The Oubliette

300 chances to WIN paranormal YA books!

2012-02-23T19:14:00.001-08:00

And that's no joke!

The awesome peeps at I Am A Reader, Not a Writer and vvb32reads have organized a creeptastic blog hop featuring a YA paranormal book giveaway extravaganza that will send chills up your spine. Vampires, witches, ghosts, goblins, zombies, werewolves and more - over 100 ghoulish tales designed to get you into the spirit.

Speaking of spirits, I'll be giving away a signed (by me) copy of the Spirited Anthology, 13 Haunting Tales, in which my short story THREAD OF THE PAST appears.

The giant book giveaway starts on February 23rd and ends on February 29th at 12:01 AM. Each person may enter only three times per blog. Here's how to enter enter for mine.

- 1 entry if you post the SPIRITED trailer on your blog / website / Facebook page or Twitter profile and provide the link to it in the comments section of this post.

- 1 entry for following me on Twitter @dawn_dalton

- 1 entry for sharing in the comments section the "stuff of your nightmares" - what scares YOU?

But don't just stop here. Each of the registered blogs taking part in this hop will offer one or more YA paranormal titles for the giveaway. Awesome, right? Click here for more than 300 chances to WIN! Hurry...I shudder to think of how upset you'll be if you miss out on this!

- Dawn

Questions? Email me at dawnmdalton@gmail.com.

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED

Congratulations to Debbie @twoofakind@yahoo.com
Thanks for sharing your fear of being underwater. That scares me, too!

THANKS TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED!

One day at a time

2012-01-24T07:40:00.000-08:00

I'm a HUGE Kiefer Sutherland fan.

I loved him as a vampire in Lost Boys, and thought he was perfect as Jack Bauer in all eight seasons of 24. When the final episode aired, I cried. Yeah, my husband still laughs about that, too.

But Kiefer is coming back to the small screen this week (one more sleep) in what looks to be an amazing series called Touch. I wasn't sure I'd like a toned-down, less angry Kiefer Sutherland - until I saw this preview:

Holy cow this show looks good. Plus, it's Kiefer.

I learned a lot about writing while watching 24. For me, it was the first show to shock me with its random plot twists. The "wrong" people were killed, the most unassuming people were bad. Jack's lovers were murdered (and not by me.) My mouth was constantly agape.

It was actually during the first season of 24 that I decided I wanted to write adult thriller (in addition to my YA stuff) - and Kiefer inadvertently taught me how to write my first kill. I know, morbid.

But this year, I'm using my eight seasons of 24 (yes, I own them all, thanks to my awesome mother-in-law) for a different purpose.

Kiefer is going to help me reach my weight loss goal. No, really. I've contracted him as my personal trainer.

Sort of.

There are 24 episodes per season of 24, which equals 192 40-minute segments of time I could be...working out.

Sometimes I need a good challenge to keep me motivated. Last year I read a dismal handful of books, so I reinstated my 100 Books in 2012 challenge with my friend, Karen. Our progress is tracked on our blogs.

The challenge works for me. So, I figured another challenge would be equally as motivating, if not more. Since it's Kiefer and all. My plan is to to spend 40 minutes on my elliptical every day for 192 days.

Surely you can see the benefits. Not only will I be "active" for 40 minutes (and hopefully shedding some pounds), I'll get a daily dose of Kiefer, and the show will serve as reminder for all of those plot twists and character arcs that impressed the writer in me. Huzzah!

I'm on day 3. So far, so good...

- Dawn

And, that's a wrap

2011-12-29T19:59:00.000-08:00

Yikes. My holiday countdown was a total bust.

Though I tried to do a blog post everyday of December - and even offer up some killer book prizes - the chaos of Christmas snuck in and stole my time. Like, all of it.

Added to that was Blogger's refusal to allow most readers to comment on my posts, rendering the rules virtually useless.

Just goes to show, I'm way better at creepy. (The Halloween countdown was a huge success...)

The Christmas decorations are down, and the house has been restored to it's pre-season homey feel. I've already started marking down my New Year's resolutions.

On my other blog my best friend and I are doing the 100 Books in 2012 challenge. Yeah, that's just what it sounds like - read 100 books by Dec. 31, 2012. We'll be blogging about them throughout the year - feel free to stop on by and offer recommendations.

Thanks to Judith, my writing/reading/exercise/life schedule is almost done (she has a great organizational system) and the first issue of Vine Leaves Literary Journal, which I co-edit with Jessica is slated for release January 5, 2012.

That's just the TIP of the iceberg in a frozen sea of hot, hot projects.

I'm ready to get started. Forget the Doomsday predictions - 2012 is going to kick butt.

Wishing you and yours a safe and prosperous New Year.

- Dawn

Christmas cards from scratch!

2011-12-06T17:13:00.001-08:00

WIN an epic book prize that includes a copy of Spirited, and debut novels by three of the most talented writers I know - Jessica Bell, Judith Graves, and Donna Milward. PLUS, Judith is throwing in a copy of her beautiful CD. Merry Christmas, indeed!

Follow this blog and comment on each post throughout my holiday countdown. The more times you comment, the greater your chances are to win. The winner will be announced Boxing Day - another gift just when you thought it was all over.

* * *

While on Skype with my Mom today, I was giving her a virtual tour of our home, when she stopped me mid sentence and said, "Wait. You have a craft room?"

I don't blame her for being shocked. Truthfully, my sister is the more crafty between us, but I can hold my own. Especially if I have some direction.

When we moved into this house, my BF brought over all of her crafting supplies, with the yet-unfulfilled dream we'd hang out on weekends and "make stuff." I do have an impressive (and organized) craft room, filled with all kinds of goodies that have been instrumental in my Halloween and Christmas decorating. Sadly, Karen has not been over to "make stuff" with me - life is too busy!

I've yet to scrapbook - though between myself and Karen, we have enough materials to make hundreds of them - but I did want to try my hand at making Christmas cards this year. My problem was that I couldn't envision what they SHOULD look like.

So I kind of cheated. I started searching for cool homemade Christmas cards on Pinterest and picked up supplies to mimic the same designs. I'm really happy with the dozen or so I've made.

And only mildly nervous about getting them out on time :-/

This melting snowman was my first card.

And this is my collection thus far. Only a few dozen left to go!

I'm not sure if this is something I'd undertake next year (it's a lot of work) but making Christmas cards has been an exceptional way to get into the spirit. I just might have to consider doing it much...sooner :-)

Make cards? Want to share your designs? Please do!

- Dawn

19 sleeps until Santa slides down my non-existant chimney...

Ginger snaps in a snap

2011-12-05T18:50:00.001-08:00

WIN an epic book prize that includes a copy of Spirited, and debut novels by three of the most talented writers I know - Jessica Bell, Judith Graves, and Donna Milward. PLUS, Judith is throwing in a copy of her beautiful CD. Merry Christmas, indeed!

Follow this blog and comment on each post throughout my holiday countdown. The more times you comment, the greater your chances are to win. The winner will be announced Boxing Day - another gift just when you thought it was all over.

* * *

I am not a baker.

In fact, my husband (a construction worker) makes better cookies than me.

Growing up, my Nona (Grandma in Italian) made the Christmas cookies. Delicious treats I cannot pronounce or spell, and always in hot demand. Her baking skill wasn't passed down to me and I don't have a book (or weathered collection) of her recipes. I am a bad Italian granddaughter. (She would agree.)

Yet, every once in a while, generally in correspondence with a full moon, I go into a baking frenzy. Last night I made chocolate chip craisin cookies. My family put in a request for another batch and I'd pulled out the ingredients, until I remembered a tweet from SupermanDuffy today:

"The weather outside is frightful…so tonight I’m baking cookies with Mom. They’re easy! Check out these ginger snaps: http://www.canolainfo.org/recipes/recipes.php?detail=521

Decision made.

To make snaps instead of the gingerbread men shown in the picture, roll the dough into balls, place on the pan, and gently flatten with a fork.

Yesterday, my husband ate almost the entire batch of cookies in one sitting. I didn't think - with my limited skills - I'd be able to beat that. I was wrong. Luckily I saved enough for the picture!

Hmmm...maybe I should have written down my Nona's recipes and given them a try.

Happy baking!

- Dawn

PS - 20 sleeps until Santa slides down my non-existant chimney. <3

Do you believe?

2011-12-04T17:22:00.001-08:00

WIN an epic book prize that includes a copy of Spirited, and debut novels by three of the most talented writers I know - Jessica Bell, Judith Graves, and Donna Milward. PLUS, Judith is throwing in a copy of her beautiful CD. Merry Christmas, indeed!

Follow this blog and comment on each post throughout my holiday countdown. The more times you comment, the greater your chances are to win. The winner will be announced Boxing Day - another gift just when you thought it was all over.

* * *

I'm fortunate to have a husband who not only supports my quirky craft/DIY habit, but is also willing to help figure out how to make my projects better - and pitch in when the muse inspires him. I can honestly say, I could not have done this one without him. (Well, maybe, but it wouldn't look half as good!)

I first saw this idea on Pinterest, though the letters were painted red and white. I made one just like that for my friend Stephanie at work (and admittedly needed my hubby to cut the wood and draw out the letters...). I fell in love with the way it looked and knew I needed to have the same decor for my bedroom dresser.

My husband suggested the stain.

Of course, your letters can say anything you want - Noel, Merry Christmas, Season's Greetings, Joy...but Believe fits just perfectly in this home.

Here's what you need:

Blocks of 2x6 cut into different lengths - mine are between 5 and 11 inches, but you can vary yours.
Stain or paint
An exacto knife
Printed letters - I created mine in Word and then printed them off
Masking tape
An old rag (if using stain)
Piant brushes

Here's what you do:

Apply masking tape to your wood blocks.

Carefully trace the letter onto the tape. Don't press too hard
and use a sharp knife.

Lightly brush stain onto the wood, careful to push from the tape
out to avoid seepage. (Some will occur)
When finished, rub gently with rag to remove excess.

Stain the top and sides of the wood. Let dry. Peel tape away.

I love how this natural wood picks up the stain and fits right in with the snowman on my dresser. Add some fake garland and twinkling lights to spruce things up.

If you're lucky enough to have a fireplace with a mantel, this would look beautiful - in any color to match your holiday decor.

Have fun!

- Dawn

P.S. Only 21 sleeps until Santa slides down my non-existant chimney <3

Wreaths aplenty - and a contest

2011-12-03T18:41:00.001-08:00

WIN an epic book prize that includes a copy of Spirited, and debut novels by three of the most talented writers I know - Jessica Bell, Judith Graves, and Donna Milward. PLUS, Judith is throwing in a copy of her beautiful CD. Merry Christmas, indeed!

Follow this blog and comment on each post throughout my holiday countdown. The more times you comment, the greater your chances are to win. The winner will be announced Boxing Day - another gift just when you thought it was all over.

* * *

I've always loved wreaths. Green wreaths, wooden wreaths, heart-shaped wreaths - the bigger the better!

I just can't afford wreaths, at least not the amount I'd need to satisfy me. Seriously, even a plain Jane, no lights-included fake wreath can be pricey. Especially when you want to have *cough * fifteen of the them in your house. Think I'm nuts? Bear with me...

My sunroom has six beautiful windows that face a busy highway going through our hamlet. They're begging for wreaths.

My dining room has a wood panel wall and is currently bare. It needs at at least one wreath - maybe three.

Every door in my house is wooden, just primed for a wreath, don't you think?

Sadly, I do not have an unlimited wreath account.

I do, however, have an abundance of pussy willow trees just down the road - and willow wreaths seem the perfect accompaniment to our nature-inspired Christmas tree.

I Google-searched directions on how to make the wreath, and it looked simple enough on the Internet. Deceiving! I didn't expect the project to take four hours. Four long hours hunched over a stack of willow branches, trying not to curse or get frustrated. It isn't easy - but it's so worth it.

Feeling crafty? Why don't you give it a try?

Here's what you need:

A stack of willow branches in various sizes, but at least six or seven full length ones to form your base
Thin ribbon or (better) twist ties
Accessories

* I used pine cones, leftover pieces from my tree after we trimmed it and thick ribbon for the bow.

Here's what you do:

Your willow branches will bend, and over time retain their shape. But getting them to that point is tricky.

Choose a long branch and bend it to form a circle. (Note: If I did another one, I would make the starting hole smaller.) Twist tie it into place, or use a piece of ribbon tied tight.

Add branches one a time, weaving each piece around the base (almost like a braid), and tucking in the ends where possible. If it's feeling too loose, add another twist tie. Later, you'll remove the ties so don't worry about them showing.

Continue weaving the branches until you've reached desired thickness. You can allow some of the branches to go wild (as in my picture) or tuck all ends in. Snip off any pieces you don't like. (Be patient. Sometimes the pieces pop out. Tuck it back in and keep going.

Snip off any twist ties or ribbon.

Add accessories. I just stuck the tree branch pieces into the willow, and used ribbon to tie on the bow and the acorns, but you could use a hot glue gun.

Voila! A country-style willow wreath.

Clearly I won't be making 15 of these, but I will experiment with different styles. I hope you do, too. Happy wreath-making.

- Dawn

PS - 22 sleeps until Santa slides down my non-existant chimney. <3

I'll take a dozen or so of Frosty, please

2011-12-02T15:07:00.001-08:00

WIN an epic book prize that includes a copy of Spirited, and debut novels by three of the most talented writers I know - Jessica Bell, Judith Graves, and Donna Milward. PLUS, Judith is throwing in a copy of her beautiful CD. Merry Christmas, indeed!

Follow this blog and comment on each post throughout my holiday countdown. The more times you comment, the greater your chances are to win. The winner will be announced Boxing Day - another gift just when you thought it was all over.

* * *

My house is overrun with snowmen.

I love them. Snowmen figurines. Stuffed snowmen. Plates in the shape of a snowman. They're everywhere in my home this year, and I couldn't be more thrilled.

I'm not one to coordinate my Christmas decor, and over the years, I've collected a mish-mash of kitchy holiday stuff that doesn't quite go together. But since we moved out to the country, I've fallen in love with my home and am inspired to go all out in holiday decor.

But I admit, every time I walk through the door with a new snowman item, my stepdaughter asks, "Don't we have enough snowmen?"

The answer is no. Because honestly, one can never have enough snowmen.

Imagine my delight, then, when I discovered a buffet of delicious snowmen crafts on Pinterest. Yes, you know, that website that pretty much consumed me before Halloween?

I decided to try something simple first.

The snowman pictured above is made with a block of 2x4 - but you could use whatever scrap wood you can find.

Here's what you need:

A piece of wood suitable for painting. (Such as a chunk of 2x4)
Red, orange and black paint.
An old sock, or material.
An old scarf, or material.
A hot glue gun.

Here's what you do:

1. Paint the wood white. I used an acrylic white, but have seen it done with pearl for a shimmery effect.

2. Paint the snowman's face. I used cotton balls to dab on the snowman's cheeks.

3. Accessorize!

Tie an old scarf around his neck. (Cut to desired length)
Cut the top off an old sock and tie a knot at the top. Slip over the snowman's head for a toque. You can also wrap material around his head, hot glue into place, tie a piece of yarn around the top to create a "bobble" and cut into strips.

Easy right?

Have fun painting different faces on your snowman, and look for creative ways to accessorize. How about earmuffs? A Santa hat? Try gluing twigs to the wood for snowman hands....the possibilities are endless!

Got a picture of your 2x4 snowman? Send it to me at dawnmdalton@gmail.com and I'll throw in an extra entry for the contest. Happy snowman building!

- Dawn

PS - 23 sleeps until Santa slides down my non-existant chimney...

Christmas countdown...with prizes! And a confession

2011-12-01T13:12:00.001-08:00

Happy December, my dear blogger friends.

I can't believe it, but the second most wonderful time of the year is here! (Halloween is for sure the best, but Christmas is a close second.) It seems like just yesterday I was running for my life from a axe-wielding madman at Farm of Fear...

Oh wait...it was just yesterday...but I was at a Christmas tree farm...and it was my husband wielding the ax. <grin>

On the biggest, baddest and most beautiful tree on the planet, of course.

But before that...a contest! I'm hoping you'll join me for the next 24 days during my countdown to Christmas, where I'll be blogging about crafts, gift ideas, recipes, and random holiday goodness. What's in it for you?

* rubs hands together *

An epic book prize that includes a copy of Spirited, and debut novels by three of the most talented writers I know - Jessica Bell, Judith Graves, and Donna Milward. PLUS, Judith is throwing in a copy of her beautiful CD.

Merry Christmas, indeed!

How do you win? Simple, follow the blog and comment on each post. The more times you comment, the greater your chances are to win. The winner will be announced Boxing Day - another gift just when you thought it was all over.

So uh...confession. For the past few years, my husband and I have gone deep into the woods in search of the perfect Christmas tree. I'm all about the real thing (though admittedly, there are four fake trees in the house because one can never have enough.)

It's just that in the past, we haven't exactly gone about it *cough * legally.

This year, we decided that draping ourselves in criminal black, leaping tall fences with a single bound, stealthily loading a tree onto the top of our SUV and taking every back route home wasn't exactly keeping with the holiday spirit...

I figured our tradition was over, that we'd be relegated to the Home Depot parking lot, or forced to put up one of the three fake trees stuffed in the basement.

Handsome hubby to the rescue.

Turns out there is a tree farm FIVE MINUTES from my house. It took almost two hours to walk through the 2500 possibilities before narrowing it down to the top three. It's a monster of a tree, my friends.

Hubby loading it onto the wimpy sleigh they gave us...

Dragging it across the vast farm landscape...

And finally setting it up inside the house. Yep, she's a beaut.

A tradition altered...but not broken.

What's your preference - real or fake? And is your tree already set up and trimmed, or does your family have hard, fast rules about when is too early to decorate? (Is there such a thing? I mean, after Halloween, it's pretty much fair game...no?)

24 sleeps until Santa shimmies down my non-existant chimney. Huzzah!

- Dawn

An open letter to my bully

2011-11-21T12:50:00.001-08:00

Dear Bully:

Did you know that 1 in 7 Canadian children between the ages of 11 and 16 has been bullied?

I bet you don't care.

I'm not between the ages of 11 and 16, in fact I'm very much an adult. And yet, you bully me.

I bet you consider me a wimp because of it.

My childhood wasn't charmed, but it was good and solid, structured. My parents taught me to be strong, to stand up for myself with logic, not fists. And yet, you bully me.

I bet you think that's pathetic.

Building my career hasn't been easy. I've worked with mentors who've taught me about work ethic, and I've weathered as many downs as ups on this crazy life journey. I know all about tough skin - the publishing industry leaves you with little choice. And yet, you get under my skin.

I love deeply.
I cherish my family and friends.
I smile big.
I cry hard.

I bet you think those tears make me weak.

But you're wrong.

I *know* who I am, the intricate and complex pieces that make up me.

And that makes me strong, perhaps stronger than you.

Because I understand that you bully me out of jealousy. And because you can. I am the outsider, you the stoic gatekeeper, the role you've held for generations, perhaps. You bully me with indifference. With cruelty. With underlying threats and a lack of forgiveness.

Without reason.

You bully me by pushing me out of a place I DO belong. Whether you accept it or not.

I bet you think that makes me powerless.

You're wrong.

I will continue to take the high road.
I will continue to deflect your unwarranted criticism.
I will ignore your attempts to create "sides."

I will no longer stand for your bullying.
And that, dear bully, makes me strong. Much stronger than you.

- Dawn

The buzz around Dear Bully, an anthology of 70 stories about bullying is more than just idle hype. Bullying is even more prevalent today than ever before, and with the addition of the cyber world, even fewer bullies have been taken to task for their actions.

Each of the heart breaking and heart warming stories in this incredibly important book highlight the importance of speaking out, and standing up against bullies - and perhaps gave me the courage to address my adult bully, albeit under the veil of anonymity.

It's a start.

The teenage son of a very good friend has created an anti-bullying Facebook page as part of a school project. His father wrote this the other day:

I know all my "friends" have not clicked on and liked this page. This is for a great cause and I know you like a lot of other things not as important.

He's right. I "like" a lot of people and causes on Facebook - many not near as important as this. I "liked" this page. I hope you'll consider liking it, too.

Anti Bullying Awareness

Happy Halloween - and costume reveal!

2011-10-31T07:12:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!

I barely slept last night thinking about the awesomeness that is today.

It's Halloween (no duh!) - my favorite holiday of the year. Yeah, I get that makes me a little...odd.

But what's NOT to love about being whomever you want to be for a WHOLE day? There's candy, and costume parties, and a bevvy of chances to get the poop scared out of you.

I'm so excited to see what little ghosts and goblins will dare to walk down our Halloween Lane - and which young hearts my husband will almost stop when he bursts from the coffin and yells, "Boo!"

Pretty sure I'll have my camera rolling.

We spent a few hours last night touching up the spooktacular display outside of our house, and then carved pumpkins.

My husband is king of the pumpkins and as per expected, his "mummy" is a masterpiece. But my reaper isn't too shabby either.

I mentioned yesterday that me and hubby won first place in a costume contest this weekend. I'm not a fan of getting my picture taken, but I must admit, I'm proud of us - because it takes a lot of guts walking into a room of zombies, vampires and witches looking like this:

I know, terrifying!

You know what else is scary? You have until only MIDNIGHT today to enter the Crossroads Blog Tour contest for books, swag and an author Skype visit with Rachel Vincent! Go here for details.

Looking for a creeptastic read while you're handing out candy tonight? How about the SPIRITED anthology? 13 haunting tales by bestselling and dreadfully talented debut authors - and proceeds go to support literacy! You can pick up the e-book here.

And perhaps most frightening of all? NaNoWriMo starts TOMORROW. Time to fire up my laptop and outline this year's attempt - maybe THIS will be my year to reach 50,000 words by the end of November. If you are NaNo-ing, good luck!

And have a safe and happy Halloween!

- Dawn

The final countdown!

2011-10-30T18:09:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy, busy weekend.

On Friday night, I took part in a two hour live chat along with several other authors as part of the Crossroads Blog Tour. What fun! Special thanks to Judith Graves for organizing the tour and to Mundie Moms for hosting such a great event.

And if you're following the tour, you have only until tomorrow at midnight to get your research questions in for a chance to WIN free books, great swag, and an author Skype visit for your library by bestselling (and awesome fun) novelist Rachel Vincent. Go here for all the details...but act fast!

Last night, me and my husband, along with two of our best friends, spent the night at a local Halloween party, where we won first place in the costume contest.

Dying to know what we went as? I'll reveal that on tomorrow's post. (Evil, right?)

I completely lost track of time and even forgot a Halloween countdown blog post yesterday, and tonight's is going up late. Oy!

We had planned to take over the local hall and create a haunted house, but our plans were thwarted by unforeseen circumstances. So we reverted to Plan B, and spent six hours creating Halloween alley in front of our house.

The pictures will be better at night, when the fog machine, strobe lights and other animated props are on full, but here's a few photos to whet your appetite.

His arms flap like wings and his eyes glow red.

Skeleton emerging from the grave.

Candy station - to get some, kids must enter the "cemetery."

The entrance sign.

Look closely, the ghost is there. At night, he will glow.

One of many talking props.

Motion-sensored zombie.

I've now begun counting down HOURS until Halloween because truthfully, there's horror movies to watch, pumpkins to carve, and last-minute projects to complete. I doubt there will be much sleep at all.

Happy night before Halloween!

- Dawn

The curse of three

2011-10-28T13:59:00.000-07:00

I've officially hit the panic button.

There are only THREE sleeps until Halloween. THREE.

I thought I had my schedule all figured out - decorate the exterior of our house tonight after the Crossroads Blog Tour live author chat at Mundie Moms (9 p.m. EST).

Tomorrow, attend Gail Sidonie Sobat and Spyder Yardley Jones' book launch for Graveyard (Edmonton, AB event at Greenwoods on Whyte Avenue), and then hit the local pub for a Halloween party where hubby and I will unveil our super secret costumes.

Haunted house Sunday. Followed by Edmonton's Screamfest and the Haunted Hike in Sherwood Park.

But this morning I passed a movie theatre featuring a marathon of horror flicks I'd love to watch. And just now, I stumbled upon THIS awesome Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/notes/rebecca-bartlett/edmonton-halloween-haunts-2011/10150372974358604

That's THREE more haunting opportunities to check out.

And only THREE sleeps until Halloween.

*deep breath*

It's Halloween weekend. What are your plans?

- Dawn

P.S. Before you join tonight's live author chat, head over to Just Your Typical Book Blog where me and the lovely Amber are chatting about a shared love of the paranormal genre - and my spookiest stories as a kid.

Halloween too scary for kids?

2011-10-27T07:42:00.000-07:00

Two Calgary, Alberta schools have BANNED scary Halloween costumes.

Masks, weapons, and "gruesome" make-up be gone, replaced with "caring" or community-friendly attire. I have no idea what that means.

But I am a little sad.

I get the weapons part. I have a small scar under my right eye from where a Halloween "cowboy" smucked me up the side of the head with his plastic rifle because I wouldn't trade my Tootsie Roll for his candy rockets. He sure wasn't afraid of no ghost.

I bet I could have been a vampire, or smeared my face in fake blood, and he still would have attacked me with his toy gun. Because he knew - just as kids today know - that it's fake. A costume.

Frankly, I'd rather my stepdaughter don a gory skeleton mask than slide into some of the ultra short and all-too-revealing costumes you find at most Halloween stores these days.

It's no secret my family is planning a spooktacular display of our collected Halloween props this weekend. We have skeletons that rise from the grave, ghosts that fly through the air, spiders that drop from the sky, and zombies that groan in hunger. My husband has perfected the art of atmosphere, using fog machines and strobe lights. He even built a coffin.

Our old house was the most frequented trick-or-treat site on the block. Even the kids we scared came back for more.

We've got all kinds of creepy decor planned for this year, and our community is already buzzing about what they can expect. In return, I'm looking forward to seeing some creepy little ghosts, goblins, vampires, and zombies.

And as of this morning, I have only FOUR sleeps to wait. Mwahahahaha

- Dawn

P.S .- Ghosthunters! Following The Crossroads Blog Tour? Today's clue is up. You can find me at Electrifying Reviews talking about monsters...and karma. Bad Karma :-)

P.P.S - The SPIRITED anthology (Kindle) is on sale at Amazon NOW. You can buy it here or enter to win a copy here. Remember, proceeds from all sales of this haunting anthology will be donated to a literacy-based charity...because illiteracy is scary.

Rock and roll all Halloween night

2011-10-26T09:17:00.000-07:00

Some say rock and roll never dies.

I’m inclined to agree. Especially after my husband foundthis incredible five-piece life-size skeleton band at a local Halloween store.

I know I said we’d like to change our outside décor tomummies next year, but I think I’ve changed my mind.

With flashing red eyes, and limitedanimated movement, these awesome undeads would be perfect for a house party, oron stage at the local pup. Sadly, they don’t come cheap.

Without the obvious props (strobelight, mirrored backsplash, rock and roll CD’s), this boy band will run youabout $2,000. I wouldn't even have paid that for a Backstreet Boy! And as much as we LOVE Halloween, I think we’d need to win thelottery to justify this purchase.

Still, a girl can dream.

There’s just FIVE sleeps until the big day now, and instead of getting excited,I’m starting to panic. There’s still so much to do. We need to make a few morechicken wire ghosts, finish up the monster cut-out in the front window, carve a fewpumpkins, and set up our spooktacular front yard.

Have you set up your outsideHalloween décor? Send me a picture of the best yard on your block – even if itis yours – and I’ll enter your name into a draw for a chance to WIN a copy of Spirited, the anthology everyone will betalking about.

And hey, guess what? The digital version of Spirited is now available on Amazon.com – 6 days early! That’s notrick. I hope you consider purchasing a copy – Leap Books is donating theproceeds from the sales of Spiritedto 826 National, a literacy-based charity. And of course, you can win a copy ofthe anthology by checking out the Bridge or Leap blogs…

- Dawn

PS – Following the Crossroads BlogTour? With all the great swag up for grabs, you should be! The fourthGhosthunters clue is up here. You can find me at Narratively Speaking, where me and Lynsey chat about character inspiration and my family's plans for Halloween.

Confessions of a polyphobic

2011-10-25T17:56:00.000-07:00

I've been battling the wickedest cold I've ever had these past few days, soothing myself with tea and my Grandpa's honey, ice cream (the cure-all for everything), and long, hot showers.

Which has meant coming to terms with one of my greatest fears.

Don't laugh.

I'm terrified that the tub is going to fall through the floor WHILE I am lathering my head with shampoo and singing Britney Spears off key.

Okay, laugh.

I know it's irrational, especially since my husband is in construction and has told me a thousand times why it won't happen. But our house is old, like 100 years old, old. The caulking around the tub is coming off, and I can tell water is seeping behind the walls.

What if it's seeped UNDER the tub and weakened the second floor wood?

Seriously, I don't know how my stepdaughter manages those 45-minute showers. Every second I'm standing in the tub feels like Russian Roulette. If I stay for one more minute will THAT be THE minute the floor gives way and sends me crashing to the creepy, cellar-like basement below? *shudder*

I Googled "fear of bathtub falling through floor" and it turns out there's no official phobia for that. But as it turns out, I'm a bit of a polyphobic, which means having fears of many things.

In the spirit of Halloween, I'll just note the ones of import:

Arachnaphobia (fear of spiders) - I've tamed this fear somewhat since moving out to the country, something about a dozen or more wolf spiders hanging from your eavestroughs will do that.

Coulrophobia (fear of clowns) - Thank you Stephen King for Pennywise. Clowns will get me every time - Halloween or not.

Musophobia (fear of mice) - A few years ago, my stepdaughter had two mice for pets. I got overruled. They mated. Guess what? The babies can slip THROUGH the cage. I spent months walking on my tip toes, listening for scuttling among the rafter, wielding my baseball bat like Babe Ruth. Mice have a lot of freaking babies.

Chiroptophobia (fear of bats) - Mice with wings. Need I say more?

Herpetophobia (fear of reptiles or creepy, crawly things) - There is not a single snake - fake or otherwise - in my Halloween decor. And there never will be. I am still traumatized from elementary school. My "crush" was walking me home when a snake slithered across our path. I screamed. Jumped OVER the snake. Jumped back over it again (hey, I was really scared), and then sprinted home. He, uh, never asked me out. Go figure.

Acrophobia (fear of heights) - Of COURSE my Dad would be an electrical lineman. And of COURSE he thought it was cool to show up at my school and take me and friends up in the bucket truck. Form of cruelty, that's what THAT was.

Dentophobia (fear of dentists) - Not just on Halloween, but especially after. I'd rather crawl through a rat, spider and snake-infested tunnel than sit in the dentist's chair. No joke.

Geniophobia (fear of chins) - ha ha! Okay, I'm lying. It just struck me as funny that there is actually a phobia for this...

So, 6 sleeps until Halloween. What are YOU afraid of?

- Dawn

P.S. Following the Crossroads Blog Tour? Go here for today's clue. Today, I'm over at Kid Lit Frenzy talking about my husband's idea of the perfect Halloween costume. Lucky for me, he had a change of heart. He picked up a couple for us today (since I'm sick!) and I admit, I'm a little giddy over them. Can't tell...you'll have to wait!

Zombies and other fairy tales

2011-10-24T07:56:00.000-07:00

Before I rant about the new TV show I'm currently obsessed with, a quick Crossroads Blog Tour reminder...

Today I'm over at the Book Swarm blog chatting about writerly inspiration and all things haunted. And don't forget to follow the tour on Twitter (@TheCrossroadsBT) - plenty of great prizes to be won.

So as I was saying. New TV show. New Obsession.

I'm hooked on Once Upon a Time. Last night's series premiere was, in my humble opinion, a brilliant execution of a brilliant concept. And oh, so ambitious.

I loved the dual role of each actor and the challenge of trying to determine what fairytale characters had been selected for each scene. So freaking clever!

The reviews of subsequent episodes aren't stellar, but I'm holding hope that this modern twist on the classics has staying power.

I was blindsided with a head cold last night, and in my tossy-turny sleep, I dreamed of Once Upon a Time and the other adaptations of storybook classics.

I'm not surprised to discover even Alice in Wonderland has a creepy twin. Check out the ultra cool graphic novel, Alice in Zombieland. Damn. Sure wish I'd thought of that - AND Once Upon a Time.

Did you watch the series premiere last night? Will you tune in for the second episode?

Seven sleeps until Halloween - with all of this great TV and stellar reading material, I may not get a day's rest until after the big day!

- Dawn

PS - Round 4 of the SPIRITED Ghosthunters contest started yesterday. Check out the blog for a chance to win a copy of the anthology everyone will be talking about...

I almost peed my pants

2011-10-23T08:36:00.000-07:00

But first...

Following The Crossroads Blog Tour? Awesome! I'm over at Confessions of a Bookaholic today chatting with Jessica about my favorite paranormal beasties and why my English Mastiff is named Roarke. PLUS, I'm hanging with the lovely Amy at A Simple Love of Reading dishing out advice for the impending zombie apocalypse. Let's hang out together at the crossroads, k?

Now to the "almost peeing" part...

Corn is spooky, my friends. Don't let anyone tell different. Trust me, until you've crawled your way out of Edmonton's Corn Maze (Farm of Fear) on your hands and knees, you're in no position to judge.

The maze is just outside of Edmonton, Alberta, and during the day, it's a haven for adventurous kids looking for an excuse to tell their parents to get lost.

But during the Halloween season, the old barn turns into one of the scariest haunted houses I've ever screamed my way through. To complement this year's theme, Prisoner of Love, the barn was transformed into a jail cell where creepy mimes, clowns and other freaks emerge from the thick fog.

Not going to lie, I owe my stepdaughter about $200 into the family cuss jar.

I took up the rear end, with husband leading the way, and my kidlet conveniently sandwiched between us. I screamed. A lot. I screamed when I rounded the corner and the scary mime dude breathed down my neck. I screamed when the two girls in the straight jacket turned their crazed eyes to look at my pale-faced fear, and I screamed - loudly - when I looked back to find...well, no one following me. Just the IDEA that someone might be behind us was spooky enough.

I've got to give props to the farmers who created this masterpiece of horror. By the time I exited the house (before I even hit the corn maze), my throat was raw and my heart struggled to return to normal. (Karen, stop your laughing!)

As much as I enjoyed the house (yes, all that screaming does equate to a good time), I admit, the actual maze part wasn't as freaky.

The corn field indeed looks extra spooky under the moonlight, and after the terrifying Prisoner of Love jail house experience, you're almost tip-toeing amongst the rustling stalks anticipating more of those mime dudes and clowns to leap into your path.

I jumped a few times, but the walk was over before my knees stopped knocking from the first part of the tour.

If you're heading to Farm of Fear, I'd recommend the following:

Go early. It opens at 7 p.m. and runs until 10 p.m. - and we waited in line for about an hour and a half. We exited the maze just as they were closing. You can get your tickets online and skip one of the lines, but you'll still have to wait. The anticipation is almost as spooky as the main event.
Dress warm. There's a bonfire (with hot chocolate and marshmallows) set up, but chances are slim you'll get close to the warmth. We entered the barn with a healthy bout of pre-goosebumps.
Go to the bathroom just before you get to the haunted house. Just saying.

We're still planning to do the Sherwood Park Haunted Hike before Halloween, but today we'll be dragging out the exterior decor and setting up our haunting yard. Best be getting a move on - there's only 8 sleeps until Halloween. Mwahahahaha.

- Dawn

Hanging out at the Crossroads

2011-10-22T08:22:00.000-07:00

My husband has asked me to make a big decision, today, my friends. I thought about it all night long. In fact it may have caused a few tosses and turns in my sleep.

This morning I sit at the crossroads with this daunting question heavy on my mind: Farm of Fear Corn Maze or Spooky Sherwood Park Hike?

I know, right?

Both of these long-standing events have their spooky merits. And each has claimed to bring a grown man to his knees with fear.

So which way do I go? There's only 9 sleeps left until Halloween - not much time to take in all of the awesome festive activities around Alberta. If you were standing at this crossroads, how would you choose?

Er, speaking of crossroads, the Crossroads Blog Tour starts today. I'm super excited to be touring with the amazing Joy Preble. Today you can find us at the Book Faery Blog where I'll be talking about the character in my short story, THREAD OF THE PAST which will be published in the upcoming Spirited anthology.

Hope to see you there!

- Dawn

I ain't afraid of no ghost...except Casper!

2011-10-21T14:57:00.000-07:00

Attention: We interrupt this Halloween countdown post for a very important announcement. I repeat, we interrupt...yeah, you get the picture.

The Crossroads Blog Tour starts TOMORROW. Yes, tomorrow. You can find me at the awesome Book Faery Blog talking books, writing, and of course, Halloween. Be sure to check out ALL of the blogs on the tour daily for a chance to WIN tons of cool swag, free books, and an author Skype visit to your library by bestselling author Rachel Vincent.

Got questions about writing, books, or...me? Ask them in the comments. I'll be checking in on and off - while hanging out at the local auction. Which got me thinking about Aladdin lamps (because I bid on one of those once). Which got me thinking about Disney's Aladdin (because I loved that movie as a kid). Which got me thinking about creepy cartoon characters (because Jafar used to give me nightmares.)

Yes my friends, this is how my bizarro mind works.

* * *

So in no particular order, here's some spooky cartoon characters to get you into the Halloween spirit. (Although you already should be since there aren TEN MORE SLEEPS UNTIL HALLOWEEN!)

Sure they SAY he's friendly, but Casper IS still a ghost.

Cruella Deville - mean to dogs? No friend of mine!

Skeletor from He Man *shudder*

Great movie. Great villain. Awesome shade of green. Kinda creepy.

Dr. Claw from Inspector Gadget didn't even have a face! Spooky.

Wow. While Googling the images I wanted, I stumbled across a whole bunch of creepy cartoon characters, including the bad guys in the Disney classics. Which led me to this article called The Dark Side of Disney.

Happy Friday!

- Dawn

P.S. Following the Ghosthunters clues for a chance to win a copy of the Spirited anthology? Round four starts Sunday. If you haven't submitted your guesses yet, check out last week's post here. 13 haunting books up for grabs!

Wrapping up Halloween decor

2011-10-20T19:13:00.000-07:00

Personally, I think mummies get the shaft at Halloween.

It's always the zombies, skeletons and movie characters like Freddy Kruger who take top scary billing - how many bandaged undeads do you see trick-or-treating?

We don't have much mummy decor around our house ,either.

But I'm thinking next year's theme - inside and out - might have to be a tribute to these ancient beasties. Check out these great craft and food ideas I found on Pinterest. (Yeah, I know, it's an addiction...)

For most of the crafts, all you'll need is some cheese cloth or white bandage gauze. Pick up some googly eyes and you can turn everything from vases and bottles to wooden blocks and wreaths into a creepy, or cute, mummy.

No carving required!

Tissue paper and a mason jar. Easy peasy.

Cheese dip wrapped in mozzarella slices.

Oreo cookies dipped in white chocolate.

Wrap vases, jars and containers with white gauze.

A perfect wreath for your mummy theme.

Hotdogs wrapped in pastry. Mustard eyes.

No way MY dogs would do this, but maybe yours?

Better believe this will be my yard next year!

And this is just all shades of awesome.

Mummies may not have a prominent place in my Halloween decor (this year), but they play a big role in the first book in the Most-Wanted Monsters series I'm co-writing with Judith Graves. Check out this post on the Mummy - seriously, this blog could save your life.

11 sleeps until Halloween. Mwahahahaha.

- Dawn

High Tension takes the cake

2011-10-19T19:27:00.000-07:00

Me and my co-workers were chatting around the Theatre Alberta lunch table this afternoon about some of the scariest movies we've ever seen. Not all of the team is as Halloween-ga ga as I am, but almost everyone at the office has seen one or two truly creepy flicks.

Last week I posted about my top 10 scariest movies, giving the number one spot to The Exorcist.

But today, the lovely Michelle reminded me of the movie that actually frightened me more than the rest: High Tension.

"Two college friends, Marie and Alexa, encounter loads of trouble (and blood) while on vacation at Alexa's parents' country home when a mysterious killer invades their quiet getaway."

The minute I Googled the cover, I remembered almost every gory detail. High Tension is a blood fest of frightening, but it is also suspenseful.

And by far the scariest movie I have ever seen.

So scary, apparently, I blocked out the title.

And now for the cake part of the post...

If you've seen High Tension it's likely you've conjured up all kinds of nasty images after reading this. Here are a few pictures of Halloween cakes to balance things out. I don't have near enough creative cake skills to pull any of these off, but looking at them doesn't cause me to scream - at least not in horror.

Hmmm. I wonder how much I would need to beg my friend Cristy for her to create one of these festive masterpieces for me. She'd only have 12 more sleeps to do it.

- Dawn

This Halloween, let's meet at the Crossroads

2011-10-18T04:44:00.000-07:00

On October 22,authors, bloggers and readers will meet at the Crossroads for a seven-daycreep-a-thon that could net you (yes, YOU!) free books, cool SWAG, and a Skypeauthor visit to your library by bestselling author Rachel Vincent.

I’m thrilled andhonored (and maybe a little shocked) to be on tour with 14 of today’s mosttalented and popular authors of paranormal YA fiction, and I’m uber excitedthat my tour buddy is Joy Preble,author of the Dreaming Anastasia series.

The tour kicks offon October 22 and ends October 29. On each day, one of the awesome bloggerswill feature two Crossroads authors.

I’ll be talkingbooks, youth literacy, and of course, Halloween, as well as promoting thelaunch of the SPIRITED anthology featuring 13 haunting ghostly tales – such asmy short story, THREAD OF THE PAST. (Just a little bit excited about that, canyou tell?)

Here’s where youcan find me on the tour:

October 22

Book Faery

October 23

Confessions of aBookaholic

A Simple Love ofReading

October 24

October 25

October 26

October 27

October 28

Just YourTypical Book Blog

October 29

Late BloomerOnline

And if that isn't enough excitement...guess what?! Less than two weeks until Halloween, my friends. The big day is just 13 sleeps away.

- Dawn

Simple and spooky centerpiece

2011-10-17T08:25:00.000-07:00

My hubby scored a great tablecloth at Wal-Mart yesterday.

The picture doesn't quite do it justice, but it's black lace dotted with the images of pumpkins, cobwebs, ghosts and bats.

And it goes perfectly with my inexpensive, but uber cute, bat placemats.

Most of the time, the home of my Beta fish, Chaucer, has created the centrepiece for our dining room table. But despite a Halloween ribbon and a couple of plastic (shhh) spiders, the bamboo and glass bowl didn't quite have the spooky feel we desired.

So my husband got creative. (Yes, he's very creative when he wants to be...just WAIT until you see what he's drawing for the Most-Wanted Monsters books I'm co-writing with Judith Graves...)

Here's what you'll need:

a foam skull, available at most craft stores (though we picked up ours at Save-On Foods - where Halloween stuff is 25% off)
A long taper candle
A knife
Black, grey or white paint

Directions:

1. Paint your skull to match your decor. Ours was exactly the color we wanted, but some of the craft skulls come in plain white. The foam absorbs the paint well, but also leaves a "cracked" look, which is a great effect.

2. Cut a hole in the top of the skull.

3. Insert candle.

Voila!

Don't worry if wax starts dripping down the side of the skull's head. That all lends to the effect. But do watch the flame. You'll want to blow it out about an inch or two from the top of the skull so he doesn't catch fire.

Two weeks - just 14 sleeps - until Halloween. Now I'm starting to shiver with excitement!

- Dawn

Beautiful Macabre, a review of Daughter of Smoke and Bone

2011-10-16T09:52:00.000-07:00

Throw away everything you thought you knew about angels.

There is nothing stereotypical about Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone.

From the moment I'd read the write-up on this novel, I began stalking its release, aching every time someone reviewed an advance reader copy, and knowing I'd have to wait until the official date to get my hands on it.

I understand the hype.

Laini Taylor has created a world that is both macabre and beautiful. Her characters are wonderful, and real - and I am head over heels in love with Akiva. I don't tend to fall for the pretty boys, but Laini has written this character with such 3-dimensional perfection, I'd challenge any female not to fall under his spell.

And I want to be Karou - not just so I can wrap myself in Akiva's winged embrace, but because she is strong, and passionate, and has guts. She is an amazing heroine.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone is the kind of book you need time to digest. The writing is beautiful and flows as though the words simply roll off the end of the author's pen. As a writer, I tend to read with a critical eye, picking out the examples of over-writing, or misused metaphors. If Laini is guilty of any craft faux pas, I was too wrapped up in the story to care. If only I could write with such beauty...

I hesitate to say anything about the plot for fear of giving away the story - and truthfully, you should just read the book. So I will leave you with the powerful words from the opening page:

Once upon a time,

an angel and a devil fell in love.

It did not end well.

- Dawn

PS - Just 15 sleeps until Halloween...and the ebook release of SPIRITED. Following the Ghosthunters clues? Round three starts today.

Spirited cover unearthed

2011-10-15T09:25:00.000-07:00

It's not often I'm rendered speechless.

But yesterday, I received an e-mail that actually took my breath away.

Leap Books has revealed the cover for the Spirited anthology - and look! My name is on it!

Of course I knew my short story, THREAD OF THE PAST, had been accepted into the anthology, but until I saw the proof first-hand, it didn't quite feel real.

But there it is - my name, on the cover of a pretty awesome looking book, along with the names of some of the genre's best (and bestselling) authors.

What an absolute honor.

The Sprited e-book launches October 31 (Happy Halloween), and the print version will be published in March, 2012.

I hope you consider picking up a copy, because Spirited isn't just about ghosts and ghouls, it's also about fanning the spirit of literacy. Leap Books will donate all proceeds of their sales from the anthology to 826 National.

“826 National is a nonprofit organization that provides strategic leadership, administration, and other resources to ensure the success of its network of eight writing and tutoring centers. 826 centers offer a variety of inventive programs that provide under-resourced students, ages 6-18, with opportunities to explore their creativity and improve their writing skills. We also aim to help teachers get their classes excited about writing. Our mission is based on the understanding that great leaps in learning can happen with one-on-one attention, and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success.”

17 sleeps until Halloween - and the launch of the Spirited e-book. What an amazing month October is turning out to be.

- Dawn

PS - Want to win a copy of this beautiful anthology? Leap Books and Bridge Social Media are giving you the chance - Ghosthunters style. Check it out!

The annual costume debate

2011-10-14T09:47:00.000-07:00

With just 18 sleeps until Halloween, I'm starting to think...panic...about what to be for Halloween this year.

Most of the adult costumes in the stores are either too tight, too short, or inappropriate for my taste. Especially since my primary role on the big day is to scout out the trick-or-treaters and determine whether they are old enough to avoid permanent heart damage when my husband leaps out of the coffin wearing a creepy mask. Yes, a real coffin. Like I said, Halloween is big at our place.

Hubby tends to keep things simple. He has a skeleton mask, a grey wig, and a long trenchcoat. It's effective. Particularly when he's jumping (and growling) from a casket.

Two years ago, I dressed up as a pirate for a friend's Halloween wedding. Last year, I pulled it out of the drawer and considered wearing it...then opted for just being myself. Trust me, some mornings, that's scary enough. And it's tough to compete with my husband's childlike affection for scaring the local youth.

But last year, my 6'6" hubby had a eureka moment, and while I dismissed his idea (immediately), he keeps bringing it up. Even last week! He's hooked on "couple" costumes, which at first, I thought was cute. Romantic, even.

Until he said he wanted to be the Jolly Green Giant.

He explained in great detail how he would paint himself green and enlist my help to sew some kind of loin-cloth-ish attire. And since he is a tall, fit man, I can see how it would garner some attention. But I couldn't quite figure out the "couple" part. A quick Google search proved the Giant didn't have a love interest, not a girlfriend, or wife. In fact, his only companion is...

Yep. Brussel Sprout.

Over my dead, short body.

So uh, what's the silliest costume you've ever worn? And if you've managed to steer clear of the silly, do you have any tips you could offer? Green just isn't my color...

- Dawn

Madame Tussard's creepy Halloween

2011-10-13T11:11:00.000-07:00

I've been through hundreds of carnival-style haunted houses in my life - the kind where men dressed in chainsaws chase you through a corn field, or an eerie monotone scream echoes in a dark hallway filled with pop-up "ghosts" and other creepy crawlies. Great special effects, but none of these haunts have sent true chills of terror down my spine.

Except one.

At Madame Tussards wax museum in Las Vegas, there is a special tribute room to the characters of horror film. Jason, Freddy, Michael Myers - they're all there in prime waxy form. But if you pay an extra couple of bucks, you can take a detour through a dark room where not all of the wax statues are motionless.

In fact, some of them stalk behind you and breath on your neck, whispering not-so-sweet nothings. I have never screamed so loud in my life.

Which is why I am desperate to be in New York next week, when Madame Tussard's wax celebrities overtake three locations in Times Square for After Dark: The Haunting. (Yeah, Karen, I just heard you squee...)

From the website: "Tread the haunted wax museum's corridors in unnerving darkness and feel chills run up your spine as hundreds of sinister eyes follow your every move. Hear the horrifying screams that never end, but no one seems to be around. This Halloween, find out why Madame Tussards is notorious for terrifying paranormal activity, especially at night. Is there life after dark? You be the judge."

Okay! *jumps with hands over head* Pick me! Pick ME!

Sigh. I'm 99% sure my handsome hubby will not finance a trip to New York for what is sure to be an imminent heart attack.

For more info on Tussards After Dark, check out their website...and the creepy video. And if you go, know that I am insanely jealous of you.

18 sleeps until Halloween!

- Dawn

Spooktacular cupcakes

2011-10-12T11:48:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness, I love cupcakes.

So much so, I'd give up almost every other food source (except cheese, Diet Coke and fresh bread) for a well-decorated cupcake. And those cupcake-only stores popping up everywhere? Awesome!

Unlike my talented friend, Cristy, I am not a cake decorator. But wow, would I love to be. When my husband isn't around, I'll spend a whole day watching a Cake Boss marathon.

Which is why this Halloween cupcake contest from Kraft Canada is so amazing. As if I'm not going to stalk this page and suck up all of this culinary creativity.

Here's a few pics of some creeptastic cupcakes to drool over.

Any secret Halloween cupcake recipes in your kitchen closet? If you're willing to share, e-mail your photo to me at dawnmdalton@gmail.com. I'll send the most creative entry a copy of the Spirited anthology when the print edition launches March 2012. Or hey, you could try winning a copy another way.

19 sleeps until Halloween!

- Dawn

Haunted!

2011-10-11T09:33:00.000-07:00

Me and my husband have been doing a little bit (okay, maybe a lot) of research on haunted houses, since we'll be creating one in the community hall for the local trick-or-treaters this year. I can hardly wait to set up the animated skeletons, crank up the fog machine, and step into costume.

I love haunted houses.

Over on the Most-Wanted Monsters blog, we're celebrating all things ghostly in honor of the soon-to-be-released SPIRITED anthology. (If you're not tracking the clues for a chance to win a copy of this hauntingly good book, then...well, then you're not much of a Ghosthunter are you? Check it out here.)

This week, the Most-Wanted Monsters blog features the House of Seven Gables, which may be one of the most haunted houses in the U.S. It's right up there with Cleveland, Ohio's Franklin Castle, which is the setting for my SPIRITED short story contribution, THREAD OF THE PAST.

"For years, this gothic mansion has been dubbed the most haunted house in Ohio. During its long and strange history, ghost stories have become an integral part of the lore. For years, tales have been told of doors that explode off their hinges, lights that spin on their own, electric circuits that behave erratically, the inexplicable sounds of a baby crying, and even a woman in black who has been seen staring forlornly from a tiny window in the front tower room."

Too juicy to pass up, right?

So how did I integrate some of the paranormal lore into my fictional story? Ha! You didn't actually think I'd tell you, right? You'll have to read it to find out.

20 more sleeps until Halloween...

- Dawn

Halloween in every room

2011-10-10T13:57:00.000-07:00

My family was put to task this weekend, gearing up the inside of our house with spooktacular Halloween decor. It looks AWESOME!

I'm likely not done - there's mason jar lanterns to complete, more window displays to finish, and I'm sure there will be a plethora of cool craft projects to keep me busy right up until October 31.

But here's a few pics of what we've done so far - just in time for Thanksgiving dinner. Er, hope our dinner guests aren't spooked by spiders.

We found this for $2 at a garage sale. SCORE!

Sunflowers from my garden. The only thing that grew.

Pumpkins in the sunroom with my plants.

I've always wanted baby pumpkins.

Monster cutouts in the sunroom windows. Cars passing by will be awed.

Ribbon and plastic spiders accent the beta fish tank.

Master bedroom display - sticks and crows.

Straw bale display in the sunroom.

Yes, those are bat place mats on my dining room table. Score!

Spider web on the china cabinet for the giant spider.

Ignore the bad blue bathroom. Sweet peas from the garden.

Hair products and a head.

Potions!

Bats on the wall.

Hubby thinks we're done. I'm not so sure...

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving. 21 sleeps until Halloween.

- Dawn

Day of the Zombie

2011-10-09T19:45:00.000-07:00

How fitting that today would be the International Day of the Zombie.

For many Canadians, today was turkey day, and if you're one of the lucky who overstuffed your belly with Thanksgiving goodies, chances are high you're not feeling too energetic. One might say, almost zombie-like.

While my Halloween household decor (inside or out) rarely includes zombies - we're more partial to skeletons and ghosts - zombies hold a special place in my heart.

The Not-Quite-Dead Deck of Zombies is the first book in a series of middle grade survival guides I'm co-writing with the amazing Judith Graves.

From the book:

"Despite circumstantial evidence to the contrary, your annoying older / younger sibling or uber-tired classmate isn’t likely a zombie. And though your best friend may have that slack-jawed, clueless look about him, chances are he isn’t among the living dead either – just another lifeless husk of humanity. Zombies are something else entirely. Their souls have vacated the building but their rotting corpses keep on kicking...and biting.

They are the dead…the living dead, undead, or the Not-Quite-Dead as we like to call ’em. Outlined within this volume of the Most-Wanted Monsters series, you’ll unearth 52 key facts that might one day save your life."

We're serious! For weekly survival tips on all kinds of monsters, including zombies, check out our weekly blog and be sure to follow us on Twitter (@MWMonsters).

22 sleeps until Halloween. Whoopa!

- Dawn

P.S. The Not-Quite-Dead Deck of Zombies includes a number of pop culture references you won't find anywhere else. This one didn't quite make the cut for the book - but they did make it into my stepdaughter's closet. These were her Grade 9 grad shoes:

Parties in the spirit of Halloween

2011-10-08T08:37:00.000-07:00

Last year, my best friend's eldest daughter wanted a birthday party in the spirit of True Blood. Of course, me and my husband were happy to oblige.

Luckily, her birthday is in September, so a lot of the Halloween props and goodies were already in stores. It would have been easy to go crazy with buying all kinds of Sookie-inspired stuff - but budget should always be a factor in these kinds of events. (Saves money for an awesome gift, no?)

With a little bit of planning and a whole lot of fun, my BF pulled off one hell of a party.

It's all about the details.

Despite our best efforts, neither Eric nor Bill were able to drop in for the big event (no matter how many creepy fan letters I sent to Alex Skarsgard).

Instead, we created an environment that would comfort any of the True Blood cast.

Red, black and white icing applied with a careful hand.

My BF printed off these labels and bottled "vamp juice" - yummy!

We also created signage in Fangtasia lettering, mixed up some blood burgers, and the birthday girl wore an awesome Merlott's t-shirt. True Blood played on the DVD player for most of the night. So much fun!

If you're planning a Halloween-inspired birthday party, there are some great resources online to help you with the details. To get you started, you can Google search ideas, or check out - you guessed it - Pinterest.

Happy planning of your monster bash!

23 sleeps until Halloweeen...

- Dawn

I can do "cute" too

2011-10-07T10:10:00.000-07:00

Contrary to what previous blog posts might suggest, it isn't just the potential gore of Halloween that excites me. It's not all blood and guts. Honest.

Sure, I love a good scare, and the outside of my house will be spooktacular. (And definitely creepy.)

But inside, I'm aiming for a more "cute" Halloween look. No, really.

It's Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend and although I will be making turkey on Monday (huzzah!), the rest of the weekend will be devoted to writing/editing, and decorating the interior of my house - "cute" Halloween style.

Much to my husband's chagrin, I plan to have every room in the house decked out with something from a long list of craft project ideas.

Most of those ideas come from Pinterest (shocking, I know), but they require limited supplies. In fact, most of the items are likely hidden in your garage, the great outdoors or the craft room.

Here's a few of the projects I'm working on:

Jazz up an old chalkboard. Use food coloring for the drinks - water, juice, martini, whatever your poison.

I'm so doing this for the dining room. Black construction paper, scissors and tape.

More black construction paper. Love it!

Tissue paper and toilet paper - perfect cute addition to the bathroom.

I'm going to use construction paper to tape onto some of our mirrors. You could also paint.

I'm sure there will be more - but I can't share ALL my secrets. Yet.

24 more sleeps until Halloween. It's getting closer...

- Dawn

Cowering between the covers

2011-10-06T11:10:00.000-07:00

I'm three quarters of the way through Daughter of Smoke and Bone, perhaps one of the most skillfully written paranormal young adults books I've ever read. In the wake of such favorites as Shiver and The Hunger Games, that's saying a lot.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone is not only breathtaking, it also has tremendous creep factor. Author Laini Taylor does a brilliant job of merging the macabre and the beautiful - and if you haven't started reading it, you should. Now.

I'm not quite finished, so I'll leave my gushing for a future full review. But since there's only 25 sleeps until Halloween, I started thinking about my bookshelves and the vast number of thriller-esque novels I've amassed over the years. As with film, it takes a really creepy book to give me the true heebie jeebies.

Here's the 13 that remain imprinted across my still-pounding heart.

1. Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris - Buffalo Bill AND Hannibal Lecter in one novel? Thriller bliss! Thomas Harris is genius at bad-guy creation, and few antagonists live up to the awesomeness that is Hannibal the Cannibal.

2. Misery by Stephen King - Almost all of Stephen King's earlier titles could have made this list. Pet Cemetary for its introduction to zombies (to me) and for making me question every move my dog made, and of course, the book It for giving me an irrational terror of clowns. But there's something about Misery that stands out as the most frightening. Maybe it's the writer in me...

3. Creature by John Saul - I grew up reading everything John Saul and Dean Koontz wrote. I'm sure there are titles by both that are scarier than Creature, but it's this John Saul book that truly inspired my shift from writing romance to thriller.

4. Afraid by J.A. Konrath - J.A. Konrath is the current king of e-book publishing, but its this in-print book that still gives me the shivers to think about. Afraid also changed my opinion of camping - as in, maybe I shouldn't, ever, no matter how amazon my husband considers himself. The pacing of this book is unparalleled.

5. The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty - The movie goes down as one of the only flicks to actually make me scream, but the book gave me a few restless sleeps as well. When it was first published (1971) many considered it the most controversial and scariest book of all time. I doubt it would have the same impact on me today, but I'm almost afraid to give it a try.

6. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - Not to be confused with the less-than-stellar Frankenstein series by Dean Koontz. Shelley's creation: creepy, yes, but also so beautiful. I could read this classic again and again, Halloween or not. So should you.

7. Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allen Poe - Or pretty much anything by Poe. He was dark, often depressing, and always brilliant. Nuff said.

8. Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin - a wonderful example of dramatic irony! While parts of the novel bordered on campy, some of the text was so clearly disturbing, its effect lingers even today. I have not seen the movie.

9. Perfume by Patrick Suskind - I love everything about this book. Everything. The controversy. The graphic violence and sex. The structure. And most of all, the writing. Suskind challenges himself to write a novel while focussing almost entirely on one sense - smell. For writers who are often encouraged to add more sensory detail, Perfume is like an invigorating textbook on what to do. The movie is also exceptional.

10. Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons - Stephen King calls Carrion Comfort one of the three greatest horror novels of the 20th century. I'm inclined to agree. Simmons is a skillful storyteller, infusing a tremendous amount of detail to create scenes that will make you shudder. Settle in, though. Carrion Comfort is a BIG book.

11. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis - If not for my fairly firm rule of finishing every book I start, I may not have made it to the end of this truly disturbing novel. Ellis crosses many of my comfort zone boundaries, and though I list it here as one of the books that has frightened me, I don't own it, and will likely never read it again.

12. Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi - I'd be lying if I didn't admit to having a certain fascination with well-known serial killers. I write adult thriller novels under the last name IUS, and have been known to study the stories of some downright horrific people. ALL of their stories give me the creeps - they hit a lot closer to home than the made-up world of deadly vampires and werewolves. But the Manson murders described in Helter Skelter kept me awake for a long, long time.

13. Heartsick by Chelsea Cain - Chelsea Cain is my thriller-writing idol. Seriously. I devoured Heartsick, not once, but several times, even underlining the phrasing and characterization that makes her writing stand out above all other thriller/horror writers. Her style is raw and engaging, and perhaps one of the best examples of how to create true emotion. I fell IN LOVE with her female serial killer, to the point of gobbling up the "Gretchen" merchandise on the Chelsea Cain website. I felt true sympathy for her hero. The relationship between Gretchen and Archie has often been described as similar to that of Hannibal Lecter and Clarice in Silence of the Lambs. Cain doesn't write with the same polish as Thomas Harris, but I'd go out on a limb to say that in my opinion, Heartsick is a far creepier and better book. There are three in this series, all brilliant, but Heartsick literally made me weep with envy.

How many books on my list have you read? What did I miss? I'd love to add your creepiest-books-ever titles to my groaning TBR pile.

- Dawn

P.S. - I couldn't add it to the list, because of course it is yet to be released, but I'd bet the SPIRITED anthology to be published by Leap Books will be hauntingly great. Want to win your own copy? Follow the ghostly clues here and follow SPIRITED on Twitter (@Spirited13) to uncover the paranormal authors whose stories will be featured in the anthology. There's 13 books to give away!

Halloween meatloaf

2011-10-05T06:12:00.000-07:00

I know what you're thinking.

Gross, right?

Actually, it's quite tasty.

I made this creeptastic meatloaf hand for my husband last year after finding the recipe on an amazing website called Not Martha. Megan (not Martha) has some ingenious Halloween food ideas, including this perfect main course for your festive monster bash.

Or just tonight's dinner for your significant other - if they're into that kind of thing. (tee hee)

I've yet to decide the rest of the ghoulish treats on my Halloween menu this year, but the meatloaf hand? Yeah, that's a classic.

26 sleeps until Halloween. It's getting closer.... mwahahahaha

- Dawn

My Top 10 Scariest Movies

2011-10-04T09:23:00.000-07:00

On the way home last night, my family stopped at a couple of the specialty Halloween stores that have finally opened their doors to freaks like us. Every year, we like to add at least one animated zombie/skeleton/ghost to our extensive outdoor decor - yeah, it's a creepy tradition, I know.

I think we found this year's winner.

I've watched a lot of scary movies over the years, and few have given me more than a subtle heart palpitation. But the Exorcist (1974)... I still shudder thinking about some of those scenes.

At the Spirit of Halloween store, there is an animated REGAN - her head spins, she throws up. And she's creepy as all get out. I'm both repulsed and fascinated by her all at once.

Seeing her made me think of which Halloween movies I'll indulge in over the next few weeks - which got me thinking about the Top 10 flicks that have honest-to-goodness given me the chills.

In no particular order:

1. The Exorcist (1974) - Never mind the fear-factor of the movie itself; some believe the actual set was cursed. A priest was regularly brought in to bless the stage, and in addition to other eyebrow-raising activity, the harness broke during Linda Blair's thrashing on the bed scene, causing permanent damage to her spine. Ouch!

2. Hostel - Though not scary in the typical "made me scream" kind if way, Hostel stayed in my mind for a disturbingly long time. Graphic sex and gore aside (and there was a considerable amount of both), the premise made me rethink ever (ever!) staying in a hostel, especially in Europe. *shudder*

3. Seven - The last few scenes in this movie literally blew my mind. And offered a rare "better than average" performance from Brad Pitt. Yes, there's a lot of gore, but I enjoyed how the theme was played out. Kind of wish I'd written that little horror gem.

4. Saw - Only the first, though. There was a certain brilliance about the execution of the first movie that seemed ahead of its time. I often guess movie endings - not so with Saw. Not to mention, Tobin Bell as Jigsaw was amazing, and I enjoyed seeing Cary Elwes again, even if he's not as cute as when he played Wesley on The Princess Bride.

5. Silence of the Lambs - One of my writing mentors, bestselling author Gary Braver, claims Silence of the Lambs is an example of a perfect thriller. I would agree. It's also a great example of how a book CAN be successfully transcribed to film. Hannibal Lecter is one of the most ingenius bad guys ever, and Anthony Hopkins nailed the role.

6. Jaws - I love Shark Week on the Discovery channel - now. But years ago, when I first Jaws, I vowed never to go into the ocean again. This movie scared the crap out of me. Like most of my fave horror/thriller movies, it's only the first one that gave me genuine thrills. The rest of the franchise just reenforced my already healthy fear of sharks.

7. The Shining - Jack Nicholson and those freaking creepy eyes. Need I say more?

8. Halloween - I mostly remember this movie as being scary when I watched it as a teen, but then I saw it again a few years ago and realized it was a bit campy. So why is it on the list? That music! Nothing gets the hairs on the back of my neck standing taller than its oh-so-familiar and creeptastic theme song.

9. Alien - Forget Lara Croft, for me, Sigourney Weaver was the original kick-ass heroine of film. I loved her in Alien, and I admired her bravery because them alien creatures were downright scary. Yes, I screamed during this movie. Multiple times.

10. The Collector - A little like Saw, the mastermind behind the absolute torcher in this movie makes my heart race. The gore factor is high, but it's balanced with a healthy amount of suspense. I covered my eyes, tried to hide UNDER the couch, and screamed. A lot.

I've by no means seen every horror movie produced, and I'm sure I've missed some classics. While I can appreciate the genius behind anything by George Romero, or the horror franchise flicks like Nightmare on Elm Street, I wasn't frightened by those movies - entertained, absolutely! But scream-worthy? Not so much.

I'm curious, though...what's on your list? And if suspense - not gore - is the object, what movies might you recommend for my thrill-seeking family this Halloween?

27 sleeps, my friends. 27 long sleeps.

- Dawn

P.S. - Are you following the Crossroads Blog Tour on Twitter? (@TheCrossroadsBT) Get the inside scoop on the 15 paranormal authors taking part in this year's creep-a-thon. The tour starts October 22.

P.P.S. - Want to win a copy of SPIRITED anthology? Check out this hauntingly cool contest at Leap Books and Bridge Social Media. Don't forget to follow @Spirited13 on Twitter for extra clues.

The Busby Ghost

2011-10-03T09:29:00.000-07:00

I'm quite positive my husband cringes whenever I come up with a new "craft" idea. With anything more than a simple mod podge project, I'm leaning on him for help - and I expect him to succeed.

So, when I showed him a picture of a ghost made out of chicken wire and said, "Honey, I want this!" you can imagine the look of shock he offered. You want me to do what?

There were no handy YouTube directions, and my trusty Pinterest page didn't click through to an all-knowing set of how-to instructions.

Good thing my husband is not just brilliant, he's stubborn.

The pictures don't really do the ghost justice. We set the completed spirit on the stairs and used a small LED reading light to shine on his body. The effect was spooktacular! Unfortunately, the camera wouldn't focus on it properly without the flash - you can tell he's made of chicken wire in the photos, but when you round the corner of the stairs (as our neighbors did last night) and see him, "chicken wire" is not what you exclaim. *tee hee*

We scored a roll of flexible chicken wire from a friend, but it isn't expensive to buy. Our process was a bit hit or miss, and our next ghost will be faster and easier.

Here's what we did:

My stepdaughter acted as the first model, but after wrapping her in chicken wire,
we couldn't quite figure out how to get her out in one piece.

So hubby suggested we try it in pieces. Nice leg, huh?

He insisted on doing the face alone...go figure.

And voila! We pieced him together.

We used a small LED light to illuminate him. On Halloween, these ghosts
(about 6) will line the front yard, each with small lights.
Trust me, from a distance, you can't see the chicken wire, and they look HAUNTING.

After a long day of creation, even the spirits must rest.

28 sleeps until Halloween!

- Dawn

PS - Leap into the Halloween spirit even faster. Check out the Leap Books and Bridge Social Media contest, where you can win a copy of SPIRITED anthology. I'm thrilled to have two stories included in this hauntingly good book.

Pumpkins aplenty in Smoky Lake

2011-10-02T09:40:00.000-07:00

My husband and I dragged our friend Sue to Smoky Lake yesterday for the 23rd annual Pumpkin Festival. Though the event is a provincial classic, this was our first time in the Pumpkin Capital of Alberta.

Wow. They go all out!

These displays were ALL over town.

Hubby poses with one of six giant ceramic pumpkins.

Hearses and their drivers were a big part of the car show.

And some of the hearse passengers got out...

The awesome canola-fuelled Jet Engine Funny Car was popular at the show.

Signing books at the canola booth for my children's book, Fields of Home.

It takes ALL kinds of pumpkins....Truly.

We couldn't stick around for the pumpkin auction or to hear who won the giant pumpkin weigh-in, but we were shocked to hear the biggest watermelon weighed in at 135 pounds! Now, that's one heck of a green thumb.

Sadly, I didn't load my vehicle with awesome gourds of spectacular size, but the Smoky Lake Pumpkin Festival marks an important milestone in the countdown to Halloween.

28 sleeps...

- Dawn

OH! How about another way to get into the Halloween spirit? Bridge Social Media and Leap Books are offering YOU a chance to win a copy of, SPIRITED anthology. I've got two stories in there - THREAD OF THE PAST, and DEATH WARRANT, which I co-wrote with the brilliant Judith Graves. Contest starts today. Good luck!

Halloween lanterns

2011-10-01T05:49:00.000-07:00

Me and husband have become auction junkies since moving out to the country. We're not able to afford the big ticket antique furniture - though it's broken my heart to pass some of it by - but I have a fondness for old jars and tins. My "country pantry" is filled with jars that store flour, sugar, chocolate chips, and everything inbetween.

So when I'd exhausted every storage possibility (crackers, I guess, aren't the best thing to store in mason jars), I started looking for other ways to use them. Turns out there's a million.

I found this idea on my new favorite website, Pinterest.

They're easy!

Supplies:

mason jars
tissue paper or acrylic paint
black construction paper (optional)
mod podge (it's a type of glue found at the craft store)
tealights

Directions:

1. Use mod podge to paste pieces of tissue paper to the outside of the mason jars. Don't worry if it looks see-through or uneven. When lit up, they are beautiful with imperfection. If tissue paper isn't your thing, you can paint the jars with a thin layer of acrylic paint.
2. Use black paint, a sharpie marker, or pieces of construction paper to create face pieces. Attach.
3. Put a tea light in the jar and light. Voila - a Halloween lantern!

Don't be afraid to get creative. I've used green ribbon wrapped around the top, or steered away from mason jars and painted old milk jars white for a unique ghost appearance.

29 sleeps to Halloween. *mwhahahaha*

- Dawn

The Halloween Count-down begins

2011-09-30T17:45:00.000-07:00

GUESS WHAT?!

Halloween is only 31 days away.

31.

Everything about Halloween is perfect - the costumes, the decor, the candy! Over the years, my family has collected a spooktacular buffet of creeptastic decorations - from giant blow-up skulls and moving zombies, to a hand-crafted coffin courtesy of my handy husband.

In this house, we count down the days to Halloween like most people do for Christmas. The calendar barely has time to turn over the month before I'm stringing spider webs like garland and replacing the floral bouquets in the sunroom with pumpkins.

There will be zombies, and skeletons, and ghosts. But this year there will also be pumpkins. Lots and lots of pumpkins.

Tomorrow me and my husband head to Smoky Lake for the pumpkin festival, where I plan to load up on those wonderfully versatile gourds. But tomorrow also marks the first day of my Halloween countdown blog.

Tune in daily for ghoulish recipes, creepy crafts, and tales of horror and suspense. Oh yes, it's going to be a fangtastic October, my friends. *rubs hands together with glee/menace*

Strap in for a wild ride.

- Dawn

Got Halloween? Crafts, recipes, costume ideas...send them on over!

Thrilling October ahead

2011-09-26T13:44:00.000-07:00

Out of all the holidays, Halloween is my favorite. More than Easter (despite Cadbury Mini Eggs), and even more than Christmas.

Ironically (or perhaps perfectly), I found an ideal thrill-seeking match in my husband. Over the past three years, we've collected a spooktacular bounty of creepy decor and have fast become the most haunted (and fun) house on the block.

But this year, we moved out to the country, and our fully-fenced yard isn't the most welcoming for the local youth.

So we're moving our display to the community hall, where we're setting up a haunted house guaranteed to raise the hair on your arms.

October 31 seems like the distant future, even though we've started sorting through the many, many, boxes of skeletons in our closets. (Handy hubby made a COFFIN last year...out of which he jumped to give the older kids on our street a more rewarding thrill. Some of their screams still haunt my dreams. Mwahahaha.)

Lucky for me, I've got a lot going on this October to prevent me from going too Halloween stir-crazy before the big event.

IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN CHARLIE BROWN
Starting this weekend, with the Smoky Lake Pumpkin Festival. A new-found addiction with Pinterest has introduced me to all kinds of pumpkin-inspired decor, recipes, and craft projects. Our family Halloween outdoor theme is skeletons, but my interior design will be all about pumpkins. I plan to stock up at the annual festival.

Not to mention hang out with Kevin and Gwen, the owners of the world's first Jet Engine Funny Car to run 100% on canola biodiesel.

The second book in my Chase Duffy series for elementary kids, Gotta Jet, is all about this amazing machine.

Looking for the first in the series, Fields of Home? You can find it here. Gotta Jet launches January 2012.

MEET ME AT THE CROSSROADS
October is also host to my first ever blog tour. I'm thrilled to be on the virtual road with some incredibly talented authors of YA paranorm including Rachel Vincent, Lucienne Diver, Linda Joy Singleton, Judith Graves, Kiki Hamilton...and more!

For the full list of participating authors and bloggers on the Crossroads Blog Tour, head over to the main page and follow CrossroadsBT on Twitter.

Opportunities to win great swag, including BOOKS from participating authors. Oh my!

LEAPING INTO THE SPIRIT
Also this October...the launch of Spirited, an anthology of 13 ghostly stories by young adult authors the likes of Shannon Delaney, Maria Snyder, Candace Havens and much more! Two of my stories made it into the anthology, THREAD OF THE PAST, and DEATH WARRANT, a short story I co-wrote with Judith Graves based on a character from the Most-Wanted Monsters fiction series we've been furiously writing. The best part? Leap Books is donating all proceeds from the sale of this book to 826 National, an organization committed to youth literacy.

Spirited launches October 31, 2011 in e-book format, and in print in March 2012. Can't wait? You can pre-order it here. Follow Spirited on Twitter at Spirited13.

And just because I can't get enough, you can check out the trailer for Spirited below:

Isn't it pretty?

That's my October and it's looking pretty hot. What's on tap for you this fall?

- Dawn

Juliet Immortal swoon

2011-09-22T14:10:00.000-07:00

"The greatest love story ever told is a lie."

The romantic in me HAD to have this book. The Shakespearean geek in me was desperate for it - because of all his tragedies, Romeo and Juliet is of course my favourite. (Especially when it's adapted to screen starring Leonardo DiCaprio!)

So, when I read the back cover and realized author Stacey Jay was claiming that the greatest love story of all time - Romeo and Juliet! - was historically incorrect, I would have sold my last Diet Coke for a copy. (That may sound insignificant to some, but those who know me understand my affection/addiction/obsession for Diet Coke...)

Quite simply, I loved this book. (More than Diet Coke, even.) By the end of the first chapter I was absolutely, unequivocally, convinced that Romeo and Juliet did not commit suicide for their love, but rather that Romeo had killed Juliet on their wedding night...and they both have been travelling through time in the bodies of not-yet-matched soul mates - Juliet to connect them (a crusader for love), Romeo to destroy them. How freaking brilliant!

I was also absolutely, unequivocally convinced that Stacey Jay may be one of the best YA writers I have ever read. The character development alone left me slack-jawed, but then I'd get caught up in the writing - not quite literary, something unexplainable, but exquisit and real - and I would growl at anyone who dared to interrupt my reading.

And damn if I didn't yearn. For more of the story. For the foresight to have thought of this book before Stacey - and for the talent to have pulled it off so brilliantly.

Perhaps most stunning was the chemistry created between Juliet and Ben. In just 300 pages, Stacey single-handedly caused me to question what I once considered an EPIC love story and created a new (even more) epic tale of true love.

Blown away.

- Dawn

Sweetly is Suhweet!

2011-09-15T06:49:00.000-07:00

"Twelve years ago, Gretchen, her twin sister, and her brother went looking for a witch in the forest. They found something. Maybe it was a witch, maybe a monster, they aren’t sure—they were running too fast to tell. Either way, Gretchen’s twin sister was never seen again."

- Sweetly

I've always been attracted to modern twists on classic fairy tales, no matter how far the stretch. Like Red Riding Hood featuring a werewolf (why didn't I think of that?) or the story of the bad witch as in Wicked. (Loved the Broadway show!)

So when I read that Jackson Pearce's Sweetly was a modernization of Hansel and Gretel, I couldn't wait to dive in, and was admittedly hooked by the end of the first chapter.

That's before I even learned about the chocolate.

When Gretchen and her brother are thrown out of their house, they end up in Live Oak, South Carolina and move in with Sophia Kelly, a young and beautiful chocolatier owner.

Chocolate AND a modern fairy tale? At this point, I'm settling in for the long haul...

Pearce is a wonderful writer, and I spent most of the book mesmerized by her talent and her vivid descriptions of candy - kind of like the awe I experienced the first time I read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. Drool worthy descriptions, indeed!

I also loved the chemistry between Gretchen and Samuel. Pearce writes fabulous emotion into her scenes, and though I didn't fall in love with Sam for myself, I can see why he works with Gretchen.

Unfortunately, life kind of got in the way while reading this book and I had to set it down about the half-way point. I had trouble picking it up again, which may have been a combination of a lack of focus on my part, and a bit of a saggy taffy middle on the author's.

Not to worry though, it took only a few chapters to get me started again, and I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning to read the last 100 pages.

I'm heading to the book store today to pick up Sisters Red.

And then to Purdys for a box of chocolate.

- Dawn

The Book In My Bag Today: Juliet Immortal, Stacey Jay

A room fit for (my) princess

2011-09-05T18:45:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid, "room decor" consisted of a collage featuring glam rock icons - well, really, just their hair because let's face it, the 80s were all about the hair.

Posters lined every square inch of my bedroom - mostly of *cough* Rikki Rockett, the drummer for the band Poison. I was a little obsessed.

It wasn't until I took some interior design classes as an adult that I gained an appreciation for "design." My stepdaughter has it figured out much sooner.

When we moved into our country home a few months ago, one of the loft bedrooms (the biggest) was painted entirely black. My teen's dream - or so we thought.

Black is stark. And dark. Certainly not inspiring.

But not wanting to lose the dark entirely, my stepdaughter opted to brighten things up with a lighter colour, choosing grey for two of the main walls. What a difference.

We filled the holes, repainted the black, and added the accent colours - and then handsome hubby volunteered to paint the wood floor a checkerboard of black and grey. Wow. Where was he when I was a kid trying to cover up the Diet Coke stains on my antiquated carpet?

The room isn't quite finished - there's framed pictures to place, furniture to paint, and curtains to hang. Not to mention to extra touch from her friends. On the black wall featuring the lips (I made those out of wood, cotton batting and satin material), my kidlet plans to have her friends paint her a message in neon paint, which she will then go over with a special glow-in-the-dark treatment.

Pretty cool, right?

The "craft room" is next on my list of home projects (don't tell hubby, who still waits for his garage), but with final reveals like this, I'm already starting to think of wall and floor treatments that will "pop" like my teen's awesome room.

How about you? What cool stuff makes your room "pop" - and what dream room could you image?

- Dawn

Book In My Bag Right Now: Sweetly, Jackson Pearse

Books I'm Stalking

2011-08-23T15:20:00.000-07:00

Writing has not come easily today, peeps. In fact, it hasn't come at all.

Yeah, I know all about "pushing through" and giving myself permission to write crap. But there's a wind storm outside that's blowing my yard around, my stepdaughter's room is patiently (ha!) awaiting paint, and the internet is just one click away.

Dangerously close.

I spent a little time reading YA book reviewer blogs today and in addition to gaining appreciation for each of their insight, I amassed quite the dream list of "coming soon" books. Here's a quick run down of YA novels I'm stalking...

Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Laini Taylor

Pub date: September 27, 2011

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky. In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war. Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.
When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

Uh? Sign me up, please! I first read a review of this on the Reading Teen blog and have been stalking bookstores ever since - I must have it.

Silence

Becca Fitzpatrick

Pub date: October 4, 2011

The noise between Patch and Nora is gone.

They've overcome the secrets riddled in Patch's dark past...bridged two irreconcilable worlds...faced heart-wrenching tests of betrayal, loyalty and trust...and all for a love that will transcend the boundary between heaven and earth.

Armed with nothing but their absolute faith in one another, Patch and Nora enter a desperate fight to stop a villain who holds the power to shatter everything they've worked for—and their love—forever.

Give me Patch over Edward ANY day! I loved Hush, Hush and Crescendo. LOVED.

The Scorpio Races

Maggie Stiefvater

Pub date: October, 2011

It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them. Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

Let's face it - Stiefvater could re-write the phone book and I'd read it. I'm not quite ready to let go of Mercy Falls, but anything with this author's name on it has my pre-stamp of approval.

Second Skin

Judith Graves

Pub date: October, 2011

With FIENDS Like Eryn…

Eryn struggles to resist the beast clawing at her soul as darkness settles over her like a second skin. She’s made a deal, and she can’t let a dead man down. Not unless she wants her friends and family to relocate – six feet under.

When Eryn and her crew each face their own demons, loyalties are tested and temptations abound. Can she share a future with the brooding, noble, human Alec – the hunter after her heart? Or will she succumb to her enemy’s son, Wade, a seductive predator as bloodthirsty as she is?

What happens when you’re both the beauty and the beast?

That's a VERY good question, Judith. Can't wait to find out!

Shatter Me

Tahereh Mafi Pub date: November 2011

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days. The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old-girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color. The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now. Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

I thought I was immune to hype surrounding this book until I read this review. Now, I must have.

Sweetly

Jackson Pearce

Pub date: Available now!

Twelve years ago, Gretchen, her twin sister, and her brother went looking for a witch in the forest. They found something. Maybe it was a witch, maybe a monster, they aren’t sure—they were running too fast to tell. Either way, Gretchen’s twin sister was never seen again.

Years later, after being thrown out of their house, Gretchen and Ansel find themselves in Live Oak, South Carolina, a place on the verge of becoming a ghost town. They move in with Sophia Kelly, a young and beautiful chocolatier owner who opens not only her home, but her heart to Gretchen and Ansel. Yet the witch isn’t gone—it’s here, lurking in the forests of Live Oak, preying on Live Oak girls every year after Sophia Kelly’s infamous chocolate festival. But Gretchen is determined to stop running from witches in the forest, and start fighting back. Alongside Samuel Reynolds, a boy as quick with a gun as he is a sarcastic remark, Gretchen digs deeper into the mystery of not only what the witch is, but how it chooses its victims. Yet the further she investigates, the more she finds herself wondering who the real monster is, and if love can be as deadly as it is beautiful.

Uh, what the... How have I NOT bought this book yet? *puts in call to hubby to FIND. IT*

Ok, peeps. What have I missed? If I *must* say goodbye to summer, the pain is immeasurably eased by the awesome line-up of YA books slated for this fall. Wouldn't you agree?

- Dawn

Catching Fire not quite as hot

2011-08-21T17:32:00.000-07:00

I read Hunger Games in two days, stopping only to eat and sleep - and even that was forced. Suzanne Collins writes with a skill that is mesmerizing.

She had me from Page 1.

I expected the same from Catching Fire. Maybe it's because I read half the book a few months ago, and just finished it this weekend, but something about the story didn't feel as urgent, or awe-inspiring. With Hunger Games, I wouldn't have stopped reading - regardless of what was going on in my life.

There's certainly nothing wrong with Collins' talent (if only I could write half as well), and the concept of the games is scary, and so well done.

I just felt like something was missing.

Maybe it was the emotion. Save for the ending chapter, I didn't do a lot of crying (I cried a lot in Hunger Games - surpise!) And I predicted many of the plot twists.

I didn't, however, guess how this book would end, and I love the cliffhanger. At the end of Hunger Games, I couldn't comprehend how this would become a series - it seemed so complete. I get it now. And I'm excited for Mockingjay, which I hear is as compelling (or more) as Hunger Games.

Now I just have to get my butt to the book store and buy it!

- Dawn

Teetering BETWEEN awe and envy

2011-08-19T10:21:00.000-07:00

If I were Jessica Warman, I'd be really happy with the cover for Between.

I'd also be pretty darned proud of myself.

What an awesome read!

Struck by the gorgeous and somewhat haunting cover, Between was an impulse buy for me. After powering through the first chapter while idling in Wal-Mart's book department, there was no way I could leave it on the shelf.

Warman sets the scene from the first few pages - a popular girl, celebrating her 18th birthday on her dad's private yacht, roused from sleep by a persistent noise. The noise is her own body, brand new cowboy boots and all, banging against the pier. Dead.

Elizabeth is now trapped between her living self - and her floating dead girl self, while she unravels the mystery of her life and the circumstances of her death.

Luckily, the cover isn't the only beautiful part of this book. Warman's writing style is enviable, a cross between literary and commercial, and overall breathtaking. The first chapter is haunting, and the book is peppered with clues and fine details that compel you to turn the page. I loved every word.

So much so, I kind of wished there were more of them. It's not a small novel (400+ pages), but I was hoping to see some of the story lines flushed out a little more. I admit, I correctly "guessed" some of the end, early dismissing the red herrings. While it didn't spoil the read, I am left a little wanting...but that could just be my desire for more of Warman's work.

This isn't her debut novel, which is good because I'm already on the hunt for another book she's written.

- Dawn

Sad to see Forever end

2011-08-12T11:43:00.000-07:00

I never used to read "werewolf" books. I couldn't wrap my head around them - especially the romantic parts. I know, weird.

But then my friend Karen introduced me to Kelley Armstrong's Bitten, and I fell hard for my first werewolf, Clayton Danvers. Armstrong is such a brilliant writer, it was easy for me to love Clay - and of course, most of the characters in her paranormal series.

Since that introduction, I've read various books with werewolves in them, including Under my Skin by Judith Graves - and I've managed to shoulder past any previous reservations. Because I think it has more to do with story than the actual breed of paranorm.

Bitten, Under my Skin...those are good stories, so more than just the mechanical work of their talented writers.

Still, there's something different about the wolves - and the stories - in Maggie Stiefvater's books. I read Shiver in one sitting, devoured Linger on Karen's e-reader, and savoured Forever whenever I could carve out an hour or two.

And now that I've turned the last page, I feel kind of empty. Like, I'm not sure what to pick up next.

The series is an epic love story, told with some of the most beautiful prose I have ever read. Stiefvater's talent astounds me, and there were moments in Forever that I would simply re-read to absorb the words fully, hoping that by osmosis or some other power I could write with even a fraction of Stiefvater's brilliance.

I'm in love with Sam. Not just Sam, but also Cole. (Anyone who knows me will understand why his story is as compelling as Sam's...hello, bad boy!) In Forever, Cole and Isabel's romance was even more forefront than Sam and Grace's, and while that might sit poorly with some readers, I was okay with it - because it's SO well done.

But then, everything Stiefvater writes is.

Her description is exquisite, and her dialogue is crisp (and romantic, and real, and enviable...), but it is her ability to evoke emotion that creates the magic in these books. She's broken my heart more times than should be legal, and I've cried more tears than I care to count. I've laughed and smiled. Thrown my hands in the air with frustration. And slept with the novel under my pillow. Every book in this series is an emotional roller coaster.

Which is why I can't figure out how I feel about the end.

And it is "the end."

For something so final, it feels a little open-ended. I don't need my stories tied up in a pretty red bow with every loose end tucked inside, but after three books of high octane emotion, I wanted to either finish with a good, solid cry...or a deep, envious sigh. I cried and sighed a lot throughout the book, but at the end, I sort of wanted to throw Forever across the room.

That said, I'll read it again. Maybe a few times more, because even though Stiefvater has said good-bye to Mercy Falls, I'm not quite ready to let go.

- Dawn

The publishing machine that is James Patterson

2011-08-07T19:41:00.000-07:00

While indulging in a little bookstore retail therapy last week, I stumbled upon a new title by James Patterson. I've read so many of them, most of the covers and titles seem to blend together

Not this one.

Adult fiction authors writing YA or even middle-grade novels isn't shocking - some of my favourites cross all kinds of age and genre boundaries.

Yet, a middle grade title from James Patterson made my jaw drop.

Is there no corner of this industry he's left untouched? The man is a publishing machine.

He's the first author to have #1 new titles simultaneously on the New York Times adult and children's bestsellers lists (wow) and is the only author to have five new hardcover novels debut at #1 on the list in one year -- a record-breaking feat he's accomplished every year since 2005.

Other Impressive Stats at a Glance

Total copies of James Patterson titles sold: 205 million
Consecutive #1 New YorkTimes bestselling novels: 19
Number of hardcover fiction bestselling titles: 63 (a Guiness World Record)

Awe-inspiring (and enviable) to be sure. There's no doubting his selling power - but has he really changed the industry? Perhaps.

Patterson wasn't the first author to "franchise" his brand, but he may be the most well-known and blatant. It was only three years ago that I learned some of my favorite authors weren't "writing" their books, at least not alone. But it wasn't until I saw James Patterson at Thrillerfest a few years ago that I realized he had turned his novel-writing career into a franchise. A successful, money-making franchise.

Along the way he's kick-started the careers of many thriller writers. Co-authoring with James Patterson comes with an impressive cache of clout. And his most recent deal - 17 books in three years! - could mean opportunity for even more emerging writers.

But middle grade?

Of course it will work. Patterson has devoted a lot of energy to www.readkiddoread.com, a website geared to helping kids read. Patterson is invested in youth literacy.

And a whole bunch of readers are invested in James Patterson. Including me.

I may not have LOVED every Patterson title, but he has my respect - whether he writes every book on his own, or with a whole army of friends. It's tough making a living in this industry. He's figured out a way to make it work.

Middle School: The Worst Years of my Life is teetering at the top of my TBR pile. Let's see how soon the magnetic power of Patterson topples it into my lap.

- Dawn

The Oubliette

300 chances to WIN paranormal YA books!

One day at a time

And, that's a wrap

Christmas cards from scratch!

Ginger snaps in a snap

Do you believe?

Wreaths aplenty - and a contest

I'll take a dozen or so of Frosty, please

Christmas countdown...with prizes! And a confession

An open letter to my bully

Happy Halloween - and costume reveal!

The final countdown!

The curse of three

Halloween too scary for kids?

Rock and roll all Halloween night

Confessions of a polyphobic

Zombies and other fairy tales

I almost peed my pants

Hanging out at the Crossroads

I ain't afraid of no ghost...except Casper!

Wrapping up Halloween decor

High Tension takes the cake

This Halloween, let's meet at the Crossroads

Simple and spooky centerpiece

Beautiful Macabre, a review of Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Spirited cover unearthed

The annual costume debate

Madame Tussard's creepy Halloween

Spooktacular cupcakes

Haunted!

Halloween in every room

Day of the Zombie

Parties in the spirit of Halloween

I can do "cute" too

Cowering between the covers

Halloween meatloaf

My Top 10 Scariest Movies

The Busby Ghost

Pumpkins aplenty in Smoky Lake

Halloween lanterns

The Halloween Count-down begins

Thrilling October ahead

Juliet Immortal *swoon*

Sweetly is Suhweet!

A room fit for (my) princess

Books I'm Stalking

Catching Fire not quite as hot

Teetering BETWEEN awe and envy

Sad to see Forever end

The publishing machine that is James Patterson

Juliet Immortal swoon