Cover Love

In just 10 days time, my paranormal YA, UNDER THE MILKY WAY*, will hit the bookstores across the US. Whoo-hoo!

In short, it’s Veronica Mars meets the X-Files when Cassidy Roekiem tries to get to the bottom of spooky, unexplained lights in the Colorado sky. Seems UFOs are cruising the planet. And the one person who can help is hiding an out-of-this-world secret. 

To help me celebrate, a few of my friends have turned themselves into aliens as a way of sharing the cover love. We’d love you to join us! You could win a signed copy of UNDER THE MILKY WAY.

Here’s how:

1. Dress up in alien/space-themed gear. Use costumes, make-up — whatever it takes to transform yourself into something out of this world. Pose with the UNDER THE MILKY WAY book cover for a selfie or a short video. If you don’t have the physical book, you can display the cover in a graphic or on a device.
2. Anytime during the month of August, post your selfie on your preferred social space(s) and use the hashtag #UnderTheMilkyWayAlienChic 
3. Tag me in your post so I can share it across the universe:
   • Instagram @vanessabarneveld
   • Facebook @AuthorVanessaBarneveld
   • Pinterest @vanessa_barneveld
   • Twitter @vanessab73
   • TikTok @vanessabarneveld

All participants will go in the draw to win a signed paperback. The hashtag #UnderTheMilkyWayAlienChic must be used. This prize draw is open to international entrants and is not associated with any social media platform. A winner will be drawn at random and announced on August 30, 2021, EST. For all terms and conditions, go to https://vanessabarneveld.com/privacy-policy.

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About UNDER THE MILKY WAY

Out in paperback and e-book August 10 from Entangled Teen.

Nothing ever happens in Dawson, Colorado.

Until high school senior Cassidy Roekiem’s mom checks into a “wellness center,” but nothing is wrong with her.

Then people start seeing lights in the sky and missing chunks of time, but the town insists nothing is going on.

And now Hayden, the new boy at school who keeps to himself and is more than a little mysterious, starts to notice her like it’s nothing out of the ordinary.

Suddenly, “nothing” is starting to feel a whole lot like something. And everything leads back to Hayden. The boy she’s starting to fall for. The boy with too many dark secrets for his kind heart. The boy she’s pretty sure isn’t human…

Pre-order the paperback or e-book from these fine places:

Amazon | Amazon Australia | Amazon Canada | Barnes and Noble | Apple iBooks™ | Kobo | Book Depository | Bookshop.org | Bol.com | Boomerang Books

Add UNDER THE MILKY WAY to Goodreads!

*Formerly known as THE ABDUCTION.

NaNoWriMo – Day 25

Wow, we’re in the last week of NaNo already! Where did November go? Yesterday, I wrote 1,001 words, which took me *over* my 30,000-word target for the month. Yay! The official NaNoWriMo target is 50K. My book is far from finished, so I’m going to spend the next five days getting as close to that goal as I can.

Today’s playlist song of the day is ‘Green Onions’ by Booker T. & the M.G.s. Way back before my now husband and I started dating, I borrowed this Booker T album from him repeatedly, as well as the Stone Roses’s first album and Single Gun Theory’s ‘Like Stars in My Hands’. I couldn’t get enough of those albums, and listening to them now brings back great memories.

If you’re on Facebook, my generous friend and romance author Anna Campbell is giving away two Kindle downloads of my debut YA book, THIS IS YOUR AFTERLIFE, today! Head to Anna’s author page for a chance to win. No geographical restrictions. Contest closes 12pm Sunday US EST/4am Monday Australian Summer Time/5pm Sunday UK time.

Download ‘Green Onions’ by Booker T. & the M.G.s from iTunes.

YA Beach Reads Giveaway!

I’m escaping Sydney’s winter and heading waaayyy north in the next few days. California, here I come!

Wherever you are, don’t miss this jumbo YA Beach Reads Giveaway put together by the lovely Jessica Ruddick. One grand prize winner will receive all the print books you see in the graphic below — that’s *twenty* YAs in all kinds of genres! Twenty individuals winners will each receive one book.

Click on the graphic to visit Jessica’s website and enter the giveaway. Entries open June 5 and close June 12, 2017 (US EDT). Check Jessica’s website for full terms and conditions.

Good luck!

 

Subscriber Giveaway!

If you haven’t already signed up to my author newsletter list, you might want to ’cause I’m featuring a book giveaway exclusively for subscribers very soon! I’ll be giving away two paperback copies of this little New Adult beauty, Beth Anne Miller’s A STAR TO STEER HER BY. Click on the gorgeous book cover to sign up*, or visit this link.

A Star to Steer Her By

I’m scarred. Broken. I’ll never be the same.

But I will take this journey.

Ever since my last dive ended in bloodshed, I’ve been terrified to go back into the water. But the opportunity to spend a semester at sea is too good to pass up. I need to get my life back.

I never expected to love it this much. And I never expected Tristan MacDougall.

Rugged, strong, and with demons of his own, Tristan helps me find the courage I thought I had lost and heals me with every stolen moment we share. But the rules of the ship mean we can’t be together.

When a dive excursion goes terribly wrong, our only hope for survival is each other.

A Star to Steer Her By – Out Now!

Amazon | Entangled Embrace | iBooks | B&N

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About Beth Anne Miller

My first book, written in elementary school, was bound in pink fabric and was about—what else?—a girl and her horse. I soon began cheating on horses with the sea, becoming an open water scuba diver at age 14. That love of the sea led me to a college semester aboard a schooner. I returned with fond memories of the exhilaration of being on a ship under full sail, less fond memories of hurling over the leeward rail on a daily basis, and a sailing bug I couldn’t quite shake.

In addition to horses and the sea, I have a fascination for all things Scottish (including, but not limited to, men in kilts), which I explored with my first novel, INTO THE SCOTTISH MIST (The Wild Rose Press, 2011), and carried into my new novel, A STAR TO STEER HER BY (Entangled Embrace, 2017). A native New Yorker, I work in the publishing industry and am always looking ahead to my next voyage, whether a short one on a dive boat or whale watch, or, with luck, a longer one on a tall ship. You can find me on the web at My first book, written in elementary school, was bound in pink fabric and was about—what else?—a girl and her horse. I soon began cheating on horses with the sea, becoming an open water scuba diver at age 14. That love of the sea led me to a college semester aboard a schooner. I returned with fond memories of the exhilaration of being on a ship under full sail, less fond memories of hurling over the leeward rail on a daily basis, and a sailing bug I couldn’t quite shake.

In addition to horses and the sea, I have a fascination for all things Scottish (including, but not limited to, men in kilts), which I explored with my first novel, INTO THE SCOTTISH MIST (The Wild Rose Press, 2011), and carried into my new novel, A STAR TO STEER HER BY (Entangled Embrace, 2017). A native New Yorker, I work in the publishing industry and am always looking ahead to my next voyage, whether a short one on a dive boat or whale watch, or, with luck, a longer one on a tall ship. You can find me on the web at www.bethannemiller.com

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*I respect your privacy and will not share your details with anyone. Unsubscribe at any time.

Giveaway!

Happy Friday the 13th! Are you feeling lucky? Over at my Facebook author page, my ‘otterly’ wonderful friend Anna Campbell is giving away five copies of her Regency historical e-novella, A PIRATE FOR CHRISTMAS. It’s a charming tale of mistaken identity, with some very witty bits that made me laugh out loud. Look out for a naughty donkey who almost steals the show from the humans.

I’ve given Anna five quick-fire questions and I’ve posted her answers on Facebook. For your chance to win one of five PIRATE downloads, add your own answers to those quick-fire questions in the comments trail, and like/share the post on Facebook.

International entries are welcome. Entries close 11:59pm Sunday, November 15, US EDT. Good luck!

Click on the graphic to reach my Facebook author page and enter the prize draw!

 

About A PIRATE FOR CHRISTMAS by Anna Campbell

Pursued by the pirate…

Bess Farrar might be an innocent village miss, but she knows enough about the world to doubt Lord Channing’s motives when he kisses her the very day they meet. After all, local gossip insists that before this dashing rake became an earl, he sailed the Seven Seas as a ruthless pirate.

Bewitched by the vicar’s daughter…

Until he unexpectedly inherits a title, staunchly honorable Scotsman Rory Beaton has devoted his adventurous life to the Royal Navy. But he sets his course for tempestuous new waters when he meets lovely, sparkling Bess Farrar. Now this daring mariner will do whatever it takes to convince the spirited lassie to launch herself into his arms and set sail into the sunset.

A Christmas marked by mayhem.

Wooing his vivacious lady, the new Earl of Channing finds himself embroiled with matchmaking villagers, an eccentric vicar, mistaken identities, a snowstorm, scandal, and a rascally donkey. Life at sea was never this exciting. The gallant naval captain’s first landlocked Christmas promises hijinks, danger, and passion – and a breathtaking chance to win the love of a lifetime.

Read an excerpt of A PIRATE FOR CHRISTMAS here.

How to Host a Regency House Party – with Anna Campbell

Hold onto your bonnets! I’ve a special treat for you. Anna Campbell is my guest today. Her latest historical novella, THREE PROPOSALS AND A SCANDAL, is set during a house party on an extravagant estate. Now, having been a weekend guest at la maison de Campbell on a number of occasions, I can tell you Anna knows how to throw a good par-tay. I mean, between rounds of Champagne and charades, the fun does not stop! Anna has agreed to share the secrets of her success. 

Welcome, Anna!

Vanessa, thanks so much for having me as your guest today! It’s always such fun to be a visitor to your blog. Much more fun than most of the guests at my Regency house party are having!

Poor Sidonie Merrick, Lady Hillbrook!

She clearly needs some advice on how to host a house party. The gathering at her palatial country residence, Ferney, in Three Proposals and a Scandal: A Sons of Sin Novella is turning into a major disaster!

House parties are a staple of Regency romance – a couple of weeks in the country offers lots of opportunity for flirtation (and other things!), with all those hedgerows and hidden gardens and woodlands, not to mention isolated shepherds’ cottages (one must isolate one’s shepherds if they don’t bathe regularly!).

Here are a few elements that are de rigueur in the successful house party – and where poor Sidonie is failing so miserably!

Item 1: Delightful sunny weather so one’s guests may wander around the parterre and get lost in the maze for naughty purposes without getting their tootsies wet.

Ooops! Sidonie’s house party takes place in the middle of a deluge – to the point where her husband Jonas gains the nickname Noah! Everybody’s stuck inside and emotions are running high!

Item 2: A carefully chosen guest list of people who get along like a house on fire.

Nuh, Sidonie doesn’t have this either, although that’s not entirely her fault. She arranged this house party so that her husband Lord Hillbrook can persuade the crusty Marquess of Baildon to sell half of Hampstead to him. The guest list was put together specifically to keep Lord Baildon onside, including inviting Lord Desborough, the man he hopes will propose to his lovely daughter Marianne during the fortnight in the country. Unfortunately, Marianne has two other suitors, neither of whom has her father’s approval, and they both pursue her down to the country. Worse, one of them turns up with a whole pack of uninvited friends. Sidonie is stuck having to cope with crowds of cranky, lovesick young men who can’t get home because they’re flooded in.

Item 3: No scandals to titillate the gossips back in London.

Sidonie misses out here too. With Marianne’s ardent suitors on site, passions run high. The awful weather means that the lovely house becomes a crucible where when heat is applied, an explosion is sure to follow.

If you’re game, I’d love to invite you to the season’s most notorious house party which starts on Wednesday, 24^th June, when Three Proposals and a Scandal makes its debut at Amazon and Smashwords. And you won’t even have to break the bank to hire a carriage to get there – only 99 cents will gain you admission to all those Regency high-jinks! How can you resist?

So in between following Marianne’s courtship and its wild twists and turns, what else would you like to do at the Regency house party? The weather makes cricket and long walks a little difficult, but I’m sure you could think of plenty to get up to inside!

I’ve got two downloads of Three Proposals and a Scandal: A Sons of Sin Novella (international) up for grabs today, so good luck!

Whose hot kisses will melt the ice princess? All London is agog to know!

As the season reaches its brilliant climax, three very different men pursue beautiful Lady Marianne Seaton. She’s the marriage mart’s greatest prize – even if cruel and unjust gossip paints her as a woman cold and glittering as any diamond.

Lord Desborough is her father’s choice – rich, powerful, safe. Lord Tranter is society’s darling – handsome, dashing, charming.

Then there’s the dangerous, compelling man nobody in their right mind calls eligible. Elias Thorne, son of scandal, reputed deceiver, possessing a rakish fascination no woman can resist. A lady might choose Elias as a lover, but as a husband, he’s too risky a bet. Even if Marianne’s forbidden yearning for him threatens her future and her reputation.

When Marianne’s suitors pursue her to the year’s most glamorous house party, there will be proposals and passion, rivals and revelations, secrets and scandals.

Let battle commence – but will the best man win?

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Hungry for more? Read an excerpt here, and buy now at Amazon and Smashwords. 

You’ll find Anna on Facebook and Twitter.

Me and Anna in our best country house party frocks

Anna, thank you so much for imparting your wisdom on hosting the perfect Regency house party. Poor Sidonie indeed — she really could have done with this advice!

Now, readers, please tell us what activities you’d partake in at a Regency house party. (A few hints below…)

Paranormal Party Guest – Tina Ferraro

Happy Halloween! It’s the last day of the Paranormal Party. Thanks so much for joining me and my YA writer friends as we celebrate the release of my debut book, This Is Your Afterlife.

My lucky last guest is two-time RITA®-nominated YA author and fellow cat lover, Tina Ferraro! We were introduced online by our mutual favourite person, historical romance author Anna Campbell, and finally met in person a little later. She’s funny and warm and one of the most generous souls I know. In addition to a love of all things Anna, we share a love of cats and peppermint tea. We once dined in West Hollywood alongside actor Topher Grace, who we now count as one of our closest friends. 😉 The covers of Tina’s sweet YA books are gorgeous, but I thought I’d show off her first one in the gallery below because it features a prom dress that looks uncannily like my wedding dress.

I invited Tina to talk about her upcoming novella, Half-Life (Shine/Leap Books). It’s got a Halloween theme and it’s perfectly paranormal!

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Tina Ferraro

Tina Ferraro and Vanessa Barneveld

HALF-LIFE – out now!

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 Tina Ferraro

According to an old wives’ tale, a girl can get a glimpse of her future husband by gazing into a mirror at the strike of midnight on Halloween. Or maybe it’s just wishful thinking passed on by young girls.

I was about thirteen years old when word of it came my way, and while I was mesmerized by the prospect, I had more questions-­more worries­-than initiative.  What if my Mr. Right was hideous? Or old (you know, like thirty)?  What if I saw the weirdo who talked to himself in homeroom, or my best friend’s crush?  Or…or…what if I didn’t see anyone at all?  Did a no-show suggest I wouldn’t live long enough to get married?

Too much risk there.  Better to leave well enough alone.

But years later, as my writing career began to take shape, I revisited the mirror tale, realizing my fears were now what made it appealing. HALF-LIFE (Leap Books, 2015) was born, opening on teen Trisha and friends at a Halloween sleepover.  Trisha gets an eyeful in the mirror, not husband material, but her late twin sister, who is returning to try to keep her from a similarly early demise.

Part of the fun of making this sale was sharing the news with Vanessa, who’s been a valued friend since our meet-up at the 2009 Romance Writers of America Conference.  We’d both been nominated for Best Young Adult Romances in their contest’s published/unpublished categories, and after instantly hitting it off, decided to sit together at the award ceremony.  She wore her pink wedding dress, I wore my late mother’s charm bracelet, and we held hands for luck during the announcements of our categories.  Alas, neither of us won, but I like to think we got something even better from it: a lasting friendship.

Some months after the conference, I received a surprising e-mail from her: a thank-you for the feedback on an anonymous entry I’d judged in another writing contest.  It had been one of the best entries I’d ever judged, and I was delighted by this reveal on many levels.  Not only was Vanessa smart, charming and dear friend, ­but woo-hoo, could she write!

Since then, we’ve met up on both her continent and mine for meals and drinks and craft talk, have read bits and pieces of each other’s works-in-progress, and cheered the other on.

I was thrilled to hear she’d sold THIS IS YOUR AFTERLIFE to Bloomsbury Spark­-such a well-deserved recognition of her talent and perseverance.  Reading USA Today call her debut novel “a must-read” gave me chills.  And now comes the best part, cuddling up under my Scaredy Cat Halloween blanket, a bowl of trick-or-treat mini candy bars at the ready, and delving into Keira Nolan’s story, crossing from our world to the next as she goes about investigating her crush’s death…

It is an honor to participate in Vanessa’s blog tour.  I urge everyone to check out her marvelous book, and learn first hand what the buzz is all about!

– Tina

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Tina, fantastic post. I can’t wait to meet Trisha! Thanks so much for being a terrific guest and dear friend. Thank you to all of my other Paranormal Party guests — Pintip Dunn, Amanda Ashby, Sara Hantz, Elizabeth Langston, Shea Berkley, Erica O’Rourke, Kim MacCarron, Stephanie Kuehnert — for posting such creepy but fun stories.

It’s almost time to wrap up this party. Before you leave, stick around and share more lore with us! We can’t get enough of the paranormal. How do you celebrate Halloween? Have you got a costume or party lined up? What’s the spookiest thing that’s ever happened to you? Luckiest thing? Strangest coincidence?

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Giveaway!

Last chance to enter my Rafflecopter giveaway! Click HERE to win a Kindle copy of my debut YA and a $50 Amazon e-gift card.

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Buy the book!

Bloomsbury Spark | Amazon | iTunes Australia | iTunes US | Google Play | Kobo | B&N

Paranormal Party Guest – Kim MacCarron

Yes, the Paranormal Party is still going! Thanks so much for coming by. I hope you’re having a good time. If this is your first visit, you might be wondering what the occasion is. Some of my YA writer friends are blogging each day to celebrate the release of my debut YA, This Is Your Afterlife. (Hooray!)

Today I’m welcoming Kim MacCarron to the party! Kim is a four-time YA Golden Heart nominee, and no wonder — her books are packed with emotional punch.

Kim MacCarron

Kim MacCarron, Pintip Dunn, Vanessa Barneveld

What can I say about my critique partner Special K? A lot! She’s a wonderful author who writes about strong friendships, courage and love. And as a person, she epitomizes those qualities too. This is a woman who’s legendary for hauling a blender to a conference and making us margaritas in her room. A woman who bought me a Broadway ticket to Wicked and firmly said, “I don’t want to hear a word. Take it.” A woman who took a wrong turn on the way to Albuquerque and ended up in Roswell, where she quickly blended in with the locals. She’s fun. She’s cute. She’s the one and only Kim MacCarron.

Hang out with Kim on Twitter and on her website.

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Kim MacCarron

Vanessa, thanks so much for including me in your Paranormal Party Posts to celebrate the release of your debut, THIS IS YOUR AFTERLIFE.
In keeping with the paranormal theme, I thought about writing about my experience with the Ouija board, but it gives me the heebie jeebies even after all these years. Instead I’ll tell someone else’s experience, which inspired me to write my own short story based on the idea.

My friend had purchased a secretary at an estate sale or auction, but soon after moving the piece into the condo, strange things started to occur. A feeling in the room. A coldness. Creaking noises. She just felt something wasn’t right.

Then the deadbolt started to lock her door at the exact same time every day—right before her husband was due home from work. This caused some irritation because he kept asking my friend why she kept bolting the door when she knew he was on his way. She couldn’t understand how this kept happening. Again and again.

One day her husband called while on his way home, so she went to the door and double checked that the door wasn’t bolted. It wasn’t. She went to the sink to load a few dishes in the dishwasher, but turned off the water when she thought she heard a noise. She heard the distinct click of the deadbolt. She rolled her eyes, thinking her husband had used his key the wrong way, and he clearly had been doing the same thing all along.

She walked to the door to confront him about his mistake, but there was no muttered cursing on the other side. She turned the dead bolt, opened the door, but nobody was there. Just as she was about to close the door, her husband stepped off the elevator.

When she backed into the living room, she felt chilled. She told me later that she wasn’t scared so much as confused. What did it all mean?
So, being a writer, I often wondered about this. Curiosity made me crazy. Why did the ghost always lock the door at the same time? Who was it? And why did he/she hitch a ride to her condo in the secretary? Wouldn’t he/she have felt more comfortable in a familiar place or with family members? Why stick with a piece of furniture and be at the whim of whoever bought the piece?

My friend’s experience always stayed at the back of my mind. I’ve made up many little stories about why the ghost stayed with the antique secretary. Sometimes it was spooky. Sometimes it was a mystery. In the end, I made it into a romance.

– Kim

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Wow, what a creepy story, Kim! Thanks so much for sharing it and your haunting short story, Just Believe. I wonder what secrets the previous owner held in that secretary!

Giveaway!

So, partygoers, how would you like to win a $50 Amazon e-card and a Kindle copy of This Is Your Afterlife? All you have to do is enter using my handy Rafflecopter giveaway mechanism right HERE.

Have you ever experienced a haunting? Had an object or piece of furniture with a life of its own? Leave us a comment below!

Join us tomorrow to mingle with another great YA author, Stephanie Kuehnert!

Paranormal Party Guest – Erica O’Rourke

I’m still celebrating my debut. (Hey, I’ve waited almost 20 years for this!) I am so lucky to have incredible writer friends who’ve each supported me during my writing apprenticeship. I hope you’ll stick around for the whole party season. Mingle with my friends! We’ve got prizes up for grabs, and there’s always virtual cake to feast on.

Today’s very special guest is Erica O’Rourke, author of Dissonance (book 1 of a new series from Simon & Schuster) and the Torn Trilogy (K Teen/Kensington).

I’ve always been in complete awe of Erica. We first met as YA Golden Heart finalists in 2010, and I was impressed by her kindness and wise counsel. She went on to win the golden necklace as well as a fetching fluorescent crown the rest of us YA ‘losers’ gave her. We share a love of cats, driving stick shift, and sushi. (Though, I’m still trying to get her to try the raw stuff just once***! Will you try sashimi if I hit the bestseller list, Erica???).

I’m so excited to have her with us today. Her latest series is about a rare ‘Walker’ who has the ability to cross the multiverses. You’ll find Erica at the following locations in this universe:

Facebook | Twitter | Website 

***Correction: Erica assures me she does like sashimi! I don’t know I thought otherwise all this time. Perhaps an Erica O’Rourke in an alternate universe isn’t a sashimi fan!

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Erica O’Rourke

Having spent time around people who are avid fans of horror, I have come to the conclusion that some people enjoy the adrenaline rush that accompanies mortal terror.

I, however, am not one of those people. Faced with a trailer for a scary movie, I do not feel an adrenaline rush. I feel overcome with with the urge to curl into a little ball and weep uncontrollably. On Halloween, I openly scowl at the houses with the rotting corpses in the yard. When I drive by a haunted house, I hit the gas.

I am a scaredy-cat, and I am totally okay with everyone knowing it.

What terrifies me the most?  Scary books. Books stay with you. Books are magical. Books have power. A well-written horror novel seeps into your brain and takes up residence there, hiding until you think the fear has dissipated. You feel confident, like you’ve finally a grown-up and Can Handle This.

Spoiler: I can’t.

Growing up, the children’s section of our library was tiny, but it had a healthy selection of Christopher Pike and Fear Street. Desperate for new material, I went ahead and read them, and regretted it EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

Eventually, my book-induced insomnia forced me to create a new rule: No scary stories after 4pm.  The hope was that I would forget the book in the hours between four and bedtime, allowing me to fall asleep without assuming a vengeful ghost was coming to slit my throat with a dull butter knife.

Spoiler: It didn’t work.

Finally I gave up reading horror novels. I was safe. All was well. And then I went to see Silence of The Lambs. Crime is different than horror, I told myself. Hannibal Lecter might be evil, but he was still a man, not a demon or an evil spirit.  To my surprise, I liked the movie very much.

I liked it so much, I decided to read the book. Crime is different than horror, you see. Everything would be fine.

Spoiler: Everything was not fine.

Not only could I not sleep, I couldn’t stay in the house by myself. I was utterly convinced that Hannibal Lecter was going to come to life while my back was turned, climb out of the book, kill me in my sleep, and bust out the chianti.

But I had to finish the book, because that’s how my brain is wired. So I went with the only reasonable alternative:

I hid the book in the basement. Every night. And the minute I finished it, I returned it to the library and swore off scary books entirely.

Since then, I’ve read a few truly excellent-yet-terrifying, but nothing else has ever been relegated to the basement. Which is good, because in our current house, my bedroom is in the basement.

I’m an easy target.

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Thanks so much, Erica! I had to keep my copy of The Amityville Horror out of my sight too!

Paranormal party people, there are two prizes to win today!

1. For your chance to win a $50 Amazon e-card and a Kindle copy of This Is Your Afterlife, give my Rafflecopter a shot. Click HERE.
2. Leave a comment below for your chance to win a copy of Erica’s Dissonance! Are you a scaredy-cat? Can you read scary books after 4pm?

See you back here tomorrow, when magical realism author Elizabeth Langston makes her grand entrance!

~ Vanessa

Paranormal Party Guest – Sara Hantz

Welcome, welcome to Day…um, how many days has my This Is Your Afterlife launch party been going on? Ah, yes, four days so far! It seems to me that paranormal activity wreaked havoc with comments on my old blog, so I’ve moved back here to the safety of WordPress.

Joining me today is my super-smart* friend Sara Hantz. Sara is a multi-published Entangled author. She has a Labrador as a companion — not this Labrador, though:

 

Sara doesn’t actually know this, but I credit her for helping me finish my first book waaaaay back in 2004. We were members of Romance Writers of Australia’s email loop. I whined about not being able to get past, oh, Chapter One, in my manuscripts. Sara responded by telling me about the Snowflake Method. It was like being inducted into a secret society for plotters. I stopped flailing around and completed my first (terrible) novel. Fast-forward 10 years, I’ve lost track of the number of books I’ve finished, and Sara still listens to my constant whining. But she also forces me to work hard and keeps track of my progress in a fabled ‘tick’ spreadsheet. Sara was the first person to read This Is Your Afterlife. Please give her a very warm welcome!

Sara’s website | Twitter | Facebook

(*My New Year’s resolution will be to axe the alliteration.)

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Sara Hantz

I’m very excited to be here celebrating the launch of Vanessa’s book, THIS IS YOUR AFTERLIFE, which is amazing and I’m recommending to everyone. As the theme for Vanessa’s party is paranormal I thought I’d write about superstitions.

Most of us are superstitious to varying degrees and we are all familiar with superstitions like: don’t walk under a ladder; if a black cat walks in front of you it’s lucky; if you spill salt throw some over your left shoulder (or is it right shoulder? I’m never certain so throw it over both to make sure). But what about the more bizarre superstitions? There are some real doozies out there. I’ll give you a few examples.

Don’t eat salad if you want to have children.

Yes, it’s true. In the 19th century, men believed it could make them sterile.  So if you’re out with a guy and he leaves lettuce on the side of his plate……..

Or what about: look out for a goat when you’re heading to an important meeting? It’s been thought that goats can absorb evil or bad luck, so go via the fields and hope you stumble across a goat when you’re heading to a job interview. Just make sure to avoid the poo as it’s not a good look with stilettos.

Stay away from the lettuce, goat.

 

There are also superstitions relating to defying age. Everyone wants to stay looking young, right? Well, don’t bother with all those expensive skin creams, just keep an acorn in your pocket. Now they tell me!!

Finally, if you want to have good luck all year long, then eat 12 grapes at midnight on December 31st. That’s one I don’t mind following!  If only there was a superstition relating to chocolate and negative calories………

Anyway, thanks so much for inviting me to your book launch party, Vanessa. I know THIS IS YOUR AFTERLIFE is going to be a huge success.

– Sara

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Giveaways!

There are two separate prizes to win!

1. Click HERE to enter my Rafflecopter giveaway. You could win a Kindle copy of This Is Your Afterlife and a $50 Amazon e-card.

2. What’s the weirdest superstition you’ve ever heard? Leave a comment below for a chance to win digital editions of Sara’s The Second Virginity of Suzy Green and Will the Real Abi Saunders Please Stand Up? 

Thanks for joining Sara and me today, partygoers! I’d love to see you again tomorrow — the delightful but easily spooked Erica O’Rourke will be with us.

~ Vanessa