Halloween Spootacular Vampire Halloween by Evelyn LaFont

Today we have a very special guest Evelyn LaFont, who has graciously written a short story just for this event as well as offering 2 ebook sets of her series Vampire Relationship Guide Book 1 and 2. BLH would like to send Big thank you to Evelyn for agreeing to participate.

A decade ago, on the first Halloween after vampires announced their existence, I was busy cleaning
toilets.

My predicament wasn’t due to the fact that I preferred cleaning toilets over going to parties in a sexy maid outfit, better suited for seducing than cleaning. It was that I had no choice but to exploit the cleaning company’s staff shortage and make an extra $50 to keep my electricity on that month.

And really, I was in a maid costume…of a sort, with my light blue bandana tied around my blonde curly hair, which was in a messy ponytail, and my too-large nurse’s scrubs purchased not because I was a caregiver but because they let me twist my body comfortably enough to reach the hair and gunk that settles behind most toilets. To this sexy ensemble, I added my Dr. Scholl’s Velcro sneakers that were ugly but helped me stay on my feet for hours. Finally, I had my super clunky Walkman tucked inside my black vinyl fanny pack. Rather than being a treat for the eyes, I was definitely a trick.

Anyway, I wasn’t just cleaning out toilets in the 20-story glass and steel office building with views of the Gulf that night—oh no. I was also dusting individual offices, emptying desk-side trash bins and wiping off windowsills. Good stuff.

Since we started cleaning in early evening, the building was empty of employees. The sun had set and the views out the windows were lame, so I decided to crank up my Walkman’s volume and let the music carry me away. With Destiny’s Child Survivor CD on repeat, I put my body on automate and cleaned without thinking, grooving to the music and singing about what kind of survivor I really was—the kind who wasn’t gonna give up.

I started doing some amazing hip-shaking while dusting off the bookcase that took up the entire wall of a dark paneled office with a thick beige carpet and heavy antique furniture on the tenth floor. While in the middle of busting my moves, singing about how I was on top and wasn’t gonna stop, I felt a tap on my shoulder that caused me to jump and suck in a raggedy breath.

I pushed my foam-covered headphones off my ears and turned to see a tall, ridiculously attractive man in a navy blue suit standing right behind me—in front of me once I rotated my body all the way around. He had rich brown hair with warm golden flecks, flawless skin that was pale enough to make me think he spent too much time under fluorescents, dark brown eyes, and a chiseled chin so sharply defined, it might have been able to cut glass. His brow was furrowed and he was looking down at his watch, which was worn on the same hand that clasped a leather briefcase.

“Hi,” I said, feeling like an anxious rabbit desperate to escape his eventual, and sure-to-be piercing,scrutiny.

Hunk-of-cold-stare looked up from his watch and said, “How long will you be?”

“Oh, um, well, it could take us another three or so hours. We haven’t gotten to all the bathrooms or offices yet.”

He snorted and shook his head as his eyes grew colder and said, “No. How long will you be? In here.

I have work to do and the lovely combination of your loud mouth-breathing and high-pitched wailing about survival isn’t exactly conducive to work.”

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ve been around the block. I didn’t grow up surrounded by sunshine and flowers. I’ve been openly insulted before, but never so quickly by someone I’d just…well, just seen,really, because it’s not like we’d exchanged names and actually met each other.

Trying to stay professional (I did need the job, after all), I attempted to come up with a solution. “Oh,sure. Well, I can just go do other stuff and finish up in here later, before we leave. Will you be done working by then?” I looked at the plastic smiley-face watch on my wrist as I asked and saw that it was 8p.m., well past what I would consider normal late working hours for a 9-to-5 business dude.

Apparently, I was wrong.

“No, that’s not going to work. I’ll be here all night. Look, can you just clean in here without singing or talking or…breathing so loudly?” As he said it, he stomped off to his desk and slammed the briefcase down and started unloading piles of papers clipped with those industrial-sized paper clips and brown accordion folders with colored tabbies sticking out the top.

“Sure,” I mumbled, pressing the stop button on my Walkman so I could hear myself breathing and
regulate the volume of the oxygen around my face as it went in and out of my nostrils. We worked that way for a little, me tiptoeing in my Dr. Scholl’s and cleaning around Mr. Mean, him slamming papers around and occasionally grumbling about numbers and reconciling.

Eventually, I reached the last part of my duties, to the one that would bring me closest to him—emptying the wastepaper basket next to his desk. It was full, so I had to empty it. I briefly considered sneaking back in later, maybe when I heard him step out to use the restroom, but I figured that might annoy him even more if he caught me back in here after I was supposedly done, so I decided to just go for it.

I quietly shuffled across his thick carpet and up to his desk. As I reached down to grab the plastic bag lining the basket, he reached down to toss in a folder. When our hands grazed each other for just a tiny moment, there was a loud crack and fizzle. He jumped out of his seat with a startled cry.

“Jesus, you shocked me. You stupid child, you shocked me. Pick up your feet when you walk, for Christ’s sake.” As he spoke, I stared at his mouth and watched as his teeth, his two eyeteeth, grew longer and…sharper.

“You…you’re a…a…vampire?” I couldn’t hold back the shock from my voice. It was part awe, part
excitement and, based on his crappy disposition, part fear.

He looked at me. With an evil glint in his squinted eyes, he started to smile and ran his tongue over his fangs. Then, eyes slowly becoming wider, he…he hissed at me.

And I ran.

I ran straight out of the building, jumped in my car, and drove home to huddle in a corner of my one-room efficiency with a wooden spoon of defense in my hand and visions of Nosferatu’s crazy-assed fingernails in my head.

As you might expect, nothing else happened. No vampires tapped on my window or called me out
into the garden. No one bit me or otherwise terrorized me. If you’ve read about my life in my Vampire Relationship Guides, you might know I like vampires now. Maybe even a little too much.

The only bad thing that happened was that I wasn’t hired to work backup for that cleaning company again. Which is okay, because now, I’ve got my vampire boyfriend’s stinkhole to clean up. And really,isn’t that enough?

Author's Bio

Evelyn Lafont is an author and freelance writer with an addiction to Xanax and a predilection for snark. Her series, The Vampire Relationship Guide follows a clueless human as she sets out to date a vampire. Her books are available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and her website. For humor in small, portable doses, you can follow her on Facebook.

Giveaway:

Now on to the giveaway! Evelyn has generously offered 2 ebook sets of her series Vampire Relationship Guide, All you have to do is comment and leave your email addy. This is a separate giveaway from the main but all comments from this one will count as extra entries for the big giveaway as well. All giveaways will be ending October 31st.

Halloween Spooktacular:Halloween: Christmas without the Annoying Music

Halloween: Christmas without the Annoying Music
by Kobra Kid


So Donna contacted me the other day and asked me if I could pretty please write a guest post for BLH this month. And I was like, Uhh... [Insert deer-in-headlights look here.]

I have no idea what the hell I'm doing. I've never written a guest post before. I don't even blog! I mean, I write book reviews and post them at Angel's Cove, but that's different, right? Who wants to read what I have to say about just, like, random stuff? And what am I even supposed to talk about, I wondered? October/autumn/Halloween doesn't really narrow it down all that much, to be honest.

But then, last Sunday, I was out doing my weekly shopping and pondering this pressing question. I shuffled morosely--morosely because it's been cold and gray and miserable here in Ohio--through the front doors of my local Cheap Outsourced Goods Emporium. And then, I saw them. Pumpkins! Immediately, I threw my arms into the air like my team had just scored a goal, squealed, "Oh my god, pumpkins!" and launched myself full-tilt into the produce section to enthusiastically plunder the pumpkin bin.

For the record, I am 26.

Ah, joy! How I love pumpkins. They give us such a wealth of delicious things to enjoy: pumpkin pies, pumpkin bread, pumpkin soup, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin spice lattes. Even MORE pumpkin spice lattes. (What? I'm a fan.) And they give us important, life-altering information. In our modern technological era, how many people really pay attention to solstices and equinoxes and that sort of thing? Most of us are minimum-wage zombies, or not much better, slogging our way through day-to-day life in a mindless stupor, and we barely even register the changing of one month into the next, let alone the changing of seasons. But when the pumpkins come out, that's when you know autumn has officially arrived.

Oh, October. I take back everything bad I ever said about you.

So there I was, ass-up in the pumpkin bin trying to find the best and brightest, and that's when it hit me. That's what I'll write about! No, not pumpkins. Well, not entirely. I thought to myself: Self, we'll write about how awesome Halloween is!

And just what is so awesome about Halloween, you might ask? Only EVERYTHING. It's like Christmas, except without all the attending crappiness.

I mean, Christmas is okay. I guess. If you're religious. Or if you enjoy forking over even more of your hard-earned money to the wealthy corporations who have co-opted the holiday in order to cash in on rampant consumerism. But for non-believers like me, and those of us too poor to get into the gift-giving spirit, the Christmas season is basically a month-long inconvenience. By the time I've heard the fifty-thousandth iteration of Jingle Bell Rock, or fought in a caged death match just to buy a gallon of milk, I'm ready to punch the next person who has the nerve to wish me a happy holidays.

But Halloween is great. For a holiday that started out very much as a religious observance, it has become refreshingly secular. Naturally, there is an overarching theme of the supernatural, but nobody expects you to actually believe in ghosties and ghoulies. Well, most people don't, and those who do are usually the ones that lock themselves up in their houses and refuse to pass out candy because "Halloween is the Devil's holiday!" Pish posh. Un-wad your panties, Aunt Mabel. If anything, Halloween is about showing remembrance and respect for the dead.

But mostly it's about candy.

Obviously, Halloween is another holiday businesses exploit to rake in more cash. They all want you to buy things--candy, costumes, decorations. And pumpkins, of course. But on the bright side, nobody will think you're a heathen if you don't. Your neighbors aren't going to judge you for not, say, sticking a scarecrow in your living room, or putting a jack-o-lantern on your front porch for people to sneer at and say, "Oh, those people. Flaunting their non-religious holiday. Why don't they just keep it to themselves?" And most importantly, nobody expects you to blow your paycheck on gifts for your family and friends. Just get those bitches some chocolate. Bitches love chocolate.

Or caramel apples. Mmm, caramel apples...

I mean, that's the best thing about October, right? It's basically a month-long festival of guilty indulgences. For most of us, as we get older (I'm almost 30! I'll be needing a walker next!) and realize our metabolism has forsaken us, we have to start watching what we eat, lest we end up generating our own gravitational pull. But when the stores start hawking Halloween treats, it's a chance to relax, to let ourselves go and live a little, without feeling like we're committing some unpardonable sin. An orange-frosted cupcake here, a Reese's cup there. A little candy corn. Oh, those fun-size Snickers really are fun to just pop in your mouth and suck until they dissolve into melty chocolate-caramel-peanutty goodness. Ah, such delicious bliss! And what's it really going to hurt? Aside from your waistline, of course. But there are eleven other months to count calories and stress over inches and pounds, right? Besides, Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner, and what holiday season is complete without feeling bad about yourself around your family.

But who can feel bad when you're dressed like a pirate, or a naughty nurse, or a freakin' fairy princess? Unlike Christmas, when you have to put on clothes you hate and suffer through varying levels of discomfort for the next MILLION @!#$%&* YEARS, on Halloween you can wear whatever you want. You can wrap yourself in a bedsheet, call it a toga (just be careful about your choice of headwear), and go gallivanting around your local grocery store. No one will look at you twice. Well, they might, but hey, screw 'em. For this one day out of the year, you can wear anything your heart desires, be anything.

On Halloween, you can be a seductive vampire vixen, a ninja, a busty bar wench. You can even throw on a tux, stick on some fake beard, and be a dude for a day. Or, if you are a dude, slip on a sequined dress and some high heels, and sing I Feel Pretty after a few martinis at the office costume party. Or how about dressing up like your favorite rock star? Or movie hero? Cartoon character? Or if you're feeling self-conscious because you've put on a few pounds, you can just wander around all day in your pajamas with a big teddy bear and tell everyone you're going as your inner child.

How awesome is that?!

In short: Four for Halloween. You go, Halloween! And none for Christmas, bye.


Kobra Kid, signing off.
[You can't stop the signal.]

Thanks so much for Guest Posting today, Kobra Kid is a dear friend of mine so I appreciate her stopping by. Remember all comments count as extra entries.

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.