Cate Masters's Blog, page 57

Cast of characters interview

My Halloween guest has been spirited away, apparently, so look for more fun tomorrow!
Today, the immortals are calling a truce long enough to sit down for a group interview. You can catch up with the main characters of Death Is A Bitch at Lia Davis' blog,  http://booksamour.blogspot.com
I hope you'll pop over! But careful - they'll put a spell on you...

Halloween fun with Margay Leah Justice

Cate: Please welcome Margay Leah Justice to my special Halloween celebration. Margay, please tell us a little bit about yourself.
Margay: Well, I am a single mother of two daughters with a passion for knitting, reading, and writing, of course! I live – and write – in Massachusetts.


Cate: What do you love most about Halloween?
Margay: I love seeing the kids in their costumes. They usually look so fantastic and they have so much fun, it’s hard not to get swept up in the spirit of that.


Cate: Do you have a favorite memory of a Halloween past?
Margay: Any that involved my daughters is a favorite. When they were younger, a family in our neighborhood used to really go all out on the decorations in their front yard – a coffin with a body that rose to a sitting position, a ‘graveyard’ and even a guillotine once. People used to come from a few towns over just to see it, so it was fun to walk up there and watch how others responded to it.


Cate: Have you ever had an unusual experience you couldn’t explain?
Margay: On several occasions, actually. Probably the most profound is that my father visited me the night he died. He died in Virginia, I live in Massachusetts.


Cate: What frightens you the most?
Margay: Speaking in public! I’m kind of a shy person so the thought of getting up in front of a crowd to speak terrifies me.


Cate: Ever gone on a ghost tour? Or ghost hunting on your own?
Margay: No, but I would love to do both.


Cate: Any favorite Halloween recipes you’d care to share?
Margay: I wish I had one, but I don’t – my mother’s the crafty one in that department!


Cate: Tell us about your latest release, and where readers can find it online.
Margay: My latest release, Sloane Wolf, is about an empath named Shiloh Beck who is being hunted by a mysterious group that she refers to as ‘the Institute.’ She is determined not to return there, whatever she has to do to prevent it. Early on, she crosses paths with the Sloane family and quickly becomes entangled with them, not realizing that they are a family of shapeshifters. Of course, she becomes involved with the eldest sibling, Micah Sloane, and the real fireworks begin!Available from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Sloane-Wolves-Destiny-Falls-ebook/dp/B006M4AGN4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1326586732&sr=1-1


Cate: Care to share a blurb or excerpt?
Margay:
Shiloh nearly leapt off the sill as his hand touched her knee. It took every ounce of willpower she possessed to remain seated and appear undaunted by the gesture. “I am…much better now…thank you,” she said, becoming more unnerved by the presence of his hand by the minute. Oh, this was not good, not good at all. The longer it remained there, the stronger her impulse to bolt became. Oh, no…
What was it about this man that rattled her so and with so little effort on his part? Sharing the same air with him was enough to send her pulses to the moon—and her mind somewhere else, something new for her. Being this attracted to a man was beyond her realm of experience. She didn’t know what to do with it—or about it. Should she do anything? Should she pretend indifference? And why wasn’t he so deeply affected? It wasn’t fair.
Still confused, she gave him a weak smile, intent on backing up her previous claim with the gesture. She feared it failed miserably. When Micah returned her smile and lifted his hand from her knee, she felt precisely one second of relief before he shook her world again by caressing her face in parting. She stumbled
back against the frame of the window, her lips parting on a startled breath as a lightning bolt shot through her at his touch. Something flickered in his eyes at her reaction—pain, perhaps—and he retracted his hand, balling it into a fist as he turned away from her, preparing to depart.
In an instant, she realized her mistake. Along with it came the knowledge she couldn’t let him go away angry or upset. After everything he and his family had done for her, she owed him that much. She grabbed him by the shirtfront to stop him, and a shock of awareness shot from her hand directly into his heart, just beneath it. She could see it in the gaze he leveled on her then, could hear it in his breath trapped within his lungs, feel it in the missed beat of his heart. But then, all sense abandoned her, and her heart skipped a beat as he held her hand firmly to his chest with one of his own and lifted the other to her head, anchoring it against the window frame. Slowly, his eyes never straying from hers, he leaned across the space separating them. His lips brushed hers, like a whisper, before he withdrew, tilted his head to the side, and advanced again. This time the kiss was fuller, penetrating her every defense, both physical and emotional, but still not long enough for her. He retreated once again after a fraction of time and hovered before her, scarcely an inch away. Watching her. Waiting.
Her heart beating a frantic tempo now, Shiloh abandoned all of her reservations and her good sense to swoop in for a more vigorous kiss. So vigorous, in fact, she knocked him off his perch through the open window. Only quick reflexes honed to perfection at the Institute prevented her from tumbling after him.
Bracing herself against the sill, she leaned out the window as far as she was able and watched his descent from the slanted roof to the ground below. She lost sight of him the moment he slid beyond the reach of the light from her window. But then she heard him land with a thud —and a howl—on the ground in front of the back porch when he failed to catch himself on the roof edge. She clasped a hand over her mouth to silence her reaction and waited. When he didn’t rouse right away, panic shot through her and she leaned out another few inches.
“Micah? Are you okay?”
“Fine,” he answered after a few moments, appearing beyond the overhang of the roof as if to prove it to her. “Nothing hurt but what’s left of my pride.”
Relief coursed through her at his statement, and she allowed herself the laugh she’d literally held back before. Her mirth was cut short, however, by his next words.
“Hey, Shiloh! We’ve got to stop falling for each other like this.”
His laughter followed her as she ducked back into the room. She could still hear it even after she closed the window, though not as well. Oh, Lord. She rested against the cool pane of glass and touched her still-tingling lips with shaky fingers. Was she? Falling for him? Was that what this crazy-mad feeling inside of her was?
The question plagued her long into the night.


Cate: What inspired you to write about the theme?
Margay: It started out as just some scenes flitting around in my head, inspired by a book/movie with a similar theme a few years back. Then I saw a call online for a contest with a wolf theme and I thought I’d give it a try, so I really started playing around with these scenes to see if I had enough for a story. Things really came together and started to gel when I saw an article online about how the grey wolves were making a return to Massachusetts after an absence of about a century and a half. Of course, being a writer, I started thinking about the reasons why they were absent, the consequences of them making a reappearance and before you knew it, Sloane Wolf was born.


Cate: Anything else you’d like to share?
Margay: If you’d like to learn more about me and what I have planned for the future, I’d love to have you visit my blog at http://margayleahjustice.blogspot.com. I can also be found on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.


Cate: Margay has a giveaway for you lucky readers!
Margay: In honor of Halloween and my book, I would love to give away something with a wolf theme that I made myself – it may be fingerless gloves or a hat with a paw print, or a stuffed wolf (still deciding). Oh, and there might even be a copy of my book in there, too!

 To celebrate all things wolfish, I'm sharing a video showing you how to make werewolf cupcakes! Yum!

Spooktacular Giveaway Hop!

The Spooktacular Giveaway Hop is huge this year! More than 400 blogs participating, so I'm setting up my post early in case anyone wants to get a head start. :)

Thanks to I Am A Reader, Not A Writer for setting up this hop. If the Linky code doesn't appear below (and it didn't in Preview), then visit the I Am A Reader, Not A Writer blog for the full list of participants.
On to the goodies! GiveawayOne ebook of Dead to Rights, my urban fantasy released this year with Decadent Publishing, and a Night Owl Reviews Top Pick. Part of the review said:  "Dead to Rights is a fantastically fun novel that is instantly engaging. The story covers all kinds of things, from love to self worth to things better left to angels and demons. Readers everywhere will thoroughly enjoy this novel as much as I did." The full review is here.
Here's the blurb: Identity theft sucks. But it’s worse when someone steals your life—body included. All memory of her life before waking up in a mental facility has vanished. Or was erased. Now she has to figure out how to get it all back….
Her only hope of learning the truth lies with one man. Problem is, he’s the leader of a cult.
Her only choice is to follow him into his sordid world, where a darker evil lurks.
With a little help from an archangel hellbent on revenge, she may have a chance to learn the truth. But will it force her to make the hardest decision of her life…or death?
Note: Dead to Rights is not a romance, but an urban fantasy with minimal sexual tension. The heat level rating of 2 is for some language and violence.
How to Enter
Leave a comment telling me what you love most about Halloween! Be sure to include your email address so I can contact you if you win.

I'm going to make it easy on you. I'd love for you to follow my blog, but it's not a requirement. (You might want to, though, because I've been hosting authors throughout October with fun interviews, recipes and more giveaways! There's always something going on here.)
Hop to the next Spooktacular blog!
Visit the I Am A Reader, Not A Writer blog for the full list of participants. Thanks for hopping by. :)
com/basic_linky_include.aspx?id=159014" type="text/javascript"></script> -->

A little Grimm for you

Today, I have another treat for you! If you like your fairy tales a little bit futuristic and with a sprinkling of zombies, then try The Twelve Dancing, Zombie-Killing Princesses. Download it for free from Smashwords using the code RS68T

Here's the blurb:

Meilin’s never believed in fairy tales. Happy ever afters might have happened in the old days – before zombies. But this is 2089, and the zombies beyond City are nothing like the ones your parents warned you about.When their father promises riches to the one who can rid their city of zombies, the twelve King sisters rush to develop a solution that won’t bankrupt Dad. The war overseas left Will disillusioned, but fighting zombies at home is a cause he can embrace. Meilin’s another. Tough but sweet, she might make him believe in life again, and maybe even love, if she doesn’t kick his ass first.When zombies kidnap her family, Meilin must rescue them. But can she and Will save them from the worst fate of all?
If you download it, I hope you'll leave a review as well. :)

Come back Monday for the next Halloween guest! Happy weekend!

Halloween fun with Tierney O'Malley

Cate: Please welcome Tierney to my special Halloween celebration. Tierney, please tell us a little bit about yourself.
Tierney: First, let me thank you, Cate, for the invitation. It’s great to be here and to be a part of your special Halloween celebration. Now, a little bit about my self. I’m published with eXtasy Books, Cobblestone Press, Museitup Publishing, and Silver Publishing. Writing Contemporay Erotic Romance is what is keeping me up all night. Recently though, I published my first Paranormal Romance, Wolf’s Soul. It is the first book of the Midnight Howl Series. I enjoyed writing this book as much as I enjoyed writing my contemporary romances.


Cate: Very cool. :) What do you love most about Halloween?
Tierney: I love Halloween because, like other special holidays, it brings us together. We would look for special pumpkins, help each other carve them, take pictures, and we often talk about the past. It is something that helps strengthen the bind that keeps us stronger as a family. And, yeah. I love the candies as well. :)


Cate: Well put. What frightens you the most?
Tierney: Horror movies. LOL.


Cate: I can't watch them! Tell us about your latest release, and where readers can find it online.
Tierney: Wolf’s Soul, A Midnight Howl Novel is my first paranormal erotic romance book. Unlike other shapeshifter books, the characters in Midnight Howl are not totally immortal. J The book is scorching hot and will not disappoint you at all.


Cate: Care to share a blurb or excerpt? (suitable for general audiences, please)
Tierney: My pleasure. Here is the excerpt for Wolf’s Soul.
Excerpt:
The look Callum gave her was enough for any woman to faint. He looked deadly, menacing, and angry. However, she wasn’t just another woman, was she? She had guts, and she was capable of killing bad shape-shifters.
Callum got off his bike. She stood and waited until he was toe to toe with her. She had to tip her head up a bit to see his eyes.
“Baby, you are seriously pissing me off.”
“It seems I always piss you off. I’m not afraid of you, or of your guns strapped on your...What kind of guns are those?” She pointed at his thighs.
“Beretta 92Fs.”
“And the two on your back?”
“Brügger & Thomet MP-9 9x19mm.”
“And you have a sword, too? Good God! You’re a walking arsenal.”
“Mari, you shouldn’t be afraid of me.” He bent down to pick up the sword and sheathed it in the scabbard.
To Marisol’s surprise, he helped her strap it on her back again. When he was done, his large hand took her face and caressed it gently. “I’d never hurt you, but Atos would.”
“I’m not afraid of him, either.”
“You should. Fear is not a sign of cowardice or weakness. When you feel threatened…afraid of losing your life or someone special…that’s when courage, energy, and the will to live surfaces. Fear is good sometimes. It was fear that made me push my bike to the limit, to find you and bring you back to my cabin.”
“You can’t keep everyone safe, Callum. Do whatever it is you think you should to keep me safe, but stay away from me. I won’t be responsible if you become a Cancer.”
“I already told you, I don’t care if—”
“Yes, you do. I watched you talk to your brothers. They love you, Callum. And with me, you’ll be facing far more danger.”
“If they love me, they’ll have to accept you. I can have both you and my family.”
“I didn’t give you leave to have me.”
“Yes, you did. We mated. You’re mine.”
“We had sex. It was great, but that’s it. Let’s face it. You’re here because of my sword. I’m giving it to you freely. Take it.”
“I don’t want your sword. I want you. And we didn’t have sex. We made love, baby.”
“Whatever. Leave me alone, Callum.”
“Can’t.”
“Why?”
“Who knows? You talk to yourself, you can’t carry on a conversation without getting distracted, you don’t finish your sentences, you’re a brat, you punch people when you wake up, you can’t cook, you tried to feed me raw meat, and you hog the blankets. I’m beginning to think that my brothers are right.”
“About what?”
“The way I feel about you,” he said the words forcefully, but amusement showed in his eyes.
He was laughing at her. “Well, you made your feelings obvious to him, to all of them, didn’t you? I’m such a goof to like a shape-shifter.” She meant to keep the last remark to herself, but the words flew out of her mouth.
“You’re not a goof.”
“Whatever.”
Callum lifted her chin and licked her lips. “Open your mouth.” He put pressure on her lower lip until she was forced to open for him. His tongue swept inside.
His kiss melted Marisol’s anger. She wrapped her arms around his neck and returned his kisses with fervor.


Cate: Anything else you’d like to share?
Tierney: I would like to thank you, Cate, for inviting me here. You’re awesome. To learn more about me and my books, please visit http://tierneyomalley.comor drop me a line at tierneyomalley AT frontier.com


Cate: Tierney has a giveaway! Yay!
Tierney: To help celebrate Halloween, I am giving away a pdf copy of Wolf’s Soul to one lucky commenter. Good luck everyone and happy Halloween!


Cate: Happy Halloween to you, Tierney! Thanks for being part of the fun.


Speaking of carving pumpkins, I'm amazed at how creative people are these days. Someone sent me this photo they'd taken. The poor thing must've had too many treats, lol.






Here's a video showing how you can carve some amazingly creative pumpkins:

Jessica Haight and Stephanie Robinson brought some Halloween goodies!

Cate: Welcome to the Halloween madness, Jess and Stephanie! Can you share a bit about yourselves?
Jess: I was born in CT and grew up in Southbury. I am an only child, and thus had some pretty fascinating games that I created when I was a kid. One of my favorite past-times involved my grandmother’s fancy perfume bottles. She had the most amazing collection- every color, shape, and size you can think of. I can’t exactly recall the details of the actual game, however, I know that each one represented a person in a royal court. The green bottle with the crystal top was the queen, and there was a really cool orange and cream colored tall pitcher that was the king. My parents told me that I would sit, sometimes for hours, just mumbling and moving the pieces around in front of the picture window. Today, I am 38 and live in New Fairfield, CT with my wonderful fiancé, James, my dog, Jack, and cat, Bill. I still live in a dream world, only now I move words around, while mumbling quietly to myself.
 Stephanie: I was born and raised in Connecticut and lived in Ohio for a few years of my early childhood. I loved playing outside and reading as a child. Climbing trees was a favorite pastime- though now I am scared of heights. I am currently a 5th grade teacher and live with my husband in a quiet town in Connecticut, though not as quaint as Ashpot. When I am not working, I spend my time writing, reading, and traveling.


Cate: Very cool, Jess! You sound a lot like me as a kid, Stephanie.What do you love most about Halloween?
Jess: Everything creatively spooky! I just love it all- carving a Jack O’ Lantern, the candy, and I especially enjoy the truly inspired costumes.  : )  
Stephanie: Candy! I love candy- especially chocolate. It is so nice to have an assortment to choose from on Halloween. I also think it is great to see all of the festive decorations everyone puts up.


Cate: Do you have a favorite memory of a Halloween past?
Jess: My favorite Halloween pasts all included the really well put together parties, where everyone really gets into it, and showing up without an original costume isn’t even an option!
Stephanie: When I was growing up there was always a big Halloween event at my elementary school. There were dangling donuts, cake walks, a haunted house, and all kinds of Halloween contests and activities.  Of course, there was candy, waxed fangs, and lots lot creepy music.  Everyone would wear their costumes and walk the halls of the school participating in various activities. I looked forward to it all year!


Cate: Have you ever had an unusual experience you couldn’t explain?
Jess: My spookiest memory is when I was about 9 years old. My stepsister, Lisa, had this ancient looking crystal ball that had a rusted metal bird claw attached to it. It was one of the most bizarre things I have yet to come across, and I have no idea where she actually found it, but (since she was about 8 years older and loved to scare the pants off of me) she told me that she found it in a graveyard, on top of an old gravestone. One Halloween night, she set up her bedroom with candles and put on a black cloak with a hood, and then invited me in. She whipped out the Ougi board and we set ourselves in position to play. It was fun- I remember she was playing the Thriller Album by Michael Jackson, and then the phone rang. This was way back in the day when phones were actually attached to a cord and usually found in the kitchen. She got up and went to answer it. I sat in the room, watching the flickering candles and staring at the creepy crystal ball. And, in an instant, the shades all flipped up and a breeze blew through the bedroom. Then, just as the door slammed shut, a piece of the crystal ball chipped off and flew across the room. Scared me half to death, and I ran out as quickly as I could. True story!  : ) Creepy, no?
Stephanie: A few years ago I had an experience that left me feeling very unsettled. I was in my house alone and all of a sudden my grandmother (who had passed away 5 years earlier) was there and she was talking to me and giving me advice. It only lasted for about a minute, but I could see her vividly and hear her loud and clear. I called my mom afterward and told her about the whole experience. It made me emotional and I even cried a little. Nothing like that has happened since.



Cate: I love that so many people have had weird experiences! What frightens you the most?
Jess: Truly, I think the scariest thing is the feeling of being afraid, or watching someone else who is afraid. The Dementors from Harry Potter are quite terrifying, especially when it’s not in their nature to feel compassion or reason- that is the scariest thing of all- an opponent not capable of understanding these two very important qualities.
Stephanie: My imagination! I used to live in a house out in the woods and would imagine people (zombies) under my deck as I would race up the stairs so they couldn’t grab my ankles. The craziest part was- I was never afraid being in the house at night alone. Just those stairs and what I imagined to be hiding beneath them. 


Cate: Ever gone on a ghost tour? Or ghost hunting on your own?
Jess: Ah yes, a passion of mine, actually. My very favorite haunt is the blue house on Main Street in Newtown, CT. The story is fascinating, and I have been dying to get a glimpse inside it for years. We will be clueing our readers in on some of the interesting history about this spooky house during the month of October on Fairday’s Blog! 
Stephanie: I have never been on an actual ghost tour, but during high school and college my friends and I visited many old cemeteries and places around Connecticut with ghostly lore.  We would scare ourselves silly each and every time!


Cate: Any favorite Halloween recipes you’d care to share?
Jess: No one wants me to cook. That would be the scariest thing of all! For me, it’s all about those treat size candy bars- Reeses, Snickers, Nestle Crunch- YUM! (Kept in the freezer or fridge to add a little more chill to the treat.)  
Stephanie: I don’t do any cooking or baking. I think if my husband saw me cooking he would actually be afraid that I was possessed. Still, at this time of year I love all the creative cupcakes and cookies decorated to look like spiders, pumpkins, and ghosts!


Cate: Too funny! Tell us about your latest release, and where readers can find it online.
Jessica and Stephanie: Fear not the unexpected.
The Begonia House keeps its secrets. Everyone knows that. Everyone that is, except for clever eleven-year-old Fairday Morrow, whose family has just moved in. Being the Senior Investigator in the Detective Mystery Squad, more commonly known as the DMS, she’s ready to uncover the mysteries hidden within the strange manor. As the investigation gears up and the pieces of the puzzle begin to fall into place, the DMS enters into a world where anything is possible, and the danger is most definitely real. Follow along with Fairday and her friends, as “spooky” meets “lovely” in this twisting tale of dark secrets and hidden pasts.


We decided to pursue the traditional route for publishing The Secret DMS Files of Fairday Morrow. Although we both love writing, we work other jobs to pay our bills. We understand that self-publishing and marketing your own work is a full-time job, and at the moment we don’t feel we have the time to devote to publishing ourselves. We are lucky enough to be working with a wonderful agent and hopefully we will find an editor to publish our book.


Others can learn more about us at our blog, website, fan facebook page, and our

Cate: Love the premise. And your artwork! Care to share a blurb or excerpt?
Jessica and Stephanie:   Excerpt from Chapter 5 of The Secret DMS Files of Fairday Morrow
Fairday did not sleep well her first night in the Begonia House. She had tossed and turned in the giant, wooden bed for a long time with her eyes wide open, listening to the amplified sounds of her new surroundings. The old house clanged and groaned restlessly, as the wild, whistling wind wrestled the old willow tree in the bright moonlight outside her bedroom window. Its twisted limbs banged into one another, casting monstrous looking shadows all along the walls. At one point, she thought she had heard the mysterious bagpipe music again and sat straight up in bed, anxiously grabbing the high-powered flashlight, which she had strategically positioned under her pillow. Fairday shined the luminescent high beam all around her room and over the long maroon drapes, (which did give the appearance that someone or something terrifying was hiding behind them, but Fairday had sneaked over, forcefully yanked them back, and shoved the flashlight into the empty space behind them so many times that she had to convince herself to stop obsessing over it). Each time she invoked the power of the flashlight and illuminated the room, it proved to be completely void of all intruders, except, of course, for herself.

Cate: What inspired you to write about the theme?
Jess: The initial story was partially created by my grandfather. When I was a kid, I stayed with my grandparents for a while and they lived in a spooky house in Ridgefield, CT. Sometimes it sounded like someone was walking around upstairs when there was no one up there, and my grandfather used to tell me it was Ruby Begonia clomping around in her high-heeled sneakers. I spent years trying to catch her, but never did. Ruby’s story took shape as I grew up. When I was in my twenties, I wrote the children’s poem, Ruby Begonia and the High-Heeled Sneakers. One day, I thought how cool it would be to turn the poem into a chapter book and the name, Fairday Morrow popped into my head. I thought to ask my best friend and book buddy, Stephanie Robinson, if she wanted to co-author it with me, and happily she agreed. Stephanie and I both love books; we love to read and talk about the stories. So, we started writing and talking about Fairday and the adventures of the DMS.
Stephanie: After Jess asked me to work with her on changing her poem into a story the ideas began emerging from all over the place. We would meet, talk, brainstorm, and dissect each other’s ideas. Each time one of us shared something we would spark new ideas in the other person. Some of the elements of Fairday’s story have appeared in my dreams and others have happened in my everyday life.
Cate: Anything else you’d like to share?
Jess & Stephanie: Thank you so much for hosting us on your wonderful blog! And, thanks to all our readers for their support! Remember…fear not the unexpected!


Cate: Woo hoo! Stephanie and Jess have a giveaway!
Jess & Stephanie: 1 signed paperback edition of The Secret DMS Files of Fairday Morrow


Cate: A wickedly wonderful treat! Don’t forget to leave your email address when you comment!
Thanks for sharing in the Halloween fun, Jess and Stephanie! Have a spooktacular Halloween.

Your story reminded me of a song relating to the unexplained and mysterious. It seemed appropriate for the occasion. Enjoy!

Halloween fun with Stan Hampton Sr.

Cate: Please welcome Stan Hampton, Sr. to my special Halloween celebration. Stan, please tell us a little bit about yourself.
Stan: Well, since I didn’t provide my “official bio,” the important things are I’m a Choctaw from the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, a divorced grandfather to 13 grandchildren, and I serve in the Army National Guard. I hold the rank of staff sergeant. I’m studying anthropology, and photography this semester. And, the job market being what it is in Las Vegas, NV (plus I’m middle aged), I’m also unemployed, and living in 2-year VA transitional housing for homeless veterans.


Cate: What do you love most about Halloween?
Stan: Raiding my grandkids goodie bags for Kraft Caramels. They love me, so they don’t complain too much. And caramel apples. I love caramel apples.


Cate: Have you ever had an unusual experience you couldn’t explain?
Stan: Wellll...I once worked at a photo lab here in Vegas. As you know, color printing and processing requires total darkness. The color print room was at the end of a long corridor, along which there were numerous smaller rooms for various purposes. The color print processor was in a small room off of the center of the corridor. I was working alone one night on a lengthy print job that a customer needed early the next morning. I exposed my sheet of paper, rolled it up, and walked down the corridor to the processor room. Halfway to the processor room, as I passed one of the small rooms, the hair suddenly stood up on the back of my neck, and a chill went down the back of my head and down my spine. Not figuratively, but literally! I put the paper in the machine, and walked out of the corridor into the well-lit, main photo lab. After I few moments I returned to the corridor, turned all of the lights on, and went back to the print room—all of the while praying that the lights wouldn’t suddenly go out. I turned the equipment off, and went home, leaving the print job incomplete. The next morning I told the lab chief why I didn’t complete the job; he looked at me, just nodded without expressing any criticism or disappointment, and called the customer to say that the job would be finished before noon. You see, numerous people had told me early on that they believed the photo lab was haunted. Mostly they said there was sometimes a feeling of not being alone in that corridor. Once in awhile, when the dim, colored safelights were on, they might catch a glimpse of a moving shadow. I never paid much attention to their claims. But that day, in spite of a paying customer being disappointed at not receiving a promised job on time, no one criticized or ridiculed me, especially the lab chief.


Cate: *shudders* Creepy indeed. What frightens you the most?
Stan: Well, maybe the night, especially when there’s a feeling that something unknown is nearby. Not that I’m admitting to such a fear, but maybe…


Cate: Ever gone on a ghost tour? Or ghost hunting on your own?
Stan: Nope. I wouldn’t know how to do that. I think I’d like to, but after the photo lab, wellll…


Cate: Any favorite Halloween recipes you’d care to share?
Stan: I don’t have any, other than the idea of melting a bunch of caramels in a pan, and dunk and twirl a delicious red apple in it until it’s covered with wonderful, beautiful, sweet, melted caramels!


Cate: Yum. :) Tell us about your latest release, and where readers can find it online.
Stan: Well, “An Incident on MSR Tampa” isn’t my latest release. It wasreleased earlier this year by Musa Publishing. But it does take place on Halloween night, in southern Iraq. And, let’s see. It’s about a gun truck crew escorting a supply convoy from northern Kuwait to Baghdad. Except, the gun truck doesn’t get there. Let’s just say that as man pushes the envelope on technology, perhaps we might encounter things that we don’t want to encounter.


Cate: Care to share a blurb or excerpt? (suitable for general audiences, please)
Stan: Sure. First, the blurb, then the excerpt.


Halloween Night, 2006 – a resupply convoy commanded by the Air Force and escorted by Army gun trucks, is leaving Kuwait for Baghdad. The lonely desert highway north is MSR Tampa, a bloody highway along which for years the convoys suffered insurgent attacks. And on MSR Tampa there is a particular wooded bend that no one speaks of, though many know of its haunted reputation, a reputation given new life by a gun truck crew testing a new generation of enhanced night vision goggles…
            Sergeant Travis Harland peered through the helmet-mounted, experimental Enhanced Next Generation/Night Vision Goggles, called Cyclops, at the bright, fuzzy, greenish-white glow of the Iraqi desert. Isolated homes and small villages swam out of the darkness before disappearing into greenish-black static that reminded him of a haunted landscape. From time to time he was rudely jolted when the Cyclops bumped against the side ballistic window of his growling HMMWV gun truck that led the supply convoy up Main Supply Route Tampa, bound for Baghdad.
            A bright shaft of greenish-white light swept across the dunes and clumps of brush to their right before locking onto a small dusty mound further ahead. A metallic voice sounded in the earphones shoved under Harland’s already tight fitting Kevlar helmet.
            “-at the one o’clock, a hundred yards ahead,” the Gunner, Specialist Paul Bonner, said.
            Harland sighed. A gun truck wasn’t built for comfort, especially when the Gun Truck Commander was tall and thin, as he was. Being thin didn’t provide much of a cushion for sitting, especially on army seats. And communications glitches didn’t help his mood either.
            “Bonner! You hit the off-switch again, you fucking idiot. Say again.”
            “Pile of sand and rocks at the two o’clock, fifty yards ahead. Throwing a glo-stick,” Bonner said. A bright fluorescent stick tumbled through the dusty, windy night to land next to the pile that was already so well marked by glo-sticks from previous convoys. Glo-sticks warned of a sometimes suspicious feature for following vehicles.
            The Driver, Private First Class Lee Stewart, veered into the left lane, away from the pile...

Excerpt
            Sergeant Travis Harland peered through the helmet-mounted, experimental Enhanced Next Generation/Night Vision Goggles, called Cyclops, at the bright, fuzzy, greenish-white glow of the Iraqi desert. Isolated homes and small villages swam out of the darkness before disappearing into greenish-black static that reminded him of a haunted landscape. From time to time he was rudely jolted when the Cyclops bumped against the side ballistic window of his growling HMMWV gun truck that led the supply convoy up Main Supply Route Tampa, bound for Baghdad.
            A bright shaft of greenish-white light swept across the dunes and clumps of brush to their right before locking onto a small dusty mound further ahead. A metallic voice sounded in the earphones shoved under Harland’s already tight fitting Kevlar helmet.
            “-at the one o’clock, a hundred yards ahead,” the Gunner, Specialist Paul Bonner, said.
            Harland sighed. A gun truck wasn’t built for comfort, especially when the Gun Truck Commander was tall and thin, as he was. Being thin didn’t provide much of a cushion for sitting, especially on army seats. And communications glitches didn’t help his mood either.
            “Bonner! You hit the off-switch again, you fucking idiot. Say again.”
            “Pile of sand and rocks at the two o’clock, fifty yards ahead. Throwing a glo-stick,” Bonner said. A bright fluorescent stick tumbled through the dusty, windy night to land next to the pile that was already so well marked by glo-sticks from previous convoys. Glo-sticks warned of a sometimes suspicious feature for following vehicles.
            The Driver, Private First Class Lee Stewart, veered into the left lane, away from the pile...


Cate: What inspired you to write about the theme?
Stan: First, I’ve always had an interest in the supernatural, or paranormal. Second, the first just seems to be a natural partner to the horror of war. Third, I’m fascinated by the leaps and bounds that technology has been making in the past 10, even five years. That inspired me to think, “What if…?”


Cate: Anything else you’d like to share?
Stan: Not that I can think of. Just, thank you for having me here today. Happy Halloween!


Cate: Thanks for joining in the fun, Stan! Read Stan's bio below - and buy his book!
SS Hampton, Sr. is a full-blood Choctaw of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, a divorced grandfather to 13 grandchildren, and a veteran of Operations Noble Eagle (2004-2006) and Iraqi Freedom (2006-2007). He served in the active duty Army (1974-1985), the Army Individual Ready Reserve (1985-1995) (mobilized for the Persian Gulf War), and enlisted in the Army National Guard in October 2004; he was mobilized for active duty for almost three years after his enlistment. He continues to serve in the Guard, where he holds the rank of staff sergeant. He is a published photographer and photojournalist, an aspiring painter, and is studying for a degree in anthropology—hopefully to someday work in underwater archaeology. He has wanted to be a writer since he was 15 years old; his first short story was published in 1992, after which it wasn’t until 2001 that another short story was published. His writings have appeared as stand-alone stories and in anthologies from Dark Opus Press, Edge Science Fiction & Fantasy (forthcoming), Melange Books, Musa Publishing, MuseItUp Publishing, Ravenous Romance, and as stand-alone stories in Horror Bound Magazine, Ruthie’s Club, Lucrezia Magazine, The Harrow, and River Walk Journal, among others. As of December 2011, he became the latest homeless Iraq war veteran in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Kristin Battestella joins the Halloween fun!

Cate: Yay, a fellow New Jerseyan's here! Welcome, Kristin to my special Halloween celebration. Please tell us a little bit about yourself.
Kristin: I’m just a little New Jersey housewife who likes writing her horror! 


Cate: Love it! What do you love most about Halloween?
Kristin: Why scaring the neighborhood kids, of course!  Although I seem to do that daily anyway.  Seriously, I love the entire old world feeling that settles in this time of year.  I like that things are in a sort of dying or suspended, withering state, the way night time and chills creep in. It feels as if all of nature is respecting the dead.  I know it sounds morbid, but I like that we are supposed to take time to respect old customs, appreciate the harvest and the earth, and honor the dead.  What I don’t like about Halloween is the way it has become an excuse to dress like a slut. 


Cate: Do you have a favorite memory of a Halloween past?
Kristin: Oh, there are so many!  My mother had to beg me right after Labor Day, “Please don’t put up any Halloween decorations yet!” So I used to terrorize my sister instead.  I’d put fake snakes and spiders into her bed, wall up her bedroom door with spider webbing, and then dress up freaky and perch in front of her window with a creepy old oil lantern we had.  I did crazy stuff like that year round- web up the whole house, be set up with fake blood and a toy knife to scare my parents when they walked in the door, sat in a rocking chair by the window like Mrs. Bates.  I just enjoyed scaring people, though I’m not really sure why!


Cate: Tee hee. That's the spirit. :) Have you ever had an unusual experience you couldn’t explain?
Kristin: Particularly with dreams, yes. You think you see someone in a dream, and then find things rearranged in your room where they supposedly were in the dream, or worse, dreaming about someone only to find out they just died.  Last night in fact I dreamt of one of those mortal and pestle bowls.  Now I have to go and get one!


Cate: What frightens you the most?
Kristin: I’m sure I’m afraid of a lot of things, but not in a boasting way, but I just don’t let fear bother me.  It’s perfectly okay to admit to fear, perhaps that is why I like to scare people, and write horror and vampire stories debating about darkness and light.  Why do we seek to create fear? Why do we enjoy the adrenaline or stimulation? It’s good to have fear in order to face what scares you, but it shouldn’t inhibit you. Use it in your creativity. On paper, I can explore any number of freaky and fearful things that I couldn’t or wouldn’t do in the real world.


Cate: Ever gone on a ghost tour? Or ghost hunting on your own?
Kristin: We haven’t done any recently, but my husband and I used to go to cemeteries and take pictures quite often.  We enjoyed reading the dates on headstones or seeing the strange designs to tombs or what people left behind.  Again, cemeteries are a lot like that Halloween seasonal feeling I spoke of earlier.  There is an element of death and respect to them that is a privilege. You really wonder about the people who are buried there. How did they live? Why did they die? It makes you very appreciative.  When you go to a place and get that same kind of eerie feeling, watch out! 
We’ve been on a few mansion tours and museums where you just get that feeling that something is alive here, or that these walls are very, very old.


Cate: I love doing that too. Any favorite Halloween recipes you’d care to share?
Kristin: Actually, I have to say I don’t really have any good recipes.  I like pumpkin pie and banana bread and things like that. I bake a lot of cookies or muffins and such, but I don’t understand the whole cutesy Halloween baking thing, making kitty cat cupcakes with eyes and whiskers.  I’m more the type to have edible eyes in a bowl or a fake brain in the freezer.  The cat likes to chew on our fingers, so I gave him a bunch of toy severed ones, but he doesn’t like them.  He wants the real thing!


Cate: Tell us about your latest release, and where readers can find it online.
Kristin: My 7 book series with Muse it Up Publishing Fate and Fangs: Tales from the Vampire Family wrapped earlier this year.  We’re available in ebook and Kindle, and locals can pick up an autographed copy of my first The Vampire Family novel at any of the Fall events I’m doing now.  It has been a crazy few years doing a series! 


Cate: Care to share a blurb or excerpt?
Kristin: A safe blurb? Tough!  Here’s a little piece of Punishment: Lilith’s Trials, Book 2 in the Fate and Fangs series:
“You can’t do this to me.  You need me!”
Despite her fair hair and white garb, her voice was ugly, cold, and black as her heart, which was itself equal to the dark void beyond her captive light.  Unfortunately, Lilith still did not yet know her boundaries.  Not that it mattered.  Give me another reason to continue her suffering thus!  Though tempted to remove her biting cries forever, I only briefly smote down her banshee voice.  In one blue flash, her next words were silent.  Her mouth moved, and moved forcefully.  Her putrid eyes bulged and her skeletal neck flexed with screams that reached no ears in the void or anywhere hence.  Again, it was only a moment or two that I pained Lilith so; but a great deal of hours also passed between our place and yours.  She felt them both—the instantaneous agony of short, clipping pain as well as the long, torturous suffering.  Both then, was my delight fleeting and long yet gratifying.


Cate: Cool cover! What inspired you to write about the theme?
Kristin: In Fate and Fangs, I was interesting in taking time amid the longer, more action oriented The Vampire Family and its forthcoming sequel to focus on mood and characters.  Why do each of these people do what they do regarding love, pain, suffering, excess, sex, and life?  All of my vampires come from this serious examination.  Can something born of evil ever know love and light? Even if you are a ‘good’ vampire, how long- decades, centuries- will it be before that inherent evil rears its head?  I enjoy playing with these big themes in assorted times and places and histories. 


Cate: Anything else you’d like to share?
Kristin: Boo!


Cate:  :) Woo hoo! Kristin has a giveaway!
Kristin:  How about we have one lucky commenter win his or her choice of a Fate and Fangs ebook?? 
Cate: Cool. Everyone, be sure to leave your email address along with a comment. Thanks so much for sharing in the fun, Kristin!

Marva Dasef conjures up some Halloween fun!

Cate: Please welcome Marva Dasef to my special Halloween celebration. Marva, please tell us a little bit about yourself.Marva: My mother was lying in a crypt one night, when her eyes beheld a frightening sight. What did her wondering eyes see emerging from her body with a dreadful howl? Twas ME! I am the Mash, the Monster Mash. Just getting into the spirit of things. In reality, I was delivered at the same time as the alien ship was found near Roswell. Well, it would have been me if Roswell was in Oregon.
Cate: Ha, love it! What do you love most about Halloween?Marva: It’s a time when scary can also be funny. I like funny scary, but scary scary scares me.
Cate: Me too. :) Do you have a favorite memory of a Halloween past?Marva: A friend and I dressed up for work as vampire hookers. We went to a McDonalds giving out free Happy Meals to people in costume. I think they just meant for kids. However, I still have my plastic crocodile cup.
Cate: Too funny! Wish you'd shared pictures. :) Have you ever had an unusual experience you couldn’t explain?Marva: One time, the sidewalk started oozing colors which swirled into a paisley pattern. Wait, I can explain that. Hey, it was the 60’s! Everybody was doing that.
Cate: lol What frightens you the most?Marva: Other than nuclear holocaust? Definitely the Zombie Apocalypse.
Cate: Ever gone on a ghost tour? Or ghost hunting on your own?Marva: I’ve explored a few graveyards late at night. I even tried a séance a couple of times, but so far, no ghosts have shown themselves. I wish they would.
Cate: Any favorite Halloween recipes you’d care to share?Marva: Yes. Take a paper bag, go next door, say Trick or Treat, eat candy. It’s not as easy as it sounds. So many doors slammed in your face!
Cate: Good trick! Tell us about your latest release, and where readers can find it online.Marva: Now I’ll get serious. “Setara’s Genie” came out in August from MuseItUp Publishing. It’s still only in ebook format, but can be found on Amazon, B&N, Omnilit, and, of course, the MuseItUp Bookstore.
It’s about a bored little rich girl who a genie decides should be his Master, or Mistress if you please. The have all sorts of adventures together meeting demons, flying horses, mermen, pirates, and viziers. The logline is: A girl, a genie, a few demons. Would could go wrong?
Here are a couple of the links:MuseItUp http://tinyurl.com/SetarasGenie Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00906ZAPU
Cate: Care to share a blurb or excerpt? Marva: Sure. Here’s the blurb.
Abu Nuwas sits in the bazaar on his threadbare rug; a cup and sign proclaim him a teller of tales. For one small coin, he bids passers by to listen. A poor girl, Najda, sells spices from a tray. Would he, she asks, trade a tale for a packet of spice? Abu Nuwas agrees and begins the epic adventures of a girl and her genie.
As did Scheherazade before him, Abu leaves Najda hanging in the middle of each yarn to keep her coming back. Between stories, he questions the girl about her life. He discovers that she’s been promised in marriage to an old man whom she hates, but she must wed him to save her sick mother’s life. The rich bridegroom will pay for the doctors the mother needs. Meanwhile, Najda sells spices in the market to earn enough money to keep her mother alive.
He relates the adventures of the bored daughter of a rich merchant, Setara, and her genie, Basit, as they encounter the creatures of legend and folklore: a lonely cave demon seeking a home; a flying, fire-breathing horse who has lost his mate; a dragon searching for his family; an evil genie hunting for the man who put him in a lamp; and a merboy prince cast out of his undersea kingdom.
Cate: Love love love that cover. What inspired you to write about the theme?Marva: There’s a theme? Oh, right. Um, friendship and love between street gangs of demons and monsters, just the usual kid stuff.
Cate: Anything else you’d like to share?Marva: I’d love for people to see my serious side (kidding, I don’t have one) by visiting my website and blog:Web: http://tinyurl.com/DasefAuthor Blog: http://mgddasef.blogspot.com/
Cate: Marva has a treat for you!Marva: I’d like to give someone who comments on this post a free ebook of their choice. I’d like people to have a choice. I’ll provide the details on the ten or so books I have available for gifting. 

Cate: Thanks so much for being part of the Halloween fun, Marva! 
Yep, you knew it was coming. Everybody sing along to Monster Mash!

Frightfully good times

Does the Halloween season put you in the mood for a good scare? Here's a few places you might want to visit, if you dare, mwahahaha!

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Though paranormal activity spikes on the anniversary of the battle in early June, Gettysburg's ghosts make themselves known year-round. Take a tour of some of the more haunted places with The Ghosts of Gettysburg, or Gettysburg Ghost Tours. My sisters and I were able to capture orbs on our digital cameras. Unfortunately, that was a few years, and another computer ago, so my photos are buried somewhere beyond as well. The Gettysburg Paranormal Association promises a more intense experience!

Here's a video of an alleged sighting in Gettysburg. Watch the far end of the lane. You decide if it's real!
Click the Full Screen button at the bottom right of the video for a better view, the spirits are tiny otherwise. :)



Salem, Massachusetts
My sisters went without me! Someday I'll visit, too, though. If Gettysburg is associated with ghosts, the very name Salem immediately brings witches to mind.

In Salem, they celebrate Halloween all month long (like my blog!) so you have plenty of opportunities to take part in the fun. Check out the event listings at Haunted Happenings, or Festival of the Dead, or Salem Halloween City, which looks like Halloween central!

For a more historical take, visit the Witch Dungeon Museum, Salem Witch Museum or the Witches Cottage.