Day of Dead Doll

Dia de los Muertos is also known as The Day of the Dead. It’s an old ritual from the Aztec culture. The Aztecs used skulls as part of the ritual and the skull is still an integral part of the celebrations. For the day is a celebration; a celebration of the lives of the ones who have passed on.  The Catholic church tried to get rid of this tradition but was unsuccessful and therfore,  merged it into the same time of year as All Saint’s Day. It therefore occurs on November 1st and 2nd. Skull masks are worn and the celebrants dance in memory of their dead. The Aztecs believed the dead visited them during this time and that death was not the end of life but the beginning of a new kind of life.

Day of the Dead matches

Today, Day of the Dead celebrations still take place and in Mexico, it’s a really big deal. The people make the favorite foods of their deceased relatives and have picnics at the grave sites. They also decorate the graves with marigolds  and candles. Toys for dead children and tequila for deceased adults are brought as well. The cemeteries are the place to be that day.

For the blog hop, I’m giving away a Halloween surprise package of goodies. Leave me a comment about a deceased family member you’d like to honor if you celebrated Dia de los Muertos and what his/her favorite food was that you’d have to cook for the cemetery visit. Click the icon below to continue the hop.

ALSO, you can find me here:http://darkertemptations.wordpress.com/ today and comment for a chance to win one of my e-books.

Posted by: Author | October 27, 2011

The Adorable Casey Crow is My Guest of the Day

I love Casey. She’s a fun, southern girl and full of great story ideas and a wonderful hostess.  She also has a novella coming out with Loose-id very soon. I asked her to come visit us today so you can get to know her and her characters a bit. 

CASEY:

By: Casey Crow

I love my best girlfriend. She’s the one I call when I need advice and more often than not, need to vent. She never judges — although I’ve done some pretty stupid things — and accepts me for me. I can always count on her to tell me the true, even if I don’t want to hear it.

The same is true for the relationship Anna and Marisol have in my upcoming December 6 release of CAN’T FAKE THIS from Loose, Id. Anna knows how she feels deep down, but needs her best gal pal to confirm it. Here’s a an excerpt:

Marisol and I sat on her back porch, drinking hot chocolate on another relatively warm afternoon for December. God, I loved the South, where sixty degrees isn’t unusual for the height of winter. Even so, a flame blazed in the fire pit located in the center of her coffee table.

“Have you made a decision?” Marisol asked. She pushed around the remnants of the homemade smores our kids created earlier as she searched for more marshmallows to add to her cup. “It’s been over three weeks, and you were wrong. You said I’d pine for two weeks, but I’m still moping around barely able to function.”

“Has he contacted you?”

“At first, he would text every couple of days. Nothing big. He asked how I was. Stuff like that. I kept it light and distant, then today he sent me a message asking how was he ever going to get over me.”

“Did you reply?”

“No. I wanted to tell him, I’ll let you know when I figure out how I’m going to get over you, but then I got another message. Said he missed me all the time and it wasn’t just about sex. That he simply loved being with me.”

Marisol’s mouth dropped. “He’s seriously in love with you.”

I nodded.

“How do you feel?”

I took a big gulp of hot cocoa. “I’m attracted to him, but there’s more. I love him. He makes me laugh and feel good about myself. Chase cherishes and protects without dominating. He lets me be me and loves me for that.”

“Do you still think it’s a rebound thing?”

“No. I’ve done some serious soul searching, and all I could come up with is yeah, Frog number one should have been the jumping off board, but why dive again when I’m already over my head in love?”

Marisol sat her cup down and leaned forward to garner my full attention. “Take a chance. Don’t be afraid and risk happiness for the sake of obeying the post-divorce books.”

I rubbed my forehead, letting her words sink in.

“Call him.”

I glanced at her.

“Better yet, go see him.”

 Thanks to Jillian for having me today. Speaking of great gal pals, Jillian definitely ranks up there! Do you a story about you and your best friend? An embarassing moment? Mine involves a fender bender in high school. I wasn’t driving, but distracting my friend singing Elvira. I pretty much made her run into this guy ‘s truck, and he had such crush on her. Well, maybe not so much after she scratched his pride and joy. Are there any touching stories you’d like to share? I’d love to hear about them.

Casey Crow is a Summa Cum Laude graduate from the University of Alabama with degrees in Business Management and Dance.  She received her Master of Business Administration from the University of Mobile.  Casey resides in Mobile where she stays busy with her two young children.  She also works as a dance choreographer, pageant coach, professional emcee and model, and certified Miss America preliminary judge.  In fact, she is a former Miss University of Alabama.  Casey writes erotic and spicy contemporary romances with the tagline “Sexy, Southern & Sassy.”  Visit her at www.caseycrow.com.  Follow her on Twitter – caseyecrow and Facebook – Casey Crow.

Posted by: Author | October 26, 2011

Wordless Wednesday

Posted by: Author | October 25, 2011

Oops.

I have no idea how Wednesday posted early. Ignore that man behind the curtain. But I’m sharing the story behind it over here today so you can get a sneak peek. It was too much fun not to spread all over the ‘net. http://lushbookreviewss.blogspot.com/

Posted by: Author | October 24, 2011

Another Paranormal Writer for October- Ciara Knight

The fabulous Ciara Knight has agreed to be my guest on this lovely fall day. I hope you enjoy her post and her story that’s out and available now.

CIARA: I love reading books and writing stories that blur the lines of stereotypical bad and good. Life isn’t always binary; sometimes things can be grey and distorted.

Have you watched Dexter? Well, who knew a writer could make you root for a serial killer. Ever read a book with a good vampire? Who knew ten years ago that taking an evil creature from Dracula and making him a hero would work for a teen market? LOL

In Love’s Long Shadow, fallen angels are not full demons. They still possess angelic abilities but have committed an offense against Heaven causing their fall. Earth is their purgatory, a last chance to show their angelic side is more powerful than evil. Unfortunately, being freshly earthbound they are susceptible to human emotions and demonic influence. Sammy, the heroine of Love’s Long Shadow, is attracted to someone who hangs with demons but she isn’t sure which side he’s on. Is he showing her angelic love or using his demonic side to manipulate her?

Throughout the Battle for Souls series, many biblical and mythological stories are touched on then twisted. Don’t you just love a good twist? One of my favorite movies is The Sixth Sense. J

Do you like the boundaries of good vs. evil to remain intact? Do you want a demon to look like a demon, or a hot football player?

Love’s Long Shadow (Young Adult Novella, Paranormal)

Sammy Lorre was cast from Heaven for conduct unbecoming an angel. Living in a demon-infested small town with no memory of her previous life, she faces never-ending purgatory until Boon saunters into her life with a promise of angelic love. But is he an angel from Heaven or a minion from the underworld preying on her human emotions? To discover his true identity, she must risk eternal damnation and her heart.

Length: 12,000 words, novella
Price: $1.99

Now available : TMP bookstore . Amazon Kindle . Smashwords . Bookstrand . All Romance Ebooks/OmniLit

Bio:

Ciara is happily married and enjoys family time. She has learned to embrace chaos, which is a requirement when raising three boys, and utilizes the insanity to create stories not of this world including, Fantasy, Paranormal, Sci-Fi, and Young Adult Dystopian.

Her first love, besides her family, reading, and writing, is travel. She’s backpacked through Europe, visited orphanages inChina, and landed in a helicopter on a glacier inAlaska.

Website: www.ciaraknight.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Ciaraknightwrites
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/ciaratknight
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/ciaraknight

Posted by: Author | October 23, 2011

WINNER OF Cynthia Eden Book of Choice

Sorry about the delay in announcing a winner. Made a quick trip to New Orleans with Ms. Eden and Katie Reus, another writer friend and got so crazy wrapped up in that I forgot to check a number with random.org.  Had a chance to do that this morning and the winner is Leagh C.   Thanks to all who commented.  Leagh- you can email Cynthia at Cynthia@cynthiaeden.com    Congrats!

Posted by: Author | October 21, 2011

Friday Facts- October 21, 2011- Don’t Try This At Home

I read some crazy things this week that I wanted to share. Since most of you who read my blog are also writers, I thought you might enjoy some of the things writers, composers and musicians did to help them with their muse.  Beethoven doused his head with cold water as he thought that helped him compose better; Charles Dickens always had his bed face the North Pole as he said the magnetic pull helped him create; Rudyard Kipling was a little more sensible. He had to have black ink to write. (I’m a little weird about my pens, too- I like blue but I write usually on a computer).  The composer Rossini always wrote in bed and under the covers.

I guess these odd quirks of the arty types are like the baseball players who wear the same socks over and over without washing them.

How about you? Any must-haves while you write?

Posted by: Author | October 20, 2011

The Girl Who Loves Monsters: Cynthia Eden

I’m thrilled to have a wonderful guest today: Cynthia Eden. She’s an amazing writer and an even better friend. She’s so much fun, she should be illegal in at least 39 states. Her books are always a good read and I think she likes Halloween almost as much as I do.  ALMOST

Thanks for coming by Cynthia.  AND for sharing this wicked cool cover of your latest book with us.

CYNTHIA: 

Haunting Time 

Happy Halloween, everyone!  Well, okay, *almost* Halloween.  I am so counting down the days until we get to our spookiest night of the year. I love the thrills and chills that come with the approach of Halloween.  Since I am a paranormal romance junkie, it seems like Halloween was made just for folks like me. Folks who enjoy a good scare. Folks who like to imagine there is more to this world than meets the eye.

Folks who like a bit of a monster in their men. 😉

When I write and read romances, I like to have heroes with supernatural powers. Guys who can howl at the moon or guys who get stronger when they have a nice bit of blood to drink.  Sure, maybe these fellows are on the “darker” side with their dangerous and deadly selves, but to me, that’s just fun.

I always root for the supernatural heroes.  I want them to save the day, get the girl, and still have time to howl at the moon.  Hey, all in a day’s work, right?  When I think of some of my favorite supernatural heroes, these guys spring to mind…

Mick St. Johnfrom Moonlight.  (Why, oh, why was that show canceled?)

Dracula from…um, any Dracula movie.  (Yes, I always root for Dracula.)

Michael from the Underworld movies. (Yay for vampire/werewolf hybrids!)

Hellboy from Hellboy (Because who says you can’t be a giant, red devil and be sexy? Huh, who?)

And, of course (always!) Spike from Buffy. 

Who are your favorite supernatural heroes?  Please share! One random commenter will win a Cynthia Eden book of his/her choice.  Thanks for checking out my post! (And thanks so much to my lovely hostess for having me over.)

 Cynthia Eden

www.cynthiaeden.com

ANGEL OF DARKNESS—Available 11/29/11 from Kensington Brava

When an angel falls, all hell breaks loose…

Posted by: Author | October 19, 2011

Wordless Wednesday

Posted by: Author | October 18, 2011

Calliope

Calliope is the muse of epic and heroic poetry and Erato is the muse of love and erotic poetry. Erato carries a lyre and Calliope carries a writing tablet.  I always thought my muse was Erato, not because I write erotic stories but because I write love stories. But lately, I’m thinking more along the line that Calliope is my muse since I love my  heroes so much. I like the fact she carries a writing tablet because I don’t go anywhere without one. I never in a million years believe I could write an epic. I tend to write short and tight. To me, epics are long and rambling, but I sure like the idea of Calliope as my muse. And, with all the stuff going on in my head, it sort of sounds like a steam calliope.  LOL.

Erato

Here’s some pics of the two muses I took in the Vatican Museum in Rome.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Calliope

 
 

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