Labels

1944 (1) 1950s (1) 2013 (1) 24 (1) 60s (1) 60th wedding anniversary (1) 70s (1) 99cts (2) A Handmaid's Tale (1) A Wrinkle In Time (1) abduction (1) action (18) action adventure (6) activities at home (1) adventure (19) African cats (1) Agents of S.H.I.E.D. (1) Akira (1) Akira's Choice (5) alien abduction (2) alien communication (1) alien invasion (2) Alien Lockdown (1) alien planet (7) alien planets (2) alien visitation (1) alien visitors (1) alien worlds (1) Alien Zoo (1) aliens (30) Allison Merritt (17) alphas unleashed (1) alternate realities (1) alternate reality (1) Alyson Noel (1) AMANDA'S EYES (1) Amazons (2) America (1) American culture (1) Amy Bartol (1) Anasazi (1) ancient aliens (6) Ancient Enemy (1) and Grimm (1) Andromeda galaxy (1) Angel (4) Angel Fierce (1) ANGEL MINE (2) angel planet (2) angels (12) anime (1) Anne McCaffrey (1) Antiope (1) apocalypse (2) Apocalypse 2012 (2) Apocalypse Babes (14) apocalyptic books (2) apocalyptic fiction (1) apple pie (1) archangel (5) archangels (1) Arilase (1) Arizona Literary Awards (2) Arrow (1) Art (2) art of writing (1) ASPCA (1) atomic age (1) author (3) author interview (3) author introduction (3) author signing (1) authors (3) avatar (1) award winner (1) awards (1) awareness (1) Azura Chronicles (6) Back To The Future (1) bad acting (1) bad boys (1) bad movies (1) bad writing (1) barbarian tribes (1) Batman (2) Battle Royale (1) battles (1) Battlestar Galactica (1) Baz Luhrmann (1) Beantown (1) Beijing York (1) Believe (1) Bella Street (22) Ben Stiller (1) Bender (1) Beth Caudill (6) Big Bang Theory (1) big cats (4) Bio (1) bioengineering (1) bionics (1) Black Dragon (5) black gate (1) Black Jaguar (2) blasters (4) blog hop (3) bloggers (1) blue abyss (2) Blue Lioness (1) Blue Maneuver (1) Blue Moon (1) book (1) book awards (1) Book Barbarian (1) Book Breeze (1) book covers (2) book giveaway (4) book release (1) book review (2) book sale (1) book signing (1) books (6) Books We Love (1) Borealis (6) Borealis series (4) Boredom (1) born in blood (1) Boston (2) bounty hunter (5) bracelet (1) brave heroes (1) Breaking Dawn (1) breast cancer (2) brides (1) Browncoats (1) Browncoats: Independence War (2) Buffy The Vampire Slayer (3) burn out (1) Bushido (1) busy (1) BWL (1) Byzantium series (3) C.D. Ledbetter (1) callahan (2) Camp NaNoWriMo (2) cannibals (1) Captains (1) Carolyn Jewel (1) Cassandra Rose Clarke (1) cat saves boy (1) Catching Fire (3) Cathy Pegau (1) cats (17) cats in space (3) Caught In Amber (1) challenger (1) changing seasons (1) Channing Tatum (1) characterization (1) Charlize Theron (1) checkmate (2) Cheetah (5) cheetahs (1) Cher (1) chewbacca (1) chimera (2) chimera born (2) Christine Taylor (1) Christmas (8) Christmas movies (1) Christmas Village (3) Christopher Nolan (1) Chronicles of Kassouk (14) Chronicles of Kassouk series (2) Chroniclesof Kassouk (1) cinnamon (1) Civil War (1) classic novels (1) classic rock (1) cold warn (1) combining romance genres (2) Comic Con (1) ComiCon (1) comics (1) coming soon (1) communication (1) computers (2) conflict (1) conspiracies (1) conspiracy (1) contemporary fantasy romance (5) contemporary romance (2) contest (5) contracts (1) convention (2) cool aliens (3) cosplay (1) costumes (1) Council Falls (2) Count Olaf (1) cover (1) cover art (1) cover reveal (2) COVID 19 (1) Craft (1) creativity (1) crop circles (3) crop patterns (1) crown (1) cruise into eden (1) Crusader (1) Cupid (5) CW6 (1) cyborgs (6) Dark Knight Rises (1) dark romance (1) Day of the Triffids (2) Daynight (1) deadlines (1) decorating (1) decorations (1) Desert Breeze Publishing (1) Desert Breeze Publishing (2) diamond (1) diamonds (2) Diana Gabaldon (1) Diaspora Worlds (1) Dietmar Wehr (1) disco (1) disney characters (1) Divergent (1) Do No Harm (1) Doctor Who (1) dogs (1) Dollhouse (3) Donnie Darko (2) Double Takes (3) Douglas Lindsay (1) DOWN HOME ZOMBIE BLUES (1) Dr. Who (1) Dragnet (1) dream lover (1) dreams (2) Dredd (1) dressing up (1) Dune (1) Dungeons and Dragons (1) dystopia (1) Dystopian (4) earth (1) earwigs (1) ebook reader (1) editing (1) EDWARD SCISSORHANDS (1) Elementary (1) Eliza Dushku (1) Elysa Hendricks (1) end of the world (1) End of year (1) english (1) epilogues (1) escape (1) Esther Williams (1) evil spock (1) excerpt (2) excitement (2) extinction (1) F. Scott Fitzgerald (1) faerie romance (1) fairy tales (2) fall (2) Fall movies (1) Falling Skies (1) famous writers (1) fan fiction (1) fantasy (18) Father's Day (1) fearless (1) feehan (1) felines (4) fiction (2) film review (2) Firefly (9) first person (1) five senses (1) five-star review (2) FLASH GORDON (1) food (2) Foreigner (1) Forever (1) Forever is Now (1) Fourth of July (1) Fran Kanz (1) Frank Herbert (1) free (2) free book (2) free books (2) free ebook (1) freedom (1) Frequently Asked Questions (1) Fry (1) full moon (1) fun facts (1) furries (1) Fury Road (1) Futerama (1) Futurama (1) Future (4) future release (1) future society (1) future technology (1) futuristic (19) futuristic romance (11) Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1) galactic fleet (1) galactic prison (1) gamma radiation (1) Ganesha (1) gay (1) Geeky Girls Love Sci-Fi (1) genetic disorders (1) Genghis Khan (1) George Martin (1) George Reeves (1) getting published (2) GI Joe (1) gift cards (1) gift certificate (2) Girl Under Glass (1) girls with guns (3) giveaway (2) giveaways (1) glitchy technology (1) gMOs (1) goals (1) gods of Egypt (1) good and evil (3) gorgeous hero (1) gorgeous heroes (1) gratitude (1) gross (1) Grub Street Reads (1) Gwenyth Paltrow (1) H. D. Thomson (8) habits (1) hadean (2) hadean 2 (1) Hallmark (1) han solo (1) Harlequin (1) harvest moon (1) Healer's Fate (1) Heart of Steel (1) Heat Vision and Jack (1) Henry Cavill (1) heroes (1) heroines (1) HGTV (1) historical romance (2) Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1) hoax (1) Holiday Gifts of Love Blog Hop (1) holiday movies (1) Holiday season (4) Holiday windows (1) holidays (8) Holly Madison (1) holograms (1) home improvement stores (1) Homer Simpson (1) horror (1) Hot Fuzz (1) hot summer heroes blog hop (1) house for sale (1) how to write (1) Howl's Moving Castle (1) Hugh Howey (1) hunters moon (1) IMDB (1) immortals (2) Implant Makes Rats Read Minds (1) imprints (1) incentives (1) Independence Day (2) India (1) indie publishing (2) Indiegogo (1) Inkheart (1) inspiration (1) Intergalactic Bar & Grille (1) introduction (2) Irish folklore (1) Irish romance (1) Iron Man (1) Iron Man 3 (1) J. J. Abrams (1) Jack Black (1) Janelle Stalder (1) January 28 1986 (1) Jean-Luc Piccard (1) Jekyll and Hyde (1) Jessica Keller (1) Jody Wallace (1) Johnny Depp (1) Joss Whedon (5) Juicy Couture (2) Jupiter Ascending (1) K. Vale (1) Kathy DiSanto (1) Katniss (1) keys to writing (1) kick-ass heroines (1) kick-butt heroines (14) kids (1) kimber vale (6) Kindle (1) Kirk Alyn (1) Kiss Me Before Dying (1) Kiss Me I'm Home (4) Kiss Me I'm Irish (7) KISS ME I'M YOURS (5) kitten (2) Lamaism (1) large cats (1) Las Vegas (1) Last Resort (1) lawman (1) Leela (1) legends (1) Legends and Lovers Series (4) leia (1) Lemony Snicket (1) leprechauns (5) Lewis Page (1) Lexi Post (1) lgbt (1) liberty (1) life in space (1) likable characters (1) Linda Andrews (7) linda andrews. gmos (1) Linnea Sinclair (2) lists (1) literary fiction (2) Lois Lane (1) Lost (1) love (1) Love Romances (1) love story (2) love triangle (1) luck (1) M Night Shyamalan (1) M/M (2) Mackinac Island MI (1) Mad Max (1) magic (2) Malcolm Reynolds (1) male/male (1) mammogram (1) Man of Steel (2) MARS ATTACKS (1) matchmaker (2) matriarchal societies (1) Matrix (2) Mayans (1) medieval (1) Megan Rhomason (1) Melisse Aires (1) Meljean Brook (1) memes (1) memories (1) mercenary (1) Metropolis (1) Michael Ende (1) Micheal Scott (1) michele (1) Michele Callahan (8) mid century modern (2) Mid-Century Mayhem (2) mid-mod (1) Mila Kunis (1) Millennium (1) Mina Khan (1) Miracle Laurie (1) Miss America (1) Miss Milwaukee (1) Miss Wisconsin (1) Mission to Mars (1) mixing genres (1) MM romance (1) Mockingjay (1) Mockingjay Part 1 (1) modern culture (1) mom (2) Monica Enderle Pierce (1) Monsters University (1) Moonstruck (1) Mother's Day (2) mothers (1) movie (4) movie characters (1) movie review (2) movies (5) Movieweb (1) moving (3) Much Ado About Nothing (1) Muse (1) music (1) music bands (1) Must Love Cats (1) mysteries (1) Mysterious Purple Spheres Found In Desert (1) mythology (2) names (1) NaNoWriMo (1) Nashville (1) Nell Stafford (1) nerds (1) new authors (2) new book release (1) new planets (1) new release (10) new releases (2) New Year (1) New Year's (1) New Year's Resolutions (2) Nicholas Cage (1) nine lives (1) Noah's Ark (2) nomination (1) Nook (1) novel (1) novella (2) novellas (2) olympics (1) Once Upon a Time (1) open house (1) Oregon Trail (1) organization (1) Otherworlds (2) outer space (5) Outlander (1) Ovilvion (1) Owen Wilson (1) pandemic (1) paperback (2) parallel universe (2) paranormal (6) paranormal romance (10) paranormal suspense (2) parodies (1) past and future (1) Pauline Creeden (1) Percy Jackson (1) pets (1) pets in fiction (1) phage (1) Phoenix (1) Phoenix Comicon (3) pirates (1) plague world (1) Planet of the Apes (2) planets (1) playlist (1) post apocalyptic (4) power (1) pre-order (1) Pride & Prejudice (1) prison (1) prizes (1) prologues (1) publishers (1) publishing (1) pumpkin pie (1) pyschic (1) QUEEN (1) rabies (1) rating (1) reader (1) readers (2) readers conventions (1) readers events (1) readers' choice (1) reading (3) rebel. (1) rebellion (1) rebels (1) Red 2 (1) Red Leopard (1) red night (3) Redaction (1) redoing covers (1) Reeses Peanut Butter Cup (2) regency romance (1) registration (1) reincarnation (1) relaxation (1) Research (3) retirement (1) retiring (1) retro (1) retro romance (1) Retro Romance Presents (1) review (1) Revolution (3) Riddick (1) Rip Van Winkle (1) Rise Of The Siren (1) robots (3) rock star romance (1) rock stars (1) role models (1) Role Playing Games (1) romance (52) romance sub-genres (1) romance writers (1) romantic elements (2) romantic movies (2) romantic science fiction (18) romantic science fiction. Anasazi (1) romantic scifi (2) Romantic Times Convention (1) romcon (1) Romeo and Juliet (1) Ron Silver (1) Rosamund Pike (1) RPG (1) RT Booklovers Convention (1) RT16 (1) running away from home (1) S.E. Smith (1) S.H.I.E.L.D. (1) sabrina garie (4) Saint Exupery (1) Samurai (4) SANCTUARY (1) SAVING YESTERDAY (1) school teacher (1) sci fi romance (20) sci-fi (33) sci-fi authors (6) sci-fi bands (1) sci-fi books (7) sci-fi erotic romance (1) Sci-Fi Fantasy (1) sci-fi films (8) sci-fi movies (4) sci-fi romance (43) sci-fi tropes (1) sci-fi tv (1) science (2) science fiction (59) science fiction romance (14) Science Fiction Romance Brigade (1) science vs sci-fi (1) science-fiction (1) Scientists Create Sixth Sense (1) Scientists Create Zombie Cells (1) Scifi (11) scifi erotica (1) SciFi movies (1) scifi romance (7) SciFiRomance.net (1) Scott Nova (1) Scott Speedman (1) se smith (1) Season Finale (1) secondary characters (1) secret bases (1) secret projects (1) self-publishing (1) Selfless (1) selling a home (1) SERENITY (2) series (18) Series of Unfortunate Events (1) sexism (1) Sexy Sci-fi (1) SFR (5) SFWA (1) shades of gray (1) Shakespeare (1) shapeshifter (2) Shaun of the Dead (1) Sherlock Holmes (1) Sherrilyn Kenyon (1) Shiva (1) Shonna Wright (1) Shooting Stars series (2) short fantasy romance (5) short story (1) short valentine's day romance (2) shrouded in illusion (3) shrouded series (2) sight (1) Signs (1) silver storm (3) Simon R Green (1) singh (1) Slim Whitman (1) small press (1) small town romance (1) Smart Girls Love Sci-Fi (1) smell (1) smugglers (2) Snoo snoo (1) Snow Cheetah (2) songs (1) soulmate (1) sound (1) South America (1) space (11) space age (1) space aliens (1) space battles (1) space exploration (4) space frontier (1) Space opera (15) space pirates (1) space race (1) space shuttle disaster (1) space station (11) space travel (1) space western (1) space-time continuum (1) spaceship (4) spaceships (3) speculative (1) speculative fiction (6) Spiderman (1) St Patrick's Day (2) St Patrick's Day short story (3) staging (1) Star Catcher (3) STAR CRASH (1) Star Trek (9) Star Trek Beyond (1) Star Trek Into Darkness (2) Star Trek Voyager (1) Star Trek: Next Generation (2) Star Wars (1) Stargate (1) Starship Crew (1) Starz (1) Steam Drill Blues (1) steamfolk (1) steampunk (5) Stephanie Meyers (1) Stephen Amell (1) Steven King (1) story (1) Story Ideas (1) Stranger Than Fiction (1) stress (1) Strictly Ballroom (1) strong heroine (1) strong heroines (2) Stuff I Shouldn't Be Writing (1) success as a writer. (1) successful writing (1) summer (1) sun glasses (1) super hero (1) superhero (2) superhumans (1) superman (1) Supermassive Black Hole (1) Supernatural (1) supernatural abilities (1) superpower (1) supersoldier (1) survival (1) survivor road (1) suspense (2) Suzanne Collins (3) sweet romance (1) SWITCH (1) swords (4) symbolism (1) syn-en (5) Tahmoh Penikett (1) Tai-Chi (1) Tanith Lee (1) Tara Chevrestt (1) taste (1) Technology (1) telekinesis (1) telepathy (1) television series (2) Tengrism (1) Tennessee Waltz (5) text messaging (1) Thanksgiving (2) The Brady Bunch (1) The Cleverest of the all (1) The Doomsday Book (2) The down home alien blues (1) The Galaxy Express (1) The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (1) The Great Gatsby (1) The Hobbit (1) The Host (1) The Hunger Games (5) The Hunter Games (1) The League (1) The Legend of Jogn Henry (1) The Long Road Home (1) THE MAD SCIENTIST'S DAUGHTER (1) The Matrix (1) The Offshore Pirate (1) The Register (1) The Scarlet Letter (1) The Sci-Fi Romance Group (1) The Silver Metal Lover (1) The Sky Pirate's Wife (1) The syn-en solution (1) THE SYNCHRONICITY WAR PART 1 (1) The Tempest (1) The Treasure Hunter's Lady (3) The Turncoat's Temptress (2) The Whispers (1) The Whole Truth (1) The Z Word (4) theories (1) Theseus (1) This Time For Keeps (1) thriller (1) throwing away chapters (1) Time (2) time travel (10) Time Travel By Design (1) time travel romance (9) time-space continuum (1) time-travel (4) timewalker (2) Timewalkers (4) TNT (1) Tom Cruise (1) Tom Hardy (1) Tonya Cannariato (6) Total Recall (1) touch (1) traditional publishing (1) traditions (3) Trail of Tears (1) trans-humans (1) treasure (1) tree (2) tropes (1) TV series (2) TV shows (4) TV Tropes (1) Twilight (1) Twilight Moms (1) Twilight Zone - A World Of His Own (1) twins (1) UFOs (1) UNDER DIFFERENT STARS (1) Underworld (2) Unicorn City (1) US Space Force (1) vacation (1) Valentine's Day (6) Valerian (1) vampires (1) Vance Kotrla (1) vanilla (1) veterinarian (1) Vijaya Schartz (94) village (1) villains (2) villians (1) vintage paperbacks (1) vintage romance (1) vintage sci-fi (1) virtual reality (2) visions (1) Wachowskis (1) waning gibbous moon (1) war (1) warrior (1) weapons (1) western historical romance (1) what I'm reading (2) what to write (1) what's next (1) whipped cream (1) white fire (1) White Tiger (2) widowed father (2) Wikipedia (1) William Shatner (1) win (2) winter (1) Witness (1) Wolf-Rayet (1) Woman To Give Birth To Neanderthal Man (1) woman warrior (1) Wookie (1) WOOL (1) word count (1) work in process (1) workshop (1) world building (2) World War Z (1) world-building (1) World's End (1) wormholes (1) writers (1) writers and cats (1) writing (18) writing advice (1) writing craft (3) writing life (3) writing on deadlines (1) writing process (1) writing science fiction (1) writing scifi (1) writing series (1) writing the book (1) writing. (1) Wytchfire (1) YA books (1) year 2019 review (1) yoda (1) zombies (2) Zoolander (1)

Blog Archive

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

HALLOWEEN - LOVE IT OR HATE IT?



My birthday falls near the end of October, so when I was young I loved Halloween. Every year my birthday party was a costume party. My younger brother's birthday is also in October and we're only two years apart, so Mom insisted that we celebrate with one big gathering of all our friends. Saved her time, money and clean up. The family party was held separately and earlier in the month and costumes weren't worn, much to the disappointment of my cousins and me.

But for the kid party our friends came dressed as cowboys, Indians, spacemen, fairies, and some things I'm not sure of. As the birthday girl I reserved the privilege of being the one and only witch. When I was very young I chose to be the ugly, wart covered kind. But as I got older and boys started to interest me my witch got less warty and a bit slinkier. Back then (in what my children refer to as the Dark Ages) no one dressed up as super heroes other than Superman or Batman and no one ever thought of coming as some movie star or sport figure. And the only monsters were the classic Frankenstein, Dracula and The Mummy.

If the weather allowed we held the party outside. We jumped in the leaves my dad had raked for that purpose, played Pin the Tail on the Donkey, and blind man's bluff. We dunked for apples and ate hot dogs, potato chips, and birthday cake. If Mother Nature refused to cooperate we moved inside my parents' tiny house and proceeded to destroy it. Mom always prayed for good weather.

When my two boys were young I tried to recreate the sweetness of those Halloweens. But either my memories were flawed, times had changed or my boys just weren't interested in good old fashioned fun. They preferred rough and tumble games like laser tag and paint ball, and costumes that featured fake blood and gore with body parts hanging or missing. Tricks proved more irresistible than treats, especially to the neighbor boys.

I could live with the TP decorating my trees and having my car picked up and turned sideways in the driveway. Even the condom (fortunately unused) stretched over the front doorknob didn't sour me on Halloween. But did you know that eggs tossed against wood siding or your car will eat off paint?

As the years went by Halloween turned from an anticipated event to a dreaded one. The costumes seemed to get gorier and grosser, skimpier and sexier. Then there was the whole tainted treats scare. Razor blades in apples. LSD coated candy. Where I used to make homemade treats like caramel apples and popcorn balls, now I was forced to buy prepackaged candy from the store, and check each piece my boys brought home before they could eat it. Probably not a totally bad thing since I could monitor how much they ate and when they ate it. Yeah, right. The growing cynic in me wondered if the whole scare wasn't just a promotional tool of the candy companies.

Once my boys outgrew the need to dress up in costume and go out to terrorize the neighborhood under the guise of begging for candy, Halloween slipped further down the list of my favorite holidays. Giving out candy meant spending my afternoon and evening jumping up every few minutes to answer the door. If I decided not to hand out the sweet stuff I risked having my house egged, porch light broken or garbage strewn across the porch by angry teenagers much too old to be out Trick or Treating.

Each year that passed whittled away at my affection for Halloween. It got so the sight of ghosts, skeletons and monsters decorating the stores made me cringe at the coming of that one night.

 

That's why I found it strange when I wrote my contemporary romance MAGGIE UNDERCOVER I included a Halloween scene. In that scene the hero takes his young daughter out to Trick or Treat and the heroine joins them. Writing the scene brought back memories of taking my boys out as well as going out as a child. It stirred my old love of dressing up and pretending to be someone or something else for a short period of time and being rewarded for imagination with sweet treats.

Available from Amazon & Smashwords for .99.


So while I still find myself less than fond of the Halloween holiday, I cherish the memory of those past. The experiences I gained from them stirred my creativity, shaped my imagination and helped develop me into the writer I am today.

Hope you enjoy this coming Halloween!
Elysa 

0 comments:

Who We Are

This tells about us.

Followers