~-~-~-~-~ guest ~-~-~-~-~ by Sasha Soren ~-~-~-~-~ guest ~-~-~-~-~
In Random Magic, our heroes (Winnie and Henry) spend an uncomfortable night at a vampire castle, in the company of the charmingly sinister De Morgues.
Much like the gracious and elegant host (Count Dracula) of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel, Dracula, the De Morgues are scrupulously accommodating and pleasant to their guests.
Indeed, for all we know, Count Dracula and the De Morgues could very well be unearthly cousins, connected by some supernatural family tree.
In any case, also like that gothic gentleman, the De Morgues can be just as cordial as may be -- they’re still creatures of the night.
And, like most creatures of the night, they’re quiet, secretive, and potentially lethal…
In celebration of Halloween, we’d like to treat you to an excerpt from Random Magic about this particular family of the vamps, and some interesting tidbits about vampires and their wicked ways.
If that isn’t enough to sate your appetite for the undead, grab some popcorn and get cozy for a feature documentary about the most famous blood-swiller of all: Count Dracula.
Ready, oh, children of the night? Let us partake of this toothsome repast of all things vampirical. Quick, quick! Make haste, friend, for the moonlit revelry begins -- but we must needs be safe abed before sunrise…
Vampire Lore
* Vampires are traditionally nocturnal and fear the sun, hiding away in their crypts, coffins, or other secluded places, until nightfall.
* Depending on the source of the myth, vampires either can’t endure daylight at all (and burst into flames or dust if exposed to the rising sun), or they can endure daylight, but in a severely weakened state, unable to travel far from their selected lairs.
* Like witches or warlocks, vampires often have familiars -- a guardian in the form of a dog, wolf, cat, or other animal -- or caretakers to protect them while they sleep.
* Vampires have superhuman strength and the ability to read minds or to hypnotize the unwary.
* Due to their immense lifespans (eternity, unless they meet with a wooden stake), vamps acquire years of knowledge about the ways of the world -- they’re cunning and very wise, making them tricky and dangerous opponents.
* Modern-day vamps are usually depicted as suave, intense, charismatic and alluring, even hypnotic.
* A vampire casts no shadow, and doesn’t show any reflection of face or figure in a mirror.
* Bats are associated with vampires -- in the book Random Magic, at least one character travels in the form of a bat. It’s faster!
The Count De Morgue floated suavely at the bottom of the main stairs. He’d come to meet them personally.
“Winnie, precious child,” he emoted, “how very nice to see you.”
He leaned over, and kissed Winnie’s hand. She bowed awkwardly.
“And you’ve brought your charming friend…”
“Henry.”
“Such a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Henry.”
The count smiled, his heavy-lidded hazel eyes gleaming with the prospect of unexpected diversion…Fresh blood was exactly what they required…
Henry smiled nervously, unsure of what to say. The heavy metal door slammed closed behind them, which didn’t improve his mental trickle of unease.
Count De Morgue nodded briefly at Mort, who swept past them and lurched ahead into the dining salon.
“And Lady De Morgue?” Winnie inquired politely.
“She’s not -- herself,” the Count said, looking even more melancholy…
“Ah,” he said, his hypnotic amber gaze flicking towards the stairs. “My beloved.”
*
Henry followed his stare. A slender woman in stygian green brocade had materialized soundlessly at the head of the stairs, her face in shadow.
Lady De Morgue wafted down towards them, looking pale and preoccupied. Her veil was slightly off kilter, and she’d forgotten her ever-present brooch, a sentimental gift from the count.
Her glossy ash-dark hair looked hastily brushed, tucked into a chignon that bordered on inelegant.
The planes of her face were almost overly refined, as if they’d been carved in miniature, in valuable old ivory…Like a set of matching funereal angels, Lady De Morgue was as beautiful to look at as the count, and doubly gloomy.
She looks deathly ill, Henry decided. Maybe she’s an invalid.
Lady De Morgue paused briefly at the foot of the stairs, and pressed a hand against her chest, as if her heart pained her so much that she couldn’t take another step.
Summary: When absent-minded Professor Random misplaces the main character from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, young Henry Witherspoon must book-jump to fetch Alice before chaos theory kicks in and the world vanishes.
Along the way he meets Winnie Flapjack, a wit-cracking doodle witch with nothing to her name but a magic feather and a plan. Such as it is.
Henry and Winnie brave the Dark Queen, whatwolves, pirates, Strüths, and fluttersmoths, Priscilla and Charybdis, obnoxiously cheerful vampires, Baron Samedi, a nine-dimensional cat, and one perpetually inebriated Muse to rescue Alice and save the world by tea time. More: Random Magic
Vampire Film Feature:In Search of Dracula
Bram Stoker penned a grimly luxurious tale of unearthly visitors and dark deeds, in his 1897 novel, Dracula.
But where did Stoker find inspiration for his well-mannered but bloodthirsty prince of darkness -- was Count Dracula based on a real person? And what did the world know of vampires before his 1897 novel and afterwards?
For example, writer John Polidori introduced a romanticized version of the aristocratic vampire to generations of future readers with his 1816 creation, Lord Ruthven.
Polidori’s short story, featuring the dastardly Ruthven, The Vampyre, was published in 1819, decades before Stoker -- but Polidori’s dark tale has roots that go even further back in time, stemming from a summer spent with writer friends Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley and Shelley’s future wife, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin.
The friends shared collected tales of folklore and read each other ghost stories -- then challenged each of their friends to create their own tales of thrilling melodrama.
Polidori wrote The Vampyre. Mary Shelley (born Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin) is, of course, the creator of another perennial Halloween favorite: Frankenstein.
Before Stoker’s Dracula and Polidori’s Ruthven, then, there were already existing stories about men and women who returned from the dead, to feed on the living. Where did some of these eerie tales originate, and were there possible historical models for Dracula’s bloodlust and quiet savagery?
Bram Stoker’s handwritten notes on the cast of characters for his 1897 novel, Dracula
In Search of Dracula explores these and other vampy questions, narrated by one of the most famous screen vamps of all -- the legendary Christopher Lee, who starred in Hammer Films’ wildly popular and totally campy string of Dracula films in the late 1960s.
Lee starred in Hammer Films’ Dracula (1958), a.k.a. Horror of Dracula (U.S.), Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1965), Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968), Taste the Blood of Dracula (1969), and Scars of Dracula> (1970).
Lee was already fed up with playing the infernal Count by his second film for Hammer, though -- after his debut in Horror of Dracula (1958), he took center stage again in Dracula: Prince of Darkness in 1965, but was reportedly so annoyed with the flimsy film script that he stubbornly resorted to hissing all of his lines. Inevitably, perhaps, Lee’s Dracula films were destined to become cult classics -- of course, that’s just what happened.
So, to sum up the drive-in movie feature presented for your perusal on this All Hallows Eve (All-Hallows’-Even’, or All Saints’ Evening, which later became All Hallows’ Eve, All Hallows Eve or All Hallows’ E’en, then, finally, Halloween), on that most popular night of all for masked Vampire Balls, ghostly flitterings and slithering shades:
If you’d like to read more about the De Morgues -- and find out if Winnie and Henry survive their night in a nest of vamps -- you can find Random Magic on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble.
Thanks for stopping by to enjoy some vampy revels, and Happy Halloween!
* In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren and inspired by Pop Culture Junkie. A post where we share books acquired via mailbox, library, store, etc.
Published: August 2010 Genre: Ghosts, YA Paperback: 184 pages Rating: 5
Description from the amazon: It's the beginning of senior year and Yuki's psychic awareness of ghostly spirits is threatening to ruin her life.
Her ability to sense spirits of the dead isn't glamorous like the ghost hunting on television.
SHE SMELLS THE DEAD.
The smell impressions are becoming stronger. Yuki is being visited in her dreams, and she suspects that her friend Calvin is involved in something strange. To make matters worse her crush on Garrett is going unrequited, Yuki's friend Emma is on a rampage against bee oppression, and annoying Calvin Miller mysteriously disappears.
Will Yuki be able to focus her powers in time to save the lost soul who is haunting her?
Meanwhile, who will save Yuki from following the spirits into the light?
My two-bits: In-a-word(s): Technosmellor, yah Loved this gem of a book!
There's a bit of mystery, dreams, spirits, were lore and some lovin'.
The main characters were adorable and the interactions between them is what was so appealing to me. Such innocence, honesty and suh-weeetness in dialogue and thoughts.
Spirit Guide Series: She Smells the Dead Spirit Storm - out in 2011
Cool treat: In the end notes, I found a fellow blogger buddy's testimonial!
Freda of Freda's Voice gave praise for Shadows of Myth and Legend by E.J. Stevens
I really enjoyed this little work of Art! I was lulled into the dark mind of a poet, and taken on a trip. It was fantastic, and I had so many favorites, though this stood out to me: Grindylow - Page 45. I love a great horror, and this was one of those tales that did not disappoint me in the scare department! I recommend this delectably dark book to everyone!"
How cool was that! OK, another add-on for my tbr pile!
Talk Like Jane Austen Day go here to learn how
then come back here and
say something Jane-ish to me, please
~*~
'ish = an indispensable suffix
“The Miss Maitlands are both prettyish,”
"It was stupidish"
~*~
I cannot speak well enough to be unintelligible.
-Jane Austen
~*~
According to per Jane Austen Centre: The trappings of Halloween which we now so regularly employ would have been foreign to her, even if their roots lay deep in the English history, of which she was so fond.
Drat!
We still loves the Jane. And in my virtual halloween party I will dress like Jane Austen for All Hallows' Eve, but more like a paranormal version. I'm thinking of a blood thirsty kind ;-D
I have been in communication with Mr Darcy (the other) who assures me that you shall find at least four and twenty-ish guests at next month's Pemberley Ball gala event.
The guests invited are quite agreeable and amiable. You may be inclined to find some creature who catch's your eye. And you may find yourself scruple as to who to pass your dance card to.
Only think of all the pleasure that will be derived by this most spectacular event.
I have been prodded to impart that the Invitations will be forthcoming on All Saints' Day.
I do hope you will be in attendance.
&etc,
vvb
~*~
* Talk like Jane Austen day is in celebration of the 199th anniversary of the publishing of Sense and Sensibility.
The Brimstone Key Grey Griffins: The Clockwork Chronicles #1: by Derek Benz and Jon S. Lewis Just released: June 7, 2010
Description from the amazon: A brand new adventure starring The Grey Griffins! Max---the leader Natalia---the brains Ernie---the changeling Harley---the muscle
A year ago, the Grey Griffins were just regular kids from Avalon, Minnesota. That was before they learned about the existence of evil fairies, werewolves, and other things that go bump in the night. Now they are monster-hunters, celebrated heroes, and allies to the legendary Templar knights---but even heroes have to go to school.
When the Griffins enroll at Iron Bridge Academy, a school to train young recruits in the fight against the forces of evil, they find themselves at the center of a whole new adventure. The Clockwork King, a Templar foe from days past, has returned to finish the plan he set in motion decades ago. A plot to steal the souls of changelings---humans infused with fairy blood and supernatural abilities---in order to power his army of clockwork war machines.
In The Brimstone Key, authors Derek Benz and J.S. Lewis deftly blend the mystical wonder of steampunk with magic and adventure to create an action-packed thrill ride.
PeekABook:
This book is currently on a Blog Tour - I'll list some participants I know of below as I come across them. Check them out for various guest posts, giveaway offers and etc.
Description from the amazon: There are good guys, there are bad boys, and then there are men with a danger all their own--these are the ones who take you places you never imagined. . .and will never forget.
The Undying Heart by Zoe Archer
Samuel Reed had no idea magic existed, until it almost destroyed him. Thirsting for vengeance against the enemy who made him something less than human, Sam returns to England and crosses paths with Cassandra Fielding. His best friend's little sister has become a fearless woman on a dangerous mission of her own. And against all odds, she sees past what he's become, and stirs a desire he thought he'd lost forever. . .
Simon Says by Bianca D'Arc
Special Forces soldier Simon Blackwell ended his affair with Mariana Daniels three years ago, but he hasn't stopped protecting her. Mariana has no knowledge of the dark, deadly creatures that lurk in the forest surrounding her clinic, or of the mysterious powers that make Simon the only one who can defeat them. But soon he'll have no choice but to reveal the truth, and urge her to trust in an explosive passion that never faded. . .
Description from the amazon: When an alien entity lands in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, a clairvoyant psychology professor, a drunken dirt farmer, and a disillusioned tycoon must team up to stop it before the infection spreads.
It falls from the heavens and crashes to earth in the remote southern Appalachian Mountains. The alien creature feeds on the surrounding organisms, exploring, assimilating, and altering the life forms it encounters.
Plants wilt from the contact, trees wither, animals become deformed monstrosities, and people become something both more and less than human.
Tamara Leon is a psychology professor who sometimes sees the future. When the strange phrase shu-shaaa enters her mind, she senses a telepathic force that threatens her family and the entire world.
Chester Mull, a mountain dirt farmer, is suspicious of the green glow up on the ridge, and he doesn't take kindly to trespassers.
His neighbor Herbert DeWalt is a reclusive millionaire whose spiritual search has led him nowhere.
The trio teams up on a mission into the forest to face the alien in its secluded cave.
The alien doesn't want to destroy the world. It only wants to survive. But so do the people whose metabolism has become food for an otherworldly reaper.
-+0+o+ eBook Giveaway courtesy of author +o+0+-
This is an ebook.
Open to all.
Offer ends: October 31, 2010
TO DO:
1. Sign the guestbook (if you signed it already or in September - no need)
~-~-~-~-~ guest ~-~-~-~-~ by Naomi Clark ~-~-~-~-~ guest ~-~-~-~-~
Naomi Clark is the author of SILVER KISS, Book 1 in the Urban Wolf series. In SILVER KISS, werewolf Ayla Hammond returns to her home city with her PI (and human) girlfriend, Shannon Ryan. Homecoming quickly becomes a sticky affair when both are drawn into a missing person's case.
In ‘Glory’s Scary Story’ Ayla and Shannon join werewolves, Vince, Joel and Glory, one Halloween night…
~*~
Midnight. The fire burned low in the hearth. Shannon was half asleep in my lap. We'd all told our Halloween stories except Glory. Cannibalism, ghosts and witches so far, with Vince throwing in a psycho nurse for good measure. But we all knew Glory's story would be the best.
She patted her beehive and smiled at us. “Did I ever tell you how I lost my orange Carvela heels?”
“It was a poker game, wasn't it?” Joel asked. “One seedy night in Vegas, you said.”
“Those were my cerise Louboutins,” she corrected. She sipped her wine and cleared her throat. “But I was in America. Nevada, in fact. I'd been out for a run and was just putting my clothes back on when I saw the UFO. An eerie green light in the sky, getting brighter and closer with every second, lighting up the night. I was horrified, sweeties, obviously. I could not abide being abducted. All that probing.” She shivered theatrically.
“I wanted to run, but I wasn't dressed and I certainly wasn't going to run across the desert in the dead of night half-naked. Not with aliens in pursuit. So I dumped my stuff and hid behind a rock, hoping they'd go find some redneck hick or something. You know, like they do. But the craft landed just a few feet from my rock and these two aliens... Oh!” More exaggerated shivering.
“Little green men?” Shannon yawned.
“Little red men,” Glory corrected haughtily. “And the first thing the little monsters did? They started poking through my clothes! With their creepy long fingers and their weird little mouths, just pawing at my clothes.” She clutched her hands to her chest. “Diesel jeans, people! Covered in sticky alien fingerprints!”
“What did you do?” Vince asked, toasting a marshmallow in the fire embers.
“Well, I wasn't going to let them ruin my jeans! I leapt out and grabbed my clothes and started running like holy hell.”
“Did they follow?” I asked. The image in my head was somewhere between slapstick and tragedy.
“God, yes. And let me tell you, Ayla, aliens are fast as any wolf. They were gaining on me, making this awful high-pitched noise. Probably trying to hypnotize me, but I wasn't stopping for anything, sweeties. And then one grabbed my shoulder.”
Glory paused to snatch a marshmallow, leaving us all in suspense for a few long seconds.
“What did you do?” Joel asked.
“I swung my Carvela heels in the ugly freak's face! Spike heels are a girl's best friend, let me tell you. I caught the alien right in his big, freaky eye. Little creep just keeled over. Eyes are the alien's weak spots, obviously. I battered them both with the shoes and got my ass out of there.”
“And the shoes?” Vince prompted.
Glory wiped an imaginary tear from her eye. “Probably a souvenir on an alien's mantelpiece now, darling. Such a waste. They clashed horribly with the alien.”
A former army brat, Naomi Clark is now happily settled in Cambridge. She has been writing stories ever since she learned to write. A lifelong fascination with dragons, monsters, magic and ghosts eventually led her to urban fantasy.
Published: August 2010 Genre: Ghosts, YA Hardback: 298 pages Rating: 5
Description from the amazon: Sixteen-year-old Yara Silva has always known that ghosts walk alongside the living. Her grandma, like the other females in her family, is a Waker, someone who can see and communicate with ghosts.
Yara grew up watching her grandmother taunted and scorned for this unusual ability and doesn't want that to be her future. She has been dreading the day when she too would see ghosts, and is relieved that the usually dominant Waker gene seems to have skipped her, letting her live a normal teenage life.
However, all that changes for Yara on her first day at her elite boarding school when she discovers the gene was only lying dormant.
She witnesses a dark mist attack Brent, a handsome fellow student, and rushes to his rescue. Her act of heroism draws the mist's attention, and the dark spirit begins stalking her.
Yara finds herself entrenched in a sixty-year-old curse that haunts the school, threatening not only her life, but the lives of her closest friends as well.
Yara soon realizes that the past she was trying to put behind her isn't going to go quietly.
My two-bits: In-a-word(s): mist
intrinsical - belonging to a thing by its very nature
Interesting ghostly twists and turns in this story with some mystery and romance too. Kept me wondering to the very end.
Zombie sighting: My possessed shadow raised itself from the ground like a zombie emerging from the grave until it hovered before me. - chapter 4, page 46
~-~-~-~-~ guest ~-~-~-~-~
by L.L. Soares
~-~-~-~-~ guest ~-~-~-~-~
Velvet woke in darkness. She scurried to her feet and pressed her hands against cold steel walls, trying to determine the dimensions of her enclosure.
The lights came on.
She was in the space the size of a closet, surrounded by metal plating on four sides. A light bulb high above her head.
One of the metal plates slid up,
Hesitantly, she left her small cell, stepping out into a larger one.
She was not alone.
In the larger space, there was something breathing. Something large and gelatinous, throbbing softly in the corner. She did not approach it. It was clear that whatever it was, it was not of this earth. It’s very presence filled her with waves of nausea.
Someone cleared his throat above her. There were speakers in the walls.
“Don’t be afraid,” a man’s voice said. “This is a momentous occasion. You are the first human being to have direct contact with an alien species.”
“What?” Velvet said, trying to understand what had happened to her.
She remembered the parking garage. Some of the lights had burned out. She ran to her car, her heels clicking on the asphalt. Trying to get inside as quickly as possible and turn on the interior light. But she didn’t make it. There was a sudden hand, grabbing her shoulder, as a cloth was pressed to her face.
“Where am I?” she asked. “Who are you?”
“Do not be alarmed,” the voice said. “My name is Willard Raymond. I’m a doctor.”
A glob of ooze turned into a tentacle that probed the air in her direction.
“You are about to make history,” the man’s voice said above her. “First contact.”
“Shouldn’t I have some say in whether I want to make history?” Velvet asked.
“If we asked permission every time a milestone was met,” the voice said. “We’d never move forward.”
A lumpy, misshapen head bounced forward from the body. Eyes formed and opened.
It made a noise that made her want to wretch.
“Move closer,” the man’s voice said. “I want to see how it will react to you.”
“What if it kills me?” she asked.
The voice had no response to that.
There was length of discarded pipe on the floor, among other debris. Velvet squatted down and grabbed it firmly. Then she rose to her feet again.
“What are you doing there?”
“Arming myself,” she said.
The tentacle moved a bit closer. The bobbing head stretched on a stalk-like neck. The eyes bigger and wider, examining her curiously.
“Where did you find this thing?” she asked.
“Remarkable, isn’t it?”
The head reached her first, a mouth suddenly opening in the face. Showing teeth.
Velvet struck then, swinging the pipe like a baseball bat, knocking the head back to its body.
The sound of the impact was obscured by a scream.
“No!” the man’s voice said. “You’re hurting it!”
“Isn’t that the idea?” Velvet said. “I’m protecting myself.”
“It came a million miles to get here,” Dr. Raymond said. “You can’t just beat it to death.”
“You put me here, mister.”
She moved closer and struck the creature again. It’s screams got louder. And with them came waves of fear. Emotional toxins.
She dropped the pipe to the floor, where it rattled. Metal against metal. She held her stomach, trying not to empty its contents.
“Poor thing,” she said, when she was able to talk again. “It probably didn’t mean to hurt me at all. You put us in this situation.”
She looked up at the speakers. “You caused this.”
There was a groan from above. It almost sounded like sobbing.
Description from the publisher: Aliens are total nymphos, and we are their throwaway sluts. Despite their higher intelligence and technological advances, this third romp through the tabloids will expose their insatiable appetite for a piece of ass (or what comes out of it).
Learn the dangers of eating crotch circle corn. Witness a harrowing battle between alien midgets and a rat while in a crack whore’s vagina. Delight in the thrills of alien probes gone wild and smack your lips on some out-of-this-world barbecue ribs.
My two-bits: In-a-word(s): uvf Beware: adult humor, errrrrr
Hill-lair-ee-ous! What a ride!
Here be aliens in a different light *cough*.
Plenty of LOL and sick moments in this bitty book. However, some underlying messages if you so choose to delve.
PeekAbook:
Could be considered a fun treat or maybe a trick kinda book, you can decide...
-+0+o+ Book Giveaway +o+0+-
Win my book.
Open to those over age 18.
Offer ends: October 31, 2010
TO DO:
1. Sign the guestbook (if you signed it already or in September - no need)
~-~-~-~-~ guest ~-~-~-~-~ by Lori Brighton ~-~-~-~-~ guest ~-~-~-~-~
“It’s out here.” Cristian paused, his gaze focused on the dark trees ahead. “I can feel something with a higher energy field than humans.”
Ashley ducked under a branch, following Cristian’s broad back into the forest. His Scottish accent was warm and welcome in the chill night. “But we sent all the spirits to the other side.” At least the spirits in her home, but she supposed they hadn’t checked the woods behind her pub. Had some nefarious spirit escaped Cristian’s sword?
Cristian glanced back, those gray eyes like pewter under the light of the moon. Eyes that still made her heart melt. He grinned, that sexy grin, his white teeth flashing in the darkness. “I didn’t say it was a spirit.”
Oh God, that couldn’t be good. Considering their town was made up of werewolves, fairies, vampires and even witches…the thing they were sensing could be any type of supernatural being. The question remained, was it friend or foe?
“I’m coming!” Camile called out from behind them.
Speaking of witches…
Ashley turned just in time to see her friend trip on a fallen branch and tumble to the ground. The satchel of herbs and potions she’d raced back to the house for flew through the air. Ashley caught the bag, stumbling as it was heavier than she’d thought it would be. She didn’t blame Camile for wanting to be prepared for anything, after all that had happened to them. Vampires trying to drink their blood. A werewolf intent on making them his little plaything.
“There, ahead,” Cristian said softly.
Camile stumbled to her feet. Ashley spun around. Brilliant blue lights suddenly pierced the darkness, highlighting the woods in an eerie glow. Ashley blinked rapidly, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness. Behind that glow was the distinct shape of something large… She inched closer. Something large, round, metallic.
Her heart slammed wildly in her chest. “What kind of a supernatural being would produce light like that?”
Cristian frowned, the harsh angles of his face fierce under the light. “Not a being. A ship. A spaceship.”
Ashley sucked in a sharp breath. “Aliens? Are you joking?” She’d always considered her life one bad horror movie, but it had suddenly taken a turn for the Sci-fi channel.
Cristian didn’t seem concerned. But then again, he’d fought demons, vampires and ghosts for a living. “Of course, humans are ridiculous to think they’re the only ones in this universe.”
Ashley’s shock gave way to momentary irritation. She shoved her elbow into his gut, then handed Camile her satchel. “You’re human too, need I remind you.” He might have been immortal at one time, but not anymore. He could die just as well as any of them and considering the size of that ship, they should all be fearful for their lives.
The branches rustled. Cristian shoved Ashley behind his back, always the protector. He couldn’t help himself, he was a former Angel after all. But she wasn’t about to be pushed aside and leave him to protect them like they were some helpless little girls.
The branches parted. Ashley froze, expecting to see something small and gray, or the very least, green. She didn’t expect a man in tight black pants and a white t-shirt. He stood completely still as he studied them, his shoulders broad, his body muscled. His dark hair was tousled around a perfectly angular face. No, she hadn’t expected someone who looked like Keanu Reeves from The Day The Earth Stood Still. Hell, if this was what all Aliens looked like, they could abduct her anytime.
Cristian held his arm parallel to the ground. “Sword.”
Apparently, Cristian wasn’t as impressed with this Alien’s good looks as she. His gold and silver sword appeared in hand. He was preparing to do battle, which meant she must too. Ashley scooped up a tree branch, knowing what a pathetic weapon it would be, but needing something all the same.
The Alien stepped closer, branches snapping under the weight of his booted foot. “There is no need for weapons. We come in peace.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that before,” Ashley muttered.
His gaze pierced hers, his face stoic, unreadable. “My CoCaptain is ill. I require assistance from your witch friend.” His gaze slid to Camile.
Camile stiffened, no doubt surprised by his sudden attention. “How’d you know I was a witch?”
“We found you on Facebook. My friend request is awaiting your approval.”
“Facebook?” Ashley jerked her head toward her friend.
Camile shrugged. “What? Everyone’s doing it.” Ignoring Ashley, Camile dared to step closer to the Alien. “What’s wrong with your CoCaptain?”
“He has picked up a human disease.”
“Well, I guess I can give you some Dragon’s Blood.” She reached into her sack and pulled out a glass vial, handing it to the Alien. “It’s a common cure for almost everything.”
He nodded once, a stiff, no-nonsense movement. “We appreciate your help.” He turned and started toward his ship, the vial in hand. “When we take over your world, we shall spare your lives.” Without another word, he stepped into the metallic UFO. The door closed and with a blast of air, the oval ship hovered upward, disappearing into the sky. Silence settled in the forest, darkness surrounding them.
“Did he just…” Camile couldn’t seem to go on.
“Say they were taking over the world?” Cristian drawled. “Aye.”
When Jennie forms an unlikely alliance with a spirit photographer, she begins to uncover secrets about the man she thought she loved. With her sanity on edge and her life in the balance, can Jennie expose the chilling truth before someone-or something-stops her?
Against the brutal, vivid backdrop of the American Civil War, Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown have created a spellbinding mystery where the living cannot always be trusted and death is not always the end.
My two-bits: In-a-word(s): keys I really liked this ghost story. But then again, it had me with its illustrations.
The historical nature, culture of the times and engaging mystery are appealing. The added images with scrapbook feel to it ties in really well.
If you visit the Picture the Dead website you get even more delightful tidbits of spirits, social history, old photos and illustrations of the time period.
I dun hear that when it comes ta aliens, you best wear one of these...
WereCrab plops this tin foil creation onto his head.
This here's the best. It is made of the good stuff, AL-YOUS-MIN-EE-UM.
Now, lissen up. Here's ma alien tale...
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
Description from the amazon: Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, didn't expect to find its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.
As Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she's never met. Reluctant allies, Wanderer and Melanie set off to search for the man they both love.
Featuring one of the most unusual love triangles in literature, THE HOST is a riveting and unforgettable novel about the persistence of love and the essence of what it means to be human.
I don't quite understand. I don't own a tail says Alice in dismay.
A tale as in sssssssssssstory, pipes up wereSnake who has been awaken from all the chit chat chatting.
A tale of the alien kind for tonight is ALIEN night, says wereRat.
Yessum, it dudn't have ta be of the epic kind or fancy like, says wereCrab who was hidden behind wereSnake's mug.
Quite right - schmight. We had ghost stories last night, says wereHare.
The werePerson in the tin foil hat continues to bustle and hustle and tustle about while jib jab jabbing to herself.
Don't mind her, says wereRat, She's MAD.
Mad? as in looney? asks Alice.
Nope - schmope. Her name's MAD, answers wereHare.
OKAY, I'll give you an alien tale. But you all need to go first, Alice announces.
WereRat claps in excitement and wereCrab snaps his claws too.
WereHare finally hands Alice the mug of cocoa but first adds marshmallows on top.
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Then MAD stands stock still.
Everyone turns to her.
And she begins to speak all trance-like...
"This here be Bubba. Now, I knows you folks been worryin' and wringin' yer hands 'bout them leetle bug-eyed critters flyin' round all over t'place like saucers on steroids, they be.
It were be honest o' me t'admit that I been worried sumthin fierce, too. It be hard e-nuff to keep Six-Toes-Ted's beer cans picked up out o' my yard cos he is the laziest son of a gun I ever did see an' won't pick up after his self no matter if I threaten to tell Maybelle 'bout that time he been flirtin' with that yung gal down at the Dollar Barn like he ain't been married no dang twenty year to the best leetle woman who can bake a biskit like nobody I ever did seen.
Now I gots t' worry bout them aliens an' theys fancy schamncy flyin' saucers they parade round in tearin' up my sheet metal an' I just got the dents hammered out last month after that bad hailstorm we done had...
Here's a game you can try to get in the spooky mood...
Dark Tales: Edgar Allan Poe`s Murders in the Rue Morgue
Description from Big Fish Games: A dreadful murder and kidnapping has occurred in the Rue Morgue and only you can solve the dark crime! Follow the clues to find the killer and the missing family. Become the apprentice of the famed C. Auguste Dupin and solve the devious puzzles to find the hidden clues that will lead you to the monstrous murderer.
Based on Edgar Allan Poe’s most acclaimed murder mystery, Dark Tales: Edgar Allan Poe’s Murder in the Rue Morgue is a fantastic Hidden Object game full of suspense and excitement.
-+0+o+ October Trix-n-Treatz schedule +o+0+-
