Halloween Archives - Page 5 of 14

Oct 12th Witch of the Cards by Catherine Stine

Give a Spooktacular welcome to Catherine Stine author of Witch of the Cards. Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cauldron. Take your choice of a bat wing Chocolate Chip or Pumpkin, or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about Catherine Stine and her Witch of the Cards. Plus her Spooktacular Guest post for Halloween. Psst… don’t forget to enter the rafflecopter giveaway at the bottom of the post!

The allure of creepy, ramshackle beach towns as settings for dark fantasy

What is it exactly that makes edgy beach towns the perfect setting for sinister fantasy and historical suspense? I’ve always been attracted to the dark side, and particularly to strange beach towns. So far, I’ve set two novels in them.

When I first moved to New York City after college and a stint out west, you couldn’t tear me away from the dilapidated boardwalks of Coney Island. This was back before the arcade was renovated, back when the sideshow by the sea with its sword swallower and human pincushion were on full display. It was when a hungry, dirty capybara was caged in a box that read: Only $5 To See the Biggest Rat in the World! This poor critter was a plot point in Dorianna, my paranormal twist on Dorian Grey. And no surprise, I set Dorianna in Coney Island, and installed a sexy villain in Wilson Warren. He was an agent of the devil disguised as a videographer who prowled the beaches, making girls into viral Internet sensations for a very high price.

Fast-forward to my novel Witch of the Cards, set in 1932, about Fiera, a sea witch who has a special talent with Tarot (and not just reading the cards). Of course,I set it in a shady shore town, in this case, Asbury Park, NJ. You see, I’ve been coming to this gentrifying coastal town for years and know it well—its sunny moods but also its spooky, moody shades.

Around the turn of the century, and up until around 1945, Asbury Park used to be the stomping grounds of the glitterati. There were grand concerts in the art deco Convention Center, and people dressed to the nines would stroll on the boardwalk at night. Then came the race riots of the 1960s and the economic crash, and the place fell into major disrepair. Its only remaining claim to fame was The Stone Pony, where Bruce Springsteen rocked into the limelight.

About twenty-seven years ago, when I first ventured into the Asbury convention center, there was a huge hole in its roof that seagulls flew in and out of. And there was only one lonely saltwater taffy store on the boardwalk run by an ancient lady who seemed to have stepped out of a Stephen King novel. In Witch of the Cards the taffy sold in the shop has very odd effects, and I installed an illegal speakeasy in the taffy store basement. I turned the (actual) Paranormal Museum on CookwellAvenue into a place to hold séances that often went horribly wrong.

In Witch of the Cards, even the ocean hides terrible secrets.

There’s something about the scent of saltwater and hotdogs, the splintered, salt-dried boardwalk and the scream of people hurtling down on the arcade rides that gets my blood charging and my imagination firing. What about you?

Here’s a snippet of a scene when Fiera and her date Peter venture down to the basement speakeasy in the taffy store:

“Perhaps I was far too gone, but I didn’t care. Peter and I danced and danced. The room filled with the overflow from the convention hall dance—young lovers, bootlegger types with wide ties and cigars, older women with twinkling earrings and heavy bosoms, even a prostitute or two. I thought so anyway, because they wore way too much rouge and came alone to sit brazenly up at the bar with the gin rummies.

This time I couldn’t say whether or not I stepped on Mr. Dune’s polished wingtips. This time, he probably couldn’t be sure if he knocked his bony legs into mine. We had many more nips of absinthe, and I wolfed down another green-swirl taffy and before I knew it, I was leaning provocatively against Peter and laughing like a wild banshee.

I remember gaping up at him to see his black hair all disheveled and him mumbling indistinctly. And I, thinking that he was the most gorgeous human being I’d ever seen. I remember Dulcie grabbing one of my arms, and Peter grasping the other. I remember all of us howling at the crescent moon over the ocean, and the shocked sideways glance of the hotel proprietor as we all stumbled in.

I recall pulling out the Tarot he’d given me, and laying them out on the bedroom rug. I recall babbling at him—about a witch and a swindler and a boat—not necessarily in that order. I can still picture his expression of shocked surprise but not at what.

And I remember Peter’s lips branding my forehead—how could I ever forget that—while shocks of his lush black hair dangled deliciously on my burning cheeks. The last thing I recall before things went dark was kicking off my shoes.”

Happy Season of the Witch,

Catherine Stine

A little about Witch of the Cards – Fiera was born a sea witch with no inkling of her power. And now it might be too late.

Witch of the Cards is a supernatural romantic suspense set in 1932 on the Jersey shore. Fiera has left the Brooklyn orphanage where she was raised and works in Manhattan as a nanny. She gets a lucky break when her boss pays for her vacation in Asbury Park. One evening, Fiera and her new friend Dulcie wander down the boardwalk and into Peter Dune’s Tarot & Séance, where they attend a card reading.

Fiera has an unsettling ability to sense future events and people’s hidden agendas. She longs to either find out the origin of her powers or else banish them because as is, they make her feel crazy. When, during the reading, her energies somehow bond with Peter Dune’s and form an undeniable ethereal force, a chain of revelations and dangerous events unspool.

For one, Fiera finds out she is a witch from a powerful sea clan, but that someone is out to stop her blossoming power forever. And though she is falling in love with Peter, he also has a secret side. He’s no card reader, but a private detective working to expose mediums. Despite this terrible betrayal, Fiera must make the choice to save Peter from a tragic Morro Cruise boat fire, or let him perish with his fellow investigators. Told in alternating viewpoints, Fiera and Peter each struggle against their deep attraction. Secrets, lies, even murder, lace this edgy fantasy.

From Lovers of Paranormal: “Interesting story of witches, deceit, secrets, romance and friendship. Fun and creative.”

Amazon     Amazon
UK     Amazon
CA     Amazon
AU

iBooks Kobo BN

A sneak peek between the pages of Witch of the Cards:

If I only had a
week in this glorious beach town, I wanted to catch up with sleep and plunge
into as many escapades as possible—even bewildering, outlandish ones.

We walked in, to
the jangle of Mr. Dune’s door chimes. I skated around, ogling the
floor-to-ceiling shelves brimming with leather-bound books on cosmic mysteries,
spiritualism, and witchcraft. Two immediate standouts were Ten Ways to Practice Mentalism and Dona Bella, Memoirs of a Southern Witch. These were my fare,
similar to a favorite book at the public library—a tome on dark magic. The most
stirring part was about each witch dynasty having its own grimoire, a sort of
magical recipe book. I had no clue as to why dark tales tickled me so, and
often wondered about my taste.

Still, I read
everything I could get my hands on, even boring books that drifted me right off
to the Land of Nod. At my nanny job, I was so desperate for stories I even read
the tedious articles about cooking and how to throw a proper cocktail party in
Mrs. Cuthbert’s Reader’s Digest and Home Arts magazines.

Mr. Dune strode toward us. His handsome aura
and towering presence intimidated yet thrilled me. He was dressed in crisp,
charcoal gray pants and a vest with a double-breasted pinstriped jacket. “Are
you lovely ladies here for the séance?” He held out a long, elegant hand, studded
with a silver ring. I barely collected my wits enough to shake it and nod.
Dulcie’s hand whooshed out and hardly touched his before she clamped it
protectively back to her side.

No doubt about
it, he was the most striking man I’d ever seen. His thick mop of dark hair
tapered into long sideburns, rendering his jawline a tad dangerous. I guessed
he was in his mid-twenties. When his coffee-brown eyes gleamed at me, my breath
caught, and a heat greater than any moonshine fired through me.

We paid the dime
admission. He escorted us to a round, wooden table with lion-footed legs where
we joined a heavyset older couple and a reedy gentleman with thin, blond hair.
His lime-fizz eyes darted over to Dulcie, and then away. Two empty chairs still
beckoned.

Dulcie looked
terrified, so I smiled at her. She calmed enough to take a seat.

Mr. Dune strode
to the window, loosened the crimson curtains, and lowered their heavy velvet
over the windows, lending the already-pensive storefront a mystical aura.

About the Author:

Catherine Stine is a USA Today bestselling
author of paranormal, urban and historical fantasy. Witch of the Wild Beasts won a second prize in the Romance Writers
of America’s Sheila Contest. Other novels have earned Indie Notable awards and
New York Public Library Best Books. She lives in New York State and grew up in
Philadelphia. Before writing novels, she was a painter and fabric designer.
She’s a visual author and sees writing as painting with words. Catherine loves
spending time with her beagle Benny, writing about supernatural creatures,
gardening and meeting readers at book fests.

Learn more at catherinestine.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/crossoverwriter

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/kitsy84557/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kitsy84557

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@catherinestine7

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorcatherinestine

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/catherine-stine

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1018139.Catherine_Stine

Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Catherine-Stine/e/B001H9TXJC

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiYPFXTOO0EQ2XRW72PJiyw

Newsletter: https://catherinestine.com/wp/get-the-newsletter-contact-me/

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It’s been Spooktacular having you with us today. Good luck with Witch of the Cards!

Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Catherine Stine, Halloween, Haunted Halloween Spooktacular, paranormal historical suspense, Witch of the Cards by Tena Stetler with 1 comment.

Oct 11th Trick or Treat Book Bonanza & Haunted Halloween Spooktacular

Trick or Treat Book Bonanza & Haunted Halloween Spooktacular! What a way to burst into October!

October is here and it’s one of my favorite times of the year. There is a chill in the crisp autumn air, the swirling leaves are red, yellow, and orange. Most of all, I have an excuse to binge-eat Halloween candy/chocolate, especially candy corn! As the wind howls around my house, I love to curl up in front of the fireplace with a good book.

Tis the month to celebrate all things paranormal, supernatural, suspenseful and mystical. If you’re like me, you’ll want to accept this very special invitation to join the festivities at N. N. Light’s Book Heaven’s 3rd annual Trick or Treat Book Bonanza. 27 authors share what they’d dress up as for Halloween as well as 32 books featured plus a chance to win one of the following:

One lucky reader will win a $75 Amazon (US) gift card.

I’m thrilled to be a part of this event. My book, A Witch’s Journey, will be featured on Monday, October 18, 2021. Wait until you read what my Halloween costume would be. You won’t want to miss it.

Bookmark this event and tell your friends:

https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/trick-or-treat-book-bonanza

I’m also participating in Bewitching Blog Tours Spooktacular Giveaway. Several best selling authors have joined together to offer books, audiobooks, gift certificates and numerous other prizes! Don’t miss out, follow my Spooktacular tour and register to win at each stop the fantastic prizes.

October 11 The Book Junkie Reads
https://thebookjunkiereadspromos.blogspot.com/October 12 Supernatural Central
http://supernaturalcentral.blogspot.comOctober 13 Lisa’s World of Books
http://www.lisasworldofbooks.net/October 14 JB’s Bookworms with Brandy Mulder
https://jbbookworms.blogspot.comOctober 15 I Smell Sheep
http://www.ismellsheep.com/

October 18 Bewitching Book Tours
https://bewitchingbooktours.tumblr.com/

October 19 Westveil Publishing
https://www.westveilpublishing.com

October 20 Serena Synn
https://serenasynn.blogspot.com/

October 21 Fang-tastic Books
http://fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com

October 22 Paranormalists
https://paranormalists.blogspot.com/

October 25 Roxanne’s Realm
http://www.roxannerhoads.com/

October 26 The Creatively Green Write at Home Mom
http://creativelygreen.blogspot.com/

October 27 Jazzy Book Reviews
http://bookreviewsbyjasmine.blogspot.com/

October 28 Sapphyria’s Books
https://saphsbooks.blogspot.com/

October 29 Booklikes
http://roxannerhoads.booklikes.com/

Do you know what Samhainophobia is? Something I’ve never had, a fear of Halloween! LOL

Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged A Witch's Journey, Giveaway, Halloween, Haunted Halloween Spooktacular, Hidden Gypsy Magic, Paranormal Romance/Mystery, Shipfitters, Tena Stetler, Trick or Treat Book Bonanza, Witches by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.

Oct 8th Halloween Spirit Search – Twenty-Two Days

Halloween only Twenty-two days left! Can you believe it? Toil and Trouble continue their search for the Halloween Spirit. This week, found a ghost, haunted house, and tree, so I guest that’s progress. LOL! But Toil and Trouble’s quest for the Halloween Spirit continues.

No, it’s never to early for All Hallows Eve! Halloween is my favorite time of year. Cooler weather, sight and sound of colorful leaves swirling toward the ground or crunching under foot. The smell of fall in the air, pumpkins and pumpkin flavored everything!! Love it! Also Halloween is the only day you can be anyone or anything you want and no one will say a word. Don’t forget it’s the day the veil between the living and the dead is the thinnest! What will you be this Halloween? Taco our parrot decided to display her Halloween costume. What do you think? Next week it will be Mystic’s turn . Check back in the coming weeks to see them in costume!

Well, October is finally here with cooler days and chilly nights. Yippee! As we continue the annual Halloween countdown, the aspens are beginning to turn gold and the Colorado high county received its first dusting of snow. Toil (Unicorn) and Trouble (dragon) are hard at work in search of the Halloween Spirit. This week they crept around the house and discovered a huge witch’s hat with lights. They searched under the leaves, under the hat no Spirit of Halloween. Toil and Trouble were totally disgusted and called Dave told him about the witch’s hat but no spirit. So the search continues.

Their friend, Dave (Skeleton), from Texas (thank you Jessica) was shocked at the size of the skeleton in their neighbor’s yard while searching for the Spirit of Halloween. After his initial shock, he continued the search every where and came up empty. Though he did talk with Jessica about getting him a corrected calendar. He claims it’s still her fault for the incorrect dates on his pictures. Twenty-two days Dave and Jessica!

Each week, on Friday, there will be new pictures of where Toil and Trouble are searching and how Dave is helping. In the month of October beside their search for the Halloween Spirit, Toil, Trouble and Dave will help me list the most haunted cities in America. Have you ever seen a ghost? A visit to haunted places in Colorado, my own stomping ground, Spooktacular tips to keep your pet safe this Halloween season. Do you suffer from Samhainopobia? I’ll tell you later. These are just to name a few. Please check back each week!

Only twenty-two days days until Halloween! Bwwwaaaaaaaaaa!!!!

Plus a Halloween themed book from my collection will be featured each week: You do know I write paranormal romance/mystery. Right? This week, we are talking about Witches! What’s Halloween without witches, spells and curses and things that go bump in the night? Hidden Gypsy Magic. So hurry grab your copy and join the #fantasy #adventure! You won’t believe what happens at their Halloween bash.

A little about Hidden Gypsy Magic : Gwen a wildlife rehabilitor, and Brock a veterinarian, discover the consequences of awakening hidden gypsy magic

The Salem Wildlife Sanctuary is Gwen Taylor’s life work. Her Irish Gypsy heritage provides a hidden talent she uses to help the creatures under her care. But even her magical skills can’t help new rescues in dire need of veterinary care.

The opportunity of signing on as the vet for Gwen’s sanctuary dropped into Brock Scutter’s lap after he expanded his practice to include wildlife. The personal attraction he and Gwen experience is undeniable the more their professional and personal lives collide.

Touring the only “non-haunted” house in Salem they both feel a spark of magic. A trip to his family’s cabin uncovers a heritage he didn’t know existed. If they want a future together, it means facing the consequences of awakening hidden Gypsy magic and a race against the clock to correct past wrongs.

A sneak peek between the pages of Hidden Gypsy Magic!

“It feels like all the air is being sucked out of this room.” His brother’s face turned ashen white as Beth’s ghostly form took shape in the center of the room.

Brock moved to the little group gathered and glanced at the grandfather clock standing in the hallway. Fifteen minutes until midnight. The witching hour on All Hallows Eve. A nervous chuckle rose up in his throat. How cliche. His brother would be a believer after this night.

He cleared his throat and wrapped an arm around Gwen’s waist. “Can we help you, Beth?” Misfit’s howling could be heard clearly from the upstairs bedroom.

“No, but I hope we can help you.” Ghost Beth glanced back at the painting and sadly shook her head. “The ghost of Judge John Hathorne stands outside ready to curse or worse all those involved in sullying his reputation. The house stands between all of you…protecting—” The ghost’s hand and arm made a sweeping motion toward their group, “— against his magic ability.”

A soft almost hysterical giggle burst from Gwen. “Doesn’t he know that by his actions this night, he has not only outed himself but proved the rumors and article are true?”

“I don’t believe he’s considered that point.” Beth’s ghostly grim face twitched into a half-smile. “He’s bent on revenge, but apparently had trouble passing through the veil this evening.” She pointed to the clock and then laid a finger on her lips.

See you back here next Friday! You won’t believe where Toil and Trouble wound up. Dave with his friends are always searching, will they come up with leads? Until then enjoy the warm weather, fall is coming bringing with it Halloween Spirit! I hope!! Now all we have to do is get Toil and Trouble to find it! While you’re here, check out my other paranormal romance mysteries.

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged Halloween, Hidden Gypsy Magic, Spirit, Tena Stetler, Time travel, Toil and Trouble by Tena Stetler with 2 comments.

Oct 6th A Witch’s Journey by Tena Stetler #MFRWHooks

Yippee!! #MFRWHooks presents a fall read. You’re not going be believe what happens at the Halloween bash in A Witch’s Journey, my paranormal romance/mystery. WooHoo! Former Navy Seal, Lathen Quartz helps Pepper, a powerful witch, achieve her life-long dream of a wild life rescue, but can they save the McKay magic? Join the #fantasy#adventure, download a copy today!

#MFRWHooks, wildlife Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cauldron. Take your choice of a bat wing Chocolate Chip or Pumpkin, or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about A Witch’s Journey. first book in A Witch Journey Series. All books can be read as stand alone. Go ahead you know you want to grab a copy and join the #magical #fantasy, #adventure today! You’ll be so glad you did.

What is A Witch’s Journey all about?

Pepper McKay comes from a long line of powerful witches. Unfortunately, magic brings her nothing but trouble. She learned the love of wildlife rescue and rehab from her Aunt Ashling. After graduating from college, Pepper works for Salem Wildlife Sanctuary and lives from paycheck to paycheck until she inherits the McKay property in Lobster Cove. With the family land and resources, she dares to dream of starting her own wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center.

Lathen Quartz, a former Navy SEAL turned handyman maintains the enchanted McKay property for the McKay estate. But someone is trying to steal the McKay magic. Lathen offers to help Pepper achieve her life-long dream of building a wildlife center. During the long hours spent together on the project, their mutual attraction can’t be denied. But each harbors a deep, dark secret. Will they overcome their demons and give love a chance?

Sneak peek between the pages of A Witch’s Journey:

Traditionally All Hallows Eve or Halloween is when the veil between the spirit world and the mortal world is the thinnest. This allows spirits to cross over and share the mortals plane of existence for one night ending at midnight. Pepper intended to use that magic to her advantage. She was thankful for the unusually mild weather in Lobster Cove. Halloween evening temperatures would be in the upper 40’s to lower 50’s, a boon to the town celebration and the culmination of the events her family and Ravyn’s coven had set in motion last week.

“I’m going to go check on Ember and Tonk at the mammal habitat. Won’t be long.” Pepper closed the door and sprinted down the path, doubled back and hid behind the greenhouse with a view of the porch. She sucked in a breath when the tarp moved and the bungee cord slipped off the bumper with a zing. A shadow crept out from under the tarp, it slunk to the stairs. A huge reddish wolf advanced snarling and leaped over the railing knocking the figure down the stairs then disappeared.

Available from: Amazon.com, Amazon CA Amazon UK, Amazon AU Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Walmart.com Now available in Audiobook available at Audible.com and Amazon.com.