The frightening mind of a paranormal writer

by Maureen L. Bonatch

October’s here, which can only mean one thing…no, look away from the turkey napkins and Christmas decorations and out to the colorful leaves falling from the trees….that’s right, it’s Fall and Halloween isn’t far behind.

This means a little more to me than raking leaves and gorging on Halloween candy. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that…the candy, not the leaves—throw on a costume and you’re entitled to eat ALL the candy you want. I think they’re supposed to put less calories in the Halloween stuff, don’t quote me on that because I’m not certain. That’s just my theory and please don’t tell me differently.) 

I figure I’m entitled to the candy because I wear a costume everyday— that of being a normal person— when in reality...I’m a writer, and not just any kind of writer, but a paranormal writer.

That’s not a costume you say? Hmmm….have you ever looked closely into the mind of a paranormal writer? Do you really want to go there? Okay, if you can handle the scary stuff and you insist…it’s the result/curse/blessing of an overactive imagination. 

Some examples, just from today…

•           Every. Single. Time. I pull a plastic fork from the box, and the tongs scrape against each other, I begin to question if I really need to finish the work I'm doing because I’m obviously asleep and it’s only moments before I’m pretty darn sure that Freddy Krueger is making his way into my office to begin his reign of terror and I frantically start plotting for potential methods to evade him or…

•          While driving through a dense fog today, I emerge only to become confused on a familiar route. I'm fairly certain I may have passed through a parallel universe.  Maybe it wasn't even the same year? Or I'm in a different world all together...and if so, perhaps chocolate was now calorie free... 

 Okay, I may have digressed and I don’t want to frighten you too much…

I must admit, my warped imagination may have been influenced by my early readings of Stephen King, John Saul, Dean Koontz, JR Tolkien and Anne Rice, etc. 

I moved to many of these stories after reading my first taste of the paranormal…the Sweet Valley High books. 

I loved the books, but as an awkward, young teenager reading intro after intro, and dreaming of being the perfect blonde haired twins with perfect smiles, perfect size six figures, perfect…perfect…perfect…I was like…wait a minute…these girls can’t be real. 

Give me hobbits, vampires and other creatures of the night…now those are real to me. 

 Then when television began to embrace the paranormal with shows like The X-Files, Ghost Whisperer, Medium, Millineum and Charmed, they drew me in like no other. (I must admit, I might've wrote my novella, That Magic Moment, when I may, or may not, have been watching a marathon of the television show Charmed and there is the slightest possibility that I may, or may not, have played the theme song repeatedly. (Come'on...It's a good song and a great intro!)

 

For those of us who like to write paranormal, this time of year inspiration can be found around every corner and paranormal reads move front and center (yeah!). 

Readers---Look around because opportunities abound to win some free reads and talk about just what we love about this season. To name a few:  

• Our very own Sophia Kimble's month long contest 
• Love Romance and More's Fall Cover Up
• All Romance Monster Giveaway 

If you want a sweet, short, treat to get you into the mood of the season, check out my novella, 

That Magic Moment.

Can love cross the boundaries mortals have erected to reject all that cannot be explained?

I don’t always write, but when I do, it’s a paranormal…

Stop by my website or Facebook page to find out about my upcoming release Destiny Calling. 

What's your favorite part of Fall?