Fabulous Fall by C.J. Burright

As sad as I am to wave buh-bye to summer, there are a few fall factors that make the slide toward winter less painful. If you’re having a hard time stashing your swimsuit and surrendering backyard barbecues, maybe you can find some comfort in one or two of the things that are getting me through.

Sweaters and Leggings

I love my snuggly sweaters, and the fact it’s acceptable to wear dressed up sweats around without feeling lazy? Score. I’ve been waiting to wear these particular leggings, stacked so patiently in my closet for months:

Aren’t they awesome? I can’t wait to wear them with a long black sweater and tall boots, no matter that the other, unfashionable people in my household think I’m weird. They clearly have no taste.

The Return of Favorite Shows

Supernatural - I’ve loved the Winchesters from the very beginning, and it’s so great to have a show that doesn’t get freakin’ canceled after two seasons. Anyone else an outraged Sense8 fan? That cliffhanger made me scream, and then to find out there’s only a two-hour finale that fans had to petition for? Not cool, Netflix. Not. Cool.

Stranger Things

Any trailer that uses Michael Jackson’s Thriller is an automatic in, right? *And if the link doesn't work, I apologize. Blogger wasn't cooperating with me. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgS2L7WPIO4
This show…gah! It’s the perfect blend of everything great, a combination of Goonies, Supernatural, and the Bourne movies. There is the totally loveable, geeky middle school tribe of D&D lovers who are into science and think girls are gross. The older, straight-laced sister on the verge of acceptance by dating the "popular" guy. The outcast, sensitive boy who adores the girl from afar...until danger draw them together. The emotionally-scarred sheriff who doesn't care until some serious stuff drags him back into life. The wound tight mom who works all the time just to provide for her boys and isn't about to sit around when one of them goes missing. The fenced-off government lab where a no-morals scientist conducts experiments...and the girl who escapes. Then there's the scary THING that ties everyone together. I don’t blog about shows unless they’re FANTASTIC. This one. It is. Go watch.

Hot Brews

Hot tea, hot buttered rum, hot chocolate (with or without peppermint Schnapps), Irish coffee, steaming apple cider…I can’t even pick a favorite. But no one wants to sip on a hot toddy when the sun’s blazing down, right? You have to appreciate these babies when it’s cool and crisp and your toes need warmed.

Assassin’s Creed Origins

If you’ve followed me at all, by now you know I’m a die-hard Assassin’s Creed fan, and Origins is due to be released on October 27. I demand an early Christmas present of the latest game, and if it isn’t waiting on the counter when I get home from work on release day, it’s couch city for hubby. Ubisoft made me wait an extra year for this one, so my fingers are itching to stab someone and I’m ready to climb buildings and dive from impossible heights into a measly haystack. It’s been said I get a little obsessed and snarly until I finish the game. Exaggerations, I assure you.

Halloween

Candy. Costumes. Terror. It’s my favorite time of year. I blame it on my love for all things that go bump in the night and my Celtic roots celebrating Samhain. No apologies. Any kids who dare to come to my house should prepare to be scared…for interrupting the premiere of Stranger Things or my Assassin’s Creed time. If they’re lucky, I’ll throw some sugar at them as they flee.

What are you looking forward to this fall?

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? 

Gearing up for Fall

Like a new year, seasons often bring on new beginnings.
We've all heard the term, Spring Housecleaning... yeah right, not used in this household. I'd much rather look at Springtime as romantically inspired. Really, its everywhere--just checkout the birds and the wedding registers.

Summer is the time for vacations while kids are free to roam the streets. Personally, I'd like to head off for some remote beach that's a bit cooler than my normal Phoenix weather... 120 is just too dang hot for anyone. Thank the Powers that Be, someone created air conditioning.

One of my favorite times of the year is the fall. A few scattered showers lowers the temperatures and drives me outside. Yea, I can start walking again. With this season I also gear up for my favorite holiday - Halloween to some, Samhain to others. Its time to decorate and get ready for ghosties and goblins, witches and things that go bump in the night. I know this paranormal author is more than ready to start digging out my favorite boxes locked away in storage and making a mess of my yard and house. Sadly, I'll be missing the usual trick or treaters since I moved into an adult community but I'm sure I'll find plenty of little ones down at the haunted houses or on the block next over. In the mean time I'll decorate, bake, have a glass of wine or two and sit by the fireplace waiting for all the paranormal inspiration to take over...

After I retried and before I started writing again I set up my own little shop--creating costumes for re-enactors, the renaissance and theatrical groups. Never in my life did I expect to be creating Halloween costumes for more than just myself, but ya' know one never knows what lies around the corner in this day and age. Opened less than a year I got a call and ended up making a group of costumes for the Playboy Mansion's Halloween party. I'd be happy to share those costumes with the readers of this blog, but I think I'd get kicked out of the group if I did since most of them compose of things that shouldn't be seen outside of the bedroom.  But I'll give you a brief description... first on the list was an anatomically correct bull suit for one hunky male accompanied by his girlfriend, the topless with pasties matador. And yes ladies that bull had it all hanging. <grin>
Second set was the traditional sea-shelled pastie  wearing mermaid and her date Aquaman. Not quite as revealing as the first couple but just as cute.  What I can post here is a picture of where Aquaman and his lovely mermaid hung out--the indoor water area.

So, you see, no matter where you are or what you're doing - Fall brings us new adventures, cooler weather and lots time to think about that next novel we are going to write or read. So lite the fire place, pour yourself a glass a wine, find a book to read because nothing says relax and have fun like Autumn. at least to this author.

Enjoy, Always, V and her gang of paranormal characters.

Autumn Blues?

You may think from the title that I don't like the Fall. But the opposite is true. This is my favorite time of year.  I love the cooler temperatures, a welcome break from the humidity, the trees changing color along with the falling leaves. And pumpkins. Oh my gosh, just seeing the pumpkin stands along the side of the road gets me so excited.

Sure, there are some down sides to the Fall - the beginning of cold and flu season, having to rake leaves, and the worst, one season closer to winter. Hey, winter would be awesome if I didn't have to shovel or drive in the snow.

So, where does the color blue come in? Well, blue is one of my favorite colors. With all the beautiful colors of the fall, I wish blue was included. After all, it is the skin color I tend to give many of the aliens in my stories.

In Crash Landing, which released today, there are two blue aliens, Cael and Mare. Though they didn't come to Earth together. But what they bring to the story, and to Tara are sure to heat up the sheets.

Here's the blurb:

As his ship plummets toward Earth, Cael believes his life to be over. His last ditch effort to save himself ends in a fiery crash. When he wakes up, he believes he’s entered the afterlife, but his surroundings indicate otherwise. He made it to Earth. But who saved him, and what do they want with him?

Crash Landing is available from Decadent Publishing, Amazon, All Romance eBooks, and many other ebook retailers. More information and buy links posted here.

And an excerpt:

He rushed to the right, his rod too hard to wait. The slurping, sucking, and cries of pleasure continued as he reached the entrance behind which the action took place. The door ajar, he dared a quick glimpse into the room. With a gasp, he stepped back into the hall, but could not take his eyes off the sight in front of him.

With her rounded pink ass and swollen sex folds in full view, a woman went to work sucking off a man. The musky scent of her desire wound through his nasal passages and drew him closer. She rested on her hands and knees on a platform, while the guy kneeled in front of her. But unlike any beings he had ever seen on the vids of Earth, the guy had blue skin. Not his deep, almost indigo shade, but lighter, closer to the color of the water he’d landed in. Long blond hair flowed over his shoulders, onto his muscular chest.

The man held the woman’s shoulders with his webbed hands—yes, webbed hands—drawing her on and off his dick. “You have the mouth of an angel.” He threw his head back and thrust faster and faster between her lips.

The sight stimulated Cael. They weren’t trying to make babies; it seemed they were having sexual relations for pleasure. He yearned not only to bury his face in the wet pussy in front of him, but to taste the man’s blue dick, feel it inside of him. Back on Narien, he’d crafted his own devices made from the soft, flimsy bark of the totmos plant, to experience the pleasure both men and women felt in the stadium, why they cried out during mating, but never seemed injured. And learn he had, anxious to be ready when he reached his thirtieth year and was allowed to mate. He’d turned that age a half year ago, with no one on his ship to be his partner. Would he finally have an opportunity?

Jessica Subject started writing to encourage her daughter to read. Now she writes to keep herself grounded. Although she reads many genres, she enjoys writing Science Fiction Romance the most and believes everyone in the universe deserves a happily ever after. She lives Southwestern Ontario, Canada with her husband and two kids and loves to hear from anyone who has enjoyed her stories.

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