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Showing posts from October, 2012

The Terrifying Innocuous Thing

I’ve been watching Doctor Who since I was a kid. It used to scare me terribly (does anyone else remember the disembodied hand that would strangle people? Or was it just me who had to take a run at my bed in case there was a hand under it?—I was about 8 at the time). As an adult I loved the reboot—that may also have had something to do with David Tennant. The reboot has made some innocent items scary. Is that an extra shadow in my bedroom? And don’t start me on the gas mask thing *shudder*. Because it’s Halloween I thought I’d share my own story of the terrifying innocuous thing. Several years ago I lived in Victoria for about six months, cold, wet and down the peninsula (which meant colder and wetter and closer to the Navy base). Lying in bed drifting off to sleep listening to the rain… Yeerk, yeerk, yeerk My eyes open wide. “Did you here that?” “What?” said Hubby who obviously hadn’t heard anything because he was asleep. “That! It sounds like someone against the glass.

My "Creepy" yard

Halloween is serious business in my neighborhood. Every year, several houses in my area get totally decked out for Halloween. Being the creative folk that we are, my family couldn’t just sit back. We jumped onto the Haunted Neighborhood bandwagon. In all honesty, we were already decorating our house before there even was a bandwagon. My nephew, who is a pirate at heart, ended up building a full sinking pirate ship in our front yard. There’s even a hanging tree.   And we can’t forget the fog machine. What would a haunted pirate ship front yard be without one of those? So I invite you to view our own version of ooky and spooky… The two pictures above show the construction of the back bow of the pirate ship. The lights inside really help cast an eerie glow, especially at nighttime.     These two pictures are from last year. The back part of the ship is a new edition. We don't have any pictures of the back part at night yet.   Th

What to Do When the Lights Go Out...

from Mia Marlowe... Today Sandy is supposed to make landfall somewhere on the eastern seaboard. We're in Boston, so chances are good the storm will give us at least a backward slap as it moves inland. My heart is with everyone who's in Sandy's path and hope you are safe. Growing up in the Midwest, I'm accustomed to taking shelter and waiting for a storm to pass. We headed to the basement with regularity during tornado season. It became so second nature, we ceased to be afraid and became more concerned about how we'd occupy ourselves while the power was off. I vividly remember one night sitting up late playing cards with my sisters, my mom and our neighbor lady by the light of our camping lantern. We listened to a battery powered radio for storm updates while we waited for my dad and the neighbor's husband to come home from their jobs on the railroad. Of course, as an author, you might expect me to encourage you to read when the power's out, but during

A New Series for C.H. Admirand + Giveaway

It’s been an insanely busy month for me. Some days I absolutely don’t know where the time goes and other days, I know exactly how I’ve wasted my time stressing about something I have absolutely no control over…like waiting to receive edits back from my editor, wondering if my workshop will go off without a hitch—and then remembering it is going to be recorded…YIKES! I don’t think I realized that when I submitted my workshop proposal! LOL!  But as my husband likes to tell me, I am a champion worrier and that I must like to worry because I can’t seem to stop. I’ve spent many a sleepless night worrying and wondering if readers will be willing to follow me from Pleasure, Texas to Apple Grove, Ohio—where sadly there are no cowboys—but men and women who deserve their moment in the spotlight as heroes and heroines in my new series. A Wedding in Apple Grove (AWIAG) officially hits the shelves on November 6th and I’ll be back here next Friday with the launch party to celebrat

Spooktacular Days and Highland Ways by Terry Spear

Fog on a nice Halloweenish day, albeit a bit early. This was a view of my neighbor's yard that normally you can see clearly. Perfectly spooky, right? All the ghosts and witches and wait, black and white kitties and a black and white panda bear? Oh well, they wanted to be part of the plan! My mother gave me the black and white kittens and panda. Except panda is distracted. Hey, look at the camera, this way!! I had a black and white cat, Trixie, who was full of the devil and my baby for years. So I have a collection of black and white cats! Just pretend they are all black. :) Yes, the question is: Where is the spider who made this huge web??? Isn't it just perfect for Halloween? As long as it's outside and I'm not about to walk through it, yes! Why does the yard look so blurred beyond? It's not the camera, or the photographer or Photoshop, but we had a spectacularly ghoulish mist blanketing the whole area. Perfect for a Halloween da

Pitch Appointment - the Editor Responds!

by Deb Werksman Editorial Manager, Sourcebooks Casablanca Last month Sourcebooks Editorial Manager opened the blog for your pitches .  The time has come for her response! Ellie Heller said... Yay! May I ask for more details? Is there a window of dates you'll be taking pitches from? A deadline to submit them? I post weekly roundup of pitch/query events on my blog, any additional information would be super helpful! Deb Weksman:   Hi Ellie, thank you so much—sorry I missed the opportunity to have this pitch session posted on your blog. If you’ll please email me directly: deb.werksman@sourcebooks.com   I will notify you next time in advance. Thank you! Shelly Bell said... a. Title: ANGELIC WRATH b. Subgenre: Paranormal Romance, complete at 91,000 words c. 50 word pitch: In a contemporary world in which the Seven Deadly Sins are winning the war against humanity, Rafe, an obedient guardian angel, must save th