. I was sick of them months ago. We, in the U.S., should copy the Canadians. Six weeks of campaigning, and they’re done. Election time. All those millions of dollars spent on campaigning could be used to pay down the national debt. Next Tuesday can’t come soon enough. 

Remember to vote. If you don't, you can't complain about the outcome.

How about those Cubs! If my Detroit Tigers or Mom’s St. Louis Cardinals can’t be in the World Series, then the Cubbies are my choice. We lived in Chicago for two and half years, so I can claim them. Last night’s game, #5, had me on the edge of my seat. Some people say watching baseball on TV is as exciting as watching paint dry. I say they’ve never watched a cliffhanger like last night’s game. Go, Cubs, go!

Halloween is such a fun holiday. Kids in costumes is my favorite part. I wonder how many Reys or Kylo Rens we’ll see this year.

I’ve always thought my sister was a little nuts for buying clothes for her dog. But the costumes people put on their dogs for Halloween make me laugh.

Here in West Michigan, the weather will be great for Trick or Treating. A little chilly but no rain. Yay! Hubs and I will sit out in our driveway with a huge bowl of candy guaranteed to rot kids’ teeth. LOL When my kids were young, Trick or Treating went on most of the evening. I love living in small towns where it’s limited to from 6 to 8 pm. We can turn out our porch lights at 8 and enjoy the rest of the evening. Inside.

Have fun tonight, but please watch out for the kiddies. They won’t be watching out for you.

L.G. Keltner's Self Help 101: Halloween

I love the cover of L.G. Keltner's Self Help 101 books. Perfect for the YA audience (and us older folks who love to read YA). L.G. is here to tell us about her new release.

Why I Wrote a Self-Help 101 Novella About Halloween.

The Self-Help 101 series started with my desire to write a Christmas novella.  I’ve seen plenty of other people put out various holiday-themed novellas, and I thought I’d give it a go.  I also knew I wanted the series to be funny and enjoyable to read, and the main character Dani ended up being a lot like I was at her age--an awkward writer who thrives on sarcasm and coffee.

I finished that first novella, Self-Help 101 or: How I Learned to Take Over the World Through Tolerating My Family, and released it.  That was all I’d planned on doing.  Then my husband made an off-handed comment about how I could write more novellas, each one taking place on a different holiday.  Within minutes, I knew I needed to write one for the 4th of July (there’s a lot of potential for disaster in a holiday with explosions going on all over the place), Halloween, and New Year’s Eve (which makes for a fitting end to a series because of the reflective nature of the holiday).

Why did I decide to write a novella for Halloween, though?  There are plenty of other holidays to choose from.  However, there were some holidays that didn’t seem like they had much narrative potential.  What could have been the main conflict for Columbus Day?  Perhaps Dani needed to mail a letter and was irritated that the post office was closed.  Yeah, it didn’t feel like I’d have much to work with there.

Halloween, however, has lots of narrative potential.  Dani, having just started college, gets to experience old traditions in new ways.  There are costumes, which are a lot of fun.  There’s trick-or-treating.  Imagine how trick-or-treating with full-grown adults might go.  There are parties, which always have the potential for crazy antics.  How could I pass that up?

I also love Halloween, and I’m sure that influenced my decision.  If I think writing a particular story sounds like fun, then I’m going to write it.

 Excerpt:

“No.  Most of the comments on my blog are relatively nice.  I’ve only got the one troll.  Oh, and I’ve been told three times in the last two days that I can make $87 an hour from just sitting in front of my computer.  Judging from the state of my wallet, I don’t think it’s working.”

“If you do figure it out, let me know.  I’m all for benefitting from being lazy,” Ruby said around a mouthful of chocolatey cereal.  She crunched away thoughtfully for a moment before continuing.  “You could always try doing vlogs instead.  They’re more popular since most people prefer watching a video to reading a post.”

“As a writer, I find that rather depressing.  Probably true, but definitely depressing.  Besides, doing a vlog means getting dressed.”

Ruby shook her head.  “That may not be entirely true.  A lot of them could be recording without pants on, and no one would ever know.”

I shuddered.  “Gross.  Thanks for the mental imagery.”

Title: Self-Help 101 or: How to Select a Costume to Help You Deal With People

Author: L.G. Keltner

Genre: holiday/humor

Length: 29,000 words

Cover Art:  L.G. Keltner and Jamon Walker

Release Date: September 27, 2016

Blurb:

Book 3 in the Self-Help 101 series.

Dani Finklemeier is adjusting to life in college and the realities of living away from home for the first time.  She’s also learning to deal with the criticism that stems from sharing her writing with the world.  Some of the online criticism is even spelled correctly, which somehow makes it worse.

Fortunately, she has a Halloween party, a group of friends, and a supportive boyfriend to distract her from the things that are bothering her.  Of course, a holiday celebration wouldn’t be complete without something going wrong.  Between an unpleasant confrontation with an infuriating classmate, some shocking costume choices, and a bizarre fraternity stunt, the evening will be anything but dull.

Dani’s detractors may not like it, but she’ll definitely have enough material for another book.

Bio:

L.G. Keltner spends most of her time trying to write while also cleaning up after her crazy but wonderful kids and hanging out with her husband.  Her favorite genre of all time is science fiction, and she’s been trying to write novels since the age of six.  Needless to say, those earliest attempts weren’t all that good. 

Her non-writing hobbies include astronomy and playing Trivial Pursuit.

You can typically find L.G. lurking around her blog, on Twitter, or on her Facebook page.

Purchase Links:

E-book:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Smashwords

Barnes & Noble

iBooks

Kobo

Print:

Amazon US

CreateSpace

Add it on Goodreads.

Being Scared by Alicia Dean

My friend, author Alicia Dean, is here to talk about my least favorite topic. Fright. Halloween is NOT my favorite time of year. Except for kids in costumes. And candy. Oh, yeah. Candy. But scary movies is not my idea of fun. It is Alicia's, so here she is.

Do you like to be scared?

I know it’s strange, but I do. I love the adrenaline rush that a good scare can give, although, admittedly, I don’t enjoy true scares, like being afraid for my children, being involved in car wrecks, or literally getting murdered.

 I loved scary movies as a child and my three children all grew up watching scary movies. They love them to this day. As a matter of fact, the three of them and I are planning to get together this Halloween season for a night of horror movie watching.

 As a child, I loved ‘Psycho,’ ‘The Birds,’ ‘Night of the Living Dead.’ Remember those movies? Some of my favorite movies as an adult are the Halloween franchise (minus Halloween 3, which shouldn’t have even been part of the franchise), ‘IT,’ ‘The Shining,’ and a movie that not that many people are familiar with. It’s from the early 80’s and it’s called ‘Visiting Hours.’ Very scary! Loved it. 

I don’t like gratuitous gore. To me, gory doesn’t equate with scary. And, I usually don’t care for movies with unrealistic creatures. I never understood the ‘Alien’ craze. For me to really be frightened, I have to know that it’s at least remotely possible that the horror could happen in real life.

What about you? Do you like scary movies? Which ones are your favorites?

A Halloween Anthology – Six Stories by Six Authors

MYSTERIES OF THE MACABRE  

Authors Alicia Dean, Leah St. James, Alexa Day, Renci Denham, Rohn Federbush, and Elvy Howard share Halloween mayhem in 6 short stories:

A masked stranger ~ Teen angst ~ Ghostly appearances

Hot Halloween sex ~ A tropical nightmare ~ Visions from the past

http://www.amazon.com/Mysteries-Macabre-Halloween-Alexa-Day-ebook/dp/B014LZ6T6I/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1442322320&sr=1-1&keywords=mysteries+of+the+macabre

My story is Scarred:

Gothic romance 

Blurb:

Sometimes, the most haunting scars are the ones beneath the skin. 

When Natalie Jayne moved away from her home town ten years earlier, she left behind painful memories, along with Simon, the man she loved. Now, she's back on Halloween night to attend a memorial marking the one-year anniversary of the tragic passing of her childhood friend, Jessica. Rumors that Simon was responsible for Jessica's death unnerve her. Even more disturbing is her unsettling attraction to a masked stranger she meets at the event. Her gift may be the key to unlocking the truth, but will it also lead to heartbreak? 

Excerpt:

 In spite of her intent to go inside, Natalie remained rooted in place. There was something intriguing about this man, something that made her want to know more about him. Not badly enough to remove her gloves and use her gift, however. She’d sworn off that, other than for emergencies. But she had to admit she was tempted to get the answers to the questions spinning through her mind. Who was he? What did he look like beneath the mask? What would it feel like to touch him…?

She shook her head. What an insanely inappropriate direction her mind had taken. She couldn’t allow herself the luxury of touching others. Not if she wanted to keep her secret…and not if she wanted to keep from learning the secrets of others. Besides, this man was a stranger…a masked stranger. She should be afraid…or at least wary. But she found she was neither.

BIO

Award-winning, multi-published author Alicia Dean began writing stories as a child. At age 11, she wrote her first ever romance (featuring a hero who looked just like Elvis Presley, and who happened to share the name of Elvis’ character in the movie, Tickle Me), and she still has the tattered, pencil-written copy. Alicia is from Moore, Oklahoma and now lives in Edmond. She has three grown children and a huge network of supportive friends and family. She writes mostly contemporary suspense and paranormal, but has also written in other genres, including a few vintage historicals. She is a freelance editor in addition to being an editor for The Wild Rose Press.

Other than reading and writing, her passions are Elvis Presley, MLB, NFL (she usually works in a mention of one or all three into her stories) and watching her favorite televisions shows like Vampire Diaries, Justified, Sons of Anarchy, Haven, New Girl, The Mindy Project, and Dexter (even though it has sadly ended, she will forever be a fan). Some of her favorite authors are Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane, Lee Child, Lisa Gardner, Sharon Sala, Jordan Dane, Ridley Pearson, Joseph Finder, and Jonathan Kellerman…to name a few.

Find Alicia here:

Website: http://aliciadean.com/

Blog: http://aliciadean.com/alicias-blog/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008364070487

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Alicia_Dean_

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/aliciamdean/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/468339.Alicia_Dean

Saturday Sampler - Grandma Must Die by Maureen L. Bonatch

Grandma Must Die

A Touch of Magic Series Volume 1

by Maureen L Bonatch

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press Release Date: October 07, 2015

Rating: Spicy (PG13)

She's a witch hunting a spell. He's hunting witches and falling for her.

Blurb:

Carman has worn out more towns and last names than impractical shoes protecting the secret of her magic blood. But when a friend goes missing, and another is infected with a deadly spell, Carman must choose. Expose her magic blood by curing the spell—or stop the infection from spreading by killing the source…the grandmother.

Magic bounty hunter Dylan has scoured libraries of banned magic paraphernalia seeking a method to distinguish genuine witches from impersonators. He suspects unorthodox librarian Carman might hold this information tighter than the hair he’s dying to unleash from her bun. With a past as hidden as his sleeve of tattoos, Dylan discovers he’s been used to gain Carman’s trust and their passion risks more than mixing mortals and magic.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Grandma-Must-Die-Touch-Magic-ebook/dp/B014T4WQ2M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1441398219&sr=8-1&keywords=grandma+must+die

The Wild Rose Press: http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=195&products_id=6408

Excerpt

…once she’d started Carman couldn’t stop,

the book beckoned. Pressing its spine against her palm, begging her to search within the pages to find the answers she’d unconsciously sought her entire life. As she lifted the book, her scalp tingled and her hair elevated like a halo.

“Whoa.” Dylan shielded himself with his hands. “Put it back, slowly, because this is reminding me too much of the incident with the chest. Having my apartment blown up from magic isn’t covered in my rent.”

The plastic evaporated in a puff of smoke in Carman’s hands and the book unsealed with a sigh. She smiled, the welcoming warmth emanating from within its pages against her palms. Why had Mother kept her from this? This is what she’d been waiting for.

As curiosity overtook his common sense, she detected Dylan’s cautious approach. He stood close enough to peer over her shoulder into her book, but far enough away to avoid touching her.

After the shockwave the last time their skin met, he probably worried he’d ruin another pair of pants. Carman closed her eyes, absorbing the power from the book. The delicious feeling evoked a sensation like melting chocolate, sweet and satisfying.

“I remember hearing about her, Esmeralda Wrath. I wonder if this was her book?” Dylan’s warm breath caressed her shoulder.

Carman opened her eyes and examined the page. To stare right at a photo of the most powerful witch of all time…her grandmother.

Bio:

Envisioning magic and mayhem within the everyday, and long walks in the beautiful state of Pennsylvania spawned Maureen’s love of writing. She pens stories boasting laughter, light suspense and something magical in the hope of sharing her love of finding the extraordinary in the ordinary world. 

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Maureen-L.-Bonatch/e/B00KHY1KK8/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mbonatch

Blog: http://www.maureenbonatch.com/blog/

Website: http://www.maureenbonatch.com

Newsletter:  http://eepurl.com/1AV4L

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/maureenbonatch/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maureenlbonatch

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3103486.Maureen_L_Bonatch

Saturday Sampler: Caper Magic by Veronica Lynch

TAGLINE:  The attraction: complete madness or sheer magic?

BLURB:

          Investigator Nick Forrester comes to Cape Brendan ostensibly to assist with Caper Madness, a month long celebration of everything Halloween. In reality he is tracking a woman on the run. Within days he is confronted with Annunciata Doyle, a vivid reminder of a pain-filled past.

          After retreating to Cape Brendan in defeat and humiliation, Nunie Doyle's only hope was to make the best of forced retirement. Here, in this quaint tourist town on the shores of Lake Ontario, she has earned the respect of friends and neighbors—and put her talent for helping women to good use.

          With the mutual goal of making Caper Madness the best ever, Nick and Nunie fight tooth and nail on the personal level while discovering new sides to the other. Sides that make them consider making drastic changes for the rest of their lives.

          This attraction: complete madness—or sheer magic?

EXCERPT:

          Hank let out a holler just before a huge toothy grin spanned the borders of his gaunt cheeks. “Top o' the marnin' to ye, Missus!” he cackled to someone exiting the front door of the stone cottage next door.  

          Taking the concrete steps to the sidewalk in two lithe moves, a woman in a slinky dress the color of ripe tomatoes glanced their way and responded in a distinct Irish brogue. “And the ass end of the day to ye, Mistur Pierpont.”

          Intrigued by rich tone of her voice, Nick craned his neck and found one of the witches from yesterday's parade—minus the droopy velvet hat—passing within steps of Hank's porch. A bulging garment bag hung over one arm; she looked headed in the direction of the pier at the end of Vincentian Lane. Damned if right then a wind didn't jump up off the lake and mold the filmy length of scarlet against each curve of her body. Long black hair—and there seemed to be a good ten pounds of it—flowed over her shoulders, caressing her body like a lover as she marched toward Dingle Pier. As his heart bumped into a trip hammer beat, Nick reminded himself to breathe. 

          “Ferget yer broom, Missus?” Hank called out to her retreating back.

          “In the repair shop,” she replied over one shoulder, winging that glorious onyx hair away from lips painted to match her dress. “Gettin' fitted with a couple of those fancy turbo boosters, it is.”

          Hank chuckled, then went back to his coffee. “Turbo boosters. That Nunie Doyle sure is a pistol.”

          An invisible fist reached down to grab Nick's gut in a vise. As recognition flared, long buried rage took a slow crawling path up his spine. 

AUTHOR BIO:

          Writing under the names Kat Henry Doran and Veronica Lynch, author Kathy Cottrell uses her experiences as a nurse, then victim advocate and insurance investigator for background in her award winning novels and novellas. Her stories are sent in her favorite places to visit: the Catskill and Adirondack Mountains as well as the historic 1,000 Islands region of Northern New York State.

          When not writing, and chasing grand children, Kathy spends her time designing and making tote bags and aprons to custom order.

Email:         wildwomenauthors@yahoo.com

Blogs:         www.WildWomenAuthorsx2.blogspot.com

                   www.ApronsWithAttitude2.blogspot.com