A Halloween Treat #2 by Christine DePetrillo

I hope you've still been good, people. If you have, Halloween treat #2 is Abra Cadaver, a paranormal romance novella.

Blurb:
Holly Brimmer never expected to be brought back from the dead. After a fatal car crash, a mysterious stranger gives her a second chance at life—but it comes with a price. To stay alive she must pay it forward, accomplish an important deed, thus making her mark in the world. Until she does, her savior is bound to her. Now she has a backyard full of dead bodies and one unwanted houseguest.

Keane Malson kills bad guys to keep the innocent alive, but he’s still a monster. Cursed by a witch moments before an honorable death on the battlefield, he’s lived thousands of years, roaming from place to place with no end in sight. It’s a lonely life…until he meets Holly.

When a wanted man targets Holly, Keane will do anything to protect her, even if it’s the last thing he ever does.

Excerpt:
Holly Brimmer stared at the dead body resting in the grass in her backyard. She knew it wasn’t truly human, but shit, it sure looked like a real person. This one was actually good-looking. His rusty brown hair was only slightly matted with dried, greenish blood. 

Must not have put up too much of a struggle. 

His skin wasn’t that post-life purplish color yet either. He still appeared fresh, as if he might pop open his eyes and say, “Just kidding! I’m not dead.” 

But that wasn’t going to happen. 

This fellow had definitely taken his last twirl on the carousel of life. She inhaled the summer-heated air and exhaled slowly. How did I end up here? 

“I don’t know why you insist on burying them, Holly. Demons only last eighteen hours after death, and I like to burn the bodies before then anyway.” 

The mere sound of his voice tensed every muscle in her already stress-beaten body. If she could take back one horrible decision, Keane Malson would be it. 

Keane leaned on the threshold of the back porch door. If he stood up straight, his head nearly hit the top. For a man of his size, he moved like a butterfly—absolutely no sound whatsoever. The snake tattoo circling his left bicep twitched as he folded his arms across his chest. Holly loved snakes, but that one slithering in black ink across his pale flesh confused her. She wanted to stay away from it and inspect it more closely at the same time. 

Stay away from it, Holly. Snakes bite and Keane probably does, too.

Pick up Abra Cadaver today and see how sexy monsters can be! 

Happy Halloween, Pumpkins!

Toodles,
Chris
www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com 

Top Ten Things I Love About Autumn by Christine DePetrillo

10. I don’t have to mop at a sweat mustache inhabiting my upper lip. I love summer but hate sweating.

9. It’s much easier to walk The Werewolf. He likes that I’m home with him in the summer, but he’s not fond of walking through the ‘hood in the heat. Even though I always walk him at the cooler parts of the day for safety’s sake, he drags behind me in the summer. As soon as autumn hits, the bounce is back in his step and we can speedwalk again.

8. Pumpkin spice. I’ll admit it. I’m a fan. I’ll try anything with the label “pumpkin spice” splashed across it.

7. Foliage. The colors autumn brings to the trees always astounds me. No prettier paintbox than the one Mother Nature provides.

6. Fires. I like to burn in my outdoor fire pit in the summer, but autumn is the best time to gather around the toasty flames on a crisp night. S’mores also taste better in autumn.

5. Apple Cider. Non-alcoholic. Alcoholic. I love ‘em both. I don’t drink beer, but I love me some hard cider. Currently Cinnful Angry Orchard is my favorite, but I’m open to suggestions if you have one.

4. Witchy time. Autumn calls to my inner witch. Spell-casting, manifesting, card reading… all of it is more “tuned” for me in October.

3. Pumpkin pie. My favorite pie. I make it with a maple syrup-walnut-brown sugar topping that I could almost eat just by itself.  

2. Edgar Allan Poe. Autumn is the time I often reread some of my Poe favorites. The Raven and The Telltale Heart are at the top of the pile.

And the number one reason I love autumn in New England is MEN IN FLANNEL. While I don’t mind a man in shorts and a tight T-shirt, a dude sporting jeans, a flannel shirt, and work boots is always preferred. There’s something so… huggable about flannel, don’t you agree?

Why do you love autumn? Or why do you not love it?

Toodles,

Chris

www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com

Fall Into Fun! by Jannine Gallant

Me hiking. Don't know where the dog is--probably chasing a squirrel!

I was having a hard time coming up with a new fall topic...and put off writing my post until the last minute because I've been crazy busy. When it struck me that October is always a busy, but really fun, month for me. So, I thought I'd share.

Ginger down at the lake.

Hiking in the woods with my dog is a passion of mine. And October is pretty much the end for prime hiking. Come November, the snow starts, the temperatures drop, and I have to wear a coat and boots instead of a T-shirt and tennies. Horrors. Also, the woods are gorgeous with fall colors brightening up a backdrop of evergreens. I cherish each and every tromp through the forest this time of year.

Tara

Also, it's cross country season. Both my girls run, though my youngest, Kristen, has been plagued by injuries this season. My oldest, Tara, is a senior. She's been on a mission to win back her State Championship and has been tearing up the courses this season, winning 5 of her 6 races so far. The team has a lot of fun...and so do the parent drivers. I got to spend a lovely weekend down in Monterey with the girls...at the beach. Life's rough. LOL

My carload of girls for the race--Kristen is the tall redhead

Halloween rolls around to round out the month. My days of taking kids trick-or-treating are over, but it's still fun to watch the girls dress up.

Kristen (Thing 1) with her friend Kyla (Thing 2) a couple of years ago

In celebration of the season, I'll be putting my one and only ghost story, She'll Never Rest, on sale for 4 days Oct. 24-27. Grab a copy for 99 cents for a Halloween treat. In fact, if you're in the mood for fall books, check out my whole Secrets of Ravenswood series on my website. They're full of fall flavor and each have a shivery mystery.

So, are you a fall aficionado? What's keeping you busy this October? 

One Night - A Halloween-inspired Poem

Cloaked in black,

the night steals

daylight,

until only shadows

survive.

 

A celestial blanket

unfolds across the sky,

pinpoints of magic,

and wishes,

and dreams.

 

Disguised from the world,

new faces are worn

on the autumn-crisp streets.

Anonymity brings

possibility.

 

One full moon

sees all.

Her white light reaches

through dark branches

to touch the ground.

 

No one can hide

what they were,

what they are,

what they are destined to be,

for the night knows.

 

And she doesn’t forget.

 

Toodles,

Chris

www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com
www.christymajor.weebly.com

Is She or Isn't She?

My students think I might be a vampire.

It started with the sign on my desk that reads, “Vampire Parking: Violators Will Be Bitten.” This fun notice keeps kids from sitting at my desk, the one spot in the room that is always pristine. While I don’t always have the time or the energy to keep the entire room neat when I must share it with over forty children every day, I can at least protect my desk and its contents.

At first, my students laugh at the sign.

“Oh, that Mrs. DePetrillo. She’s so silly.” After all, I have a number of funny wall adornments in the room such as a “No Whining Zone” sign and a Spiderman poster. But when they see me actually sit at the desk, their minds start to put it all together and they use their inferring skills. If the desk only allows vampires to park there and I’m parked there, then I must be a vampire.

Let’s add to this some other evidence I’ve overheard students discussing recently:

1.       She wears a lot of black.

2.       She is kind of pale.

3.       She never puts the lights on in the classroom. Why does she like it so dark?

4.       The blinds on the windows are always closed. Is she trying to keep the sun out?

5.       She moves pretty fast. She was at her desk and now she’s already at the front of the room!

6.       Her dog looks like a werewolf.

Factor in that some other adults in the building have been adding fuel to the fire with tales of me requesting specially tinted windows that block UV rays or of having seen me in Target in the mirror aisle and not seeing my reflection and we’ve got some very convincing arguments here.

Just last week, I was elbow deep in a math lesson, scribbling away on the whiteboard with my back to the class. When I turned around, more than one student had out a small mirror, trying to capture my reflection. They’re being very scientific about it at least. Running tests. Asking questions. Supporting theories. Refining conclusions.

I told the students that we’re going to turn this speculation into a writing assignment where they must give their opinion on the matter with supporting evidence. Am I vampire or am I not and why do they think so? I plan to give them more evidence for both sides of the issue as the month of October unfolds. It’ll be a fun game to play in between the tedious and tortuous NECAP state testing where they basically have their little brains fried and I have to watch it happen and can offer no assistance. Trust me, fried brains is a tough smell to get out of the room.

Anyway, they appear to be excited about this writing endeavor. One student even asked me if when the assignment is done, could I tell them the truth about whether or not I am a vampire. I answered with a cryptic, “We’ll see.”

I can’t wait to see their reaction when I wear my “I Heart Vampires” T-shirt to school.

Toodles,

Chris
www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com
www.christymajor.weebly.com

A Dark and Stormy Night

It was a dark and stormy night…

Sometimes, especially in the spooktacular month of October, I like to find pictures of dark forests, creepy cemeteries, and haunted castles to use as writing prompts. A firm believer in a picture is worth a thousand words, I often rely on visuals to spark my creativity. This also allows me to write about topics I might not otherwise explore, because I tend to be more of a woods-on-a-sunny-day type of gal. Deliberately seeking out photos and paintings with dark, sinister undertones helps me dig deep and tap into the blackness I think all of us have inside. Most of us spend our days ignoring that blackness, keeping it hidden and leashed.

But it’s there. Always there.  And some great writing can come from that blackness.

Here’s one I wrote about this picture:

The trees cast ghastly shadows in the muted light of the full moon.  Thick clouds chase each other across the storm-darkened sky.  They race past the moon causing fleeting moments of complete blackness to fall upon the jagged oceanside cliffs below.  Tumultuous waves beat against the rocky shore with a deafening rhythm.  The white tips of high cresting waves crash down violently, turning up tangled tresses of seaweed and small gravel fragments of ocean floor.  Harsh salty sea spray spews up as the wind whips fiercely over the coast. 

On a night such as this the cold seeps through coats, sweaters, even flesh.  It burrows deep into a body and coils its icy fingers right around the soul.  On a night such as this it is wisest to stay inside by the warmth of a roaring fire.  It is wisest to nestle comfortably beneath a soft blanket of thick fleece.  It is wisest to push away all thoughts of venturing out into the unsettled weather. 

Unfortunately, for some, the call of the ocean surpasses any irrefutable wisdom.  For some, the thrash of storm-swelled waves sounds like a lullaby, luring them out to the dangerous precipice and the roiling seas below. 

For some, a murky night such as this means losing oneself...

Your turn! Try writing something dark for this picture.

Hope you had some fun!

My story, “Every Last Bite,” has some darkness to it and is one of the finalists in All Romance Ebooks “Just One Bite” contest. Visit here to read it and vote for me.

Chris

www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com