Mysteries of the Macabre Halloween Anthology – 6 Authors Share Fun Facts & Favorite Lines

I’m happy to introduce my fellow anthology authors. I’ve enjoyed getting to know these ladies (although I already knew Leah), and I had a blast working with them on this collection. Sit back and enjoy as they share a fun fact and some of their favorite lines from their stories…

6 unique stories by 6 authors…

 

Available here: (Click on the ink to be taken to the buy pages)

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

And now, the stories… (In order of how they appear in the anthology)

SCARRED ~ Alicia Dean

Blurb:

Sometimes, the most haunting scars are the ones beneath the skin.

When Natalie Jayne moved away from her home town ten years earlier, she left behind painful memories, along with Simon, the man she loved. Now, she’s back on Halloween night to attend a memorial marking the one-year anniversary of the tragic passing of her childhood friend, Jessica. Rumors that Simon was responsible for Jessica’s death unnerve her. Even more disturbing is her unsettling attraction to a masked stranger she meets at the event. Her gift may be the key to unlocking the truth, but will it also lead to heartbreak?

Fun fact:

‘Scarred’ was first written as part of a blog post where each member of my OKRWA writing group contributed a scene to create a story. One of the characters in the story was Cupid’s ghost. My hero, Simon’s, original transgression was that he had murdered Cupid in a blind rage. And that was how she became a ghost. 🙂 In the course of the story, he atoned for his sin.

Favorite Lines:

As the lies fell from his lips, Simon’s chest felt as though it would cave in under the weight of Natalie’s pain. She looked so stricken, so disappointed. He steeled his resolve. Better to disappoint her now than to destroy her later.

What I’m working on now:

A Christmas romantic suspense as part of the Criminal Christmas Anthology (I must really like anthologies…)

 

GRANDMA’S WAY ~ Elvy Howard

Blurb

Generations of greed culminate in a young girl.

Fifteen-year-old Caroline only wants to go to the Halloween Dance, and only one person stands in her way, Momma, who forces her to sort and pack her dead grandmother’s belongings instead.  Discovering a shocking secret of Grandma’s brings Caroline new hope, or will salvation lead to her downfall?

Fun Fact:

Caroline’s story began as a flash-fiction exercise where an item was presented as a prompt. I worked like the devil to get an entire story in under a thousand

words, but accomplished the feat and enjoyed trying something new. Fleshing out those five-hundred words into a short story was great fun. There was so much to learn about Caroline, Momma, and poor, dead, Grandma.

Favorite lines:

“I think the reason I can’t focus on geometry is because I’m still so sad.”

“Get off your soapbox, Caroline. It’s not going to work.”

Caroline figured she’d probably played out the dead Grandma card, and wished she hadn’t.

What I’m working on now:

My latest novel is about a newly-wed teenager posing as an adult in 1953, traveling with her husband from where he had been an Air Force instructor in Mesa, Arizona, to Lexington, Virginia, his home town.  It’s my first attempt writing something not based in what I call the nebulous now, and I’m enjoying it.  I’ve located some people even older than me, who were teenagers in the early fifties. They have been a wonderful resource for all sorts of background information.

Contact

Blog – ElvyHoward.com

Email – contact@elvyhoward.com

 

BLOOD MOON ~ Leah St. James

Blurb

Is Ronnie’s imagination playing tricks on her, or has the Harvest Moon Slasher been reborn?

One Halloween night, a killer terrorized a strip of Virginia beachfront, murdering a dozen young women whose only crime was walking the beach with a boyfriend. Now, fifty years later, book reviewer Ronnie can’t shake the feeling that another has come to take his place.

Is it nothing more than her vivid imagination running wild, or are the spirits stirring, warning of approaching danger?

Fun Fact:

I’ve always been fascinated with full moons, maybe since watching old werewolf movies as a kid. The “blood moon,” caused by a total eclipse of the moon, is also the subject of a prophecy that its occurrence is the sign of the end times. I’d love to explore that in a story some day.

http://www.endtime.com/four-blood-moons/?gclid=CIzZ25fYpsgCFQFsfgoddSIKuw

Favorite lines:

“On the beach, two lovers kissed. Behind them, the moon—hanging giant and hazy red in the sky—dripped feathery tendrils into the sea, painting crimson tips on the dancing waves.”

What are you currently working on?

Currently I’m finishing up the sequel to my first novel (“Surrender to Sanctuary”). It’s called “Sanctuary’s Promise,” and it picks up the story of FBI agents David Owens and Anna Parker who (in book one) went undercover in a secret society to solve a murder. They’re back in hot water, only this time it’s even closer to home.

Contact:
Website:  LeahStJames.com
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/LeahStJames?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LeahStJames

 

THREE, AFTER MIDNIGHT ~ Alexa Day

Blurb:

Deirdre lost her husband, Cameron, one long-ago Halloween night, but every Halloween night brings the chance to get him back. She just needs to find a man willing to … get between them. Trip seems like a perfect choice. With his hard body and open mind, surely he won’t mind letting Cam borrow him for a night. If he’s into it, they’re in for one mind-blowing reunion. But if he resists, will Cam’s spirit be strong enough to protect her from the man she chose for him?

Fun Fact:

Readers have asked Alexa about the relationship between Cam and Deidre–wondering if there’s a future for the two lovers. The first time she got the question she smiled to herself and thought, Deidre already has a pretty sweet deal!

Leah chose her favorite line from Alexa’s story:

He’d loved her like a stranger who hoped to see her again, or at least one who hoped to be remembered fondly in girls’ night gossip.

What are you currently working on?

Sci-fi erotica.

 

THE TIMESHARE TRIP ~ Renci Denham

Blurb:

How many of the Seven Deadly Sins can Crystal and Roy commit in one seven-day cruise?

Crystal and Roy never thought they could afford an all-inclusive seven-day trip to the tropics. After all, canned chili dinners and a wine cooler at the quick mart were the highlights of life in the trailer park. So what if the trip Crystal won required a time share presentation? It’s not like their credit would pass anyway. But is the resort everything the web page on the computer said it would be?

Fun Fact:

This was 10 years of HARD work!!!!!

Favorite lines:

“Well, that’s five bucks too much. I could have made you one out of duct tape.”

“Oh, it’s a surprise, too. I’m telling you though, it will make every woman there want to jump my bones.”

”Costa  Rico. That’s part of Mexico, right?

What are you currently working on?

“The Crown of Nebuchadnezzar” and my dissertation

Contact:

Find me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/renci.denham?fref=ts

 

THE FARM STRAY ~ Rohn Federbush

Blurb:

The discovery of an abandoned farm in the Michigan countryside triggers a vision of the farmer’s past—or is it more?

A young couple exploring the Michigan countryside stumble upon an abandoned farm. Drawn by its forlorn appearance, they explore. Eventually they’re chased away by the irate farmer, but not before the wife becomes intrigued by a weird kitchen latch at the back door, an elephant-headed rocking horse, and a rusting iron ring the size of her palm.

Back home, she’s pulled into memories she shouldn’t have. Did the farm’s spirits lure her into theirs, or did the old farm merely trigger her own?

Fun Fact:

My husband loves being part of the real story.

Favorite lines:

(I believe) The……… earth-bound soul used by eyes to capture relevant photographs of her home.

What are you currently working on?

The contrasting future of young people in small towns or big cities is explored in my newest Novella “Hastings Dead.”

Contact:

Website:  http://www.rohnfederbush.com/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rohnfederbush