Monday, October 31, 2011

Zombie Felties: The Halloween Giveaway



They are cute. They are disturbing. They are zombie felties and they will take over the world! Bwah ha ha! These little guys are so devilish and cute, it's hard not to fall in love with them and want to make every single one!


But now for the best news of the day! The Giveaway! You too can own a Zombie Feltie book of your very own. It's simple! Just fill out the Rafflecopter form...

The Laughing Vixen Lounge



Jewelry with a retro horror flair...

Zombie Bracelet - Horror Jewelry - Zombie Jewelry - Halloween Horror Bracelet - Zombie Charm Bracelet


Zombie Pinup Necklace - Zombie Necklace Jewelry - Halloween Horror Jewelry - Zombie Pin Up - Buy 2 Get 1 Free


Vampire Blood Bracelet - Deluxe Charm Bracelet


I don't know about you, but I want all of them!

Now for the giveaway:

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Rinni's Playground Giveaway and Pumpkin Pancake Recipe...Yum!


RinnisPlayground

Hello hello!! I'm a 31 year old mother of 9 year old twin boys. AHHHH!!
I love art and the act of creating something. It's good for my sanity. ;) I've only had a relationship with my sewing machine for the past year and a half but I guess you could say we're going "steady". I find fabric to be a fantastic medium and I'm still exploring the possibilities.

All Hallows Eve has always but always been a favorite of mine.  As a child I loved the idea of dressing up as anything I wanted, whether it be fantastical, mythical, scary or beastly.  And of course the candy was a big draw. Now as a mother, the candy is the least of my favorite things!  The twins will undoubtably try to gorge themselves and later complain of upset tummies.  My mom use to give me ginger tea to drink for an upset stomach but I find the flavor to strong, so the twins will get a peppermint tea for their little bellies.

Our little All Hallows family tradition is pumpkin picking at the local patch, a fairly common practice to be sure, and oh so much fun!  The boys look for the biggest bestest pumpkin and I look for the ugliest, the wartier the better!  This year their pumpkins together weighed 91 pounds!!  I went for an oversized squash, twas'nt ugly but it did have the required warts so I was happy.

Now for some tasty treats...

In the caldron boil and bake;
    Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
    Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
    Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
    Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing,—

Oh wait, wrong recipe.  Sorry.  ;)

In celebration of the pumpkin and it's undeniable connection to All Hallows Eve/Samhain I offer up an EASY to make and twin taste tested and approved, Pumpkin Pancakes!

2 1/2 cups instant pancake mix
1 cup pumpkin puree
3 TBS brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

There are so many ways you can adjust this recipe to your own taste or what you have on hand.  Pumpkin puree already has all the spices?  Excellent even easier.  Don't have pumpkin pie spice?
Try:
1 TBS cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground clove
2 tsp ground ginger

Enjoy those pumpkin pancakes!!









Punky is the cutest Woodland creature ever!
Enter to win this adorable little guy.
Everyone needs someone to share pancakes with...

Zombie Girl Shambling: A Visit With Rhiannon Frater Author of The First Days





1. How did you decide to write about zombies?

I never set out to write about zombies.  I enjoyed the genre, but I had no intention of writing a zombie tale.  I was at work one day when I saw a vivid image in my head of a woman standing on the porch of her house staring down at the bottom of the front door.  She was trembling and in shock and then I saw what she was staring at.  It was the tiny fingers of her zombified toddler pressed under the front door trying to reach her.  It was such a shocking image that I ended up writing what I considered a short story (at that time) and posted it online.  The reaction was positive from the readers and that short story evolved into an online serial.  I suppose the story chose me.

2. What is your favorite Halloween memory?

My wedding day in 2007.  It was such a beautiful fall day in the Texas Hill Country and I was so excited to marry the man I love on my favorite holiday.

3. Do you have a favorite zombie movie?

It’s definitely Night of the Living Dead followed closely by the original Dawn of the Dead.

4. If you had a soundtrack for your books, what would it be?

They all have different soundtracks.  AS THE WORLD DIES was a lot of Rob Zombie, PJ Harvey, and Johnny Cash.  For THE TALE OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE I listened to the soundtrack to Bram Stoker’s Dracula.  It really depends on the atmosphere I need for the novel.

5. When is the next book coming out?

THE VENGEANCE OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE is going to be out by the end of September.  It’s the second book of the Vampire Bride series.  I love writing gothic horror.  It’s both gruesome and beautiful.
FIGHTING TO SURVIVE, the second book in the AS THE WORLD DIES series comes out on November 8, 2011.

6. Your books started on a blog? Tell us how that happened.

Honestly, by accident.  I posted the original short story “Tiny Fingers” and it blew up from there.  I never dreamed I would end up self publishing the books and then have them picked up by Tor for reissue. 

7. How do you structure your books? Outlines? By the seat of your pants?

I write what I see on the movie screen in my head.  My novels come to me often in dreams or in flashes of inspiration. I just pay attention to what I see and hear and translate that into a narrative.  After I write the first draft, I go through the novel to make sure that the story is cohesive.  I am told that I write cinematically and that is probably because I see the stories so vividly in my mind when I write.

8. What is next after zombies? 

I have at least one zombie book left in me and it’s a futuristic one I have already started working on.  But I have other monsters lurking in my mind, some traditional, some of my own warped mind’s creation.  Though I love the zombie genre, I define myself as a horror writer and I have a myriad of different stories waiting to be born.

9. If you were in a zombie apocalypse, what would your weapon of choice be?

A light saber. 

10. How do you feel about Twinkees?

Honestly, they gross me out.  *shivers*

Ha! I totally agree about the Twinkees! That was a great interview Rhiannon! Thanks for spending time with us here at Zombie Girl Shambling!





Now for the giveaway!

Pride Prejudice and Zombies: The App







“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.”



So begins Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, an expanded re-telling of the beloved Jane Austen novel featuring all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie mayhem.



This interactive ebook features hundreds of illustrations, an original musical score, buckets of gory animation, and a pair of literary masterpieces: Hold your device right- side-up to enjoy Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Turn it upside-down to read Jane Austen’s original Pride and Prejudice. Turn the device 90 degrees to read both novels, side-by-side. Featuring:

- Enhanced book/app version of the bestselling novel
- Hundreds of pages of illustrated, interactive zombie mayhem
- Complete text of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies AND Jane Austen’s beloved Pride and Prejudice
- Original musical score and sound effects



"Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Interactive eBook" was created, developed, and designed by Quirk Books and by PadWorx Digital Media Inc, creators of the #1 book apps "Dracula: The Official Stoker Family Edition" and "A Christmas Carol for iPad," and winner of the 2010 Publishing Innovation Award.




Etsy Artist Find: Hope Photo Art+ Giveaway



Images like you have never seen in one collection. Tea towel transfers, place cards, signs, posters...you name it and Hope Photo
Art has it. Halloween images to delight and amaze. Please visit her shop and share your favorites with her. 



Trapped Vintage Halloween Postcard 4x6 - backgrounds ATC ACEO greeting cards - U print 300dpi jpg








Vintage Gypsy Fortune Teller 2x3 Collage - witch hang tags greeting cards postcard ATC ACEO - U Print 300dpi jpg

Halloween Mason Jar Witch Potion Labels II Tags - Eye of Newt Graveyard Dust Vampire Fangs Dragons Blood ATC ACEO - U Print 300dpi jpg



Flight of the Witches Image Transfer - Burlap Feed Sacks Canvas Pillows Tea Towels greeting cards paper supplies- U Print JPG 300dpi


And now for the super cool giveaway!

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Goth Pop Gone Wild: The Good Natured





Track List:

1. Your Body Is A Machine
2. Skeleton
3. Wolves
4. Be My Animal
5. Prisoner
6. Hourglass
7. Skeleton (NFIFTYFIVE Remix)

Label: ASTRALWERKS





Release: October 25, 2011
Available: Amazon.com, iTunes



The Good Natured are a British electropop band that had their first EP Warriors out in 2008. This album got a great deal of press and from there, the band's second release Your Body Is A Machine (2009) was signed by Parlophone. Now in October of 2011, they are releasing their much awaited album, Skeleton.The band consists of Sarah McIntosh (vocals, keyboards), Hamish McIntosh (bass) and George Hinton (drums). 

"Wolves" is a high energy mix of electopop keyboard action, playful drums, creative riffs and Sarah's magnetic voice. The lyrics play with dark and the light to weave a Gothic tale of suspense both in word and sound. This piece enraptured me and I wanted to hear more.

"Hourglass" is haunting and thought provoking. Lyrics spin around you as keyboard, bass and percussion weave a spell you simply don't want to break. Sarah's voice holds a duality of crushed velvet and steel. This album would be at home in a Goth club or on your favorite alternative playlist. 


With every track on the album, you have the mysterious element that is so dark and compelling about Goth music, but you also have the electricity of pop that doesn't allow this band to stay in just one genre. I for one am putting this album on my wishlist.

What I liked:

Every track was amazing. Usually you have one or two that are not quite what you are looking for. This is not the case here. The Good Natured have outdone themselves with this CD.

What I didn't:

I wish it was longer. At 23:45 minutes, I found myself spinning the album more than once, but trust me when I say, that was not a problem.

Overall:

5/5

This album is up there on my favorite new band list and I look forward to hearing the next release from this talented group of musicians. Their combination of the dark Goth feel and the energy of a pop song really makes Skeleton a must have album. I highly recommend it.


The Deepest Cut Giveaway



THE DEEPEST CUT:  a MacKinnon Curse novel
Sixteen-year-old Riley Williams has been able to see ghosts since the car crash that took her mother’s life and shattered her family. Guilt-ridden over the belief that she’s somehow responsible for her mom’s death, Riley is desperate to see her mother’s elusive spirit to gain her forgiveness. 


When her father moves the family to Scotland so they can all start over, Riley believes her life couldn’t get worse––that is until the ghost of nineteen-year-old Ian MacKinnon catches her purposely cutting herself. An uneasy truce quickly turns into friendship, and soon Riley’s falling hard for Ian. 


Riley believes her gift could help Ian end the curse that has kept him tied to the land for centuries, but that would mean letting him go forever and she’s not sure she is strong enough to do that. As if her life wasn’t complicated enough, the spirit of the woman who killed Ian returns and she’ll stop at nothing to keep Riley from helping Ian find eternal peace. 




When I started reading this book, I was drying my hair and didn't think much about it. An hour later, I am still standing in the bathroom, frozen in place hairdryer doing goodness only knew what. I actually did need to get to bed because I had to go to work the next morning, early, but this book was so good, I could not put it down. I read while I rolled my hair, I read as I got into bed and until I couldn't see anymore. First thing in the morning, on goes the e-reader and I read while I ate my cheerios and did my makeup. Yes, I was almost late for work. 


I know you want to win a copy of this wonderful story? Of course you do! Enter here for a chance to win an e-book.

10 Days of Halloween: Interview with Rebecca Johns and Giveaway



Was the “Blood Countess” history’s first and perhaps worst female serial killer? Or did her accusers create a violent fiction in order to remove this beautiful, intelligent, ambitious foe from the male-dominated world of Hungarian politics?


In 1611, Countess Erzsébet Báthory, a powerful Hungarian noblewoman, stood helpless as masons walled her inside her castle tower, dooming her to spend her final years in solitary confinement. Her crime—the gruesome murders of dozens of female servants, mostly young girls tortured to death for displeasing their ruthless mistress. Her opponents painted her as a bloodthirsty Å¡krata—a witch—a portrayal that would expand to grotesque proportions through the centuries.

In this riveting dramatization of Erzsébet Báthory’s life, the countess tells her story in her own words, writing to her only son—a final reckoning from his mother in an attempt to reveal the truth behind her downfall. Countess Báthory describes her upbringing in one of the most powerful noble houses in Hungary, recounting in loving detail her devotion to her parents and siblings as well as the heartbreak of losing her father at a young age. She soon discovers the price of being a woman in sixteenth-century Hungary as her mother arranges her marriage to Ferenc Nádasdy, a union made with the cold calculation of a financial transaction. Young Erzsébet knows she has no choice but to accept this marriage even as she laments its loveless nature and ultimately turns to the illicit affections of another man.

Seemingly resigned to a marriage of convenience and a life of surreptitious pleasure, the countess surprises even herself as she ignites a marital spark with Ferenc through the most unromantic of acts: the violent punishment of an insolent female servant. The event shows Ferenc that his wife is no trophy but a strong, determined woman more than capable of managing their vast estates during Ferenc’s extensive military campaigns against the Turks. Her naked assertion of power accomplishes what her famed beauty could not: capturing the love of her husband.

The countess embraces this new role of loving wife and mother, doing everything she can to expand her husband’s power and secure her family’s future. But a darker side surfaces as Countess Báthory’s demand for virtue, obedience, and, above all, respect from her servants takes a sinister turn. What emerges is not only a disturbing, unflinching portrait of the deeds that gave Báthory the moniker “Blood Countess,” but an intimate look at the woman who became a monster.

Goodreads



The interview:

1. How did you first get interested in the Bathory legend/case?

I guess I've always been interested in serial killers and other assorted psychos—not in an obsessed kind of way, but curious in a writerly way, how some people are able to convince themselves that murder is justifiable or even desirable.  For me, character is always paramount when I’m thinking of writing a book, and serial killers make great characters.  A woman serial killer, too—a powerful noblewoman with a famous family, locked in a tower for the last years of her life.  How gothic!  Who wouldn’t want to write about her?

My first book was about nice people trying to get by in some not-so-nice circumstances.  I was aching for the chance to write about some not-so-nice people for a change.  Bad people doing bad things makes for good fiction.


2. You have meticulously researched Bathory's life. How long did it take you to write The Countess?

It helps (at least from a time-management standpoint) that there are so few decent non-fiction books in English about Báthory, only two or three really.  A lot of the others read like S&M manuals, and most are heavily reliant on myth instead of fact.  When I finally found some reliable, dispassionate historical sources, I read each two or three times so that I really knew the story, and then I wrote (literally) like a madwoman.  The first draft took about nine months, and then another six for revision.  I can actually write fairly fast once I get on a roll, maybe five pages a day or so.


3. As I read the book, I find myself having a great deal of sympathy for Elizabeth on many occasions. Did you find this true for yourself as well?

Absolutely.  And that was a deliberate choice—not because I believe her when she says she’s innocent, but because I want to believe her.  I keep hoping she’s not going to do the things she’s accused of doing, that it’s really going to be some terrible mistake, but of course it isn’t.  For most of us murder is so foreign to our understanding of ourselves—something we can’t imagine ourselves actually committing—that I think it’s only natural to place murderers in a category as people completely separate from ourselves.  In this book I wanted the reader to get uncomfortably close to her view of the world, see things through her eyes, but who’s going to do that if they don’t like her, at least a little bit?  She starts off in the novel as a child, and it’s hard not to sympathize with a child.  But as the story goes on, that sympathy starts to erode.  It’s a little bit like sitting next to someone on an airplane as he tells you his life story, and little by little you realize he’s completely nuts.  You don’t start out wanting to dislike him, but that’s where you end up.


4. I find it interesting how the Countess relates to women and how she interacts with men. Why do you think she has different relationships with men than she does with women?

She is encouraged from a young age to view the men in her life as her saviors and protectors, and their love as her ultimate achievement.  But if her most important role in life is to secure the love of a man—any man, including her son—to protect herself, then other women are nothing but threats.  Any woman who might prove herself to be too attractive to a man is not someone Bathory befriends.  She surrounds herself with oddities, so that in comparison she always looks better.  Most women of her station would have as her inner circle refined friends and relations, people of equal or only slightly lesser stature, while Bathory’s most trusted confidantes are the ugliest, roughest women in the household, women who don’t threaten her sense of herself.


5. What was your overall impression of Elizabeth Bathory as a person?

I think she suffered from a massive ego and an enormous sense of entitlement that came with her wealth and her powerful name.  And yet she was a loving, even doting mother, and clearly a capable businesswoman.  At a time when most families in Hungary were struggling financially, she managed to build her family’s wealth and influence, even after her husband died.  This image of her as a blood-crazed psychopath doesn’t jibe with the intelligent, well-educated and influential person she was during her lifetime.  I do think she was capable of violence, and of viewing people, especially servants, as possessions, which then would give her the ability to look on their suffering as insignificant.  Remember this was a time when people believed that wealth and consequence were things bestowed by God rather than good fortune—if you were rich, it must be because you were more virtuous.  God would never let the unjust be prosperous, right?

I do wonder, though, if anyone would have cared what happened to her servants if her nephew Gabor hadn't been causing so much turmoil in Transylvania at the time.  The palatine had plenty of reasons for imprisoning her other than murder, which I think the book explores pretty thoroughly.  There are some Eastern European scholars who think she was absolutely framed.  I don't agree with that assessment, but I can see where they'd get the idea.


6. If you could pick music to play while you read this book, what would it be? (Did you listen to anything when you wrote it?)

I always listen to music when I write.  I usually write in coffee shops (if I try to write at home I end up, instead, having the cleanest house in town) so I usually need something on in the background to drown out the sounds of other people around me.  My playlist for this novel included some Fleet Foxes, Sun Kil Moon, and The Shins to get me warmed up, and then I switch to music without words so I can concentrate.  The Cocteau Twins are great to write to.  I like jazz too, especially Miles Davis.


7.  What are some of your favorite authors?

Oh, dear, do I really have to pick?  I think more of favorite books than favorite authors, books like Nabokov’s Lolita and David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas and John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces and Shirley Hazzard’s The Transit of Venus and William Maxwell’s Time Will Darken It.  I can’t say that I’ve read all the books published by those authors, but those books stand out without having read everything by each author.


8. Are you a fan of vampire movies and books? Do you think Elizabeth Bathory falls into their ranks, or was she more a victim of her time?

I would not list Bathory among the vampires.  She absolutely was not a blood-bather or -drinker of any kind—that’s a Victorian idea that got grafted onto her story more than a hundred years after she died, when the witch trials were really gathering speed.  Those claims don’t appear anywhere in the actual testimony of witnesses called upon when the palatine was gathering evidence against her.  Nor did she kill 600+ girls (a claim made by only one “witness” out of hundreds, who heard it secondhand from someone else and reported it as fact, a series of events that definitely would not stand up in a modern court).  Her four senior servants, who were really the only people in a position to know, listed the number of her victims very reliably at between 35 and 80, and really, isn’t that enough?  Part of what interested me in her story was that these “facts” (the blood-bathing and 600 victims) are stated over and over with such authority by so many when really neither of them is true.  I wanted to get at the historical Bathory, not the Bathory of legend.  The historical Bathory is a victim of nothing but her own massive ego.  Like most people, she does the really permanent damage to herself.

As for vampire books, I recently finished The Passage by Justin Cronin, which I loved and which is so different from his first book, Mary and O’Neil, which I also loved and which is much closer to what I normally read.  The Passage is so smart, so well-written and engrossing, I can’t wait for The Twelve to come out.  But honestly I don’t usually read much vampire fiction.  I find Dracula irritatingly Victorian in its treatment of the female characters as poor victims, fainting flowers who must be protected by the big strong men in their lives.  I don’t know any women like that in real life, do you?  Intellectually I suppose I understand the draw in the sensual power of bloodlust and the undercurrent of sex, but vampires are not my favorite monsters.  I’m more interested in humans.


9. Do you find it easier to write loosely or outline your work? Perhaps a combination of the two? Aspiring writers would love to know...

I like to write loosely, with maybe a few “beats” plotted out and an endpoint in mind but not a real firm commitment to any particular plotline.  My stories are driven by character, so I like to be able to surprise myself, to make connections in a story that maybe I wouldn’t have thought of beforehand.  If I write a detailed outline, I am instantly not interested in writing the story any longer.  I write because I want to know what happens, too, and most importantly why it happens.


10. What is your next project?

I think here I will plead the fifth.  I have so many new ideas that I go back and forth every day trying to decide which one to do next.  If I say for certain which one it is today, tomorrow it will be something different.  My husband keeps telling me I need to commit, to stop cheating on all my literary wives.  But I’m hoping to know for sure by the end of the year and have a chunk of a new draft written.


Thank you Rebecca for such a wonderful interview!

Now for the giveaway.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Zombies: The Giveaway


Matt Mogk, founder of  the ZombieResearchSociety is the ultimate authority on zombies. Whether they are living, dead or somewhere in between, Mogk is the expert. This question and answer book is indispensable for clearing up those pesky questions about whether a zombie can actually eat you, or just chew off your face. Hmmm. Good one! Well, now is your chance to win one of three copies for yourself in this super amazing giveaway! *US only.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Destined: The Giveaway




In Destined, the forces of Light and Dark collide as their epic struggle focuses on Tulsa's House of Night. Zoey is home where she belongs, safe with her Guardian Warrior, Stark, by her side and preparing to face off against Neferet. Kalona has released his hold on Rephaim, and, through Nyx's gift of a human form, he and Stevie Rae are finally able to be together if Rephaim can truly walk the path of the Goddess and stay free of his father's shadow.

But is Zoey really safe? Does she truly know those who are closest to her? And will love win when it is tested by the very soul of Darkness? Find out what s destined in the next thrilling chapter of the House of Night series.

Goodreads




Are you ready for the giveaway?

Aaron Stoquert: Remaining Days




1.The Guests 01:24
2.Flesh and Bone 03:02
3.Last Day 03:03
4.Memory In You 01:01
5.Dog Days 02:23
6.A Lock for You 02:54
7.Again and Again 00:44
8.Plead No More 03:23
9.Prisoner 03:24
10.The Front Lines 03:51
11.Fields at Day Break 09:25





Aaron Stoquert is the New York city folk artist that has been taking the world by storm.  He sings about zombies and what they might be experiencing in their post human state.  And what music he makes. Zombies roam the post-apocalyptic earth but not to the death metal sounds you might expect. Stoquert first hit the scene with his five track debut  Run For Your Life in January 2011. Now with his follow up and first full length album just released in October 2011, Remaining Days carries on where Run For Your Life left off.



"Soft Skin"
Filmed by 4 Dead Guyz
Run For Your Life

Stoquert takes your average zombie and gives him a heart. With a folksy sound and theatrical “aged” audio, the experience of being one of the undead in the zombie horde is awakened and given a fresh breath of life. No death metal here. Just piano music, a light buzzing of an aged radio to give it substance, guitar and a whole lot of pensive vocals that blend together to create a theatre of the damned.

“The Guests” is the first track on Remaining Days. The sound of an old record plays as the track ramps up, paired with steady droning piano music that could easily be a funeral dirge. The end of days is here, and set to music. It bleeds right into “Flesh and Bone” and now our favorite zombie begins to sing. “Were coming for you. Say Goodbye…” The horde is coming. Coming for you. As long as Stoquert is singing, I might not mind being a zombie so much. His blend of folksy rock is addictive and if you like Zombieland or The Walking Dead, you have to get this album.

“Last Day” is another track that holds my interest. A steady beat of drums, light guitar in the background and a major focus on Stoquert’s vocals make the song pop.  Lyrics about putting blood and guts under the moonlight make a living heart shudder and want to run the other way, but Stoquert’s  unique pairing of zombified vocals and acoustic guitar compel you to listen.

This album reminds me of the book Warm Bodies set to be an upcoming movie. The zombie is sentient and feels. Another book that this fits well with would be Jonathan Maberry’s Dead of Night just released on October 26th.


Rating: 5/5

If you are a fan of zombie books, movies and trivia, you owe it to yourself to visit Aaron Stoquert at his Bandcamp site and download Remaining Days. Check out the sound clips. You won’t be disappointed.

Recorded at Time To Operate Studios, part of Time To Operate Records, Brooklyn NY
August - October 2011

Mixed by Ryan Dugan
Audio Engineer / Technician Eamonn McKiernan

---------------------------------------------------------------------
All music and lyrics written by Aaron Stoquert
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Performances by:
Aaron Stoquert - Guitar, Vocals, Piano
Krista Masino - Vocals
Max Campanie - Percussion, Drums
Cody Campanie - Bass
Jim Heffernan - Cello


Possess Interview with Gretchen McNeil+ Giveaway






1. How did you come to write about possession?

I’ve always been fascinated by the concept of exorcism and demonic possession, and by the fact that the Catholic Church is the only western religion with a codified exorcism ritual.  Pope Benedict the XVI even issued an edict instructing all archdioceses around the world to send one priest to the Vatican for official exorcist training.  How freaky is that?

Basically, my original idea was to write a scary book.  Borderline horror of the hopefully page-turner variety.  And when I started to think about what really scared me, demonic possession was at the top of the list.  I started doing so research, mostly first-hand accounts of exorcism and possession, and was totally hooked.  The rest just sort of grew from there!


2. Have you seen The Exorcist? What impression did it leave on you?

Scariest movie of all time.  Hands down.


3. What are some authors that have influenced your writing?

Warning: this is an eclectic list.  Agatha Christie, Anthony Bourdain, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Louisa Mae Alcott, John Buchan, Ambrose Bierce, Robert Louis Stevenson, John Bellairs and Susan Cooper.


4. What is your writing day like? You work another job...how does the balance angle work?

It's a tough balance.  I have a full time job so writing is something I do at night.  I usually write in bed, and depending on deadlines, I spend 2-3 hours per night writing, less if I've been able to spend some time during the day plotting out the night's writing.


5. Do you like to structure your story before you write it or just let it flow by the seat of your pants?

Both?  I generally do a pretty detailed outline of the first act of the novel, the setup and general impetus for the plot, then a very loose outline of acts two and three, just hitting the big climaxes.  That way, things can develop and change as I write (they always do) but at least I'm not wandering around in the wilderness without a map!


6. If you had a soundtrack for Possess, what would it be?

I DO have a soundtrack for POSSESS!  Behold: Bridget's iPod!

CURRENT FAVES
"The Fallen" by Franz Ferdinand
"Time to Pretend" by MGMT
"Kiss With A Fist" by Florence + the Machine
"Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People
"I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor" by Arctic Monkeys

OLDIES BUT GOODIES
"Hysteria" by Muse
"Bullet With Butterfly Wings" by Smashing Pumpkins
"Killing In The Name Of" by Rage Against the Machine

QUILTY PLEASURES
"The Cave" by Mumford & Sons
"Telephone" by Lady Gaga
"Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole


7. Will there be another to make it a series?

The sequel to POSSESS is tentatively scheduled for Fall 2013.


8. What is your next writing project?

I just finished revisions on my next project TEN, a stand alone horror novel about ten teens trapped on an island with a serial killer, scheduled for Fall 2012 also with Balzer + Bray.  I wanted to do something creepy and chilling, but without paranormal elements, kind of a throw back to Lois Duncan, Christopher Pike and the scary books that kept me awake at night when I was a teen!


9. Have you ever read Practical Magic or seen the movie? What did you think?

I love Practical Magic.  In fact, I love it so much that I used the house from that movie as the inspiration for White Rock House in TEN.


10. What is one thing you would want a reader to get from Possess?

I want the reading experience for POSSESS to be – as a few reviewers have said – "unputdownable."  Regardless of what you think of the story, the mystery, the characters or my writing, I wanted to write a fast-paced page turner, and I hope that's how people view it.


11. What is your most memorable Halloween experience?

About five years ago some friends and I put on a Halloween show, complete with readings of Poe, Bierce, La Fanu and Blackwood, a band, magic, a Dr. Frank-N-Furter pianist and a fake séance, all in a recreated Vaudeville theater.  It was pretty awesome.


Thanks so much Gretchen! What a great interview! Now for the awesome giveaway!

Frail Giveaway from Read-All-Over.Net and the 31 Days of Halloween


Paranormal Wastelands

Read All Over Reviews





Read All Over is a blog where we review, talk about, whine, squee and more over books, film, music and (now) television. We began back in 2006 as Belladonna’s Bookshelf then changed our name and moved locations in mid-2008 and now we are finally at a permanent (I hope!)

The title of our blog was snatched from the old elementary riddle “what’s black and white and read all over?” (answer: a newspaper)


Make sure you pop over to the blog to see my guest post and 
to enter the wonderful contests with 31 Days of Giveaways!




Being human is a disadvantage in post-apocalyptic America...

Now that the Feeding Plague has swept through human and zombie societies, it seems like everyone is an "ex" these days. Ex-human. Ex- zombie. Except for Amy, that is. She's the only human survivor from her town-a frail. And if the feral dogs, the flesh-eating exes, and the elements don't get her, she just may discover how this all began. Because in this America, life is what you make it...


Many thanks to Teresa for hosting a giveaway of Frail. 

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Halloween With Juan Pablo Mazzola from Baby Scream


My job as a music reviewer is the coolest ever. Many thanks to Keith at Muzikreviews.com for the chance to meet so many wonderful musicians and write about their work. On one of my assignments, I got to talking with Juan Pablo Mazzola of Baby Scream and we have been messaging each other ever since. 


Please check out the links to both write ups. We even got review of the week! Here are the links:











The subject recently came up about Halloween and I asked Juan about a couple of his creepier songs, especially "The Ghost of Valerie." He had a tale to share and a picture to go with it. 




Ok, so first of all, I adore Halloween…..I collect movies and most of them are b-movies, I love that spooky vibe….I do believe in ghosts and spirits, I try to connect with the right ones, there are a lot of trashy spirits out there, if you know what I mean..….As much as I love Halloween and b-movies, I love the U.S. and its culture…I spent Halloween in 2007 in Hollywood, we ended up at some weird concert with 80´s rock stars (f***in´ Chris Holmes from W.A.S.P. was there)

The atmosphere was insane, I don´t know what kind of drug they were doing there that night but I remember a naked (literally naked) woman  in the middle of the dance floor…To my surprise, the late Jani Lane was there, I am a huge Jani Lane fan, I got to meet him and we talked about music for a little while…a few year later, around late 2009 – early 2010…I wrote a small piece of music called “The Ghosts Of Valerie”…I recorded it in L.A. with Muddy Stardust producing it, at the time he was playing in a band with Eric Dover (Jellyfish, Sextus, Alice Cooper)…Muddy asked Eric to sing in the song, he ended up singing and playing lead guitar…but what does this have to do with Halloween?....well, I wrote the song inspired by some really spooky f****d up people from my past, now, the weird thing is that everytime I was playing or rehearsing this song, some of these lunatics would appear with dark vibes, I ended up actually not listening to the song as I believe it haunts me in a bad way…


The Ghosts Of Valerie (FT Eric Dover) by babyscream

Click the above link to check out this extremely awesome song.  I loved it. Creepy and it kind of gets in your head. Head over to Reverbnation and become a fan and over to their Facebook Fan Page and "like" them for future updates. 


This is an awesome group with thought provoking lyrics that really rock it. Make sure you check out the reviews and pop over to their websites.



Management (Melanie J Perrett )