Coffin Hop! and Trick or Treat for e-books

Come check out the awesome horror writers who are giving away AMAZING PRIZES this week at the COFFIN HOP! The prize for Bat Country is...

A signed copy of Dark Corners, Bloody Window Clings, and an Edgar Allen Poe Memory Box

Just leave a COMMENT with your EMAIL ADDRESS and your FAVORITE HORROR MOVIE to enter. Good luck! Also, don't miss the other awesome blogs in this hop or the second giveaway listed at the bottom of this post.


You're never too old for trick-or-treating! Roam the virtual neighborhood in another fantastic event, TRICK OR TREAT FOR EBOOKSs. You never know what amazing books you might find. For your trick-or-treat stop here, pick up DARK CORNERS for FREE just this week on Smashwords with the coupon code YB28R!

Dark Corners Book Tour Big Giveaway!

For those of you who have been following my book tour with the awesome and amazing company , Promotional Book Tours, you know about the big prize pack at the end. Those of you who haven't been following you still have time to enter. Just leave a comment with your email address to enter to win,

A signed copy of Dark Corners,

A signed copy of Secrets (released November 22nd)

$20 gift card to Amazon

$20 gift card to Barnes and Noble

This contest is only open in the US and Canada. 

Good luck!!

Ghosties and Ghoulies or Allergies Run Amok?

Last week I was on a fall themed vacation. We went to see covered bridges, apple orchards, a large fall festival, and a reindeer ranch. On the way home we stopped in Illinois to tour an old house. There was nothing upsetting about the house. It was a dreary, cold day outside, but the house looked nice and inviting, as if beckoning us to take a closer look.

The tour started and the moment I stepped foot in the house I became hot, stifling so. The tour guide complained about how cold she was and kept her coat on the entire tour as did the other guests. A moment later if felt like my lungs were closing then waves of nausea washed over me, I was certain I would either faint or pass out. By the time we made it upstairs, the pressure in my head behind my right eye made me want to cover my eye so it wouldn’t come out.

As the tour dragged on and on I only got worse. I eyed my escape with the good eye hoping it would be soon, but the tour guide kept blathering on and on unaware of the torture I was going through. Finally, she released us from the house, and I contemplated skipping the second part of the tour to go back to the car, but as soon as the cold air outside hit my face and lungs, everything evaporated. I was no longer hot, dizzy, or nauseous. The pounding head ache and irrational thoughts of escape drifted away as well. Within seconds, I was perfectly fine again.

Allergies? Maybe. Ghost? You never can tell.

Happy Halloween!

#Halloween

Halloween is so close I can taste it...literally, I have candy wrappers all around me. So Halloween better hurry up before I become diabetic.

I can't wait to watch Halloween (78), dress up, and pass out...Halloween candy (there is no passing out for me, I have to work the next day. *shakes fist at growing old).

Now the question is, what to be for Halloween?

I could be inspired by the Strangers and go for something like this,

Or I could go with something more children friendly,

Or perhaps embraced my aging self,

Or channel my inner Saw,

Or I could scary everyone's pants off,

Which would you choose?

Popsicles

Good morning! I have a wonderful guest today, the hilarious Myndi Shafer. Check out her blog here 

Popsicles. I love 'em. For so many reasons. So sit your butt down while I wax poetic about the virtues of the rainbow colored family of frozen treats.

  #1: They're dangerous. You don't think so? Listen to this: They're cold. So cold, that if you eat them too quickly, you run the risk of freezing your brain plumb off. PLUMB OFF, people. I swear I've had this nearly happen to me multiple times, and while in the moment it's terrifying, after it's over...whew! What a rush. The danger factor is definitely a perk, especially or those of us who wish we were into extreme sports, but aren't. I never feel quite as dangerous as I do when there's a popsicle in my hand.

#2: Adding to the danger factor is this little fact: They melt. You have to eat them quickly (running the risk of destroying brain matter), and if you don't, they melt. All over your hands, your clothes. Leaving you sticky and stained. You walk a fine line while eating popsicles. Too fast, dead brain. Too slow, permanently stained garments. Sure, your hands will wash, but facts are facts: Red Cherry and Blueberry flavored popsicles stain forever. Some people think that souls are the only thing that are eternal. I say souls, and popsicle stains.

#3: Danger isn't the only thing that makes popsicles so attractive.They're sweet, but not in a heavy, ice-creamy way. Don't get me wrong. I love ice-cream. I do. But sometimes you just don't want a creamy,

sugary concoction resting in your gut. Sometimes you want an artificially flavored, high-fructose corn-syrup sweetened watery-frozen concoction instead. *raises hand and jumps up and down a little* I do! I do!

#4: The thing that sets popsicles aside from the standard ice-cream cone is this: The jokes. The popsicle takes the cake for this fact alone. Because the popsicle is a giver. It doesn't simply satisfy our child-like pallets, or our need to live dangerously. No, the popsicle wants to invest in our minds by asking us questions. Questions we have to wait to get the answers to until our tasty treat is gone. Questions that not only make us think, but make us laugh. Oh, dearest reader. This is the sign of a true friend.

Take a couple of these gems, straight from the sticks that I collected today (there is a small chance this post was brought on by a four-month old fetus demanding popsicles, and the sticks might be the evidence) as examples:

Why did the baseball fan give the house a pair of sneakers?

Because he wanted to see a home run. *ba-dum-bum*

What do you call a pony that surfs?

A seahorse. *giggle, snort*

What did Mr. and Mrs. Steak name their son?

Chuck. *snicker*

And so, my friendlies, let us all revel in the wonder that is the popsicle. I wish you all happy weekends with dye-stained tongues, non-frozen brains, and new jokes to share with your friends.

Rules to Survive a Horror Movie

If you wake up one morning in a secluded cabin (haunted hotel/house, the only living person for miles, camping near Crystal Lake, Haddonfield around Halloween, to discover you didn’t really wake up you are still in a dream, a town with lots of corn and no parents, to a creepy phone call wanting to know your favorite scary movie, etc.), you may be in horror movie.

Rule #1- Don’t panic. Well, maybe panic a little because there are scary things after you, but pull yourself together quick before you become an extra.  

It is important to keep your head about you, in more ways than one, and figure out what type of horror movie you are in.

-Is this a zombie movie? Have people been sick and dropping like flies? Are you the only person for miles? Are undead people trying to bite you?

-Is this a slasher film? Are all of your friends slightly more slutty and want to camp? Are you or they having nightmares? This one is important… do you have a babysitting job?

-Is this a vampire movie? Do you have a really hot neighbor that mostly comes out at night? If you answered yes to that why are you still reading this? Go talk to him. *waggles eyebrows* Unless that neighbor is about 17 and smells like teen spirit and angst, in that case you aren’t in a scary movie. Stop fretting you have a vegetarian vamp.

After you figure out what you are up against, you must start preparing. Rule #2- Always be prepared. Find a weapon. Even if you don’t see the psycho, carry it around with you and for goodness sakes do not sit it down somewhere!?! Always expect someone is around every corner, sneaking up behind you, hiding just out of sight.  

*important note* When you see said psychopath do not drop, throw, or do anything else that is stupid with your weapon.

Okay, so now you are armed and paranoid the next step is NOT escaping. That’s right, make no escape efforts. Do not be fooled by the friend who is pulling on your arm telling you to come this way. Freddy, Jason, and Michael have been doing this for a lot longer than you, and they know you are going to go outside. Rule 3- Stay mobile and stay hidden.   The best defense is a good offense. Running away is not an offense. You hide quietly (Rule 4- Absolutely no crying!) with your weapon that you haven’t dropped or thrown away, and you wait for an opportunity to either attack or move somewhere the killer isn’t.  Rule 5- Be aware of your surroundings. While you are hiding, if you don’t see the monster, it’s probably behind you, next to you, or waiting for you to do something dumb.  Rule 6- Don’t be dumb. Really this can be applied to all aspects of life (this goes double for the driver in front of me on my way to work this morning!)

Congratulations you have survived 2/3 of the movie, but now you are at the part where survival is going to get tricky. The movie is winding down there are only a couple people left, and you know at least one of the people the audience thought would survive is going to bite the dust. You might think this is the part where you hunker down and continue to hide, but no.  Rule 7- Be heroic. You haven’t been heroic so far and that’s good. The early heroes don’t live until the end. However, the people at the end of the movie who step up to fight the bad guy do, normally (70/30, really). What happens is one person decides to be a hero, and inspires the other to do the same then the killer ganks the other person and the original hero is left with the glory. Rule 8- Never assume the killer is dead. It doesn’t matter how dead you think it is, it will come back for one more scare. Evil always defies the odds so be ready for it (see rule 2).

Those are the rules to survive a horror movie, now just hope there isn’t a sequel.

Guardian Trilogy

I have a fun surprise today. Brand new covers for the Guardian Trilogy.

Book 1: Secrets

Release date- November 22, 2011

While Olivia Martin observed life through her camera, the abyss gazed back at her. She discovers mysterious men follow her around, people close to her are dying, and her dreams are no longer her own as she falls head over heels for a perfect stranger. A chance encounter leads to an obsession that could destroy everything she has ever known or loved. Olivia is about to find out there is a lot she doesn't know and sometimes what you don't know can kill you.

Book 2- Choices

Release Date- February 2012

Book 3- Consequences

Release Date- May 2012