S.M. Stevens's Blog, page 16

Fun Photo Friday: Yardwork Skeletons

This photo hits all the seasonal themes: fall yardwork, Halloween, foliage….and I do believe those skeletons have socially distanced themselves — except for the poor guy under the front of the tractor.

The post Fun Photo Friday: Yardwork Skeletons appeared first on S.M. Stevens.

Halloween 2020: What’s Wrong with Trunk-or-Treat

I joked in this post last year that the Halloween of the future might devolve into costumed parents driving by homes and tossing candy to the kids in their yards. Little did I know that would become a viable option for Halloween 2020 as we deal with COVID-19 and keeping kids safe.

So for fun, I’m re-posting my Scrooge-like musings on the topic. I hope the spirit of Halloween is preserved to the extent possible in this crazy year, and that kids—and parents—get their fill of costumed fun and confection.

And on the bright side, wearing masks and Halloween go together!

Here’s the original post:

Warning: This blog post is going to raise some hackles. Sorry not sorry.

I’m
not old-fashioned, but when it comes to traditional Trick-or-Treating being
usurped by Trunk-or-Treating, I am willingly stuck in the past. Allow me to mix
my holiday metaphors and show you the ghosts of Halloween past, present and
future.

The
Ghost of Halloween Past

Halloween
in the 1970s represented an important rite of passage. I don’t recall how much
candy I got when Trick-or-Treating as a child because despite my sweet tooth,
the candy was secondary to the costume, the camaraderie of being out with
friends, and the surging independence that thrilled in my veins every October
31.

I
do remember my costumes: baseball player, pirate, and—in one uninspired
year—ghost. I remember cruising the streets farther than I thought I dared,
spurred on by a feisty friend but safe with my older sister. I remember how
grown-up I felt as my nose tingled and cheeks burned after hours in the damp
and frosty New England air. And I remember how liberated I felt being outside
in the night without my parents.

Times
Change

Fast
forward three decades to when my daughters started Trick-or-Treating. Parents routinely
ventured out with our children due to increased sensitivity to stranger danger
and—at least in our small Massachusetts town—a scarcity of streetlights and
sidewalks. But when my kids were old enough to watch out for speeding cars,
they were on their own. I didn’t worry because they were with friends, and many
other kids and parents were also wandering the rural neighborhood.

[image error]

My
older daughter often went to a friend’s side of town to Trick-or-Treat, which I
supported. Our street was particularly dark and the houses were separated by
considerable distances. I would drop her at Melissa’s knowing she had simply
transferred her Halloween fun to a different location. But she still walked,
knocked on doors and interacted with people while collecting her loot.

A
Shift Occurs

A
few years later, things started to change again. Parents started driving their
kids everywhere, even to different towns, targeting the most populous
areas for the largest haul of candy. Right there an important shift occurred. Let
me help you get as much candy as possible with the least amount of effort
because that’s the spirit of Halloween.

Kids
no longer walked door-to-door. The only steps taken were to and from the car at
each stop. Which was understandable, because those poor children were probably
all tuckered out from lifting their enormous bags of candy.

I’m
not a complete Scrooge. I do understand cars are practical if the weather is
bitter cold or rainy, even though in my day (cue sentimental music), we just
walked faster and ended earlier if our discomfort overrode our desire for more
sugar.

The
Ghost of Halloween Present

At
some point in the past five or six years, adults decided to re-structure
Halloween again. I learned this last week, as I passed signs for Trunk-or-Treat
events in several different towns. Imagine my horror upon learning what was
afoot with this bastardization of Halloweens past.

The
concept, if you’re not familiar, is that adults decorate the backs of their
cars, load up on candy and sit in a parking lot while the kids “trick or
treat”—if you can call it that—from vehicle to vehicle.

Some
savvy adults must have thought: Hey, since no one’s walking anymore, let’s
make it even more convenient/fun for me. Let’s congregate in one parking lot
and have the kids go trunk to trunk in a smash and grab operation thinly
disguised as community togetherness.

[image error]Photo by Pfc. Andrew King

I
do understand that if a neighborhood is simply not safe, Trunk-or-Treat is a
smart idea. Trunk-or-Treat is a fine way to make Halloween fun accessible to
all, including the disabled. If Trunk-or-Treat serves as another Halloween
party of sorts, that’s cool, and I realize many such events include other
activities in addition to collecting candy.

But the prospect of Trunk-or-Treat replacing Trick-or-Treat has any self-respecting mummy rolling over in its grave.

Truth
be told, I suspect other motivations are at play here: The adults’ desire to
show off their decorating flair. Their interest in hanging with other parents
instead of walking the streets. The potential to surreptitiously sip a hot
toddy. In essence, the grown-ups have hijacked Halloween, turning it into a
party run by adults for adults. We’ll let the kids dress up and eat candy to
keep them happy.

What’s
Wrong with this Picture?

There
are so many things wrong with Trunk-or-Treat that I barely know where to start.

Adults are doing the decorating. Don’t believe me? Google photos of Trunk-or-Treat. This triggers for me a nauseating flashback to Moms doing their kindergarteners’ school projects for them. Don’t they understand that sloppy and amateur are heart-warming?



The kids barely walk. Taking a few steps between cars in a parking lot makes walking around a housing development or cul-de-sac look like a one-mile jog. Gone is the thrill of slowly approaching a yard festooned with tombstones and skeletons, or a house with scary music emanating from within.



Social interaction (for the kids) is minimized. No tentatively knocking on doors to speak with people in your community you haven’t yet met. No joy when your group’s chorus of “trick or treat” is in perfect unison. (Do kids even say “trick or treat” at a Trunk-or-Treat? And shouldn’t it be Trunk-and-Treat?)



[image error]



Finally, it’s a parking lot. I don’t care if it’s a dirt one or paved. There are no crispy, recently fallen leaves to scuffle though, and no wet grass aroma in the air. For younger kids, there’s no need to clutch your Dad’s hand in the spooky, shadowy night. For older kids, there’s no small taste of freedom as you roam the streets with only your friends for chaperones. In short, it’s not an adventure.

The end results of this confectionary speed dating are more candy, more empty calories, less socialization and less exercise. So American.

The
Ghost of Halloween Future



[image error]

I
can only imagine what’s next. Kids will complain: Why do we have to go all
the way to a parking lot to see stupid stuff the grown-ups did to their cars?
It takes me ten minutes to get my candy and then I have to stand there being
bored while you talk with your friends.

The
next iteration of Trick-or-Treat will be posting children at the edges of their
yards like sentries, holding their bags open and waiting for the candy to come
to them. Adults will drive by and drop treats into the bags.

Grown-ups
still get to satisfy their creative jones and their desire to win the Coolest
Parent Award. I see themed cars with costumed parents inside: maybe the car is
decorated like a castle, the mother is the queen, and the father is a knight
who catapults candy out of the car into the waiting bags.

Once
the kids have been reduced to even smaller supporting roles, will they even like
Halloween anymore? Mommmm, I don’t want to stand outside in the cold while
your friends throw candy at us! It’s so lame. Can’t you just give us the money
so we can buy the candy we like, instead of all these Smarties and Tootsie
Rolls?

And just like that, Halloween will be as dead as the ghouls and vampires that symbolize the holiday. And parents will sit around drinking Melted Witch martinis and Bloody Punch, wondering how it all came to pass.

[image error]

Photo at top by Maj. Satomi Mack-Martin

The post Halloween 2020: What’s Wrong with Trunk-or-Treat appeared first on S.M. Stevens.

Fun Photo Friday: Fortune Cookie Smackdown

Here’s a harsh dose of reality for you, courtesy of two Chinese fortune cookie messages, in a Fun Photo Friday post I call “Fortune Cookie Smackdown.”

Reading: “Astrid in the Alley”

Hello everyone! Work on my new novel is keeping me from posting as much as I’d like, but we can’t forget about Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, my modern coming-of-age novel for two young women building their careers and lives while dealing with demons from the past and present.

The novel continues to garner glowing reviews. Read the latest on Amazon or goodreads.

Without further ado, here’s a short reading I call “Astrid in the Alley”, in which I introduce one of the two heroines of Horseshoes and Hand Grenades. Astrid is narrating. Hope you like it.

The post Reading: “Astrid in the Alley” appeared first on S.M. Stevens.

Reading: “Porch Steps”

Shelby is beginning to heal in this short passage from Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, recorded at a virtual reading I did recently. Click on the video to watch.

I call this passage “Porch Steps” – I hope you enjoy it!

If you don’t know the story of Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, it might help to watch this video first, in which I explain why I wrote the novel and what it’s themes are.

The post Reading: “Porch Steps” appeared first on S.M. Stevens.

Coming Soon: The Audiobook!

Readers have been asking me when the audiobook version of Horseshoes and Hand Grenades will be available ever since the paperback version was published almost a year ago. Well, the wait is over!

I just selected a wonderful narrator who brings the necessary combination of emotion and lightheartedness to the material. I’ll wait to announce the name until the contract is signed.

But color me excited!! Soon you’ll be able to listen to Horseshoes if that’s your preference. Watch this space for updates.

[image error]

The post Coming Soon: The Audiobook! appeared first on S.M. Stevens.

Fun Photo Friday: Snapping Turtle in a Bucket

For today’s Fun Photo Friday, I bring you this pic I took of a rather large snapping turtle I found in my yard! He/she is in a 5-gallon bucket, so that gives you some idea of the scale — must have been about a foot wide.

I didn’t really like the idea of him hanging around my yard — snapping turtles bite! So I relocated him across the street to a lovely marshy area where he’ll feel right at home.

Don’t worry: No animals were harmed in the filming of this incident.

The post Fun Photo Friday: Snapping Turtle in a Bucket appeared first on S.M. Stevens.

Get a Free Signed Copy of Horseshoes and Hand Grenades

For a limited time, I’m offering a free signed copy of my novel Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, which is rated 4.5 stars on Goodreads and Amazon, for only the shipping and handling price!

Why A Fire Sale

An ordering mishap (don’t ask!) has left me with a somewhat large stack of copies of Horseshoes and Hand Grenades. Having several boxes of paperbacks sitting in my office does me no good. I’d rather see my novel in the hands of readers.

So, while supplies last, I’ll be offering FREE signed copies of Horseshoes and Hand Grenades. You pay only $9.99 for U.S. Priority Mail delivery and shipping materials. (Regular mail is just too iffy and slow these days, sad to say.)

A Humble Request

In exchange, I humbly request that you post an honest review, good or bad, short or long, on any of the following sites. Don’t feel like writing a review? You can still rate the book on these sites.

Goodreads , if you have a goodreads account.



Barnes & Noble , if you have a Barnes & Noble account.



Amazon , if you have an Amazon account. Be aware that Amazon sometimes doesn’t approve reviews if you haven’t bought anything through them in a while (six months, I think), or if you didn’t buy the product through their site. You can easily get around this last point by including in your review the true statement that: “I was given a copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.”



Your own social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn – Post a picture of you with the book and a few words saying if you liked it or not. Or if you’re not into selfies, add a link to my website or the Amazon page for Horseshoes and Hand Grenades.



How to Pay

To get your free signed copy, simply click on the “Pay with PayPal” button below if you already have a PayPal account. If you don’t, click on one of the credit card buttons below. (Virtual credit card numbers work, too, if you use them.) Either way, PayPal will email you a receipt confirming your order.

If you prefer to pay a different way, contact us here and we’ll try to arrange a different method.

Horseshoes and Hand Grenades

Limited time offer: Get your signed copy of this highly rated novel for FREE. You only pay for Priority Mail shipping. (Please consider posting a review after reading, on Amazon, goodreads, Barnes & Noble, or your own social media pages.)

$9.99

Fine print: Offer available while supplies last. US addresses only. Paperback format.

Learn more about Horseshoes and Hand Grenades

Read reviews here

Read sample pages and excerpts:

Shelby and Astrid meet (as published on B is for Book Review)Astrid’s secret (as published on Reading Nook)In the police station (as published on Don Jimmy Book Reviews)

If you prefer short tidbits to get a flavor of the story, try one of these:

Carol’s sex adviceWill and PilsenerShelby reflects

Read/watch/listen to interviews about the motivations behind the novel.

[image error]

The post Get a Free Signed Copy of Horseshoes and Hand Grenades appeared first on S.M. Stevens.

Video: Why I Wrote Horseshoes and Hand Grenades

I am often asked why I wrote Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, my novel that is both a coming-of-age story for two young women, and a probe into the minds of victims of sexual harassment and abuse. I had several goals in mind when developing and writing the story, as I explain in this 2-minute clip from a longer reading I did on July 28, 2020, in a virtual event sponsored by the Worcester County Poetry Association and The Thirsty Lab in Princeton, Mass.

Click below to watch the video, and stay tuned for more excerpts from the reading, including key scenes from Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, and a few sneak peeks from my work-in-progress.

To learn more about Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, visit the Reviews page.

To learn more about me, visit the About/Contact page.

The post Video: Why I Wrote Horseshoes and Hand Grenades appeared first on S.M. Stevens.

Pick-Me-Up Video: “The Weight”

This video — one of my favorite “pick-me-ups” — has nothing to do with my novels except that they all have a major feel-good factor!

Many of you will recognize the song, “The Weight”, by The Band. In this video, Robbie Robertson is joined by Ringo Starr and other musicians from all around the globe for an amazing, uplifting virtual jam of the song. The project was coordinated by Playing for Change.

It’s goosebump-worthy, IMHO. Anytime I need a little boost (or a break from writing), all I have to do is play this video to feel energized and better about myself/life/society/the world. If you need a pick-me-up, I hope it works for you too.

Fun fact: This was recorded before the coronavirus pandemic forced most entertainment online. It took two years to get the logistics and contributions right for this compilation piece of art.

Enjoy!

The post Pick-Me-Up Video: “The Weight” appeared first on S.M. Stevens.