Halloween 2017

Happy Halloween! OK, I know it's tomorrow, but our annual party and Trick or Treating with the kids has already come and gone (and I get a day off tomorrow -- 16th wedding anniversary). So, I shall regale you all with pictures. You like pictures, don't you?

This year, I cosplayed another one of my own creations! The idea grabbed hold of me when I was writing Hell On Wheels. Yup, I decided to dress up as Moira, stuck unhappily in her Welcomer garb. Well, my costume wasn't quite as skimpy as what she has to put up with (I couldn't bring myself to squeeze into a sequined bikini). What do you think? Did I do her justice? Maybe next year I should play Grinka from the Fractured Fairies series. Aqua hair? I'd have to pass on playing Tamara the fairy -- I'd be too cold, and I don't think my guests would appreciate me flitting around naked.

Per usual, I was rushing to get the house ready for the party, so I didn't get to spend a lot of time on my pumpkin (I always wish I had more time to do something fancy). This year, I decided to do a monster face, mainly because of my youngest's little googly-eyed monster headband we got her to play with (she was not a monster for Halloween, though, but Rainbow Dash). My eldest did the flying kitty (since that's what she also dressed up as), and I carved the ghost into my youngest's white pumpkin. Per usual, my husband did a simple face -- he's not much for pumpkin carving, but he still does it with us!

The kids also painted some of those pumpkin gourds and the teeny tiny pumpkin my youngest picked out at the pumpkin farm when she went with her preschool.

One picture of the decorations from the party! I didn't take many because of the major rushing this time. Once everyone started arriving, I pretty much collapsed into a chair, chattered, and ate.

And I thought this was a cute picture, so I'm going to post it, even though I am careful not to post many pictures of my kids publicly. Trick or Treating! I love it that the last couple of years we've all went together. (Don't worry, we still put a bowl of candy out for the other Trick or Treaters.)

Finally, look at all this candy that my kids got this year. Notice the pitchfork resting on top of it all? Yeah, Mama Tax. >:)

I hope everyone had a great Halloween this year!

Oh, and as a reminder, you can still get the Monster Maelstrom anthology with my Fractured Fairies flash story, "Monster in the Room", in it for FREE! Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Smashwords, iBooks, and GooglePlay!

A Very Grinka Christmas Excerpt

"Ho, ho, ho!"

Nope, not Santa, but Syndago (very dedicated at playing Santa, though).

Yup, it's time for another Fractured Fairies tale! A Very Grinka Christmas is a new novelette that brings together several of the characters we've already seen in past Fractured Fairies stories and brings in a few new ones as well! But even if you haven't read any of the previous stories, you should easily slip into the humor in this holiday tale.

If you want a humorous Christmasy romp to read this holiday season (the fairies trying to burn the apartment down, Grinka forced to use a Christmas elf illusion, and more), then consider picking up a copy of A Very Grinka Christmas. You can find it at all major online retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo Books, and iBooks.

And of course there's an excerpt below, along with the blurb.

Have a happy, fractured holiday everyone!

❦

A boy of at least eight runs up to Syndago and jumps in his lap.

"Oof!" Syndago may be big, but he's sensitive. "Be nice to Santa, little man."

Little Man proceeds to yank on Syndago's beard. "You're not the real Santa, and I'll prove it!"

Surprise, surprise, kid. Syndago glued the beard on. Superglue, even. He's one committed Santa.

The boy tugs harder.

"Ow!"

"Carter, cut that out and tell Santa what you want for Christmas." The boy's stalky father sidles up to me, offering a nicotine-stained smile. "Sorry about that. He gets a little overzealous sometimes. Takes after his mom." One corner of his mouth twitches. "There's a reason I divorced her." He winks.

Oh, for the love of immortals. Sadly, he isn't the first one who's hit on me. I mean, I may be in an elf outfit illusion, but it's still my usual hot looking body -- a necessity for my profession. Stripper.

A psychiatrist might say I'm overcompensating with my illusion due to insecurities. I hate psychiatrists more than I hate elves.

But if this obnoxious man knew the truth of what my illusion truly hid, he'd bolt. I'm tempted to let him cop a feel and find out what seashell-covered breasts feel like. The shock on his face would be priceless.

He shoves a business card into my palm. "Call me." His hand lingers on mine far too long.

One of the bulbs in the string of lights above me bursts.

Syndago levels a stern gaze at me as Carter bounces off his lap and pulls his father away. "Grinka, be good."

"Hey, it's only one bulb." I could have blown out the whole set. Or worse.

"They add up. That's nine already today."

"Cheap lights."

"I'm trying. Give me a break -- you know I don't have perfect control." Far from it. "Can we go home yet?"

"Almost. Two or three more kids and our shift is over."

Then I can see what the fairy twits destroyed today. They've been on a revelry bender since the beginning of the month, and it hasn't been pretty.

The holidays will be over soon. Yes, yes. And then they'll go back to their normal level of destructiveness.

I just hope I survive.

❦

A grouchy sea nymph who fancies herself a modern-day Scrooge. Bah humbug.

Grinka's main goal for Christmas: survive without having to celebrate a damned thing. Between playing an elf to her mopey human-sized giant friend's Santa and contending with the fairy siblings' holiday revelries, she's got her work cut out for her. And when some uninvited guests appear on her doorstep, she's forced to face a party of all the people she ran from when she left the Immortal World.

No thanks to that torture! Grinka plots to avoid the party, until she meets a handsome tree nymph who agrees to attend. Maybe, just maybe, this year Grinka will have a Merry Christmas.

Halloween 2016 & Monster Maelstrom

It's that time of year! Yes, the time of year where I get way too into Halloween. It's my favorite holiday, after all.

Before I get into some pics of this year's costume and decorations, though, I'd also like to announce the release of a Fractured Fairies story. Last week, "Monster in the Room" released in the anthology Monster Maelstrom. It's a Halloween themed flash fiction anthology, of course! This Grinka-centric story can be found among a lot of other great stories. If you're in the mood for some Halloween reading, please pick up a copy. Oh, did I forget to mention the anthology is FREE?

You can snag a free copy of Monster Maelstrom from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo Books, iBooks, Google Play, and Smashwords. Please visit the Monster Maelstrom page if you'd like further information before you grab it.

Now, onto more good stuff! My yearly Halloween party was this past Saturday. No posts on the blog last week meant I was intensely cleaning the house that never gets cleaned except once a year for the party - lol. (I already have #11 for 1001 Reasons Not to Clean.)

This year I had a hard time getting excited about a costume. I just couldn't think of anything I wanted to be. Thankfully, the brainstorm finally unleashed itself when I was browsing Hot Topic online one day. I saw a unicorn horn and tail set. I figured I could always be simple. I mean, I love unicorns - that's no secret. Then I saw it... A blood splattered dress! Why be a plain old unicorn when you can be a Rabid Unicorn?

If any of you have visited my blog throughout the years, you know that I started a rabid unicorn story a couple years ago. It was a fun, humorous romp that I had to put on the back burner (like so many other shinies because there's only so much time in the day to write when you have an infant/toddler demanding your undivided attention). Of course, now I really want to continue it, but I have Thorns Entwine the Blade to focus on right now. If you want to read an excerpt of the rough draft I was working on, you can visit this old post from May 2014.

What? You want to see the costume? I rarely post pictures of myself, as you know. So, please be kind. Here it is! Note: I wear the heads of my fallen foes on my feet.

And I'll also leave you with a some pictures of the decorations from this year. Happy Halloween, everyone!

Halloween 2015

We interrupt your regularly scheduled chapter posts of Chains of Nect for...

HALLOWEEN!

There will be a chapter up next Wednesday. Promise.

Anyway, Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year. Unless there is some major life event getting in the way, I throw a party every year. This is as social as this hermit writer ever gets. The rest of the year, you'll find me forcing myself to interact outside the house.

This means I decorate every year. I had some help from a friend this year, since I was pretty sick in September and beginning of October, so I was behind on a lot of things (though, I fully admit, I'm always decorating last minute - I'm always running at least a little behind).

I figured I should start posting a few pictures every year. So, here they are!

BEWARE of the MOAT! We had to have the sidewalk ripped out on the side of our house because it was putting pressure on the foundation. Clearly we haven't done anything with the hole that was left from that. I went with it.

Pumpkins. Yes, the small one says Pika. My toddler is obsessed with Pokemon. She even has a stuffed Pikachu she carries around. Pikachu was her first 3-syllable word. I wasn't about to carve the whole name into her pumpkin, though, so she got the short version.

The altar! This is a yearly must. Though this year, I was missing a chalice (still packed away from the kitchen remodel - oops). That skull candle there is supposed to look like it bleeds. It kind of does. Sort of.

Clearly I don't like showing off pictures of myself too often, but I'll give in this time. I was a Walking Halloween Cliche with my cat ears/tail, fairy wings, and Ouija Board shirt. Hey, look, you can even catch a toddler head in the corner. Little Photo Bomber!

I hope you all have a Happy Halloween (and Blessed Samhain for us Pagans)!