A Little Trick With Your Treats

Halloween is my favorite holiday.  This is no surprise to the other Playfriends who are forced to participate in costume theme parties occasionally. If I had the time, I would go all out. Host a costume party with fun themed treats like mummy dogs and caramel apples. Intricately carved pumpkins lining the walk up to the house with orange and purple twinkle lights... I prefer the fun part of Halloween over the gory part, so no haunted houses or scary masks for me.

Reality is that it's become a last minute rush. No parties. Very few decorations. I don't have children to take around. If I didn't have foam pumpkins carved in the closet that I could haul out last minute, I wouldn't even have that. DB and I like to hand out candy and see the little kids' costumes. That's about it. It's sad, but time is at a premium these days while I work full time and write nearly full time to keep up with deadlines.

What have I been working on to keep me so busy, you ask? Well, I just so happen to have a paranormal novella out now, just in time for Halloween. Here's the blurb:

SEXY AS HELL: A More Than Men Novella

Strong, sexy and powerful...the kind of man every woman wants in her life and in her bed. But these men are more.  Oh, so much more.

Seth gave up everything to circumvent death, including his freedom. Now he's an immortal warrior serving the Archangel Michael. But Seth has been compromised and he may finally earn his life back. He's just got to send one sexy, stubborn succubus back to hell.

Camille always thought her neighbor was mysterious and handsome, but she never imagined what kind of work really kept him up so late. The succubus Isra has targeted Seth and she has taken Camille as her host as a surefire way to get to him. Isra has twenty-four hours to seduce Seth and steal his immortal life-force by the most pleasurable means possible. The clock is ticking...

 

I'm really excited about this novella. It's the first in a series that will be coming out over the next year or so with myself and a couple other authors. Each man will be of the sexy and supernatural variety. I'm currently working on the follow up featuring some creepy zombie fun. Nothing like a man with an assault rifle. Here's a super secret sneak peek of the cover that you'll only see here until it debuts online!

If you're looking for some sexy Halloween tricks with your treats, you can download the Sexy as Hell from Amazon.com. If you have Amazon Prime, you can even borrow it for free! It will be available from other online retailers in early 2013. Check it out, and if you feel inclined, help me out by clicking the 'like' button. It helps Amazon decide what books to recommend to readers. Also, if you do buy it, please review it. I'd love to hear what people think of it.

So, I've got no candy to offer you this ear, but who needs it when there are some super sexy abs up for grabs? Hmm... that rhymed awkwardly. Oh well. Tell me about your favorite Halloween treats? I'm a big fan of candy corn and those mini Almond Joy bars. Yum.

SP

Irrational Fears

The other day, I was listening to the radio and Rick Dees (apparently we're almost completely syndicated on this station now) announced that a recent survey said the majority of men polled would rather swim with sharks than propose to their girlfriend. As an unmarried woman, I just have to say, "really?" Is it the actual proposing or the life altering circus that follows? The next 50 years of your life with one woman or the fear of rejection? I posted this on FB and my 50 yr old single uncle posted that he read a survey that said most women would rather read, take a bath, watch a movie or even watch the superbowl than have sex. Maybe that has something to do with it. :)

With Halloween just around the corner, it got me thinking about fears. Mainly irrational ones. I guess we all have them. PC even posted a while back about things that creep her out but other people don't understand. I have plenty of those, in addition to the standard phobias and fears. Mine are usually irrational. Some fears are self-preserving, like fears of fire and snakes. Mine aren't. Not really. I know several people around here have issues with stormdrains like I do. Apparently reading "It" at the tender age of ten was a bad idea. Which of course leads me into my clown phobia. No clowns. Ever. I don't curl into a ball and cry or anything, but I'm going to avoid them and stay well out of the range of their razor sharp teeth. What? They don't have razor sharp teeth? I'll take your word for that.

I have other silly fears. Watching the migrating birds in the spring, a chill ran down my spine. I really dislike birds. And not in a Hitchcock kind of way. I don't think they're going to swarm me. And I don't cower in fear from a cardinal in my crepe myrtle, but I think the idea of the bird is the problem. There's just something about their talons and their beaks and beady ideas that bother me.

The beak thing also translates over to my irrational fear of squid and other cephalopods. Big, squishy bodies, pretty harmless, right? Sure, except for their giant, crushing parrot beaks. And their teeth-lined suction cups. You didn't know they were lined with teeth, did you? Teeth is probably the wrong word since its really more like a hard cartilage ring, but if a larger squid grabs hard onto you, it can break the skin. It helps them lock onto prey. Sperm whales that eat giant squid are often found with hundred of circle scars around their face.

I have taken it on as my mission to inform people about the little-known creep factor of squid. Spreading the fear through knowledge, that's me.

Got this quote from Convergence, a science magazine from UC Santa Barbara. “Squid can be aggressive, whimsical, suddenly mean, and they are always hungry,” said Herb Waite, co-author and Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology (MCDB) at UC Santa Barbara. “You wouldn’t want to be diving next to one. They’re very aggressive feeders… a dozen of them could eat you, or really hurt you a lot.”

HOLY CRAP! Maybe my fears are no longer irrational. At least in the water. On land, its sort of a "Land Shark" thing. Whatever, I'm not getting my scuba certification any time soon. Eat calamari, keep them in their place on the foodchain.

Do you have any irrational (or perfectly rational if you have the right information) fears? Share the information and spread the fear through knowledge. :)
SP

PS. I'm blogging on eHarlequin today about Halloween candy so come on over and weigh in on your favorites!

MOANday: Halloween Edition

I know it’s a day late, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to pay homage to some of the hottest guys from horror films. Often these films are ensemble casts and rarely have the traditional Hollywood hottie, but there are a few that provide welcome respite from all the blood and gore. I hope you enjoy, even if you aren’t a horror movie fan.

I’m very excited by last night’s premiere of The Walking Dead on AMC. This is a mini-series based on, you guessed it, Zombie Invasion!!!! But at the center of the story is a policeman played by Andrew Lincoln. You got to love a hottie in uniform, especially when his dearest wish is to find and protect his family.




The Saw movies were never my favorites. I’m a bigger fan of true mystery than gore, but Cary Elwes was a pleasant surprise when I finally gave in to watching the first one. I remember him from funnier movies like the Princess Bride and Robin Hood: Men in Tights, and though he spends most of this movie shackled to a wall, he plays the serious roles just as well.




I’m a huge fan of numerous Stephen King made-for-television mini-series and movies, as my next two choices will avow. The first is a remake of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot, starring Rob Lowe, who attempts to save a small town from the evil vampire that has made his home in the mansion where Rob Lowe’s character was frightened as a child.





The other is Rose Red (my all-time favorite!) with actor Julian Sands playing a telepath with mind-bending abilities. I cried the first time I watched it, because I didn’t want him to die. :)




And last, but not least, actor Taye Diggs, for his role as a (former) baseball player who ends up at a mysterious birthday party and gets locked up in a possessed house. Lucky for him, he is adopted, or else the house would have eaten him. I have to confess that there are parts of this movie where I still have to close my eyes. And Geoffrey Rush revising Vincent Price's character as the murderous husband? Creepy!!!




I know I’m one of the few horror fan buffs around here, but I hope viewing these hunky heroes helped you overlook my Halloween indulgence. Until next month…

Angel

It's September already!

And where in the heck have the last eight months gone?

Back to school items are already on sale, Halloween and fall items are crowding the shelves and I even caught myself looking at the price of artificial Christmas trees at Hobby Lobby last week. I need a new tree this year. Some very dear friends gave me a gift certificate to a Christmas store and because the store was having a nice sale and because I tend to think of myself as a pretty savvy shopper, I got double the bounty from the Christmas store.

However, I now have waaaaaaaaaay more beautiful Christmas decorations than will fit on my little Charlie Brown four-foot tree I got from the thrift store last year before I moved into my new apartment. Don't get me wrong. That tree made Christmas wonderful for me last year. I had only been out on my own for about a month by Thanksgiving and that's usually when I put up my tree. I had brought along a few things, bought a few others and I had my tree.

But now, I want to showcase my new stuff and a 4.5 foot tree just ain't gonna do it. So I'm going to have to start doing some serious bargain hunting for 7 to 7.5 foot slim line trees. I promise to post pictures once I get it and get it decorated. It's going to be gawgeous!

And in other decorating news, remember those Command strips I blogged about last week? I used them again. This time I put a bulletin board on the outside of the closet door in my office/spare bedroom. And because I'm having a problem getting some artwork mounted evenly on the wall, I'm going to try them with that. I have 3 of my True Romance and Confessions covers framed and on the wall. And try as I might I simply cannot get them even. I've used a level, measured carefully and the darned things are still not right. I think the Command picture hanging strips might solve the problem.

I also got an email from someone who apparently read my "favorite things" blog. I'll pass it along because some of you may be interested in entering:


I know you are no stranger to decorating your space, but did you know that a recent survey commissioned by Command products revealed that one in four women haven’t redecorated their home since Bill Clinton was in office?

Beginning September 5, Command Brand wants to reward you and your readers for creating your own amazing transformations in the Take Command of Your Space Facebook Contest. You could win $500, plus a flip-video camera and a prize pack of Command products!

Simply visit Facebook.com/CommandBrand and upload a photo or two - we love before and after shots! - along with a tip about how you use Command products to simplify, organize or decorate your space. We’re selecting a new winner every week through December 25, so you can enter more than once!

Let me know if you have any questions. Looking forward to your entry!

Best,
Alicia XYZ
XYZ Public Relations
--

I'm not sure my mirror or bulletin board will blow them away, but if I come up with some other nifty uses, I might send in some photos because the $500 would buy that tree at Hobby Lobby.

Have YOU redecorated since Bill Clinton was in office (FYI this was 1993 - 2001)? If so, share some of your decorating tips. If you haven't redecorated, what would you love to do if money were no object?