Crystal Green's Blog, page 2

Halloween Movie Binge: THE HOUSES OCTOBER BUILT

I do love me some found footage movies, and although it seems that THE HOUSES OCTOBER BUILT is a bit polarizing, I thought it had a lot going for it.

We follow a group who is out to make a documentary about all the haunted houses that pop up around every Halloween. But here's the conceit of the film and the big question the documentarians come across: How can you be sure that some of the people who are trying to scare the poo out of you behind those masks aren't serious psychos?

There were some great jump scares and truly tense scenes as the group tries to track down a shady underground extreme haunted house that relocates every year. As you can see from the movie poster, some of the costumes are fah-ree-kay! I might be in the minority here, but I actually liked the main characters and that means I actually cared about the dangers that awaited them.

Bottom line: This isn't as fun as going to those real houses that October build, but it's still a creepy good time.

Stay tuned for INTRUDER!

Halloween Movie Binge: TALES OF HALLOWEEN

Another scary movie down!


I couldn't be happier that horror movie anthologies have experienced a rebound. As you'll soon see, I'm a sucker for the old Hammer-style flicks that contain short stories that are held together by one framing device. In recent years, The ABCs of Death and V/H/S have whet some bloody appetites with their anthology structures. Talking about these movies with friends are extra fun because you can compare your favorite entries (and not so favorites) with others.

Tales of Halloween offers 10 little scares that are threaded together by a very simple framing device--the Fog-like voice of Adrienne Barbeau, coming at you on one Halloween night. Barbeau's presence is only the first of many tributes to horror fans as more genre directors, actors, and creators appear in every tale. I dare not ruin the surprises here, but there are also a couple of homages to higher-profile movies that are pure fun.

Favorite entries include:
1. "Sweet Tooth": urban legend meets Exorcist 3 homage (which, BTW, is one of the scariest things I've ever seen).
3. "Trick": Ooo, a nasty, nasty little tale. Watch very closely...
5. "Grim Grinning Ghost": I love this for its atmosphere as well as the creepy creep factor. If this were a candy, it would be Pop Rocks.
8. "Friday the 31st": You cannot dislike this one if you're a slasher fan. Throw in some Evil Dead for good measure.
9. "The Ransom of Rusty Rex": Just desserts. That's all I'm gonna say.

Bottom line? As with every anthology, there are some stinkers among the good stuff. This flick isn't heavy on scares but on atmosphere, and it's a fun Halloween selection.

Stay tuned for: The Houses October Built

Halloween Movie Binge: The Boy

I haven't done this in a while, but here I go again...

I used to blog quite a bit about pop culture (movies, TV show recaps and live blogs, books, and nerd experiences). Then life got a little tough for a while. I backed away from sharing a lot of my private stuff with the public, and I found that I didn't have it in me to write about anything that wasn't a sales proposal. Also, there were so many other people who started to blog about pop culture, and who cared about what I said anymore?

But you know what? I'm going to give this another go, just for the Halloween fun of it. I need fun. You need fun.

Let's have Halloween fun!

Those of you who have known me for a while have it on good authority that I am a horror movie freak, and I'm going to do some serious scary flick watching since Halloween is my favorite time of year. The following is the shortest review I can manage to do without repeating to death every other review out there.

Shall we begin?

So here's the short version: we have an inexperienced American nanny who is running from something in her past. (Evil Laugh of Dark Secrets!) She ends up in a beautiful yet eerie gothic house on the outskirts of an English village. Then she meets the boy she has been hired to take care of. Since this is in the previews, it is not a spoiler: the boy is a freaking doll.

I'm going to tell you only one more thing about this movie: it's a psychological thriller, so we see most of what happens from the nanny's point of view. We don't know if she's kind of losing her mind or if maybe...just maybe...that doll is alive in some weird way.

It is so awesome.

The Boy has a lot of good old-fashioned scares, and the atmosphere is enough to give you the creepy crawlies on your skin. The creaky hallways of this house are filled with dread. Every shadow on the wall is enough to make you hold your breath. If you're watching for blood and gore, this won't be your thing, but if you're like me and you love to turn the lights out and listen to a good scary tale from the storyteller whose face is lit up by the flashlight under his chin, score for you!


Coming Soon: Tales of Halloween

Excerpt for HOT FOR A BITE--Out Today!

It's out!

Hot for a Bite is the first book in my two-book Vampire Rogues series. (Bound for a Bite is available for pre-order [click here!] and will be released September 20.) For a limited time, you can buy Hot for a Bite for only .99--but only through Friday, 9/9/17!

These are steamy reads on iBooks, Amazon, Nook, Kobo, and Google Play, and for a sexy taste, read on!

Excerpt:
His voice came out of the near-blackness again, his body still hidden. His words swept around her like lethal feathers in the night.

“You wandered out here to find me.”

“And you were waiting.” She leaned back against a pole to help her stay standing. She shielded the phone behind her leg.

“Yes, I was waiting.” Now his voice was inside of her. “For you.”

It was as if the words were stroking her, getting her excited. He had remembered their first bite.

In the back of her mind, she told herself that vampires were dangerous, that this wasn’t a game.

She lazily scanned the area, trying to find the vampire, then tightened her grip on her hidden crucifix and phone that was recording this encounter so she could prove her vampire existed.

A flash of movement snagged her attention from above. She sucked in a breath, recognizing the vampire’s outline as he crouched on some overhead beams, watching her, his hair haloed in the dim light. Gradually, the green of his gaze clarified, as if acknowledging her discovery. Burning green.

“What is your name, luv?” he asked, his foreign tone buzzing through every one of her awakened cells.

“Kimberly. Kim.” It seemed as if he’d asked before, but it’d been an entire year, and she couldn’t quite remember. This time, though, she had the presence of mind to ask right back. “And yours?”

He hesitated, and she thought she heard him laugh. Then he murmured, “Rafe.”

She sunk against the pole a bit. Finally, she knew who haunted her. Rafe.

“So tell me, Kimberly. Why is it that there is a crucifix in your pocket?”

Startled out of her haze, Kim straightened, sliding up the pole. She grasped the silver object tighter, still keeping it hidden. “A crucifix?”

“Yes. I discerned a flash of silver as you came outside. Prepared, aren’t you?” For some reason, his voice seemed clearer now. It was as if she’d gotten a hold of herself and a veil had lifted.

“I’m a very devout girl, Rafe.”

Even in the dark, she could feel, more than see, his gaze brush over her. A sigh caught in her lungs.

“Devout in what way?” he asked, his voice low and knowing.

A sudden spike of fear—a very human, stupid, why-am-I-doing-this-again? sort of fear—thrust into her. But before she could react, he was using that voice on her again, his eyes burning bright, tiger, tiger, in the night….

“Tell me, Kimberly. Why the crucifix?”

In spite of herself, she was manipulated into talking. “The League.” She slowly blinked. “We chase vampire rumors around Vegas. This place is a paradise for creatures of the night. Twenty-four-hour, everything-is-always-open opportunity. What happens here stays here, and that makes for a bunch of willing victims who find themselves doing what they normally wouldn’t do at home.”

“You are a…hunter?” He didn’t sound panicked by that at all. Well, maybe a touch concerned, but that’s it.

“More of an enthusiast.”

When he shifted, the light did, too. It brought Kim that much closer to reality, even though she still felt the need to spill everything to Rafe.

Rafe.

“Why,” he asked, “do you find this…investigation…necessary in life?”

Oh, his voice. It ran over her like massage oil, aromatic and soothing.

“After my first bite,” she said, smiling, knowing he knew what she was talking about, “I… Well, sometimes I wondered if I’d imagined it.”

“Your first bite,” he said, as if weighing the words.

Hearing him acknowledge it sent a splinter of crazed yearning through her. “There were nights when I thought I was out of my mind, that it couldn’t have happened. But I knew I was wrong because I could feel the neck wound where you bit me, even after it healed.” Healed too quickly, within a couple of days. “It was a reminder that it did happen.”

“And when the injury disappeared?”

“That’s when I started doubting myself for real. I didn’t know who to tell, who’d understand what happened and accept it. There wasn’t anybody.” Not her parents, her friends, and she didn’t really have coworkers seeing as she was a freelancer.

“You are pained,” Rafe said and, suddenly, his voice wasn’t as hypnotic. There was a sense of sympathy there instead, as if he knew just what agony was because he could feel it flowing through her.

“I got over it.” Her lie echoed against the bleachers.

She clutched the hidden phone, wondering if she should lift it in front of her so she could visually record just a glimpse of this vampire. So she could keep him solid instead of a figment of her restless imagination and longing.

Then Rafe dropped down from the beams, arcing smoothly to the ground, where he crouched in the darkness. Now the only hint of him were those green eyes.

“Tell me more about why you joined this League, Kimberly.”

“I…” She shut her mouth. She shouldn’t tell him everything, even if he was persuading her to do so.

“Tell me, Kimberly,” he said, the power of his suggestive voice overwhelming.

She couldn’t resist him anymore. “That first bite—that’s why I joined the Van Helsing League…  Because I needed people who would understand.”

“Van Helsing, named after the most famed hunter in literature.” He sounded amused. “Is this League a dangerous lot?”

“We’ve had limited luck.”

With deliberate ease, Rafe stood, so tall she could feel him hovering over her, his broad shoulders coming to block the light. “But your luck is not so limited tonight, Kimberly.”

To have him calling her by name was almost too much. A deep tremble nested in her belly, spreading heat.

“This proof you seek of vampires,” he said, stepping nearer, soundless in his movements. “Do you realize that it could erase my existence?”

She tilted her head at him. Actually, it’d never occurred to her that a group like the League would have that sort of pull. They were a bunch of amateurs, that’s all. “We’re not out to kill you.”

“Perhaps that is not your intention.” Closer. “But this is where the persecution starts, with a few cries in the night. Then the real hunters come. That is why we do not flaunt ourselves in society, that is why we remain discreet.”

“Discreet? Someone’s sending women to the ER with a lot less blood than they started with.”

Another pause. “And I am here to put a stop to that. There is another…”

Again, his voice wasn’t as hypnotic. Was it starting to wear off of her for some reason?

There was also something about what he said that poked at her. She opened her mouth to pursue it, but he moved toward her with such speed that her words caught in her throat.

His dark proximity rattled Kim, shook her until she couldn’t even gasp. She slumped back against the pole, the tremble consuming her entire body now. He loomed, bending nearer, his aroma a mélange of leafy scents masking a predator in the night.

This was it—another bite….

He sniffed at her hair, then nestled lower, leaving a path of tingling heat. Kim parted her lips, drinking in the seduction, her eyelids going as heavy and thick as the blood dragging down her limbs.

“A sweet drug,” he whispered clearly, as if remembering her scent. “That is what you are…”

Then he paused, honing in on something that she couldn’t sense. He slipped his hand down, his skin brushing hers as he slid her phone out of her grip. He felt cool to the touch.

He ran his thumb over the device, then crushed it in his hand, casually allowing the pieces to sift to the ground.

She opened her mouth to protest but his low growl stopped her.

“What else do you have?” he asked.

At the change in his tone—from charming to downright scary—Kim’s survival instinct took over. Her pulse raged to fight-or-flight speed, and she brought the crucifix out of her pocket, forcing him to freeze as she backed out of the bleachers and into the moonlight.

What had she been thinking? This was a vampire, not some random hot guy…​

Happy Hunting!
Chris

Guess who’s participating in this promo? (Me!) Enjoy 50+ ...

Guess who’s participating in this promo? (Me!) Enjoy 50+ FREE mysteries and thrillers, including books from authors like H.P. Mallory and Lynn Emery -- PLUS you’ll have a chance to win a Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet! This giveaway only lasts for a limited time, so make sure you hurry and enter! Good luck!
GO HERE TO ENTER!

Chris Marie Green Giveaway!

Hello!

In my Chris Marie Green newsletters, I told you to come on over here to provide a caption for the image below. (Please leave your captions in the comments section.) One of you will be chosen at random to win a signed copies of various books from different series I've written: The Path of Razors (Vampire Babylon), Blood Rules (Bloodlands, written as Christine Cody), and Another One Bites the Dust (Jensen Murphy, Ghost for Hire).
This contest ends Sunday, August 6, 2017, at 9am PT.

Provide a caption for this...

New Release for Montana Sky series!

Looks what's new today!

Buy here! Available exclusively at Amazon in their Kindle Worlds.
A cowboy who never wanted a wife…
Farrell Chadwick is many things—a ranch hand on the Golden C near Sweetwater Springs, a rake from England, and a man born on the wrong side of the blanket. What he most definitely isn’t is a willing husband, and not even a forced wedding at the point of a pistol will change that.
But every day Farrell spends with his new bride is a trying day. She’s sweet, innocent, and sorely tempting to a man who’s determined to somehow untangle himself from the marriage trap!

This sweet 21,000 word novella takes place during the time of Debra Holland’s BENEATH MONTANA’S SKY.
Hopefully this little ol’ novella will tide you over until the next Heroes of the West story on November 2!
Excerpt:
Farrell made his way down the street. There were spaces between the buildings with their false fronts, causing Farrell to recall the old, gapped stone fences that used to line the roads in the countryside back on the estate his brothers, his sister, and he had been sequestered on back in England. They hadn’t lived where anyone could see or visit them—their father had kept his mistress and her children in a cottage where he would secretly visit while “hunting.”

Such a model of virtue. The man had made a mockery of his marriage, hardening Farrell to the institution early on. At least that was one thing his father had correctly taught him.

Farrell leisurely walked in the opposite direction of the mercantile. A man in a travel-dusted coat, vest, trousers, and a bowler hat escorted a modest blond wearing a bonnet down the opposite side of the street. Farrell tipped his wide-brimmed hat to them, and the lady’s cheeks grew pink at the smile he leveled at her. The man pulled her along, out of Farrell’s sight as he chuckled to himself.

Yes, bored indeed. So bored that he was craving the amusement that had been escaping him in the saloon.

He greeted others—cowboys from Wyatt Thompson’s spread and a couple more from John Carter’s who were on their ways to join Chuck, Vey, and Old Frank at the saloon—and soon Farrell ran out of the desire to continue. He backtracked toward the mercantile, then leaned against its brick wall, reaching into his shirt pocket to fetch a cheroot, surveying the street for Lord knows what. A distraction? Something to make his day more interesting?

And that’s when he saw her.

She was exiting the mercantile with a wrapped package clutched to her chest. Her black hair was loosely tied back with a slim blue ribbon that seemed about to fall, separating itself from the curls tumbling down her back. Her skin was as pale as cream with a pink flush coloring her cheeks. Under a long coat, her calico dress was wrinkled and dusty, as if she had been traveling, and as she paused on the front step to look round, she took a deep breath and smiled to herself.

It was the smile of some secret delight that only she knew, and it intrigued Farrell more than anything he had seen today…or lately. Had she taken residence on one of the ranches? Or was she passing through?

As she strolled toward Farrell, he tucked the cheroot back into his pocket, enjoying the sway of her hips under her skirts and coat. If he had to pass the time waiting for Newt, he would gladly do it in this way.

When she slowed her steps, glancing at him, he knew he had been caught perusing her a bit too thoroughly.

He tipped his hat to her, offering her a slow grin. “Good day, Miss.”

Most upstanding females round these parts would have sent him an ice-cold glare or a disapproving hmph, and he always took that in stride. The good women of this town only led to one place—marriage. But this one smiled at him, clearly amused while sending him an assessing look right back. A look that burned into him with such frank consideration that it had him enthralled. At least for the moment.

She held his gaze a bit longer, and Farrell’s pulse twisted in his veins.

What was this woman about? She seemed the proper sort, yet…

Just as his blood began to pound, she lifted her chin in the air and passed him.

Farrell blinked. Had he imagined what he had seen? She hadn’t seemed bold so much as curious about him, and now he was doubly intrigued.

As she left him in her wake, the ribbon that had barely been hanging on in her hair fluttered away from her, spinning toward the dirt, and Farrell took that as a sign from the heavens. Within three strides, he scooped it from the air just before it hit the ground. He straightened up and lifted it in front of him.

“Miss,” he said. “You seem to have left something behind.”

He waited for her to turn round as he dangled the ribbon, offering a scoundrel’s dare and nothing more.
Buy here! Available exclusively at Amazon in their Kindle Worlds.

New Montana Sky Kindle Worlds Novella!

Look what's coming July 18 on Amazon's Kindle Worlds!



A cowboy who never wanted a wife…
Farrell Chadwick is many things—a ranch hand on the Golden C near Sweetwater Springs, a rake from England, and a man born on the wrong side of the blanket. What he most definitely isn’t is a willing husband, and not even a forced wedding at the point of a pistol will change that.
But every day Farrell spends with his new bride is a trying day. She’s sweet, innocent, and sorely tempting to a man who’s determined to somehow untangle himself from the marriage trap!
This sweet 21,000 word novella takes place during the time of Debra Holland’s BENEATH MONTANA’S SKY.
Hopefully this little ol’ novella will tide you over until the next Heroes of the West story on November 2!

Crystal Green Newsletter Contest!

Welcome! In my Crystal Green newsletter, I promised you a caption contest with a prize. One caption for the picture below will be chosen at random to win a signed copy of Judy Duarte's sweet contemporary A Bride for a Blue-Ribbon Cowboy!

Please leave your caption in the comments section. This contest ends Sunday, July 16, 2017, at 9am PT.

Have fun, and here we go!

EVA Retreat Playlist

Hi! This is for the wonderful writers at the EVA Writing Retreat. Here are some song suggestions for your own Pied Piping the Muse!

“Main Theme” from A Dangerous Mind soundtrack (inspirational, Ivy-league setting, a bit eerie)
“Main Title” by Danny Elfman from the Sleepy Hollow soundtrack (horror, menace, scary chase)
“Main Title” by Jerry Goldsmith from the Basic Instinctsoundtrack (classy, mystery, suspense)
 “Requiem, K. 626: Confutatis” by Mozart found on the Amadeus soundtrack (sublime melancholy, dark forces, aftermath of a mentor’s death)
“You’re So Cool” by Hans Zimmer from the True Romancesoundtrack (whimsical romance, innocence)
“The Yearning/Sirens Suite” (whimsical romance, heroine) from the Sirens soundtrack by Rachel Portman
1492: Conquest of Paradise soundtrack by Vangelis (dreamy, inspirational, seafaring)
 “Main Title” by Hans Zimmer from the Rain Mainsoundtrack (sexy, exotic, urbane)
“Requiem, K. 626: Introitus, Dies Irae, Rex Tremendae Majestatis, Confuctatis, Lacrymosa” by Mozart found on the Amadeus soundtrack (sublime melancholy, dark forces, aftermath of a mentor’s death)
“Early 18th Century Gypsy Music” by Bubak and Hungaricus found on the Amadeus soundtrack (wild bohemian celebration)
“March Past of the Kitchen Utensils” by Rachel Portman from the Sirens soundtrack (whimsy)
“Cursum Perficio” by Enya from Watermark(action/battle, fantasy)
 “La Resa Dei Conti” by Ennio Morricone from the For a Fistful of Dollars soundtrack (western epic, action)
Batman soundtrack by Danny Elfman (dark hero, action)
“Carmina Burana” by Orff (epic action/battle, victory)
“Charging Fort Wagner” (epic action/battle) and “An Epitaph to War” (melancholy, epic hero) by James Horner from the Glorysoundtrack
“The Raiders’ March” (epic hero) and “Truck Chase”? (action/chase, adventure) by John Williams from the Raiders of the Lost Arksoundtrack
“Anakin’s Theme” by John Williams from the Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace soundtrack
“Main Theme” by John Williams from the Schindler’s Listsoundtrack (major heartstring plucking)
“Hoedown” by Aaron Copeland (western imagery)
“Main Theme” from the How the West Was Won soundtrack (epic western, cowboy hero)
“Main Theme” from the Silverado soundtrack (western imagery)
 “Main Theme” from The Naturalsoundtrack (mid-western imagery, Americana)
“Main Theme” by Hans Zimmer from the Crimson Tidesoundtrack (meltingly gorgeous hero, action/adventure)
“Introduction (Titles)” by Danny Elfman from the Edward Scissorhands soundtrack
“The Imperial March” (epic black moment, menace) from The Empire Strikes Back soundtrack by John Williams
 “Flight to Neverland” by John Williams from the Hook soundtrack (whimsy, innocence, adventure)
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and Lord of the Rings: Return of the Kingby Howard Shore (epic action/battles, fantasy)
 “Han Solo and the Princess” (epic romance) from The Empire Strikes Back soundtrack by John Williams
“Main Theme” by John Williams from the Born on the Fourth of July soundtrack (tragic hero, sadness, heartbreaking reflections)
 “Libra Me” by Elliot Goldenthal from the Interview with the Vampire soundtrack (melancholy, horror, vampire, gothic)
 “Dracula – The Beginning” and “Vampire Hunters”  (menace, horror, vampire) and “The Brides” (dark seduction, romantic horror, vampire) by Wojciech Kilar from the Bram Stoker’s Draculasoundtrack
“Main Title” (epic hero, romance, adventure) and “Promentory” (romance, adventure) by Trevor Jones and Randy Edelman from The Last of the Mohicans soundtrack
“Harvest” (melancholy mid-west) and “Days of Heaven” (melancholy mid-west) by Ennio Morricone from the Days of Heavensoundtrack
“Aquarium” by Saint-Saens (dreamy, flowing, gorgeous)
“Duel of the Fates” by John Williams from the Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace soundtrack (epic action/battle)
 “Love Theme” by John Williams from the Star Wars, Episode II: Attack of the Clones soundtrack (epic romance)
“Progeny/The Wheat” (exotic epic setting), “The Battle” (epic action/battle, epic hero), “Barbarian Horde” (epic action/battle, epic hero) by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard from the Gladiator soundtrack
“Humming Chorus” by Puccini from Madama Butterfly(romance, melancholy)
 “Main Title” by Ennio Morricone from TheGood, the Bad, and the Ugly soundtrack (mysterious/dark hero, western setting)
“Forrest Gump Suite” by Alan Silvestri from the Forrest Gump soundtrack (mid-western setting, innocence)
“Main Title” (gentle Irish pluck, sweeping romance, inspirational) and “Tryouts” (inspirational action) by Jerry Goldsmith from the Rudy soundtrack
“Main Theme” by Maurice Jarre from the Lawrence of Arabia soundtrack (epic exotic setting, sweeping romance, epic hero, sheik stories)
“Main Title” by James Horner from the Willowsoundtrack (swashbuckling action/chase, fantasy, romance)
“Main Theme” by Jerry Goldsmith from the Pattonsoundtrack (epic military hero)
Black Hawk Down soundtrack by Hans Zimmer (intense action/ battle, exotic setting, mournful, soulful farewell)
The Last Samurai soundtrack by Lost Summer (hero, epic battles, eastern influence)
The Passion of the Christ soundtrack by John Debney and Mel Gibson (hero, inspirational, exotic locale)
The Aviator soundtrack by Howard Shore (action, Hollywood/Coconut Grove vibes)
Sideways by Rolfe Kent (jazz, lounge-lizard groove)
Music by Tangerine Dream in general (for instance, Risky Business)  (dreamy, modern, exotic, futuristic)
Music by Vangelis in general (for instance, Chariots of Fire, Mutiny on the Bounty, Alexander)  (dreamy, exotic)
Blade Runner soundtrack by Vangelis (dreamy, futuristic, sexy, noir, action)
Music by Brian Eno (for instance, Music for Films, More Music for Films)   (dreamy, modern, exotic, futuristic)
King Arthur soundtrack by Hans Zimmer (hero, epic battles, knights…)
The Ring/The Ring 2 soundtracks by Hans Zimmer (eerie, action and suspense)
Lemony Snicket’s: A Series of Unfortunate Eventssoundtrack by Thomas Newman (menacing, playful darkness)
First Knight soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith (romance, knights…, heroic)
Congo soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith (Africa, exotic, adventure, suspense)
Van Helsing soundtrack by Alan Silvestri (adventure, monsters, menace)
Finding Neverland soundtrack by Nick Ingman (gentle, elegant, old fashioned, tragic)
Hero soundtrack by Tan Dun, Itzhak Perlman, Kodo (heroic, epic battles, eastern influence)
Troy soundtrack (heroic, epic battles, exotic locale, tragic)
The Merchant of Venice soundtrack, David Juritz, leader (historical – Europe, elegant, tragic)
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek (sublime, sensuous, eerie)


 Happy writing!