Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Guest Jody Vitek Shares Halloween Memories


Jody Vitek
I would like to thank Laura and all the Roses here at The Roses of Prose blog for hosting me today. And of all days, Halloween. Are you superstitious? Do you attend any costume parties? Do you go out with your child(ren), stay home to hand out candy or avoid the entire night of events?

Like most children, I lived for Halloween and the hordes of candy I would collect. I loved dressing up in costumes my mother would create. The one costume I seemed to wear more often than not was a witch’s costume. My mother would rat my long blonde hair to give me the scraggly appearance we all imagined witches had. (I’ve grown up and have a different opinion about witches.) I hated coming home at the end of the evening to brush out the tangled mess on top of my head. Many tears were shed as the brush worked its way through my hair.

My father would take us out trick-or-treating while my mother stayed home to pass the candy out in her Native American maiden costume that she made. If memory serves me correctly, my father would drive us most of the time because there would be snow on the ground. And lots of it! Nowadays, my Halloweens are spent going out with my own children around the neighborhood, but minus the car and snow. Sure, we’ve had snow a few times, but nothing like when I was a kid.

And of course there’s always the scary movies to watch. Do you like a thriller, like the well-known Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho? Do you like suspense, like Jaws? Or are you a horror fan, like The Exorcist. To me they all go into one category – scare the pants off me. I have a love hate relationship with movies of this nature.

You won’t find the holiday of Halloween in my book Florida Heat, but you will find just a touch of suspense. The hero and heroine can’t have the perfect relationship now, can they? In my current work in progress there is no scare factor, but I take my hero and heroine on a rollercoaster ride of emotions.

Do you have a favorite childhood costume or story about Halloween? What are your plans for the evening? Leave a comment and you’ll be entered to win a small gift.

 

Maggie Carlisle thought she left her ex-husband’s drug life behind in Texas. Left with a physical scar, she struggles to shed the emotional pain and falls in love with Trent Randall. But, Kevin Shaw, a man from her past, looks for revenge through Maggie. Emotional blackmail forces her to choose between true love with Trent or a life based on lies and deception with Kevin.

Trent Randall, a boarding and breeding ranch owner and offshore powerboat driver, loses focus of his racing when Maggie enters his life. Trent contemplates whether Maggie’s worth the danger after he is involved in a racing accident. Trent can’t help but let his heart lead the way when he finds out Maggie’s in trouble.

 

EXCERPT: Austin General Hospital would be short a nurse today. Maggie Nash went to bed last night with more than a fever, thanks to her best friend Chloe Atwood who had been kind enough to share her flu germs. She opened one eye then the other. Red glowing numbers pierced the darkness like a black cat’s eyes in a dark back alley.

Heavy lined drapes over a room darkening shade covered the windows, keeping any light from streaming in. Her eyes adjusted, and she strained to see the clock—two-seventeen in the afternoon. Her husband Mike would be working at the hospital pharmacy for another three hours. She wondered how he was holding up since she disturbed his sleep on and off all night. He had asked if he could do anything for her. But when you’re sick with the flu, there’s not much anyone can do that would help.

Legs stretched and bent, along with her arms, as though she were Frankenstein coming to life. Her stomach ached, and her side muscles strained when she sat upright. On the edge of the bed, she slid her feet into slippers, put on her robe and walked out of the room into the peace and quiet of her home.

A thick arm grabbed her around the waist. She screamed and wiggled in the crushing embrace. A leather-gloved hand cupped tightly over her mouth. Her screams silenced. She continued to twist in the intruder’s arms. A hand spread from the bottom of her breast to the top of her hip.

Her captor’s cupped hand on her face forced her back into his chest. A thick blunt object pushed in at the middle of her back. She gasped and her back arched. A gun?

 

Born and raised in Minnesota, Jody has remained close to home living with her husband of twenty plus years, three children and a cat named Holly. Growing up, she enjoyed reading V.C. Andrews' the Dollanganger series, starting with Flowers in the Attic, S.E. Hinton, and Stephen King to name a few.

She has traveled throughout the United States, to the Bahamas and Cancun, Mexico. Between watching soccer games, scrapbooking and being the COO of the Vitek household, she writes contemporary romances.

 

12 comments:

Margo Hoornstra said...

Trick or treating in the snow. I remember doing that too. It's nice having you here. Great excerpt. Lovely cover!

Jody Vitek said...

Margo, I think my kids may have gone trick or treating in the snow once or twice. With the weird weather we have nowadays, we've actually had warm nights a few times. Thanks for coming by this morning. I like my cover too!

Jody Vitek said...

For everyone commenting today, please leave your email at the end of your message. I will need an email address to contact the winner. The winner will be announced tomorrow by 12 noon here and on my website.

Brenda Whiteside said...

One house we visited when I was a kid really got into it. They invited you in and scared the heck out of us. Back then, we didn't fear getting apples laced with poison or cookies that made you sick. The whole neighborhood was safe.

I've read Florida Heat and really enjoyed it! Congrats, Jody on a great book.

Jody Vitek said...

Thanks for coming today Brenda. I'm glad you enjoyed Florid Heat! ;^) Things really have changed with the safety of our children. Homemade popcorn balls were safe to take and eat. Now the kids come home, dump the goodies on the table, and then I go through and throw away any opened or suspicious pieces.

Jannine Gallant said...

Tahoe is such a resort community, that many neighborhoods are full of second homes. For that reason, all the kids go to the one area where everyone lives. Many parties are hosted for parents while the kids trick-or-treat. It's great fun for everyone!(We also have the wading through snow in your princess costume issue here.) Your book looks great, Jody. Thanks for visiting us.

Jody Vitek said...

Thanks for having me today, Jannine. I would think it's slighly warmer going through the snow in Tahoe, but maybe I'm wrong. If parents have parties around here, they're usually before the night of Halloween so we can go out with our children.

glenys said...

Great post, Jodi - both the memories and the excerpt! Thanks for visiting the Roses :-)

Jody Vitek said...

Thanks for allowing me to be a guest amongst the roses, Glenys. At first I was unsure of what to write about, but with it being Halloween and having great childhood memories, the words for my blog came easily.

LizbethSelvig said...

Hi Jody,
I've always loved Halloween, and it's been a "holiday" of very mixed traditions in my life. When I was a kid my mom was super creative. My two favorite costumes she made were first a martian -- made from construction paper and yellow nut cups and straws; second, a convict's tunic made of old striped upholstery fabric--my brother and I were matching criminals one year.

When my kids were little I loved making elaborate costumes for them. And, since we live in the country with no place to trick or treat, we used to bring them to our friends' house and trick or treat with their kids -- not far from where you live!

Now it's quiet, since my kids are grown and married and we still have no trick or treaters at our house in the country. Still, we always have a stash of regular-sized Hershey Bars to hand out, "just in case."

Fun post! Nice to think about the past. And nice to share Halloween with you, one of my fave author-people! Congrats on "Florida Heat." Hope it continues to be a big success!

Jody Vitek said...

Well thanks, Lizbeth for your kind words about the book. I love the matching criminals costumes. It's hard when you live out away from neighbors. I don't sew so we go for the store bought outfits. Thankfully, I only have one kid to buy for now. The other two are too old to go out trick or treating.

Jody Vitek said...

I must thank all of the Roses at The Roses of Prose for having me yesterday as their guest blogger. I had a great time!

Congratulations to Lizbeth Selvig! She has won the small gift prize for leaving a comment.