Tuesday, October 30, 2012

HAUNTED

I remember always wanting to write paranormal romantic suspense of some sort. My editors at Intrigue always told me I couldn’t do it. But somehow I got away with writing HAUNTED, a book set at Halloween, another of many firsts for me. The first Intrigue with a paranormal element – a ghost who provides a fun twist. Well, a couple of twists.

Ever since I can remember, I was in love with the idea of paranormal anything. Blame my mother. She was born on November 1. I think she was born a day late. :)

The costumes she always made for me when I was a kid were spooky. And she took me to spooky movies. I was a latch key kid. I believed The Creature from the Black Lagoon lived in my basement. The basement door was next to my apartment door... Needless to say, I always got inside the apartment fast. And I never went into the basement unless I was forced to do it. I sat my way down, peering around the stairwell to make sure I wasn’t unpleasantly surprised.
As a young adult, I read books that made me keep the lights on all night. Rosemary’s Baby. Jaws. The Exorcist. I swore I would never see any of those movies. I did see them all, of course, and had to hold someone’s hand while doing so. The one I really wanted to avoid was The Exorcist. I think I slept with the lights on for a week after I read that one. And my mother made me take her to the movie anyway. She threatened to disown me if I didn’t. Ack! What else could I do?

Mom really, really was into the paranormal even more than I was. One year she asked if we could go to a haunted house for Halloween. I said sure. I took her to one of those cheesy (but scary) haunted houses that are such fun at Halloween. She was horrified. She meant a REAL haunted house. Yeah, Mom, like the owners would just invite us in.

Mom died at 60 of lung cancer. But every year just before Halloween, I think of her and wish her a happy birthday.

And this year, I get to bring HAUNTED, a Halloween book, to my readers who didn’t get it the first time around. With a new cover, of course.

Mom would approve. Happy Birthday, Mom.

What is the scariest or most fun memory you have of Halloween as a kid? Comment for a chance to win a free digital copy of HAUNTED. It would help if you would provide an email addy in your comment. If you don’t, I’ll announce the winner in -this- blog post on November 1 in my mother’s honor.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!



                           








   

9 comments:

  1. I lived in a small town in Nebraska where everyone knew everyone else. As a young teen two of my friends and I went to a costume party on Halloween in a wierd costume. A very LARGE man gave my father a pair of his coveralls. We went as a scarecrow, one in each leg and one of us with one leg in each leg. Then we wore flannelshirts stuffed with staw and straw hats. Not scarey, just fun. Picture the three of us trying to walk and now picture us trying to dance. Everyone laughed so hard!!
    lorenzc@huntel.net

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    1. Lilsis -- Sounds like a lot of fun. I actually always liked Halloween better as a young adult than as a child because I could create new identities for myself for the night.

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  2. Nice post. Visiting a scary house decorated for Halloween and with people dressed up as villains was memorable.

    bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  3. I don't remember mt childhood Halloweens but the best one I can remember with my daughter was a trip to the Bate's Motel in PA. On the hayride they of course have people coming out of the woods and banging on the cart, some with chainsaws too. Well while I laughed at everything she screamed and she also loved going through the motel portion. Came screaming out at the end. She is so easy to scare but she enjoys it.
    Ruthacmom@aol.com

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  4. Bates Motel? Aye, I don't know if I could have handled that one...

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  5. My scariest Halloween was when we went to a Haunted House. The walls were not solid and when a hand reached out and grabbed my leg in the dark. I have never been that scared. Then the creepy girl dressed up like a deranged doll chased us around with a chain saw. That was one creepy Haunted House.

    Sorry you lost your Mother so young. I lost my Dad to Cancer when he was 62.

    yenastone@aol.com

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    1. Tammy --
      Sorry about your dad.
      Your Haunted House adventure sounds like it was fun :) Happy Halloween.

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  6. The winner of a digital copy of HAUNTED is Ruth. I've sent you an email with the information about how to claim your book.

    Congratulations!

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