Halloween Spooktacular: Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Information courtesy of Wikipedia

"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a short story by Washington Irving contained in his collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., written while he was living in Birmingham, England, and first published in 1820. With Irving's companion piece "Rip Van Winkle", "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is among the earliest examples of American fiction still read today.

Plot

The story is set circa 1790 in the Dutch settlement of Tarry Town (based on Tarrytown, New York), in a secluded glen called Sleepy Hollow. It tells the story of Ichabod Crane, a lean, lanky, and extremely superstitious schoolmaster from Connecticut, who competes with Abraham "Brom Bones" Van Brunt, the town rowdy, for the hand of 18-year-old Katrina Van Tassel, the daughter and sole child of a wealthy farmer, Baltus Van Tassel. As Crane leaves a party he attended at the Van Tassel home on an autumn night, he is pursued by the Headless Horseman, who is supposedly the ghost of a Hessian trooper who had his head shot off by a stray cannonball during "some nameless battle" of the American Revolutionary War, and who "rides forth to the scene of battle in nightly quest of his head". Ichabod mysteriously disappears from town, leaving Katrina to marry Brom Bones, who was "to look exceedingly knowing whenever the story of Ichabod was related". Although the nature of the Headless Horseman is left open to interpretation, the story implies that the Horseman was really Brom Bones in disguise and some readers assume that Brom murdered him.

Background

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was based on a German folktale, set in the Dutch culture of Post-Revolutionary War in New York State. The original folktale was recorded by Karl Musäus. An excerpt of Musäus:

The headless horseman was often seen here. An old man who did not believe in ghosts told of meeting the headless horseman coming from his trip into the Hollow. The horseman made him climb up behind. They rode over bushes, hills, and swamps. When they reached the bridge, the horseman suddenly turned into a skeleton. He threw the old man into the brook and sprang away over the treetops with a clap of thunder.

The dénouement of the fictional tale is set at the bridge over the Pocantico River in the area of the Old Dutch Church and Burying Ground in Sleepy Hollow. The characters of Ichabod Crane and Katrina Van Tassel may have been based on local residents known to the author. The character of Katrina is thought to have been based upon Eleanor Van Tassel Brush, in which case her name is derived from that of Eleanor's aunt Catriena Ecker Van Tessel.

Irving, while he was an aide-de-camp to New York Gov. Daniel D. Tompkins, met an army captain named Ichabod Crane in Sackets Harbor, New York during an inspection tour of fortifications in 1814. He may have borrowed the name from the captain and patterned the character in "The Legend" after Jesse Merwin, who taught at the local schoolhouse in Kinderhook, further north along the Hudson River, where Irving spent several months in 1809.

The story was the longest one published as part of The Sketch Book, which Irving issued using the pseudonym "Geoffrey Crayon" in 1820.

"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" follows a tradition of folk tales and poems involving a supernatural wild chase, including Robert Burns's Tam O' Shanter (1790),and Bürger's Der wilde Jäger, translated as The Wild Huntsman(1796).

So have you read this wildly famous tale or have you watched the movie? If so which did you prefer the Movie or the book? Was it scary ? I have to say I haven't read the book but I have been wanting to for a very long time. I have seen Johnny Depp's version and I did love that movie. Remember all comments count as extra entries.

Halloween Spooktacular:Ghosts and Spirits

Information courtesy of Wikipedia

In traditional belief, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or wispy shapes, to realistic, life-like visions. The deliberate attempt to contact the spirit of a deceased person is known as necromancy, or in spiritism as a séance.

The belief in manifestations of the spirits of the dead is widespread, dating back to animism or ancestor worship in pre-literate cultures. Certain religious practices—funeral rites, exorcisms, and some practices of spiritualism and ritual magic—are specifically designed to appease the spirits of the dead. Ghosts are generally described as solitary essences that haunt particular locations, objects, or people they were associated with in life, though stories of the phantom armies, ghost trains, phantom ships, and even ghost animals have also been recounted.

Terminology

Further information: spirit, soul (spirit), anima, genius (mythology), and Geist The English word ghost continues Old English gást, from a hypothetical Common Germanic *gaistaz. It is common to West Germanic, but lacking in North and East Germanic (the equivalent word in Gothic is ahma, Old Norse has andi m., önd f.). The pre-Germanic form was *ghoisdo-s, apparently from a root denoting "fury, anger" reflected in Old Norse geisa "to rage". The Germanic word is recorded as masculine only, but likely continues a neuter s-stem. The original meaning of the Germanic word would thus have been an animating principle of the mind, in particular capable of excitation and fury (compare óðr). In Germanic paganism, "Germanic Mercury", and the later Odin, was at the same time the conductor of the dead and the "lord of fury" leading the Wild Hunt.
Besides denoting the human spirit or soul, both of the living and the deceased, the Old English word is used as a synonym of Latin spiritus also in the meaning of "breath" or "blast" from the earliest attestations (9th century). It could also denote any good or evil spirit, i.e. angels and demons; the Anglo-Saxon gospel refers to the demonic possession of Matthew 12:43 as se unclæna gast. Also from the Old English period, the word could denote the spirit of God, viz. the "Holy Ghost". The now prevailing sense of "the soul of a deceased person, spoken of as appearing in a visible form" only emerges in Middle English (14th century). The modern noun does, however, retain a wider field of application, extending on one hand to "soul", "spirit", "vital principle", "mind" or "psyche", the seat of feeling, thought and moral judgement; on the other hand used figuratively of any shadowy outline, fuzzy or unsubstantial image, in optics, photography and cinematography especially a flare, secondary image or spurious signal.

The synonym spook is a Dutch loanword, akin to Low German spôk (of uncertain etymology); it entered the English language via the United States in the 19th century. Alternative words in modern usage include spectre (from Latin spectrum), the Scottish wraith (of obscure origin), phantom (via French ultimately from Greek phantasma, compare fantasy) and apparition. The term shade in classical mythology translates Greek σκιά,or Latin umbra in reference to the notion of spirits in the Greek underworld. "Haint" is a synonym for ghost used in regional English of the southern United States,and the "haint tale" is a common feature of southern oral and literary tradition. The term poltergeist is a German word, literally a "noisy ghost", for a spirit said to manifest itself by invisibly moving and influencing objects.

Wraith is a Scottish dialectal word for "ghost", "spectre" or "apparition". It came to be used in Scottish Romanticist literature, and acquired the more general or figurative sense of "portent" or "omen". In 18th- to 19th-century Scottish literature, it was also applied to aquatic spirits. The word has no commonly accepted etymology; OED notes "of obscure origin" only. An association with the verb writhe was the etymology favored by J. R. R. Tolkien. Tolkien's use of the word in the naming of the creatures known as the Ringwraiths has influenced later usage in fantasy literature. Bogie is an Ulster Scots term for a ghost, and appears in Scottish poet John Mayne's Hallowe'en in 1780.

A revenant is a deceased person returning from the dead to haunt the living, either as a disembodied ghost or alternatively as an animated ("undead") corpse. Also related is the concept of a fetch, the visible ghost or spirit of a person yet alive.

So What do You think? Do you believe in Ghosts? Have you ever experienced or seen a ghost? Remember all comments count as extra entries for the big giveaway.

Bewitching Tours Mind over Monsters Guest Post and Giveaway

Please give a warm welcome to Jennifer, she is going to discuss one of my favorite topic discussions.

Vampires Vs. Werewolves-Jennifer Harlow

In this corner, fighting for the ultimate modern female dream lover, coming in at 180 pasty, bloodsucking pounds we have…The Vampire! [applause] And in the opposite corner, coming in at 200 snarling, hairy pounds is…The Werewolf! [applause] Who will win the hearts and libidos of millions of women? Only one way to find out. LET’S GET READY TO RUUUUUUMMMBBBLLLLEEE!

“I don’t get it.” This sentence has been uttered from quite a few of my male friends in recent years. Their wives, sisters, even daughters have all fallen under the spell of these mythical monsters, this writer included, and they can’t understand why. It is a decent question. In the past five or so years the Scoundrel Duke or Highlander have been replaced as women’s ideal romantic hero by a walking dead man and/or bi-polar man-dog. (Their words, not mine.) What is it about these creatures that we ladies find so sexy? And is there a place for both in our hearts? Can you be both Team Edward and Team Jacob? Let’s explore.

I’ve always loved monsters. I’ve seen so many horror movies and read so many books since childhood I couldn’t stop myself from writing a few. (Mind Over Monsters, out now!) In my book, the main character Beatrice Alexander finds herself caught between these two creatures as they both vie for her attention. My werewolf, Will, is shy, gruff, hates what he is, but is still responsible and a capable team leader. My vampire Oliver is playful, roguish, and though 500 years old suffers from a massive case of Peter Pan Syndrome. One is the kind you bring home to Mama, and the other you put behind you in your promiscuous twenties. Yet both hold equal room in Bea’s heart (as they do in their creator’s). Before I started writing I made a conscious decision to include these two monsters into my menagerie because I couldn’t chose which I, and in turn my readers, would have more fun falling in love with. Both spoke to different parts of what I want in a fantasy man (besides one who could take out the trash without being asked, but I can only fly so far from reality). But what are those parts?

Vampires weren’t always suave Counts or sparkly teenage heartthrobs. In folklore they were more akin to the zombie: mindless, flesh eating, decomposing. Even Bram Stoker’s Dracula was more ghoul than sex machine. It wasn’t until the story “The Vampyre” in the early 1800s that the sexy vampire came to life. This “vampyre” was based on Lord Byron, the bi-sexual poet who slept with anything that moved (including his own sister), leaving destruction in his randy wake. Women were driven mad by him, and their standing in society was lost. It wasn’t until Bela Lugosi that the yummy vampire reached the zeitgeist and really never turned back. But through all its incarnations a few things have remained constant: they’re dead, and they eat us. So why would this be appealing to us ladies? It’s akin to necrophilia with a leech. The answer is because they’re dangerous. They play to our desire to change a man. That we alone can save him from his evil ways. That though he’s been alive for centuries, we’re the only woman who he’s loved because we’re unique and spectacular. He’s the Scoundrel Duke but with more magic and bite.

The werewolf is the same in most respects. Their legend hasn’t changed much through the ages: a man is cursed with this ailment that turns them into a savage beast at least once a month. In modern times they just have better abs. They’re a dark prince under a curse, and once again our love is the only thing that can tame their savage beast and free them from their turmoil. We can save him. And even still he’s manly, strong, in touch with his animal side, yet loyal to the woman he chooses as his mate. He’ll take care of you come what may. Who wouldn’t like that?

These creatures have a lot in common, but also seem to be polar opposites, always in opposition (at least in my books). Why can’t they get along? A vampire has no life, yet the werewolf has so much life he can’t seem to contain it in one form. The vampire always seems to have boundless charm and charisma, blending in with humans for survival, but the werewolf can’t seem to fit into normal society as he’s too untamed. They’re both alpha males who represent different things to us. Vampires are all about cold seduction, tempting us with their magic and beauty, convincing us to give into our sexual desires in spite of the danger. Werewolves on the other hand wouldn’t go to all that trouble. They’d just grab us, throw us on the bed, and take us with wild abandon. Hot or cold? Seduction or passion? Rock and a hard place, I know.

The battle rages on between these two alpha males. At least in my estimation, the vampire has a firm lead, at least in terms of books written and movies made about them. Bella ends up with Edward, Anita Blake’s boffing Jean-Claude more than Richard, and for every Ginger Snaps there are twelve Fright Nights. Maybe that will change, maybe not, but these rivals will continue to hold a place in our hearts and romantic imaginations for years to come. Now excuse me, I have to go buy my boyfriend a cape and fangs. J

So, are you a werewolf or vampire gal? Both? Do you agree with my assessment or am I seriously far off the mark? Are werewolves getting their equal share of the spotlight? Why not? Discuss.

The Buzz for Mind Over Monsters

“Monstrously fun! Monstrously suspenseful! Monstrously good!” –Victoria Laurie

“A gritty, dramatic police-procedural with a compelling heroine and a fascinating group of sidekicks.”

--Karen Chance

“Harlow offers treats for every paranormal lover to relish, with plenty of action, thrills, and laughter.”

--Leanna Renee Hieber

“Mind Over Monsters is funny, scary, and creepy—and ridiculous amounts of fun!” –Kat Richardson

About the Author:

Jennifer Harlow is the author of Mind Over Monsters, the first in the F.R.E.A.K.S. Squad series out now. You can read her blog “Tales From the Darkside” and get the soundtrack to the book at her website, www.jenniferharlowbooks.com. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter at jenharlowbooks.

Jennifer Harlow earned a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Virginia. She has been a bookseller, radio DJ, lab assistant, and government investigator. She lives in Northern Virginia and is hard at work on her next book.

Jennifer Harlow spent her restless childhood fighting with her three brothers and scaring the heck out of herself with horror movies and books. She grew up to earn a degree at the University of Virginia which she put to use as a radio DJ, crisis hotline volunteer, bookseller, lab assistant, wedding coordinator, and government investigator. Currently she calls Northern Virginia home but that restless itch is ever present. In her free time she continues to scare the beejepers out of herself watching scary movies and opening her credit card bills.

Jennifer is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Horror Writers Association, and Sisters in Crime.

Visit Jennifer at www.jenniferharlowbooks.com

ISBN-10: 0-7387-2667-2

ISBN-13: 978-0-7387-2667-0

US $14.95 • CAN $16.95

Trade Paperback Original • 53/16 x 8 • 288 pp.

October 2011

Paranormal heroes take on zombies in this funny and thrilling debut. Very few people know the truth about Beatrice Alexander. She’s no ordinary schoolteacher with a fondness for classic movies. Beatrice can move objects with her mind, an embarrassing and dangerous skill that she’s never learned to master — or embrace. After nearly killing her brother by accident, she joins F.R.E.A.K.S. The Federal Response to Extra-Sensory and Kindred Supernaturals is a top-secret offshoot of the FBI that “neutralizes” ghouls, trolls, and other monsters threatening humanity. Beatrice has no desire to become Buffy the vampire slayer.

But F.R.E.A.K.S. offers training to control her power. Also, she doesn’t feel like such a freak next to the other supernatural members, including a cute former detective who’s a werewolf and an unbearable vampire determined to seduce Beatrice. Despite a natural instinct to flee from hideous, bloodthirsty zombies, Beatrice must prove herself on her first mission to find a cunning necromancer.

From the Back Cover:

CLASSIFIED:

F.R.E.A.K.S. vs. Zombies
Beatrice Alexander is no ordinary schoolteacher—she can move objects with her mind, an embarrassing skill she hasn’t yet mastered or embraced. After nearly killing her brother by accident, she joins the F.R.E.A.K.S. Squad, the Federal Response to Extra-Sensory and Kindred Supernaturals. This top-secret branch of the FBI combats ghosts, ghouls, and other monsters threatening humanity. With her teammates—among them a handsome formerdetective werewolf and an annoying Don Juan vampire who’s dead-set on seducing her—Beatrice investigates her first case.

Disgustingly dismembered bodies have turned up, bearing bite marks of the undead. Someone—or something—is raising a horde of hideous, bloodthirsty zombies. And the master of the flesh-devouring corpses is guarding a secret that’s even more horrifying . . .

Featuring a team of monster hunters with unique paranormal abilities, the F.R.E.A.K.S. Squad Investigation series combines humor, suspense, and supernatural crime-fighting.

Book Excerpt:

Oliver is oblivious to my plight. He’s busy with the veritable wall of walking dead surrounding us. The moment he knocks one into a tree or tombstone another seems to take its place in the line like a zombie Pez dispenser. Two of them, one a man and the other unidentifiable, grab Oliver but he pushes them away. Another grabs my arm and tries to bite, but I kick it away. My martial arts trainer would be so proud. His buddy behind me grabs the other arm and chomps down on it. I scream. The gun in the other hand reaches her forehead and a second later, her head is nothing but puzzle pieces. Enough of this.

Something I’ve never felt seizes control. My body turns warm then hot in an instant, like someone’s switched on my boiler. My breath becomes ragged and then stops. The breeze stops moving and everything but the dozen soldiers surrounding us turn black. There are no screams, no moans, no Oliver. The air moves toward me, inside me, through every pore of my body. What feels like two hands squeeze either side of my brain, but it doesn’t hurt for once. I don’t know what’s happening to me…but I like it. I close my eyes and feel the blood trickle out of my nose. I release.

Power explodes out of me like a fiery gust of wind in a hurricane. It knocks me on my back. Several daggers plunge into my brain. I cry out, clutching my head. Oh God, it hurts! Just stop it! Hands grab my shoulders.

“Trixie!” a familiar voice shouts. I know that voice…who… “Open your eyes!” I do. It’s blurry at first, but I blink until I see Oliver kneeling beside me. God, he’s good looking when he’s
worried.

“My dear, can you speak?”

“Huh…”

“Never mind. Can you walk?”“Um…” Without letting me finish he hoists me up by the arms, my injured one throbbing. When I’m up the sight before me draws a gasp. Oh…my…lord. There’s nothing left but the kind of destruction I see on TV after a tornado. Trees lie on their sides, tangled roots above ground. Every headstone within forty feet around rests on its side, a few older ones are now nothing but pebbles and dust. The zombie horde is literally nothing but pieces. Twitching legs, arms, jaws still trying to make their way toward us litter the grass. Every piece bigger than a foot still tries to continue on their mission, but I doubt any of them is a threat to us anymore. A few fresher corpses remain intact but shuffle far in the distance.

“Did I…”

“Remind me never to anger you,” Oliver says, serious as death. I’ve scared a vampire. Holy heck. And we take off running.

Giveaway Details:

5 copies of Mind Over Monsters are being given away tour wide

Open to US Shipping

Click HERE To Enter

Halloween Spooktacular:: Vampires Dark , Dangerous and OH So Sexy

I don't know about you but being the paranormal lover that I am this is the perfect time of year to enjoy all that is spooky and scary. So tell me what is it about these spooky, dark and dangerous characters we love so much?? My personal faves are of course is the vampires- why? I have no clue other than they are so sexy..

Here is just a few I enjoy

I love Eric not just in the show but in the books, Look at him how can you not  want him to take a bite.

And you didn't think I wouldn't mention my favorite Dark Hunter ever now didn't you? Okay technically he is part god but still :).

I know most of you like, Zsadist and I do too but for me Wrath started it all for my love of the BDB- The Blind King can't get any sexier than that....

This one at least in my mind reminds me of Paris of The LOTU series by Gena Showalter- yummy! Doesn't hurt that Paris's demon is Promiscuity..

I could keep going all night and I know there are several I am missing..... So what do you think do you love those dark broody sexy vamps if not what is your taste in the paranormal? Did I choose good with my vision of these men? (I know for exception of Eric since he is on the series)I promise I am going to try and get to all or most of paranomal characters out there this month? Remember all comments count as extra entries

Halloween Spooktacular::Horror movies

I have to admit I never used to be fan of Horror Movies, I would cover my eyes at the crazy insanely scary parts but a few years ago I was living with my sister in law and she is a huge fan of Horror movies. So while I still hide my eyes now sometimes, not at the real cheesy kind but the true freak out scary kind I do enjoy them now.

Here is a couple that totally scared me when I was younger, not so much now but.....

Cujo

Carrie

That is just a couple, So do you like Horror movies or do they scare your or do you think they are cheesy? If you like them what is your favorite? Which one scared you? Remember all comments are counted towards extra entries.

CBLS Promotions T-R-O-U-B-L-E by Sable Hunter Book Excerpt and Giveaway

Format: Kindle Edition

File Size: 449 KB

Publisher: Secret Cravings Publishing (August 8, 2011)

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services

Language: English

ASIN: B005HBEN3M

Lending: Enabled

Amazon Summary:

Trouble comes calling on Kyler Landon. He falls hard and fast for his beautiful, mysterious neighbor after she saves him from a rattlesnake attack. The sexual tension mounts between them with each sensual encounter, but he soon realizes that Cooper has been hurt and is leery of men. So he sets out to teach her that a real man can be gentle, loving, and sexy as hell.

Trouble seems to follow Cooper, and Ky makes it his mission to protect her from her past. Kyler would move heaven and earth to keep her in his bed and in his life.

Book Excerpt:

Kyler Landon smoothed the supple leather with a large, roughened hand. The saddle was almost completed. This particular saddle would go to the Houston Livestock Rodeo and be presented to the current World Champion cowboy. It was solitary work, but work he enjoyed. Tooling patterns on the leather was his favorite thing, this one had a vine pattern, and the brand of the cowboy‟s ranch figured prominently in the design. Letting his mind wander, he found himself caressing the leather, remembering the last time he touched the velvety skin of a woman. Stop! He tried to turn his mind away from sex. He tortured himself night after night with images of a soft, sweet woman who would welcome him between her thighs. He wanted a woman who would let him love her as much and as often as he wanted. A woman that would enjoy his loving as much as he enjoyed loving her.

It had been a long time, too damn long. Dallying with the local girls could get you into a whole passel of trouble—especially a man in his position.

The sound of a vehicle stopping at his front gate pulled him from his sensual reverie. He imagined it was the mysterious little black car from down the road, but he knew better. This was a bigger engine. Sometimes, when he was working out in the front yard, that car would go by and slow down to a crawl. The windows were tinted completely black, a great deal darker than was legal, he knew. So, he was at a disadvantage. He couldn‟t see who was behind the wheel, but whoever it was could sure the hell see him. And they had looked, long and hard. He could actually, physically, feel their gaze on his skin.

Hell, he had even fantasized about who was driving that sexy little car. Once, when he had been working on the front fence without a shirt, the driver had actually run off the road. That fact had made him smile. Whoever it was, he was getting to them. As his luck ran, however, the driver was probably a woman in her seventies or a man in his forties. But one could dream. He sat there too long, dreaming. He heard the vehicle leave. Rising from his chair, he made his way out of the Saddlery shop and across the yard to the main house. A package sat by the front door. „Must have been UPS,‟ he thought. Good! He had been waiting on some custom silver belt buckles for a special order. Taking the six front steps in two leaps, he grabbed the package from the floor, opened the door, and let himself in.

Laying the cardboard box on the coffee table, he grabbed a beer and headed back to the yard. The belt buckles would have to wait. One of these days, a cold front would head this way and he
would want to put a fire in the fireplace, so wood needed to be split. He opened his mouth to call the dogs, but then remembered he had taken them to the vet for their annual check-up and shots.

Today, it would just be him. Alone again. Going to the side of the house, he retrieved his axe. Chopping wood would go a long way to working off some of his sexual frustration. Maybe. Hell, it was worth a try. The wood was piled out front near the gate, a mix of red oak and hickory, as

good for barbeque as it was for heat. He swigged the beer, and then set the bottle up on top of a fence post. Ky had employees who could have done this work for him, but he like to keep in
shape and there was nothing better than real physical labor to put on layers of muscle—it beat the crap out of a gym, any day.

It didn‟t take long for him to find his rhythm and even a shorter time for him to get hot and decide to shed his shirt. As he worked, he reviewed his plans for the next few days. Tomorrow was his day to put time in at his animal shelter, Saturday was Angel Pantry day and not a woman in sight for the best date night of the week. Shit!

****

Cooper drove slowly by the Landon place. Ah, sweet Lord! There he was. And the fact she had been a good girl was paying off in spades. The powers-that-be had seen fit to reward her by
letting the sun beat down hot enough to cause Gorgeous to shed his shirt. She slowed to a crawl.

Sometimes, he would stop working and watch her drive by. Today, he appeared too busy to notice. A movement at the side of the woodpile caught her eye. What in the world? Cooper was alarmed to see a huge snake crawling out of the stacked logs. The vibrations of the axe on the wood had obviously disturbed it. This couldn‟t be good.

Cooper pulled over and stopped. Trying to be as quite as possible, she opened the car door but did not shut it. The snake was right behind her neighbor and she was afraid to call out, for fear, any sudden movement on his part would cause the snake to strike. The rhythmic movement of the man and the axe had the snake, seemingly, hypnotized. She walked as silently as she could, until she was at the fence, right behind the snake. He was coiled and ready to strike. Cooper knew snakes, having grown up on in the deserts of southwest Texas. She quickly recognized that
either the rattler had somehow lost his rattles in an accident, or someone had intentionally caught it and removed them for a hat decoration or whatever.

It was now or never. Putting aside her normal reservations about being so close to a man, she decided his safety was more important than her own. Climbing slowly up on the fence, she spoke softly. “Don‟t move, Mr. Landon. Don‟t move a muscle.” The snake was huge! Coiled up, it was hard to judge, but it could easily top five feet.

The beautifully muscled man slowed his movements, until he was still. “Is this a hold-up?” He asked the question softly, with a touch of humor in his voice.

“No, but there is a major-sized rattlesnake right behind you, and it‟s getting ready to strike.”

About The Author:

My hometown will always be New Orleans. I love the culture of Louisiana and it permeates everything I do. Now, I live in the big state of Texas and like most southern women, I love to cook southern food – especially Cajun and Tex-Mex. I also love to research the supernatural, but don’t tell anyone.

I love intimacy and my favorite erogenous zones are my nipples and the nape of my neck. One of my fantasies is to have my beloved rub an orchid lightly over every part of my body. Hope that’s not too much information – although, I do enjoy giving you ideas. . . . .

About my writing – As most of you know, I write erotic romance. I write what I like to read and enjoy putting my fantasies on paper. My stories are emotional reads where the heroine is faced with challenges; like one of my favorite songs – she’s holding out for a hero – and boy, can I deliver a hero. One of the best compliments that I ever received from a reader was that I write ‘luscious sex’ – my aim is to write a story that will make you laugh, cry and sweat. If I can wring those emotions out of a reader, then I have done my job.

So, please join me in my world of magic, alpha heroes, sexy cowboys and hot, steamy, to-die-for sex. Step into the shoes of my heroines and escape to places where dreams can come true and orgasms only come in multiples.

Author's Links:

Website: http://sablehunter.com/

Twitter Handle: @huntersable

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100002496153659

Where to Buy Links:

All Romance eBooks:

http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-trouble-593222-149.html

Amazon (Kindle Edition):

http://www.amazon.com/T-R-O-U-B-L-E-Texas-Heat-ebook/dp/B005HBEN3M

Barnes & Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/trouble-sable-hunter/1104702822?

ean=2940013098077&itm=1&usri=t%2br%2bo%2bu%2bb%2bl%2be

BookStrand.com:

http://www.bookstrand.com/t-r-o-u-b-l-e

Secret Cravings Publishing:

http://store.secretcravingspublishing.com/index.php?

main_page=book_info&cPath=28&products_id=98

Now on to the giveaway, one winner will win a ebook copy of T-R-O-U-B-L-E all you have to do is leave a comment and your email addy. The giveaway will run from Oct 4 to 11th with the winner being announced on the 12th!

Next Stop on The T-R-O-U-B-L-E tour is Theresa Stillwagon's blog at http://tstillwagon.wordpress.com/

Halloween Spooktacular Halloween Costumes

I know when I was younger I loved to dress up in costumes and go trick or treating as I got older I didn't dress up as much but I still enjoyed Halloween. Here are some costumes that I wouldn't mind trying today if I had the nerve LOL.

So,What was your favorite costume you ever dressed up as? Are you dressing up this year if so what are you going as? Remember all comments count as extra entries for the big giveaway at the end of the month.