My Worst Nightmare: Catch Me When I Fall Blog Hop (and a contest!)

Today, I’m taking part in Vicki Leigh’s “My Worst Nightmare” blog hop, to celebrate the recent release of her young-adult, paranormal-romance/ urban-fantasy, CATCH ME WHEN I FALL, which centres around seventeen-year-old Daniel Graham, a Protector of the Night, who has spent two-hundred years fighting Nightmares and guarding humans from the clawed, red-eyed creatures that feed off people’s fears.

Rules:

·         On 11.03.14 post about your worst nightmare, and what form the clawed, red-eyed creatures would take if they fed off your fears.

·         Visit the other participants of the blog hop, and comment on their worst nightmares

At the end of the blog tour, on 11.14.14, Vicki Leigh will pick one of the participants at random and award them with [prize].

Okay, I know that participating in blog hops (which are different from blog tours) is not something I typically do on this blog. I have my reasons, but a lot of times it's because I generally don't have time to keep up with everyone's everything, and if I do one, I will feel like I need to do them all.

But with Halloween recently passed, and since I'm participating in this blog tour anyway, they are pretty much interconnected. So. I'm supposed to write about my worst nightmare.

Here's the thing. I don't like writing about nightmares. I am not necessarily a horror writer, at least, not that I have yet discovered. In fact, on my last author panel, someone asked what we like to write about, and my answer was kissing. I write kissing books! And romance. And yes, they all have conflict, some of which is pretty scary stuff. But in my mind, it all revolves around the kissing.

And since I'm in confession mode, it's been a very long time since I had a sleeping nightmare. By that, I mean a really bad dream that occurs while I'm asleep, and that I remember when I wake up. You should understand by now, though, that I am the person who takes precautions to avoid this kind of issue. We simply don't let the stuff of nightmares into our home. Saves me a lot of grief with my kids.

So instead of writing my personal nightmares, which I absolutely can't remember, I have decided to post some pictures of things that might cause anyone a few nightmares. Okay? Okay.

Captain Hook anyone? 

Yeah, this just...yeah. 

This guy is so scary people are afraid to even utter his name. *coughcoughVoldemortcoughcough*

Need I say more? I don't know anyone who is not afraid of clowns.

My Preciousssssssss...

*Insert Jaws theme music here*

*shuddershudder*

Other blog hop Participants:

Cassidie Jhones at Rebook424 - Cassidie's Reviews | Tawney Bland Twinning for Twins   

Laura Rueckert | Katie Teller at Katie's Stories | Ayden Morgen at A.K. Morgen Writes  

Sharon Bayliss | Emma Adams at From the Writer's Nest               | The Writer Diaries      

Katie at Writing, Reading, and Life | Robyn Koshel at Elder Park Book Reviews   

Jenny at J. Keller Ford - Fantasy Author YA Junkie | S. K. Anthony            

Merisha Abbott                at Blissful Book Reviews                | Sarah at Ink of Blood 

Amy at Home Is Where the Wine Is Book Blog | Zoraida Cordova at Wonderlands            

Ryan Hill at Ryan Hill Writes | Christie Gibrich at A Geek In Librarian's Clothing     

Nichole Giles at Random-ish | Kayl Hughes at Kayl's Krazy Obsession      

Rebecca at Sister Sinister Speaks | Kathy Kozak at Ordinary Girlz Book Reviews 

Victoria Biram at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author | Vicki Keire at Vicki Keire Writes                          Chelsea                at To Each Their Own Reviews | Sarit at Coffee Books & Art                        

Jennifer Brooks at The Cubicle Escapee | Katja at Cautious                          

Cait Spivey | Lucy Lala at Book-A-Holic                    

Find Catch Me When I Fall Online:

Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

And for all you NaNoWriMo participants, I hope you're killing the word counter with your productivity.

**Also, if you're looking for the announcement I mentioned last week, worry not. You haven't missed it. BUT if you want to hear about it first, and be among the first to enter my most epic contest yet, don't forget to sign up for my newsletter. It's happening soon. Very soon.

Let the Countdown Commence in Three, Two, One…

That’s right people. There are three days left in October. Halloween is only two days away, which means I will stock up on delicious, horribly non-nutritious snacks which I will desperately need for the month to follow.

No, I will not be trick-or-treating, and I don’t believe my children will either. Sadly, I fear we may be past that phase of life.

*sobs*

In lieu of the trick-or-treat stash, I shall be making the trek to Sam’s Club (because there is no Costco closer than three hours) to buy a giant bag of sugar-filled junk, and then I will dress up and sit on my porch to hand out half of it. The other half will be greedily and desperately stashed. I’m seriously going to need it. (Just like I needed all those adverbs!)

That’s right. The month following Halloween? November. Otherwise known as National Novel Writing Month. (At least, in America. I don’t know about my foreign friends, but hey—I think this could be a global thing. Anyone can participate!)

I have a few ideas, and two or three or six books that need to be written. So yeah. I plan to draft one of them in November. Please bear with me if I neglect this blog (though it’s not currently in the plans) and definitely stop by on November 6^th to enter in a massive, super fun contest to celebrate the release of the second edition of DESCENDANT, which also includes BONUS material.

This means that a whole LOT Of writers and authors will be signing out of social networking and neglecting blogs, housework, family, and holiday decorating in order to write entire novels in thirty days or less. Me included.

If you’re participating, friend me on the NaNoWriMo site. If not, enjoy your relaxing, craze-free November. It’s good to know the rest of the world still functions while we create worlds and then blow them asunder.

Let the countdown commence…

8 Cool Facts about Hallowe’en.

1. Aside from dressing up and getting free candy, Halloween is a festival of the dying year, and the evening before All Saints Day. Legend has it that as ancient Celtic farmers believed there was one day a year when the season of life meets the season of death. As vegetation dies off, spirits that have been kept down all year rise and make their presence known amongst the living. This day was known as Samhain, the Celtic word for the end of summer.

2. The costume tradition dates back to Celtic Ireland, when people lit bonfires and dressed in disguises to confuse and scare away evil spirits believed to walk the earth. They did this on a day known as Samhain.


3. In the eight century, Pope Gregory III established All Hallows Day to celebrate all saints, known, and unknown. This day was held on November first, the day immediately following Celtic Samhain.

4. Over time, the two religious festivals/traditions became mixed among accepting Europeans, and soon Samhain became All Hallows Eve (the evening before All Saints Day).


5. Hallowe’en (the evolved name) was not celebrated in America until the mid 19th century, when a potato famine drove shiploads of starving Irish to America looking for a better life. They brought their beliefs and traditions with them, where those traditions were thrown into the mixed bag of other cultures also brought into the country.

6. As traditions were melded and changed, roaring bonfires became lanterns carved from pumpkins and gourds, and the Celts demonic disguises became modern day costumes.


7. Trick or Treating is believed to have begun in as poor people traveling from home to home, offering to pray for dead family members in exchange for small cakes.

8. In modern times, Halloween is one of the most profitable holidays on the calendar, though curiously, it is not technically considered a holiday (as in close government offices and schools), but a tradition.

Happy Hallowe'en everyone! And good luck to all the NaNoWriMo participants. Midnight comes fast, so be ready!

**Information gleaned from the History channel. You can find several clips about this topic here.

Happy Halloween and Pre-NaNo Jitters

Happy Halloween, everyone! Are you dressing up? I think I am. In fact, this year, I'm dressing up as a bestselling author. No, I'm not joking. I'm serious. That's my costume.

Wait, what does a bestselling author look like? In my imagination, I guess a BSA looks like me. Maybe with glasses. Hey, I think it's totally creative. Anyway, I've decided to pretend I'm a kid and go trick-or-treating in my neighborhood. I figure I really need to stock up on chocolate for my upcoming writing sprint.

Are you ready for thirty days of literary abandon?  Get ready, NaNoWriMo starts in a few hours...

Most every participant I know is nervous, anxious, and wondering how we're ever going to force ourselves to finish this challenge. It's definitely intimidating. I'm feeling it myself.  But it's been done before, and will be done again this month by more than a hundred thousand other authors. So, people, we're not alone. This is not to mention my ever growing buddy list. In my one writer's group we've gathered twenty-three participants and counting.

I realize that the chances of all of us actually completing the 50,000 words are pretty slim, but the point is that we're starting, we're writing, and we're giving ourselves permission to write something really bad in order to later come back and turn it into something good. What a trip this is going to be.  No matter what the outcome, nothing bad has ever come from trying right?  So turn on your computers, get out your notebooks and pens, and hide your chocolate stash from the kids, because it's almost go time.

Okay, so pep talk done. Get ready, get set...wait for midnight on Halloween....don't cheat, I'm watching you...GO!

Write like your fingers are on fire!

Nichole

**If you're participating, I want to hear about your progress. Drop me a line and let me know how you're doing.