Posted in Romance on October 14th, 2009 by Cynthia Eden
If you were going to make a top ten list of monsters–well, who (what) would you put on that list? My list would probably go something like this:
10. Freddy Krueger (So scared me when I was a kid. Guess how many nights I kept my lights on?)
9. Michael Myers (I do consider him a monster–what do you think? I mean, he can’t *just* be a man–no way could a man like through all that!)
8. The Wolfman (And you know there’s a new Wolfman movie coming out…)
7. King Kong (Come on…didn’t you cry at the end of the movie, too?)
6. Hannibal Lecter. (Scary because he could be a real guy.)
5. Spike (Monster, but so sexy.)
4. Frankenstein (Another monster that made me care, and cry, dang it!)
3. Pinhead from Hellraiser (Gah! Just looking at him creeped me out, but later, if you were brave enough to follow a few of the Hellraiser films, you learned his back story–yep, he did a character evolution through Hellraiser.)
2. The Phantom (I’ll confess to having a bit of a crush on the Phantom.)
1. Dracula (He’s the king! The immortal king.)
Okay, that’s my list. My top ten monsters. Is there someone that should have been on the list (but isn’t)? Who would you put on your best monster list? I’ll pick one commenter to win a copy of the paranormal anthology, BELONG TO THE NIGHT.
Posted in Romance on October 13th, 2009 by Cynthia Eden
Update: Thanks to everyone for sharing your monster treats with me! Some of you have made me so very hungry. 🙂 The winner of any autographed Cynthia Eden book is…Joye! Congrats, Joye! I’ll be contacting you with prize claim information. Thank you all for the treat talk!
Over the weekend, my son had his annual Halloween party. Oh, yes, there was much old-school Halloween merriment to be had (apple bobbing, sack races, slamming a bat into a pinata pumpkin). And, of course, there were also treats. Monster treats.
Um, that would be part of a frozen Kool-Aid finger floating in there.
The night before the party, Jack and I were busy making the monster treats. At Halloween, my pigs-in-a-blanket always *magically* become Mummy Dogs. I can also make a mean Boo cake, complete with gummy eyeballs and worms for a mouth.
My goal for this week is to make a witch’s hat out of Rice Krispies treats. Oh, the delicious goodies! At Halloween, I consider it a free munch time (cuz, you know, there’s always so much candy going around anyway), and there are SO many goodies that I love to eat.
What’s your favorite monster treat for Halloween? It can be a special dish you make yourself or a favorite candy you buy from your friendly grocery story. Tell me, and I’ll pick one commenter to win her/his choice of any Cynthia Eden book.
And while I’m blogging, I wanted to be sure and mention the Dangerous Fun that will be starting soon…
Posted in Romance on October 12th, 2009 by Cynthia Eden
Update: Time to announce the winners! (And wow, there sure were some good ghost stories posted!). Keena picked the winner of ANAM CARA…and the lucky winner is Edie!! The winner of TIES THAT BIND is Kathleen! Congrats, ladies!
Once upon a time, as I toured a castle in the English fog, I looked up and saw a medieval re-enactor standing on the battlement, looking over the tourists gathered in the lower bailey. The authenticity of his costume was impressive, and then some. His tunic was a dull red, worn at the edges. His chain mail looked more like pewter than bright steel, and his battered helm obscured his nose and hair.
Curious as to why he was standing there alone, I pointed him out to the guy standing beside me. “Is there an English heritage event today?”
The man frowned at me, puzzled, so I pointed upward. “The re-enactor.”
He looked up the wall, then back down at me. “Who?”
I looked back up at the man, standing there in his tarnished armor. “Nothing,” I muttered and followed the tour group deeper into the castle. I saw the “re-enactor” several more times during the tour, but kept my observations to myself.
To this day, I still wonder who—or what—I saw that day. A random re-enactor? A ghost? Or did my imagination just go wild?
I will never know, but I always tell it as a ghost story simply because I love tales of haunt houses, restless spirits and things that go bump in the night. The spookier the better. So it’s no surprise that my book ANAM CARA and its sequel, TIES THAT BIND, have a ghost. The restless spirit is an underlying presence rather than active participation in the plot, but I like that he’s there, hanging out and protecting of the family who lives in the castle.
My current story is set in the fall, and though including All Hallow’s Eve would be anachronistic, I do have a scene in which someone foolishly tells my hero’s daughter a ghost story that will keep her up all night and spoil my heroine’s plans to get closer to her new husband.
The tale is a made-up one of five sisters who didn’t get along in life and now squabble in death, but for fun, I’d love to include a real-life ghostly encounter to round out the story.
If you want to play, leave a comment and a story. One commentator will win a copy of ANAM CARA just for leaving the entry (I’ll draw a name at random on Friday and announce the winner, who can chose an digital or print copy). I’ll also give away a copy of TIES THAT BIND when it comes out on Dec. 18 to the person who leaves the best ghost story.
I’m looking forward to some scary tales.
Keena Kincaid had a degree in medieval studies, which should explain why she sometimes spends a rainy afternoon reading the Domesday Book or the Oxford English Dictionary. After careers in journalism and public relations, she set out to write a medieval murder-mystery with a minstrel sleuth. At some point, her hero opted to woo the local innkeeper instead, and the murder-mystery transformed into an historical romance—a lucky break for the intended victims and her career. In addition to her debut book ANAM CARA, she’s written ART OF LOVE (the story of Abelard and Heloise the way it should have been) and TIES THAT BIND, which will be released Dec. 28. You can find her Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, http://keenakincaid.com/ and her blog, http://www.typosandall.com/.
I love how vampires, monsters, & shapeshifters are getting such great reviews these days! Because I absolutely love to write them. I love how I can make my vampires be any way I want from adapting to sunlight, not not needing blood–but other things–to survive, to experiencing love and desire, which is what I did in my latest work, NO FEAR, which is now available through ImaJinn Books. I hope everyone likes my Chief of Police James Winchester as much as I did.
Another great thing is that the love for vampires is really making the rounds everywhere, too. This past Friday night, I was working a church fish fry when someone commented, “Hey, did you guys all know Allie’s vampire book is out and it’s great. I read it in 3 days!” (which made me feel really great). But the conversation soon turned to vampires, moving from, “I read the latest Sukie Stackhouse book and loved that, too!” And, “I love the HBO series!” Then, “I still miss that New Moon show that used to be on Fridays.” The point is, vampires are out there and fans are loving them. And I’m right in there with all the other fans, continuing to write vampires and monsters everyone can love. I’m just glad I finally managed to get my SyFy channel back!
Winner of the ARC — drawn by the fabulous Kid randomly chosing a number (her birthday, no surprise) is . . . Melissa T. Send your mailing info to me at kelly@kellygay.net. Congrats, Melissa!!
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One of my favorite things about reading and writing urban fantasy are the monsters! From the sexy right down to the out-and-out disgusting, I love them all. It’s a wide open world, where we writers can modify, or create from scratch, any kind of monster imaginable. Like so many others, I adore vampires, werewolves, angels, demons, fairies and shape shifters. But, holy cow, do I love it when an author modifies these beings and puts her own, unique spin on them. This, to me, is what makes them special and memorable, that which sets them apart from the cultural myths and legends that spawned them. Think of it as evolution. Monster evolution. J
A few recent ‘spins’ that come to mind that I have really enjoyed is Jaye Wells’s take on vampires in her debut urban fantasy, RED-HEADED STEPCHILD and the connection to the biblical Lilith. Or Ilona Andrews’s vampires in her Kate Daniel’s series. She turned the idea of the vampire and master on its head with her grotesque creatures and the powerful beings that control them. Or Mark Henry’s zombies in his Amanda Feral series. The list goes on…
For one of the races/creatures in my debut, THE BETTER PART OF DARKNESS, I decided to put a spin on a creature known as the jinn. In my mythos, they were the basis for the human legends of demons. My jinn are a hulking warrior-like species, insanely territorial and tribal. All the males are bald, completely hairless in fact, with varying shades of gray skin. They also enjoy jewelry, piercings, tattoos, and have a penchant for hot, damp, underground climates. They’ve also got some interesting powers and a very complex social structure where the strongest rules with complete and total authority over the tribe. But any more than that, you’ll have to read… J
. . . read, you say? But, Kelly, your book isn’t out yet, you say? Ah, but I have ARCs people! Just leave a comment telling me what fictional beings/monsters out there you like and (optional) what ‘spins’ or unique aspects you like about them, and one winner will win an ARC of THE BETTER PART OF DARKNESS. [Just be aware not use any spoil-ery type info. If the spins in which you speak are from a well known/established series or found easily on the Author’s site or back cover copy, then by all means, but if it’s some little known fact or something from a debut that would spoil the surprise for the rest of us – please make sure you write ****SPOLIER**** first!]
Thanks for having me here, Cynthia! It’s been an honor to come to your most excellent blog and visit for a while. And an early Happy Halloween to everyone!
