C.C. Hunter's Blog, page 5

Favorite Giveaway!

I can’t believe it’s been almost 9 years since I first published Born at Midnight, the first book in my Shadow Falls series–and my first young adult book. I was writing romantic suspense under my real name, Christie Craig, when an editor from St. Martin’s Press asked if I’d consider writing a young adult series. The thought of trying something new scared the beejeezus out of me, but I said I’d try it. And I’m so glad I did. The rest is history!

Now, my first CC Hunter book trailer was for Born at Midnight. I remember being so excited. I still get excited when I put out a new trailer. I thought it might be fun to post all the book trailers I have made and give you a chance to vote on your favorite. Then one person who leaves a comment telling me their favorite trailer will win a CC Hunter t-shirt.

Born at Midnight





Taken at Dusk





Chosen at Nightfall





Reborn





Midnight Hour





This Heart of Mine





The Mortician’s Daughter series

So check out all of my book trailers and be sure to leave the name of your favorite in the comments below. Then, you’ll be entered to win my giveaway!

Halloween is Coming!

Halloween is just around the corner. I love Halloween, especially when my kids were little. They’d dress up in costumes and I’d take them trick or treating around our neighborhood. We don’t get a lot of kids trick or treating where we live now. I still buy too much candy—not a good idea to have left over candy! I still decorate, but not as much as I used to. Still, that doesn’t keep me from looking on Pinterest at cool ideas for Halloween decorations. Some people are so creative. I thought I’d share some ideas I found (and may try) with you. Some are cute and some are scary, so something for everyone.

Love this! Makes me think of the movie Hocus Pocus.



Probably a good one for my yard. I do write about murder and ghosts, after all.



I might try a version of this.



This is terrifying!



Cute and easy to do.

How do you feel about Halloween? Do you go all out and dress up? Maybe scare the neighborhood children with your decorations? What do you like best about Halloween?

Winner!!!

The winner of last week’s giveaway of a CC Hunter t-shirt is JenniB. Congratulations, Jenni! Please email me at cc@cchunterbooks.com with your postal address and your t-shirt size.

Recent Lessons Learned or Relearned at the Craig House

I’m a firm believer in learning our lessons.  I mean, if we don’t learn from our mistakes,
then what’s the use in our making them, right? 
And yes, some lessons are those we have to repeat over and over before
the light bulb comes on and we reach the amazingly intelligent conclusion of,
“Duh.” 

Okay, so I admit it, we at the Craig house have experienced
our share of “duh” moments.   Below are a
few lessons we at the Craig house have learned over the years. 

Hubby:  Do not
microwave a toothbrush.  Yes, it sounds
reasonable that to stick it in a cup of water and set the time on one minute
might be sure to kill the germs and therefore save you from the $1.99 of having
to purchase a new one every three weeks, but it doesn’t work.

Son:  Do not microwave
a whole egg.  Yes, I know you want to
prove mama wrong when I say you can’t do that, but when the egg explodes
coating the microwave with scrambled egg, you’re going to be sorry. 

Me:  Never attempt to
move a feline that is about to throw up a hair ball.  Believe it or not, there are worse places for
a hair-ball to land other than where you thought it might end up.

Son:  To clean a cell
phone you DO NOT run it through the washing machine.  To dry a cell phone, DO NOT run it though the
dryer.  In other words, check your
dad-burn jeans before doing laundry!

Me:  When son says,
smell this, and has funny look on his face, don’t do it.  When son says, taste this and has a green
appearance in skin tone, don’t do it.

Son:  Puking is not a
team sport.  Yes, when you were small,
mama always held your head and kept a damp cloth to your brow during these
times of needs.  At eighteen, and with a
man-size stomach, you are lucky if mom tosses a wet rag at you and says I hope
everything comes out all right.

Son: Just because it’s in the refrigerator doesn’t mean it’s
still edible.  P.S.  Refer to lesson above for reference.

Hubby:  Never start
whining about losing your glasses until after you check the top of your head. 

Me:  Never attempt to
wax my own eyebrows.  (No explanation
needed.)





Hubby:  Never ever, under any circumstances, ask your
wife what happened to her eyebrows.

Giveaway!!!

Okay…so there you have it. Some of the life lessons we have learned at the Craig house.  What about you guys?  Any lessons you could share?  Come on, I shared.  I’ll give away a t-shirt to one person who leaves a comment.
(Sorry, but this giveaway is for US residents only. If you’re reading this on Goodreads, you must go to my blog to enter.)

Break Out Your Pumpkin Spice!

I love fall. Don’t you? Monday was
officially the first day of fall. Never mind that Starbucks has been selling
pumpkin spice lattes for over a month. Now in Texas, it will still be warm for
a while. But if the temperature dips below 75, everyone here drags out their
fall clothes.

After a long, hot Texas summer, even the hint of fall makes
me happy. I love watching the leaves change color and that crispness in the
morning air when I go for my daily walk. I’m ready to buy my pumpkins to set by
my front door and dust off my front door wreath of fall leaves. And I can’t
wait to curl up with a blanket and a book, and drink hot cocoa in my warmer
(not sleeveless) PJs.

I can feel the fall coming, especially in the morning.  There is just that hint of a temperature drop.  Yeah, I know in the South, we’ve got to wait a while until true fall arrives.  But until then, I might have to crank down my air conditioner, light a pumpkin scented candle and pretend.

What do you look forward to with the coming of fall?

Ireland–The Emerald Isle

Déjà vu is French and translates into: already seen.  Basically, it is the feeling that one has lived through the present situation before.  And that is what Ireland felt like to me.  A little like going home, but a home I only sense in my soul, like an abstract painting that lures me closer, that speaks to my heart, but can’t be described.  And the music… it took me on an emotional ride.  Joy, sorrow, love, grief.  How one song could tell so much story is beyond me.

Walking around Dublin was a visual treat.  We toured the Dublin castle and visited
several pubs.The best meal I had on my whole trip was a big bowl of Guinness
stew.   Now I tried the beer, because
let’s face it, you have to.  If you don’t
even try it might just be a reason to get you thrown out of Ireland.  But I’ll have to be honest, the beer, I’ll
only take in my stew, thank you.  But
that whiskey—and yes we did a tour and a tasting—I liked.  I even brought a bottle home.

We took a day trip to the enchanting Glendalough. Marveled at the purple hills and awe inspiring views.  We walked around a 6th century monastic settlement, where the tombstones have long since lost their inscriptions. 

Anyone see the movie, P.S. I Love You?  Do you remember the quaint bridge where Gerry met Holly for the first time?  I walked along that path and realized there is something about this country that whispers romance into one’s ear.  And of course, as soon as we got home, I watched the movie again.

You know in Texas we say if you don’t like the weather wait
five minutes.  Well, let me tell you, in
Ireland I have never seen weather change so fast.  From dreary and gray to blue sunny skies in
only a couple of minutes.

As I write this blog, I’m listening to Irish music, and
missing the place that feels as if it holds secrets to perhaps a past life. And
maybe a future one, because I came home with several book ideas.

Have you ever been someplace that made you feel like you have been there before, but you know you haven’t?

Reading Suggestions?

This week, I’ve had to take it easy. Hubby gave me the crud. You know where you feel horrible, you nose runs and you can’t stop coughing. So, I’ve been reading. I’m currently reading Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng and I’m really enjoying it. Have you read it? I guess they are making a Hulu limited series based on it with Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington. I’ll be watching!

At least I finished writing my final Christie Craig Texas Justice book, Don’t Look Back.  FBI agents, Texas Detectives, and murder.  A cat named Psycho. A hero that is drool worthy.  And a plot with more twist than a pretzel. Now I can concentrate on my next C.C. Hunter book.

So when I have the
crud, it takes a while for me to get over it, so expect to be catching up on my
reading. Any books you’d like to recommend? What are you reading right now?

Haunted Edinburgh

I’m
going to share a few more images from Edinburgh, before I take you to some of
the other places we visited.  I know I
mentioned that I walked around some graveyards and even did a ghost tour.  And if you’ve read my books and my blogs, you
know I love a good, spooky tale.

And while
visiting, there were plenty of stories that sent a chill running up my spine. Edinburgh,
where just a stroll long the cobblestone streets, takes you back in time, has a
long ghoulish history. Psychics and ghost hunters have long said that the
Scottish capital is one of the most haunted places in the world.

A walk through the cemetery, that is
so old that most of the script on the tombstones is no longer legible, can
raise the hairs on the back of your neck. 
It made me stop and wonder about the bones of the people buried six feet
under.  Were they happy?  Did they love someone?  How did the die?

As a pet owner, one story stood
out.  The tale of a phantom Skye terrier,
Bobby. The dog was said to have spent fourteen years guarding his master’s
grave.  In 1872, the faithful pooch
passed away. He is now buried in the Greyfriars Kirkland, near his owner.  It is said that people can still hear his
bark near the grave. Dare I say, that is one spirit, I wouldn’t mind running
across.

Ahh, but even deeper down, deeper
than the bones of the now unnamed-dead, are a collection of underground
passageways.  With very little
ventilation, these dark, dank tunnels were called home to the very poorest of
people: vagrants, thieves, gamblers and an array of undesirables.  The ghost tour I attended took me under
Edinburgh’s Old City. With only candle light to guide us, I learned of the sad
and often gruesome history of this place. 
A history of religious persecution, of executions of witches, and even
the great plague.  No doubt, the beauty
of this timeless city that draws so many to visit, is stained with blood.

Winner!!

The winner of last week’s giveaway of an audiobook of One Foot in the Grave is Belinda Ortiz. Congratulations! Please email me at cc@cchunterbooks.com to claim you audiobook.

Edinburgh!

Well, Hubby and I took off to Scotland.  Can I say wow?  I took loads of pictures and for the next few
weeks, I’ll be sharing some of those on my blog.  I’ll start with where we landed in this great
country, Edinburgh.

I don’t think I’ve ever been to a place where everywhere you
look, every glance over your shoulder, turn of your head, there’s another
photograph to take.  The city is so old
you feel it when you amble through the streets. 

When we got there, the Fringe was happening.  The Fringe is the largest arts festival in the world. Street
entertainers at every corner.  Music,
bands, and tons of shopping. Our favorite thing to do was to find a pub on the
Royal Mile, sit outside sipping wine and people watching.

We lucked out and the
Royal Edinburgh Military tattoo was happening while we were there too, and we
got tickets.  This is an annual series of
Military tattoos performed at the Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle by British
Armed Forces, Commonwealth and International military bands and display teams.  It was colorful and awe-inspiring.

You know me well enough to know that
I wanted to visit a few graveyards.  Yes,
I love walking around and seeing graves that dated back to the 1700’s.  We even did a ghost tour.  Scotland had its share of spooky stories.

The trip was mind boggling and got my creative juices flowing.  I even got an idea for a book.

If you ever get a chance to go, do
it. 

Okay, until next week.

Happy Reading!

Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!

This week I
wanted to talk to you about genres. You know, paranormal, contemporary,
fantasy, sci-fi, etc. The publishing industry is funny. They study the current
trends, what’s selling, what’s not, and they try to predict what genres will be
hot in the future. Sometimes I think they need a crystal ball.

When St.
Martin’s contacted me and asked me to write a young adult paranormal series,
they felt that genre was the hot ticket and would continue to be popular for a
while. Now, however, paranormal is supposed to be waining and contemporary is
the thing, especially if someone is ill in it. 
Fantasy was huge a while ago, especially with the popular Lord of the Rings movies, but now it
seems less in demand. It’s always shifting and changing.

So after I finished my Shadow Falls series, St Martin’s request a contemporary book. So, I wrote This Heart of Mine and In Another Life.  But I also still loved paranormal and I knew I still had a lot of Shadow Falls fans out there. So, I decided to write my Mortician’s Daughter series with them in mind. So, if you’re still rereading my Shadow Falls series, but haven’t tried my Mortician’s Daughter series, I’m encouraging you to give it a chance. I think you’ll enjoy it.

So do you pay attention to the trends in publishing?  Do you read the hot new genre or do you still read books that aren’t in the trend? Where do you see the genres heading? What do you think will become the next hot genre?

Winner!!

The winner of last week’s giveaway, an audiobook of One Foot in the Grave is Michelle R. Please email me at cc@cchunterbooks.com to claim your prize.

Felling Hot, Hot, Hot!

This week I
wanted to talk to you about genres. You know, paranormal, contemporary,
fantasy, sci-fi, etc. The publishing industry is funny. They study the current
trends, what’s selling, what’s not, and they try to predict what genres will be
hot in the future. Sometimes I think they need a crystal ball.

When St.
Martin’s contacted me and asked me to write a young adult paranormal series,
they felt that genre was the hot ticket and would continue to be popular for a
while. Now, however, paranormal is supposed to be waining and contemporary is
the thing, especially if someone is ill in it. 
Fantasy was huge a while ago, especially with the popular Lord of the Rings movies, but now it
seems less in demand. It’s always shifting and changing.

So after I finished my Shadow Falls series, St Martin’s request a contemporary book. So, I wrote This Heart of Mine and In Another Life.  But I also still loved paranormal and I knew I still had a lot of Shadow Falls fans out there. So, I decided to write my Mortician’s Daughter series with them in mind. So, if you’re still rereading my Shadow Falls series, but haven’t tried my Mortician’s Daughter series, I’m encouraging you to give it a chance. I think you’ll enjoy it.

So do you pay attention to the trends in publishing?  Do you read the hot new genre or do you still read books that aren’t in the trend? Where do you see the genres heading? What do you think will become the next hot genre?

Winner!!

The winner of last week’s giveaway, an audiobook of One Foot in the Grave is Michelle R. Please email me at cc@cchunterbooks.com to claim your prize.