Halloween Archives - Page 14 of 14

Oct 10th A Fun & Exciting Road Trip Rambling Toward Disney!

You’ll remember back in March we experienced the Road Trip from Hell. Bravely we hit the road again in September, hoping Mother Nature was through with us and that Murphy’s Law would take pity on us. They did and we had a wonderful time.

Spent a night in Las Vegas, NV with friends who threw a quick get together for us then it was on to Los Angeles. What is in LA you ask? Disneyland where they start celebrating Halloween September 20^th, my kind of place, and Universal Studios of course! First we took off on the Monorail to get a bird’s eye view of Disneyland, then rode the Star Wars Experience. What a rush!

At Disneyland, my hubby and I negotiated our way through the ghosts, ghouls, fairies, the Beast and Maleficent at Micky’s Halloween Party. Did I mention dancing with the Pixar Pals at the Halloween Dance? Then it was on to the Headless Horseman Rides Again pre-parade, the Frightfully Fun Electric light parade and topped off the evening with A Villainous Surprise in the Skies Fireworks display over the castle. Yep, we’re just kids at heart and Halloween is my favorite holiday!

The next morning, it was off to Universal Studios and Wizarding World of Harry Potter where we selected our wands, were sorted into Gryffindor, and got Tee Shirts to prove it. LOL Transformers was next then onto Jurassic Park where we avoided being eaten by a dinosaur. By that time a ride on the Universal Studios tour tram looked great. Though I wasn’t too sure about slowing down at the Psyco house or sorting through the plane crash scene but the back lot sets were incredible!

Family obligations were next on the agenda and we left our fantasy land gliding into the reality of Northern California for a few days. As we began our trip back to Colorado, we rendezvoused in the enchanted land of fellow Wild Rose Author, Mary Morgan, and lunched at the Black Bear Café. Not a Fae warrior in sight. Darn it!

But Mother Nature was not to be ignored. We encountered a bug storm of epic proportions in Northern Nevada, 20 miles of smashed bug guts covering the windshield until we had to stop and clean off the bugs so we could see where we were going. I kid you not the truck and trailer were covered. Wish I’d taken pictures that night. Anyway, it was snow and sleet in Wyoming, but we made it to our destination in Riverton, Wyoming where the morning dawned in bright sunlight. Spent a day with friends and left the next morning to arrive in Colorado totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, “WOW what a ride!”

Posted in My Say What Blog and tagged Black Bear Cafe, Bug Storm. Snow, Disney, Halloween, Road Trip, Universal Studios by Tena Stetler with 4 comments.

Oct 4th Shadows of Ghosts by L.A. McGinnis

It’s a Halloween Spooktacular! Yep, I love Halloween. Now…give a warm welcome to L.A. McGinnis, author of Shadows of Ghosts released Today, October 4, 2017!

Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cauldron, a Bat Wing Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out about LA McGinnis and her Shadows of Ghosts.

From the first time she picked up a book, L.A. was hooked. By the time she left elementary school, she’d read every volume in the C. H. Campbell library, forcing the poor librarian to order more bookshelves for Norse mythology. When she wasn’t running through the woods or rescuing animals, she could be found curled up in the backyard with a book, escaping to even greater adventures. But Laura always dreamed of the day when she’d tell the really, really big story, the tale of growing up in the American twentieth century. But between riding horses and driving fast cars, somehow her teenage years flashed by. Realizing that everyone has to grow up, she walked into a classroom at KSU and began studying Chaucer and Shakespeare and Old English, and once again fell in love with storytelling. Eventually, her creativity came full circle, and as she changed from artist to mother, the dream of the Great American Novel was put on hold by all the other things that big life demands. Then one day, in between rolling her eyes and ordering her son to complete the ten page report that was, of course, due the very next day, she had to stop for a moment when he challenged her, “Well, when was the last time you wrote ten pages?” So she wrote, badly at first, and then, to her delight, discovered that she loved it, perhaps even more than she had before. After pecking out a longer-than-life YA novel and a somewhat convoluted apocalyptic horror manuscript, she finally found a genre that she adored. And once the first draft was done, she thought, well, this really isn’t too bad. Not as bad as say, the convoluted apocalyptic horror story. After more edits than she can even count, she hopes you enjoy Shadows of Ghosts, the story of Logan and Ian. Laura is a graduate of Kent State University, and has been writing since 2007. She belongs to both the RWA and the NEORWA and has attended the annual Sanibel Island Writer’s Conferences, as well as the NEORWA Writer’s Conferences, and participates in their yearly writing retreat.

You can find L.A. McGinnis at:

my website: https://lamcginnis.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lamcginnis.darkparanormal/?modal=media_composer

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LAMcGinnis1520

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/l.a.mcginnis/

Tell us a little about Shadows of Ghosts!

Driving to South Carolina to claim an inheritance from a total stranger didn’t figure into Logan Dean’s long term plans. But she’d be a fool to pass up an opportunity, and her mother didn’t raise any fools. Now she’s a pawn in a vampire war and fighting to stay alive. Thankfully, she’s discovered an ally in mysterious Ian Grant. As her feelings for Ian grow, Logan comes to realize if she wants the love she deserves, she’s going to have to fight the demons of her past.

For over a hundred years, cynical Ian Grant swore to never love another woman. But from the first time he saw Logan, he knew an ancient part of his history had come back to haunt him, and the one thing he doesn’t want becomes the one thing he has to have.

Two irreconcilable lives, five hundred years of history, and all they have to do to live happily ever after is defeat the evil that threatens to tear them apart.

A sneak peek between the pages of Shadows of Ghosts.

“Why were you talking about me?” Logan countered. Ian walked towards her, but she didn’t back away, fueled in part by curiosity, but mostly because nobody pushed her around. When his golden eyes locked on hers, a strange, sweet feeling swept through her.

The man simply…dazzled. With his fallen angel beauty framed by hair the color of copper and a body that flowed as gracefully as smoke. But it was those eyes, she decided, eyes as gold as Midas that did it for her, slanted above a smile as dangerous as a predator’s.

A wondrous feeling blew through her, like she’d missed him, like her heart had been broken a thousand times and now was finally whole. He was how home smells when you don’t even know how much you’ve missed it until you come through the front door and there it is. Waiting for you.

“Who the hell are you, Grant?” She managed, as he stopped a few inches away. The fierceness of his gaze set off another sensation, and as need curled through her, she reeled. It was as if she knew. Knew what his mouth tasted like. Knew his weight on her body. Because she’d felt them before. Staggering forward, Logan found herself caught by capable hands. “Oh God, what’s happening to me?”

Warm breath feathered her ear. “You’re curious, aren’t you? You feel it, don’t you?” Logan stood helpless, held in place not by him but by something inside her that made it impossible to leave. And when he reached out and tucked a stray hair behind her ear, a gesture so tender, yet so achingly familiar, she couldn’t breathe. “You always had the most beautiful hair.”

“What kind of games are you playing, Grant?” Logan managed.

“Unfortunately for us, Miss Dean, this is not a game.” Clouds covered the sun, cutting off the nimbuses that fractured the gloom, plunging the room into shadow. It was a sign, she thought, of something momentous. Or at least, she was going to take it as a sign, which meant pretty much the same thing. Right about then she realized they weren’t alone.

“What the hell is going on here, Ian?” Face burning, she stepped away from him immediately. Busted. Robert carefully looked between the two of them, a growing awareness on his face.

Grant smoothly took over. “I just drove out to see Bart’s old place. I’d hoped Miss Dean might be interested in selling.” Just like that, he became completely detached. Gone was any trace of whatever had happened between them. The moment felt stolen, instead of real. He didn’t want Robert to know. Know what, she wasn’t sure, but she did remember Robert’s final words yesterday…get the hell out of here, Ian… Her legs were still a little shaky, but as the distance opened between them, her bearings came back. Fine, she thought, two can play at that game.

“Mr. Grant was explaining to me his plans for Aviemore.” She felt Grant’s jolt of surprise behind her. “I’m afraid I’ve…” she went on sweetly, “…fallen in love with the old place, too. So, of course I can’t sell.”

It was a small victory to see that coolness crack for a second. “Then I believe I won’t waste any more of your time.” Footsteps echoed down the empty hall.

Logan held up a hand to Robert. “Give us just a sec, will you?” She waited on the porch until Ian opened his car door before calling out. “Why did you come out here, Grant?”

“You don’t want the kind of answers I’ll give you, Miss Dean. Trust me.”

She bit back a laugh. “Yeah? Well, sometimes those are the only kind you get.”

You can find Shadow of Ghosts at Amazon, The Wild Rose Press and other online retailers.

It was wonderful having you with us today. Please feel free to stop by anytime. Good Luck with Shadows of Ghosts.

Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged fantasy, Halloween, L.A. McGinnis, Paranormal, Romance, Shadows of Ghosts by Tena Stetler with 4 comments.

Sep 2nd Hurray for Autumn!

The first day of September brought cooler weather and a ray of hope that the catastrophic storms of the summer are over! Don’t get me wrong, I love a good lightning and thunder storm, always have. But it’s the accompanying possibility of baseball size hail or four inches of rain in a hour that has me cringing at the first clap of thunder. Colorado has experienced both in late summer this year. I speak from experience, both suck!

Roof replacement, an appointment for repair of our truck set in January, sanding and paining the house trim, replacing all the window screens and repairs of our RV are all the consequences of baseball or larger size hail in July. And we were lucky, the siding on our house and the glass in the windows escaped Mother Nature’s wrath. My neighbors weren’t so lucky.

So on to the Autumn fun. Colorful falling leaves crunch under foot, brisk mornings perfect for that dog walk, pumpkin flavored everything from eggnog to lattes and bagels to cake. Yum! Looking for a quick, delicious pumpkin recipe? Check out Pumpkin Pie Crescents!

This year I will be participating in two Halloween Blog Hops. The Snarkology Halloween Hop, October 26th – 31st and A Haunting Halloween Hop, October 24th – 31st. I just LOVE Halloween. My blog subject will be Colorado Hauntings. Links to other blogs with similar themed blogs will be listed, prizes and giveaways will run rampant. So check back here for more details and find out about Colorado’s Hauntings. Halloween hop1