~ SHOULD I BE ON AN EPISODE OF HALLOWEEN HOARDERS? YOU DECIDE! ~

I love Halloween! Not the blood and gore kind of Halloween, but the happy memories of going trick-or-treating with my sister, of guzzling apple cider, hauling bulging pillowcases, separating candy into piles on the floor, already arranged from best to worst. Or what about those plastic masks with elastic straps that never failed to get cockeyed so that you couldn't see and you'd trip and bloody your chin? Sigh. Those were the days.

There are other memories, too. I remember our neighbors, The Snyders, who always invited you in for donuts, instead of candy. When you walked into their house you were in a huge foyer, with arched doorways on both sides, and a wide curved staircase in front of you that led up to the open floor above where the many Snyders had bedrooms (I feel like there were at least ten, though it's probably more like six). To the right was the dining room and on the long table sat an enormous punch bowl, always filled with some sweet and cooling concoction. I'd close my eyes as I drank, the liquid calming a throat dry from laughing in the October air as I ran from house to house in a furious quest to get the most candy, and the most cavities. 

I remember another house, up the block. They always had a party and when you rang that doorbell you were forced into a living room circled with chairs full of adults, ready to see you perform your trick. Maybe it was the slight of hand move your uncle showed you, or a cartwheel, or semblance thereof. Or maybe you'd tell the corny joke you'd memorized before you left the house. You know, what does Frankenstein eat for lunch? Halloweenies! Or what has four wheels and flies? All together now--a garbage truck! Or maybe, what eight-legged creature rules the sea? Billy the Squid. I don't think my kids have even once performed a trick for their candy. They're missing out. And I miss that! I miss those days.

So I do things to remember. My decorations reflect the nostalgic way I feel about Halloween.

 

 A bit overdone?


My good feelings have spilled over to the clothes I wear. (And this is just what was clean!) I start October first and then there's a sad period between Halloween and Christmas that I have to wear normal clothes before donning the reindeer and Santa Claus shirts.

I even have Halloween jewelry.

Placemats.
Napkins (and, of course, napkin rings!).
Cups.

You get the picture.


And I have to make loads of goodies to fill that festive table.

Heck, even my shopping list is Halloweeny!

I get a little nutty, I guess.

What about you? What are some of your favorite Halloween items?

Since we're talking about scary things, let me tell you a little bit about the harrowing trials I put my rock star hero through in TRAPPED UNDER ICE!

Blurb:

Trapped Under Ice is a novel about a three time platinum record-producing band whose lead singer, Chad Evans, is haunted by his past.  Growing up in an abusive home, then being left alone at the age of thirteen to raise his kid brother, Chad still fights the pain he felt as a child, and the anger it causes, despite being a wildly successful rock star.  “Chad [tries] to play his heart out on the stage; but he [can] never quite seem to leave it there.” 

Beth Donovan, lunch lady/writer, is thrilled to be enjoying a Trapped Under Ice concert with her daughter, Cassie.  Even though it has been three years since her husband, Paul’s, death, sorrow still shadows her life, so the distraction of seeing her favorite group is a welcome one.  However, when the concert is over, Beth and her daughter are followed and attacked by two men in one of the stadium’s bathrooms.  When Chad and his bodyguard, Pete, come to their aid, an attraction sparks immediately between Beth and the tall singer. 

Though the pair is drawn to each other, the relationship goes through numerous trials centered on Chad’s unresolved anger, and Beth’s fear of opening herself up again.  Just as the two seem to be able to work through their problems, they face being separated forever by someone who is sending Chad death threats.  Trapped Under Ice is the story of a love-affair fraught with difficulties from without, (ex-girlfriends who resurface, crazed fans who don’t want to take “no” for an answer…), as well as difficulties from within, (jealousy, anger, fear…).  Will Chad and Beth be able to rise above these trials and tribulations? Or will they remain trapped under ice?

Interested? Well just enter to win one of the two e-copies being given away below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for coming by and Happy Halloween!


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