Roxanne Rhoads's Blog, page 153

Queen’s Ascension by Barb Jones - Haunted Halloween Spooktacular

Halloween Recipes That Kids Love
Pizza Mummies
Ingredients• 2 english muffins, cut in half• 8 teaspoons pizza sauce• 2 mozzarella cheese sticks• 3 green olives with pimentos
**Preheat oven to 400℉.
Place the English muffin halves on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes.
Remove muffins from oven and spread 2 teaspoons of the pizza sauce onto each English muffin half.
Peel the mozzarella sticks into strings and decoratively arrange them on top of each English muffin. Slice the green olives into 1/4 inch thick rings and place them on top of the cheese to create eyes.*
Bake mummies for 3 more minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
Bloody Eyeballs
Ingredients
½ watermelon
1. Using a melon scooper, scoop the melon into balls, try to vary the size/shape for fun2. Finish scooping out any excess watermelon and let it sit on the side3. Take sprite or 7up and pour some into the watermelon for additional flavor.  Use your own judgment for that extra flavor.4. Take the melon balls and put back into the watermelon and pour the excess watermelon on top for that “gooey appeal”5. Serve.
Chocolate Pudding Guts
1. Take your favorite chocolate pudding or make your own and place in a large bowl.2. You want this either room temperature or cold because what you add in it, should not melt.3. Add marshmallows, gummy bears/worms, nuts, whipped cream (your choosing)4. Mix so that it is blended and ready to serve in small bowls to the monster hunters and monsters.
Queen’s Ascension
Blood Prophecy
Book Three
Barb Jones

Genre: Paranormal
Publisher: World Castle
Date of Publication: August 17, 2020
Print ISBN:  9781953271013
eBook ISBN:  9781953271020
ASIN: B08DKK66PM
Number of pages: 236 pages
Word Count: 86107 words
Cover Artist: Steven J. Catizone
Tagline: Bloodshed. Heartbreak. Revelation.
Book Description:
When the darkness was compelling and the heart knew no bounds, was there really a right choice? With Michael’s life hanging in the balance, Amber had a choice: save her star-fated love or keep on the crusade to unite the magical community.
For Amber, her fate was sealed even before her birth and it was her destiny to fight the great battle ahead of her. But, when it came to her heart -- her friends, her great love -- Amber’s torn. Not only was she the Queen, but she was a human in every sense of the word. She was vulnerable. And so the very people -- Chloe and Michael -- that gave her strength, quickly became her weakness. It wasn’t her fault she loved too much, was it?
Nevertheless, the Tall Dark Man had set a plan in motion that could threaten the very existence of the Blood Prophecy. Would he gather his dark forces and succeed in destroying Amber once and for all? Or, would she assemble her powerful friends and save the world?
Amazon     BN

Excerpt:

 Malakai, Seattle, Present Day

With the betterment of both Michael and Rae, Malakai was glad that they were well and fine; nevertheless, he needed some time to decompress. All the magical commotions that had occurred were too overwhelming for him. He needed some sort of release.

He enjoyed the brisk jog in the park, as he cut through the sharp wind of the cold night. But this did nothing to lift his spirits. He was happy that Amber’s smile finally met her eyes. That was all he’d ever wanted for her: happiness, that’s it. There was nothing more he could ask for—she was his priority. Yet, in the back of his mind, as in his heart, he couldn’t help but believe the ancient legend that he’d heard so long ago was the certifiable truth, as it was written in Eschmun’s scroll.

…her fate is tied to the true alpha of the wolves. A blood drinker will stand formidable, but it is the nature of the child to call upon the true alpha and bring him to the queen’s inner heart.

Could this be the truth? he often wondered as he traveled the world collecting artifacts and evidence supporting this notion. Yes, he’d crafted a reliquary, quite accidentally, and people assumed it was to keep the magic insulated, away from the humans. But that wasn’t the case, at least not for him.  He so wanted to believe, just from the sheer fact that it was said in the scroll. But Malakai was a man of logic, driven by cold hard data. Although wanting to romanticize that his destiny was tied with Amber’s, he needed confirmation. He wanted validation for the strong emotions he was feeling. 

***

Zaraquel, Seattle, Present Day

Walking the cemetery grounds as she so often did without the knowledge of her parents, Zaraquel wandered at a leisurely pace. She whipped out her phone and checked the time, which read midnight. Her brow quirked in confusion, as she had expected Loquiel some time ago. With her long hair styled in two braids and her bright red coat to keep her warm, she sat down on a bench.

She was elated that her best friend, other than the one that was currently running late, was alive and breathing. Rae had given Zaraquel a terrible fright, for she had never known the death of someone close to her heart. She shook, not from the cold, but from remembering the tragic vision she had of Rae’s demise.

A throaty growl awoke her from her thoughts. She heard the fast footfalls of someone, something, running toward her, and she put her fight training to use. Zaraquel spun around, so much so that her wings unfurled. But that did not deter the undead man from attacking her. His decaying flesh was a sight she instantly wished she could unsee, but she had to fulfill her duty and protect the people, which meant ridding the world of this monster.

She punched him in the stomach as her father had taught her, but that did nothing to stop him from throwing his fists at her. She dodged his poor attempts at aiming for her and grabbed his arm, twisting him around so he fell to his knees. Her weight on his back caused the corpse to fall to the ground. It growled in anger, shaking its head savagely, as if it couldn’t wait to get back to its feet. Zaraquel, however, had plans of her own. She stood briefly to step on his neck to keep him from moving, and whispered a spell she’d learned from a book.

“Capite obtruncato intestinisque extractis.”

She heard the cracking of his bones, the stretching of his skin; with a pop! his head flew off, gore spattering in every direction. His body went limp, as it was before he had risen from the ground.

Zaraquel sighed in frustration as she walked off, disappointed from another unnecessary and unjustified kill. She continued to walk the grounds and felt a rush of warm wind, the kind she felt every time Loquiel was near. She turned and there he was, right behind her. 

About the Author:
Barb Jones is a paranormal thriller author, IT professional, and the mother of two fantastic children. She is known for her ability to create relatable characters and detailed settings without compromising her unique plots. When people have asked her who she is, she's been quoted saying, "It can be hard to write at times, but never give up on what you're passionate about." She's a mother, first and foremost, and an author and supernatural enthusiast after. She currently resides in Sarasota, FL, but is a Seattle native at heart. When she's not writing, she's traveling and looking for new inspiration for her books.
Newsletter sign-up: https://www.thebloodprophecy.com/#Newsletter
Website: https://www.thebloodprophecy.com/
Blog: https://www.thebloodprophecy.com/blog
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BloodProphecyBooks/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Blood_Prophecy1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebloodprophecy/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54362466-queen-s-ascension





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Do you Have Samhainopobia?

Do you have a fear of Halloween?  

Then you suffer from Samhainopobia. 

I don't fit in that category! Do you?

Today Halloween is attracting adults in a masquerade type atmosphere, much like Mardi Gras. Their costumed antics mock, challenge, and tease the mysterious, possible malevolent forces of the night. The otherworld becomes our world on this night of enchanted possibilities and transcendence. Are we reaffirming death as a part of life in an exhilarating celebration of magic for an evening? Or like me, just enjoying the air of celebration on a night the veil between the living and dead is purported to be the thinnest. Every year with the help of my hubby, I decorate our house to the hilt on the first day of October and revel in Halloween décor the entire month.

Did you know Jack-O-Lanterns originated in Ireland? People placed lit candles inside hollowed-out turnips to keep away spirits and ghosts on the Samhain (pronounced Sah-ween) holiday. Boy, did we do a role reversal on that aspect of Halloween. Instead of chasing the spirits away, we tend to invite them in.

Most present-day Halloween traditions are traceable to the ancient Celtic day of the dead. Halloween consists of mysterious customs, but each has a history, or at least a story behind it. Take wearing costumes, and roaming from door to door demanding treats. This behavior can be traced to the Celtic period and the first few centuries of the Christian era, when it was thought that the souls of the dead were out and about, along with fairies, witches, and demons. Offerings of food and drink were left out to placate them. As the centuries wore on, people began dressing like these creatures, performing antics in exchange for food and drink. This is where the practice of trick-or-treating began. To this day, vampires, witches, ghosts, and skeletons are among the favorite costumes. 

Our Halloween also retains activities from the original harvest holiday of Samhain, such as bobbing for apples and carving vegetables, (pumpkins) as well as the fruits, nuts, and spices for cider associated with the day. Although at my house, hot chocolate is pretty popular, since Halloween almost guarantees the first snow of the year.

Happy Halloween!

Hidden Gypsy MagicA Witch’s Journey SeriesBook ThreeTena Stetler
Genre: Paranormal Romance/MysteryPublisher: The Wild Rose PressDate of Publication:  September 28, 2020ISBN: 978-1-5092-3256-7ASIN: B08FXBNLW5Number of pages: 330Word Count: 85,144Cover Artist: Kristian Norris
Tagline: The consequences of awakening hidden gypsy magic could forever alter life as they know it!
Book Description:
The Salem Wildlife Sanctuary is Gwen Taylor's life work.  Her Irish Gypsy heritage provides a hidden talent she uses to help the creatures under her care.  But even her magical skills can't help new rescues in dire need of veterinary care.
The opportunity of signing on as the vet for Gwen's sanctuary dropped into Brock Scutter's lap after he expanded his practice to include wildlife. The personal attraction he and Gwen experience is undeniable the more their professional and personal lives collide.
Touring the only "non-haunted" house in Salem they both feel a spark of magic.  A trip to his family's cabin uncovers a heritage he didn't know existed.  If they want a future together, it means facing the consequences of awakening hidden Gypsy magic and a race against the clock to correct past wrongs.
Amazon      Amazon UK      Amazon AU       Amazon CA
BN      iTunes

"This house may not have a history of magic, but I'd bet it's magical. You're going to put an offer in. Right?"

"As I said before, it may be completely out of my price range."

"I have a feeling the house has been waiting for you." Gwen flung her hand to her mouth, her face flushed, and her gaze swiveled to him. "I don't know what made me say that."

Looking thoughtful, he grinned. "Since the day I stumbled upon Pepper's secret — then discovered that you and I share the gift or curse of gypsy blood, things have been different—" Pausing, he shoved his hand in his jean's pocket and jingled the change in his pocket. "I've been different. It's as if knowing magic exists awakened something in me."

"Join the club. Years ago my best friend Pepper made a believer out of me. In fact, there were times I wished—never mind. Whether it was my outlook or as you said magic awakened. But to be fair, I've always had what I called a sixth sense with animals, attuned to their feelings, almost their thoughts, fears, that kind of thing. Pepper called it my talent. But as we became close, I noticed other abilities… you'll think I'm crazy."

"Try me." He moved closer to her and the front door banged open. Quickly he rushed to the top of the stairs.

 

 

About the Author:
Tena Stetler is a best-selling author of award winning paranormal romance with an over-active imagination.  She wrote her first vampire romance as a tween, to the chagrin of her mother and the delight of her friends. Colorado is home; shared with her husband, a brilliant Chow Chow, a spoiled parrot and a forty-five-year-old box turtle. When she’s not writing, her time is spent kayaking, camping, hiking, biking  or just relaxing in the great Colorado outdoors.
 Her books tell tales of magical kick-ass women and mystical alpha males that dare to love them. Travel, adventure and a bit of mystery flourish in her books along with a few companion animals to round out the tales.
Authors’ Secret’s Blog - https://www.tenastetler.com/category/authors-secrets-blog/
My Say What Blog - http://www.tenastetler.com/category/my-say-what-blog/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/tenastetler.author
Twitter Page: https://www.twitter.com/TenaStetler 
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14187532.Tena_Stetler
Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/author/tenastetler
Newsletter: https://www.tenastetler.com/newsletter-signup/
Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.com/tenastetler
Tribber - http://triberr.com/TenaStetler
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tena-stetler
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Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/tenajean2014





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Fighting for Home by Kim Richards - Haunted Halloween Spooktacular

Fighting for HomeDescendants of the AmazoiBook OneKim Richards
Genre: fantasy/historical fantasyPublisher: Kim GilchristDate of Publication: July 2020Print ISBN: 978-1-952564-00-0Digital ISBN: 978-1-952564-02-4Number of pages: 241Word Count: 87,616
Cover Artist: Dawné Dominique DusktilDawn  Designs
Book Description:
In 300 B.C.—the Greco-Roman Age—tribes of warrior women thrived near the Black Sea. The area is now modern-day Turkey. The Greeks called them Amazoi (meaning Mankiller).
Inspired by their story, Fighting for Home sings the tale of one tribe as they battle to save their way of life. Healing magic is real! Ilenea and Saphira, the wolf sisters, battle close to home with others of their generation. A healer priestess named Essla travels to a temple of Artemis at Anthela with her male slave, bringing a call to arms for the pending war. She meets and falls in love with a Roman General.
Whatever the outcome, this war changes everyone.
Amazon        Kobo         BN         Smashwords

Excerpt:
Thup. Thup. The second archer cried out as two of Xanthi’s arrows buried themselves into his thigh and hip. He let his own arrow fly. Leaves rustled where his arrows disappeared among the tree branches. He fumbled with an arrow, trying to notch it quickly when he heard the rustle again.
The archer looked up as Xanthi leaped from the bushes with her spear in hand. There was no time for him to raise his bow before the bronze point burrowed its way through his leather cuirass, seeking the tender flesh beneath.
At his wretched cry, the shield man to the left took a wild swing with his sword. He caught Xanthi just below the left collarbone. It sliced through her leather jerkin, taking breast flesh with it.
Crying out from the pain, she fell to her knees as blood poured from the gash. One hand pressed against the wound as her other fumbled for her knife.
Xanthi’s man turned his attention from her. He should’ve advanced. Celete used it to her advantage and swung her axe up the inside of his shield. It’s blade cleaved his stomach wide open. His guts spilled out over her hand—hot and sticky. He toppled sideways, landing in the dirt before Xanthi. With a roar befitting any lioness, she clawed at his face for what he did to her.

About the Author:

Kim Richards lives in Northern California with her husband and pets. She loves the genres of horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Her hobbies include reading, writing, sewing, LARPing, and listening to music.
Amazon Author Page:  https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00APPEHK4
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kim_richards
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KimRichardsAuthor/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimrichards5576/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/kim_richards
Website:  www.kim-richards.com






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Halloween Flash Fiction from S Peters Davis

 

Shifter Shakedown

By S. Peters-Davis  

I stood fifteen feet away from where the oversized wolf and bear fought, slashing and biting. The steady wind through the trees hid my scent. With any luck, they would kill each other. I readied my crossbow for just in case and adjusted my stance for a shot, until the wolf flew into the air, knocking me flat on my backside. My vision blurred, and my brain buzzed into dizzy-mode. My eyes closed on automatic as I concentrated on not losing consciousness.

“Are you all right, Miss?” asked a deep, rugged voice. Warm fingers grasped my hands in an electrifying grip. “Let me help you.”

I opened my eyes to his shocking browns.

He pulled me into a sitting position and settled on his knees in front of me, dressed in skin-tight jeans and a black T-shirt. His brows drew together. “What the hells are you doing in the middle of a forest with a crossbow?”

Speaking of my weapon, I noted its absence, even while rendered speechless and in a trance-like condition. What the hell is right? I didn’t know if this dude was wolf or bear, no matter, his magyck had allowed him to shift entirely clothed. Only legends tote that kind of power.

“Can you hear me?” He snapped his fingers in front of my eyes. “Tell me you’re not a poacher.” His voice went gruff as his fingers gripped and lifted my chin. “Well?”

I jerked and freed myself, scanning for my weapon. The wolf lay a short distance away, his throat gone, and a dead shifter should change into human form. Why didn’t it? I turned toward the hunk, narrowing my eyes. “Why isn’t it shifting?”

His brow arched as he assessed me, and then he nodded as if in recognition. “We, dear Katherine Brady, a.k.a. Kat, have something in common.”

I dove for the loaded crossbow, kneeled, and targeted his heart. “So, how do you know who I am?”

He smiled, leaving me stunned, and my insides cooking from his pheromones. “We are both hunters and want justice. Are you affiliated with law enforcement or another established agency or organization?” He stood, his thigh muscles bulging when he crossed his ankles and relaxed his body against a large oak tree.

And why would I notice his thigh muscles? I made it a point to know and remember hunters, and no doubt in my mind, I would’ve remembered him. “I don’t know you.” My weapon still pointed at his chest, but the bear inside me fought against my urge to shoot.

“Risk Kodak,” he leaned forward, suavely fanning an arm in front of himself, then rose to lean back on the tree, “at your service. In the human world, I’d be considered a secret agent. In the shifter world, I run clean-up on the changelings involved in drug-running and human-trafficking, what you’d categorize as cartel activities.” He nodded toward the dead wolf. “I also capture or, in this case, destroy serial killers. We have our way of dealing with those hell-bound monsters. We don’t like it when our kind gets tainted as evil in the human world. You know,” he air-quotes with his fingers, “because a shifter kills, runs drugs, or traffics humans.”

I’d heard of him from my studies, a historical legend. “You’d have to be over one-hundred-years-old.”

“One hundred-thirty-one to be exact.” He grinned. His brilliant white teeth gleamed in contrast to his dark skin.

My insides quaked with a rush of flutters. I took a deep breath to steady my hands and lowered the crossbow. “How? You died in Alaska from an avalanche ninety-some years ago.”

“Yea, but doesn’t that make the perfect cover for me to keep doing my job?” He stepped past me to the dead wolf, fished out something from his pocket, and dropped it on the wolf. Its body instantly turned to ash, and bit-by-bit blew away on the breeze. “I don’t know about you, but I’m famished.” He walked to me and stopped inches away, the heat of his body bombarding mine and creating havoc with my bear. “Would you care to join me for a little respite, something to eat?”

“We’re miles from any businesses, and it would take us hours to travel.” I unloaded the bolt from my crossbow. “I have jerky in my backpack.” Risk’s calm demeanor had a bizarre way of comforting me, even though I realized his bear pheromones might be responsible for my feeling safe with him.

He expressed that dazzling grin again and pulled me into his body. His ancient whispered words gave me pause, and then everything went dark. “You can open your eyes now.”

I did, sucking in a deep breath to settle my oozy belly. We walked out of an alleyway to the front of a place called Mama’s Eatery. Nothing looked familiar, mostly rough built cabins and dirt roads. A couple of buildings on each side of the restaurant advertised groceries or supplies. “How the crap did we get here from where we were?”

He chuckled. “That’s one of my secret abilities, and I’ll have to kill you if I reveal it to you.” He smiled, and I widened my eyes as a challenge. “I’m kidding. I’ll answer your questions inside. Let’s eat.” His gaze traveled over me, eyes narrowing. “You might want to tuck that crossbow, so it’s a bit more discreet.”

“No. I’ve been caught with my pants down before. That won’t happen again.” A child had gotten maimed because of my hidden weapon.

We walked into the crowded place, and all eyes turned toward us as the bell on the door jingled. Their casual gazes converted to assessing glares. My inner sensitivities heightened, and goosebumps scattered across my skin. Only one empty table for two in the back corner and I didn’t like the odds of no easy escape route. “I’m not hungry. We should go.”

Prickles turned into stabbing slivers down my arms as everyone in the restaurant stood. Risk grabbed my shoulders and shoved me behind him. I couldn’t see around his muscular body.

Thunderous cheers attacked my ears, tankards clicking, and whistles filled the air, and then Risk turned toward me. A wide smile spread crossed his face, leaving my body electrified and brazenly wanton.

What the hell just happened?

“Oh, the day finally comes when our alpha finds his mate.” A rugged-looking man strode to Risk and slapped his shoulder. “We’re all proud of you.” The guy studied me, then added, “She’s a dandy.”

Risk’s gaze captured me in a mind-boggling grip of wills as he pushed the guy away.

I fought against it, even though the bear inside me insisted that I take his bear for a ride he would never forget.

Risk lifted me into his arms and carried me out of the restaurant, running down the dirt road as if his pants had lit a fire.

Then I blacked out like before, only to awaken in his arms. I glanced around the inside of a rustic cabin. “Where are we?” I reached behind for my crossbow but found nothing. My heart stuttered in a rhythm never thrummed before, and I moaned beneath his lips as they swept over mine, stimulating certain body parts into melting pots of desire. My bear urged me to respond, her fur rippling beneath my skin.

“Don’t fight me, little one. I’ve waited for you too long to hold back. You’re mine, and I’m yours.”

Our bodies melded together and made it so…

Ghost GuardiansBook OneS. Peters-Davis
Genre: Paranormal Romance,Suspense-mystery, New AdultPublisher: BWL Publishing, Inc.Date of Publication: September Release 2020Kindle ISBN 978-0-2286-1492-0Print ISBN  978-0-2286-1494-4Number of pages: 162Word Count: 64,900Cover Artist: Michelle Lee

Book Tagline: Bri intends to work for her father, but ghosts, an old high school flame, a downtrodden best bud, and a deceitful tormenter play havoc with her future.
Series Tagline: On missions to rescue those spirits left behind. Murder, mystery, and mayhem abound...
Book Description:
Bri’s intent—to work for her father, but ghosts, an old high school sweetheart, a downtrodden best bud, and a deceitful tormenter play havoc with her future.
Kyle broke it off with Bri before college but realizes he still harbors unrequited feelings for her. Then he discovers Bri’s ability and wants to keep her close, not just for himself, but as an asset for Spectral Paranormal Investigations.
Ghosts rely on Bri, Kyle confuses her, the best bud requires stability, and the bully deserves a punch in the face until they join forces on a mission to rescue the paranormal—those spirits left behind. Murder, mystery, and mayhem abound…in ghost-form.
Books2Read     Amazon

Excerpt #1 (word count 501)

“He-e-e Ha-a-a.” Max cackled like a wild man as the boat veered off, rooster-tailing water spray and slamming turbulent waves into the raft.

Trembles shook my hands and body. What the hell is wrong with him?

I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths to relax. Warm tingles thrummed against my sternum from the quartz on my necklace, giving me a heads-up that my ghost friends were near.

“He’s gone, little missy,” Martin said. “Off to the other side of the lake.”

Gloria’s fingers clasped the stone through her blouse. “Is your stone vibrating like mine? I touched it, thought of you, and here we are.” She stared at me.

I climbed the ladder and sat across from them, stretching my legs in front of me for the warm sunshine. “I’ll have to try touching my stone and thinking of you. See if I can call you to me.”

She nodded then turned to Martin. “When’s the last time we sat by water?” Gloria slid her body closer to him.

“Now, girl, don’t you be gettin’ any crazy ideas.” He chuckled and wrapped his arm around Gloria’s shoulder then turned his attention to me. “We want answers about what happened. Neither of us remembers it, nothing other than a truck rammed into the back of the Olds. It scared the heck out of us, so we turned off the main road and drove down a dirt path into the woods, hoping to hide. Then we saw lights coming fast behind us.”

“It’s a constant loop we live over and over, ending with the truck following us and crashing into the back of the car. The sound is like a grand clap of thunder.” Gloria sniffled, but there were no tears. Ghosts didn’t cry real tears. Martin rubbed her back.

“We blackout or something.” Martin looked across the water but seemed unfocused. “I wake up outside the car, and a few minutes after, Gloria is beside me. We got stuck next to the Olds, doing the same thing over and over.”

Apparitions didn’t usually possess recall of being stuck in a loop. They simply lived it over and over as if for the first time, every time. What was different for these two? Maybe our crystal connection brought the change in their loop and opened their acknowledgment to it?

“I’ve got a friend coming to stay with me. He’s got mad internet skills. I think he can help research, figure out a few things. Maybe find out who followed you and why.”

A boat motor revved behind me, I folded my legs to my chest, preparing for impact.

“Kyle, wanna ski?” Max hollered. He zipped past and stopped next to Kyle’s dock.

Kyle stared in my direction and waved, and I waved back. Max sneered.

How long was Kyle out there? All he saw was my backside while I chatted with Martin and Gloria. When I turned around to pick up where we left off, Martin and Gloria had disappeared.

About the Author:
S. Peters-Davis writes multi-genre stories, but loves penning a good page-turning suspense-thriller, especially when it’s a ghost story and a romance. When she’s not writing, editing, or reading, she’s hiking, RV’ing, fishing, playing with grandchildren, or enjoying time with her favorite muse (her husband) in Southwest Michigan.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/spdavis788       
FB:  https://www.facebook.com/susan.petersdavis    
BWL Author Page: https://bookswelove.net/davis-s-peters/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-davis-8660542/      
BWL Publishing Inc.: https://bookswelove.net/  
BWL Blog: https://bwlauthors.blogspot.com/        

ORIGINS by Celia Breslin - Haunted Halloween Spooktacular

Celia’s Must-See TV Shows For Halloween
Halloween month is the perfect time to binge some paranormal TV shows. Add these to your binge-list.
* Chilling Adventures of Sabrina - Good vs. evil, angsty teens, wacky witches.
* iZombie - Dark comedy with zombies quarantined in Seattle. Brain cuisine jokes.
* Legion -  People with powers and power struggles. Surreal, sometimes scary, and totally quirky and compelling.
* Legacies - Teen werewolves, vampires, witches at a boarding school fraught with peril.
* Lucifer - NetFlix saved this fab show, serving up one sexy devil and a strong female lead.
* The Magicians - College students/magicians tangle with supernatural forces and other worlds. 
* Stranger Things - An alternate dimension, monsters, plus government experiments, and one tough girl with wicked powers, oh my!
* The Umbrella Academy - a dysfunctional family of funny, flawed, and powerful superheroes. Quirky, action packed, and 100% entertaining.
Happy viewing and Happy Halloween!

ORIGINSTranquilli BloodlineBook 3Celia Breslin
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal RomancePublisher: Champagne Book GroupDate of Publication: September 9, 2019ISBN:  9781393477938ASIN: B08FFCWNF2Number of pages: 250Word Count: 94,000Cover Artist: Melody Pond
Tagline: The Chosen One is home. Bad little vampires beware…
Book Description:
In HAVEN & DESTINY, San Francisco nightclub owner Carina Tranquilli finds love and fights her vampire family’s enemies. Now, in ORIGINS…
En route to reunite with her estranged father in Italy, Carina is kidnapped by a human organization intent on vampire genocide. Beaten, starved, and forced to fight fellow captives, she finally manages to escape. Along the way, she encounters the group’s leaders—their identities shock her to the core.
Once home, Carina warns her family of this new threat, but dear old dad is missing. In his absence, the Tribunal, the governing body for all vampirekind, lies in disarray, with an old enemy making a bid for her father’s throne. What’s worse? The usurper wants her for his queen…and slave.
With a human-vampire war looming on one side and a vampire-vampire battle brewing on the other, Carina will have to rally her troops, take back the throne, and fulfill her destiny as the Chosen One. If not, her whole world will fall, taking everyone she loves with it.
Amazon       Apple Books        BN        Champagne Books        Kobo

Excerpt:

The car stopped. […] I couldn’t convince myself to step out. […] What if this was a freaking, injection-induced hallucination? What if I was still back in the damn prison?

Besnik helped me out. […]

The mansion’s mammoth double doors eased open. The man illuminated in the doorway chased away the numbness, pumped my heart so hard it might pound right out of my chest. He opened his arms wide, calling me. My lips curled upward in the first true smile I’d cracked since the last time he’d held me in his arms. That man, my man, loved me more than any other on this whole damn planet.

“Alexander.”

I ran to him.

Alexander’s arms closed around me, his hold so tight I could barely catch a breath. Tremors ran through his hard body, again and again.

“Carina,” he croaked, voice sandpaper rough. “Carina.”

Nuzzling his neck, I planted fevered kisses along his tan, heated skin. He’d fed recently to be this warm under my lips. Temptation had me licking his pounding pulse, nipping at the vein. Couldn’t resist it. My fangs slid home.

Energy exploded between us, our mate bond bursting to life and tearing away whatever magical wall had separated us for far too long. My bite, the catalyst, his blood the cure. Awash in the force of our reunion, Alexander staggered then clutched me closer while I pulled out of his neck and laved the rapidly healing holes.

As our power continued to bubble and stitch us back together, he whisked us into the grand entryway, planted my ass on an ornate, antique cabinet, and devoured my mouth like a starving man. His hands roamed everywhere, searching, cataloguing, as if to reassure himself this wasn’t a hallucination, that I was really here, in his arms, relatively unharmed.

The more he kissed me, the more those wonderful, golden threads of our connection resurrected inside me, around me, between us, and I felt like freaking Sleeping Beauty awakened from her magical slumber by a kiss from her fated handsome prince. The silly thought made me giggle against Alexander’s seeking mouth, and then I was crying while my love cupped my face between his hands, wiped away my tears with his thumbs, and pressed tender kisses to my forehead, my cheeks, the tip of my nose…

“Alexander.” I fisted his shirt tight. Please, God, let him be real. “I… I don’t want to wake up.” Please, don’t let this end.

His smoky blue eyes bored into mine, his brown hair spiked in every direction, a bit longer than in my memory. It’s not a dream, baby. You’re here. You’re home.

Oh my God, I can hear you. I swiped some willful bits of hair away from his forehead, touched his full lips, ran my fingers along his strong jaw, taking in the whole handsome, bad-boy package. You’re back in my head. I’d never been happier to have someone inside my mind. Silence was seriously overrated.

And back in your arms.

About the Author:

Celia lives in California with her husband, daughter, and two feisty cats. She writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance, and has a particular fondness for werewolves, vampires, the Fae, and warrior-class angels. Her stories are action-packed and typically include one of the many varieties of romantic entanglements: fated mates, second chance, rescue romance, opposites attract, friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, and more.
When not writing, you’ll find Celia exercising, reading a good book, hanging with her family, or indulging her addiction to Joss Whedon’s TV shows and movies, as well as everything in the Marvel Universe franchise.
Web site: http://www.celiabreslin.com   
Blog: http://www.celiabreslin.com/blog/   
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/celiabreslin  
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CeliaBreslinAuthor   
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A Bewitching Wednesday

INTERVIEW - SUPERNATURAL THRILLER - SOUL SEEKER by Kaylin McFarren #bewitchingbooktours
https://thebookjunkiereadspromos.blog...

Spooktacular Spotlight on #historicalfantasy: Fighting For Home by @kim_richards #bewitchingbookturs http://ow.ly/UDvk50BS6yg

SPOTLIGHT w/EXCERPT - EROTICA - HAPPILY EVER AFTER Twistd Versions of Your Favorite Fairy Tales by Elizabeth Black #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/iNAg50BS6CI

Double Alchemy by Susan Mac Nicol - Haunted Halloween Spooktacular http://ow.ly/pFrB50BS6wy

Please Welcome Tena Stetler as She Tells Us About Her Paranormal Romance, Hidden Gypsy Magic, A Witch’s Journey Series, Book Three #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/sR4E50BS6Fi

HAUNTED HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR! GHOST GUARDIANS by S. PETERS DAVIS BONUS FLASH FICTION #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/51AY50BS6A2

HAUNTED HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR GUEST BLOG - JEALOUSY'S A WITCH (Midlife in Mosswood, #2) by Louisa West #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/Mjza50BS6Hn

Queen’s Ascension by Barb Jones - Haunted Halloween Spooktacular #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/yWyY50BS6r8

Origins- A Tranquilli Bloodline Series Book 3 by Celia Breslin #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/xaUE50BS6JW

Residual Magic: Blood and Bone Legacy Book Two by Suzanne M Sabol #bewitchingbooktours
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A Warrior’s Kiss by Celia Breslin - Haunted Halloween Spooktacular #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/t7e050BS6lS

HAUNTED HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR GUEST BLOG - RISE BY MOONLIGHT (By Moonlight, #15) by Nancy Gideon #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/jqsC50BS6Oh

The Queen of Harlem Commandments by Michelle Smalls - Book Tour #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/faaD50BS6Sz

Unsafe Words by Loren Rhoads #scifi #horror #darkfantasy #shortstories
https://www.roxannerhoads.com/2020/10...

The Peculiar Delights of Research in a Halloween Spook House with Catherine Stine
https://fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com...

Alpha’s Revenge by Catherine Stine - Haunted Halloween Spooktacular

The Peculiar Delights of Research in a Halloween Spook House

Catherine Stine

          I’ve been fascinated by the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia ever since I visited for their Halloween fright tour, and saw the actual, untouched surgical room from when they opened in 1829. It still had a rickety metal operating table, sharp and crusty medical tools, and frighteningly tiny holding pens. The idea for one of my witch novels, Witch of the Wild Beasts rushed in right then and there. It would be a thriller involving doctors devising medical mischief and unlucky prisoners, including Evalina Stowe, a woman accused of witchcraft.

          It turns out that in the 1850s, when my novel takes place, Philadelphia experienced an explosion of new medical “breakthroughs”, from the wacky to the notable. At the offbeat end, there were herbal remedies inspired by the German Pow Wow or Braucherei practitioner, a combination of ritual prayer, herbal applications and the chanting of charms to not only heal the patient, but protect the farmers’ cattle and sheep. On the remarkable side, were the “plastic operations” of Dr. Thomas Mütter, who pioneered plastic surgery at Jefferson Medical School, and who invented applications we use to this day, such as the Mütter flap. This uses a flap of living skin, still partially attached, to cover open, damaged areas until they can heal, at which point the connected flap is cut and stitched. Dr. Mütter, who appears in the book, was quite the flamboyant dresser, who liked to match his suit to the color of his carriage. To this day, the Mütter Museum is a go-to attraction for all sorts of medical oddities, including dozens of wax molds of eye diseases and ‘The Soap Lady’, a woman whose body was exhumed in Philadelphia in 1875. She is nicknamed this because a fatty substance called adipocere coats her remains.

          I grew up in Philadelphia and thought I knew a lot about its history, but in the process of research for the novel, I learned many new, startling facts. I love writing historical fantasy for this very reason.

          Before Eastern State Penitentiary was built with its single cells and solitary confinement, people of all ages, including children were thrown in one holding pen at another location. Thus, Eastern State revolutionized the system and was considered state of the art when it was built. It was equipped with skylights, central heating and some of the very first flush toilets, and inspired by the Quakers’ belief that solitary penitence could quell an inmate’s urge to commit crimes.

          Yet it wasn’t long before people realized that “paying penitence” 24/7 alone in a cell did not cure people of criminal behavior. Rather, the isolation drove them stark raving mad. Charles Dickens, who visited the prison, wrote a scathing treatise, saying, “Solitary confinement is rigid, strict and hopeless… I believe its effects to be cruel and wrong.” Oddly enough, during that era the phrase What the Dickens was a euphemism for What the Devil! Go figure.

          Even in this cultured, modern city of Brotherly Love, superstition and chaos were alive and well. According the an article on the Historical Society of Pennsylvania blog, a sensational case occurred in 1852, with newspaper headings entitled, "Superstition in Philadelphia," and "Witchcraft - Evidence of an Enlightened Age”.

          "Mary Ann Clinton & Susan Spearing, residents of Southwark Ward, were formally charged at the 'Court of Quarter Sessions,' with "conspiring to cheat and defraud George F. Elliott, by means of fortune telling and conjuration," in order to extort money. The 'Commonwealth of Pennsylvania' alleged that the two women were giving Mrs. Elliott, "a bottle containing some portions of Mr. Elliott's clothing, and telling her that as the clothing decayed, so Mr. Elliott would moulder away, until he would finally die by virtue of the spell..."

 

It appeared that Mrs. Elliott suspected her husband was guilty of infidelity, a belief that "had so strong an effect upon her as to make her wish for his death." Thus, she had enlisted the services of Clinton & Spearing, who also encouraged the jealous wife, as an "ordeal of witchcraft," to "take her husband's clothes, tear them to pieces, fill the bottle with them, then boil the contents nine times, and this would give him such extreme pain as to cause his death."

          Enter my heroine, Evalina, accused of witchcraft when her pet bird, flies down the throat of her violent boss and chokes him to death. Add to this mix, Dolly Rouge, her prison neighbor and ex-bawdy house madam, Lightning, a homeless urchin who knew Evalina’s brother and was jailed for stealing horses, and Birdy, a handsome, kind Irishman jailed for a tragic accident while blasting granite for the railroad who Evalina falls for. Oh, and add a handful of sinister doctors, and Evalina’s perilous plot to gain justice for her brother’s murder.

          Research is the grounding for the fire that ignites the writer’s mind. And research in a Halloween destination was a pure spine-tingling delight.

Alpha’s RevengeRoyal Alpha Wolves ClubBook ThreeShared World SeriesCatherine Stine
Genre: Werewolf Shifter RomancePublisher: Konjur Road PressDate of Publication: September 3, 2020ISBN: ISBN: 978-1-7333901-4-9ASIN: B08CWVBZM7Number of pages: 165Word Count: 42kCover Artist: Crown Atlantic
Book Description:
A heartbroken furious alpha, a forbidden childhood crush revisited.
Will karmic justice destroy them both?
From the languid, sexy heat of New Orleans, all the way to the icy Canadian Wilderness, supernatural creatures live shadow lives amongst mortals. But what if one of the most powerful and regal of beings—wolf shifters—found their packs disappearing through longstanding battles and vicious payback?
The Royal Alpha Wolves Club, a worldwide, ancient organization formed to keep order and secrets safe among werewolf packs is faced with this very dilemma. So, when the club leader gives the dire order for all royals to find a mate and produce an heir within a year it’s in the wolf shifters’ best interest. Wayland, though, is not on board.
Meet Wayland Leblanc—legendary royal alpha, hell-bent on revenge for his murdered mate. When the edict comes down from the leader in his new territory that all royals mate and produce an heir within the year or lose royal status, Wayland hits the road. He’s not ready. Instead, he charges up to Canada in his mini-camper, to wreak revenge on Thorn, the Tundra shifter who killed his mate Sabine and their unborn babe. He conscripts an army of coyote shifters in his revenge plot, and stuffs down his lingering heartache by partying with neighboring witches.
What he doesn’t plan for is falling hard for Stormy, Thorn’s mysterious sister. But pursuing a star-crossed Juliet to his Romeo just might cost Wayland and Stormy their lives.
4 books. 4 authors. 4 alphas. 1 shared world.
Amazon

“Who are you?” It was dawning on him. Could it be his old Tundra playmate, Stormy? They hadn’t seen each other for years. It was rumored that Thorn had kept her so protected it was like she was locked in his ivory tower prison. Holy damn, if it was Stormy, he should have nothing to do with her. She was Thorn’s little sister. Could he still be confused? He’d just been hit so hard that maybe his brain had gone freaking haywire. “Where’s Ransom?”
          “He’s alive but you messed him up good. Why are you coming around, so angry, gunning for a fight? You look so familiar, but… ” She ran a cooling cloth over Wayland’s swollen eye. She smelled of forest phlox and river moss—of the Canadian tundra in summer. He struggled to get up again and realized she’d tied his arms, torso and ankles down with thick vines. He didn’t believe in hurting a woman. But his rage bubbled dangerously close to the surface. If he stayed like this too much longer, and she leaned closer to him as she cleaned his wounds he might not be able to stop from snapping his head up and biting her.
          “Why the hell did you tie me up?” he snarled.
          “For your own safety and for mine. You seemed unhinged. Who are you anyway? You look so familiar.”
          “Wayland. I used to live around here.”
          “Wayland!” She stopped cleaning his swollen eye and stared down at him. “Wayland Leblanc.”
          “Yeah, a damn Leblanc. The Tundras, led by your vicious brother slaughtered us a year ago in case you need reminding. Bunch of fucking savages,” he growled.
          “I know who you are. Your father killed my father.”

          “So, you are Stormy, Thorn’s sister,” he muttered. The very man I’m hunting down.

 

About the Author:
Catherine Stine is a USA Today bestselling author of historical fantasy, paranormal romance and sci-fi thrillers. Witch of the Wild Beasts won a second prize spot in the ‘19 RWA Sheila Contest. Other novels have earned Indie Notable awards and New York Public Library Best Books for Teens. She lives in Manhattan, grew up in Philadelphia and is known to roam the Catskills. Before writing novels, she was a painter and children’s fabric designer. She’s a visual author when it comes to scenes, and she sees writing as painting with words. She loves edgy thrills, perhaps because her dad read Edgar Allen Poe tales to her as a child. Catherine loves spending time with her beagle Benny, writing about supernatural creatures, gardening on her deck, traveling and meeting readers at book fests.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kitsy84557
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/catherine-stine
Website: http://catherinestine.com/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/kitsy84557/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/crossoverwriter
Catherine on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/authorcatherinestine/
Subscribe to Catherine’s Newsletter:https://catherinestine.com/wp/get-the-newsletter-contact-me/
Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1018139.Catherine_Stine
Amazon Author Page:https://www.amazon.com/Catherine-Stine/e/B001H9TXJC



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A Bewitching Tuesday

Interview - Unsafe Words by Loren Rhoads #scifi #horror #darkfantasy #shortstories #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/tlOH50BR2hK

Residual Magic Blood and Bone Legacy Book Two by Suzanne M Sabol - To save Ev and Tag, Brittany must master the powerful magic of a goddess to stop a sorcerer from raising the Goddess of Carnage from manifesting through the cauldron. #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/aZv250BR26f

Cover Reveal The Reaper Collection by Jade Royal #CoverReveal #ParanormalThriller #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/k5TD50BR2iF

The Queen of Harlem Commandments by Michelle Smalls #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/F7fq50BR2d3

Rise By Moonlight by Nancy Gideon #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/2SkG50BR253

Ghost Guardians by S. Peters-Davis #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/1O6I50BR1zH

Tips for Keeping your Pets Safe on Halloween by Tena Stetler #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/GRwf50BR2KE

Unsafe Words by Loren Rhoads #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/u49J50BR2Yj

Author Louisa West #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/Pkv250BR2OA

Queen’s Ascension:Blood Prophecy: Book Three by Barb Jones #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/FvCW50BR2Qa

Happily Ever After:Twisted Versions of Your Favorite Fairy Tales by Elizabeth Black #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/Ys7R50BR2BV

Fighting for Home by Kim Richards - Haunted Halloween Spooktacular #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/rUlH50BR2tP

Cover Reveal The Reaper Collection by Jade Royal #CoverReveal #ParanormalThriller #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/2EZ050BR2eq

The Genesis of Seven by Sara M Schaller #YAFantasy
https://bewitchingbooktours.tumblr.co...

Residual Magic Blood and Bone Legacy Book Two Suzanne M Sabol #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/T6Bd50BR218

Celia’s Must-Watch Halloween Movies
https://www.roxannerhoads.com/2020/10...

Alpha’s Revenge by Catherine Stine
https://www.lisasworldofbooks.net/202...

Double Alchemy by Susan Mac Nicol
https://www.lisasworldofbooks.net/202...

Carina’s Halloween Cocktail and Snack
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Playlist- Unsafe Words by Loren Rhoads #scifi #horror #darkfantasy #shortstories
https://fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com...

Cover Reveal The Reaper Collection by Jade Royal #CoverReveal #ParanormalThriller

The Reaper CollectionJade Royal
Genre: Paranormal ThrillerDate of Publication: 10/29/2020ASIN: B08KC7237ZWord Count: about 80KCover Artist: V Designs
Tagline: Death will soon find you...
Book Description: 
They're coming without mercy…
The OptimistThe ChildThe Scorned WomanThe Best Friend
They want revenge...
A chain of lies spoken by trusted parents, stolen possibilities from a lover, the wrongful conviction of a stranger, and betrayal by the greatest ally. Pain corrupts their minds, twists their souls, and schemes a plan for death. Their victims will face karma, delivered as retribution.
And nothing will stop them…
Amazon     Books2Read



About the Author:
When the voices begin to speak, Jade Royal sits down in her lab to write the tale. The story unfolds with each keystroke as she listens to her instincts bring the words to life. For as long as she can remember, Jade has always expressed her creative nature artistically, especially by writing. She refers to herself as “Slave to the Pen” because it’s difficult for her to resist the call to write.
Jade resides in Cincinnati, Ohio where she was born and raised. She has many siblings and is very family-oriented. She spends Sunday evenings eating dinner with them keeping the bond between family nice and strong. 
As an international bestselling author, Jade hopes to pull in her readers to experience a community of stories that they can relate to on various levels. The emotional roller coaster that is bestowed will hopefully make her readers stalk her words and provide literate entertainment. 
For more information on Jade Royal, follow her on her website and social media avenues.

Playlist- Unsafe Words by Loren Rhoads #scifi #horror #darkfantasy #shortstories

After my story collection, Unsafe Words was safely off to the printer, I toyed with the idea of creating a playlist of songs to keep a reader company. I was amazed at how easily the list came together. Many of the stories reference songs in their contents or titles. Other stories suggested songs that would appear in the stories' settings. Still others encouraged me to imagine what music would appear on the main characters' mixtapes or playlists.
Here's the Spotify link 
Shriekback - This Big Hush
To accompany Lisa Morton's introduction to Unsafe Words, I chose this song by Shriekback for one particular line: "Deep as the river of desire, the ashes and the fire, turning this night inside." It's a pretty good description of what I was trying to do with this collection.
Halsey - Castle
Sometimes the songs in this playlist are referenced in the stories themselves. In this case, I think "Castle" is something Violet listens to when she considers coming back to fight the monster in my story "Here There Be Monsters."
Nirvana - Where Did You Sleep Last Night
"In the Pines" was directly inspired by Nirvana's MTV Unplugged version of this old Ledbelly song. That moment when Kurt Cobain's voice cracks still chills my blood. In fact, I almost named this whole collection after a lyric in this song.
Alice Cooper - Welcome to My Nightmare
The critic in "The Acid That Dissolves Images" disparages Rachel and her band as the "bastard love-children of Alice Cooper, Marilyn Manson, and the whole 20th-century shock-rock scene." Also, the sentiment of this song sums up Rachel's relationship with the creature who possesses her, who's named Medusa.
Heilung - Norupo
In the story "Valentine," I'm pretty sure this song is playing when Alondra DeCourval sits in the cafe in Oslo, laying her spell to trap Simon Lebranche.
Gary Numan - Are Fiends Electric?
Gary Numan's Replicas album is a huge influence on me. I even named one of my space opera novels after a lyric from that album. Recorded live at Hollywood Forever cemetery, this version of "Are Friends Electric?" is the perfect song to be playing in the backroom at Amanita as Ariel's friends celebrate her birthday in "The Arms Dealer's Daughter."
Cesária Evora - Sodade
The narrator of "The Energizer Bunny at Home" puts on Cesária Evora's Miss Perfumado album in the middle of this story. Evora's voice is so wise and heartbreaking that completely sums up this story.
Led Zeppelin - Dazed & Confused
The title of this story came straight from the lyrics of this classic song. In "Never Bargained for You," the succubus Lorelei discovers a rock band on the eve of their first US tour. "The soul of a woman was created below"? You bet!
Babymetal - Megitsune
The song (and video!) are about Kitsune, Japanese fox spirits. This is likely to be on Jack's playlist before he discovers the water nymph in "Grandfather Carp's Dream."
Linkin Park - Somewhere I Belong
This song must be in heavy rotation in Sean's iPod. It really is what he's looking for in the story "Affamé" when he meets the vampire Guillaume.
David Bowie - My Death
This version of the Jacques Brel song comes from the soundtrack to the Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars concert film. Bowie's instructions to the crowd make me think of the way the alien rock star Ysanne interacts with her audience in "Mothflame."
Garbage - Temptation Waits
I listened to a lot of Garbage when I wrote "Sound of Impact," which is a story about the consequences of giving in to temptation.
Bauhaus - The Passion of Lovers
Bauhaus is undoubtedly playing in the Goth bar where "Justice" begins. I'm pretty sure that "The passion of lovers is for death" is Kemmy's favorite lyric from Bauhaus's second album.
Lucia Micarelli, featuring Lisbeth Scott - Samarkand
This was the hardest song to choose in the whole playlist. I wanted something to symbolize Morlen, the fiddler in service to the Wild Hunt in "The Magic of Fire and Dawn." Thank you to Thom Carnell for suggesting this!
Buzzcocks - What Do I Get?
"I just want a lover like any other" is Sherry's motto in "Still Life with Shattered Glass." She never recognizes that she is the only constant element in all her troubled relationships. She must have heard Buzzcocks on the punk shows her boyfriend listens to on WCBN, the student-run radio station at the University of Michigan.
David Bowie - Candidate
The title of "With You By My Side It Should be Fine" comes from this song on Bowie's Diamond Dogs album: my favorite song on my favorite of his albums. I would give anything to have seen him perform his 1984 musical on stage. I listened to this song on repeat as I wrote the story, trying to capture its atmosphere of paranoia and decay.
New Order - Elegia
Originally, my playlist was only going to be 15 songs to represent the 15 stories in Unsafe Words. As I finished listening through the playlist the first time, Spotify recommended this song. It seems like the ideal soundtrack to accompany my story notes at the back of the collection.
Thanks so much for listening along with me!



Unsafe Words

Loren R hoads

Genre: Horror, Science Fiction,

Dark Fantasy Short Stories

Publisher: Automatism Press

Date of Publication: September 20, 2020

ISBN: 978-1735187600

ASIN: B08HHNQ6XV

Number of pages: 174

Word Count: 55K

Cover Artist: Lynne Hansen

Tagline: Once you’ve done the most unforgivable thing, what will you do next?

Book Description:

In the first full-length collection of her edgy, award-winning short stories, Loren Rhoads punctures the boundaries between horror, dark fantasy, and science fiction in a maelstrom of sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll.

Ghosts, succubi, naiads, vampires, the Wild Hunt, and the worst predator in the woods stalk these pages, alongside human monsters who follow their cravings past sanity or sense.

Amazon     BN

 Excerpt from "Here There Be Monsters" from Unsafe Words by Loren Rhoads

Something brushed her leg. Violet kept treading water, legs pedaling below her, but wondered: did the pool have leeches in it? Snapping turtles? Her thoughts darted into paranoia: were there sharks? Piranhas? Anything that might bite?

Not that it mattered. She would stay in this water and be gummed to death by goldfish rather than get out and take her chances with the mountain lion watching her from the side of the pool.

Whatever it was below her tangled in her toes. It felt for all the world like hair. Violet shuddered, losing her rhythm momentarily, but then forced her legs to scissor once more.

She peered down into the murky water. Something below her glowed an icy white color, like moonlight. Like the moon had fallen into the old swimming pool. The temperature of the water around her plummeted. A cramp knotted her left calf. Violet whimpered.

Her head dipped toward the surface of the water. Violet fought to calm herself, to hold herself up by the determined stroking of her arms. She tried to stretch the charley horse from her muscle.

Something very much like a hand touched her thigh.

She shrieked. The sound echoed from the hills surrounding the pool and repeated from the mountain peak on the other side of the valley.

The mountain lion narrowed her eyes and stared at Violet.

Then a girl’s voice said in her ear: “Don’t be afraid.”

Ice flooded her veins and Violet lost the ability to control her limbs. Her head slipped under the surface of the water and she took a breath…and something caught her in its arms and lifted her, coughing, back to the surface. And held her there, safely, until she could breathe again.

Violet’s heart fluttered in her chest, struggling to regain its rhythm. She could see arms around her ribs, holding her up in the water. They were a pale grayish white. Not a natural color. She wondered if it was possible to die of fear.

“Don’t be afraid of me,” the ghost said gently. “I won’t hurt you.”

“I’m afraid to look at you,” Violet whispered. She didn’t trust her own voice, didn’t want to hear the sound of her own terror.

“I’m not horrible,” the ghost promised.

“Did you drown here?”

“A long time ago.”

Violet swallowed hard. Her throat was sore from the water she’d inhaled. She coughed once more, but it didn’t really help. Tentatively, she started to dog paddle.

The ghost released her. Violet turned slowly, to find a girl her own age bobbing alongside her. Her long, long hair was blond, where Violet’s was dark. It was slicked to her skull and green with streaks of pondweed. Her eyes were pale blue, maybe, or green, where Violet’s were brown. The drowned girl wasn’t horrible, even if her skin had gone the color of something kept from sunlight for a long, long time.

“Are you alone here?” Violet asked. The quaver in her voice unnerved her even more, if that were possible. She swallowed again and tried to concentrate on her kicking.

“My boyfriend is here, too,” the ghost said. “He doesn’t like to talk to people.”

“Did you die together?”

“We thought it would be romantic,” the ghost said. “We didn’t realize we’d be trapped here. That’s why I don’t want you to die. You will be trapped here, too.”

“Why are you trapped?”

“A creature roams these woods. A monster. It is hungry for company. It collects us.”

“How many of you are there?” Violet asked, even though she didn’t want to know the answer.

“Lots,” the ghost said sadly. “Lots.”

“I don’t want to be trapped here,” Violet said, “but I don’t know how to get past the mountain lion.”

“There is no mountain lion,” the ghost said. “That’s the monster. It takes many forms.”

 

About the Author:

Loren Rhoads is the author of the In the Wake of the Templars space opera trilogy, co-author of a succubus/angel duology called As Above, So Below, and editor of Tales for the Camp Fire: An Anthology Benefiting Wildfire Relief. She's also the author of a nonfiction travel guide called 199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die. Unsafe Words is the first full-length collection of her short stories.

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