Random Fun for the Halloween Season

Beauty of the dying ferns

I love October! The chilly weather gives me energy, the creepy Halloween decorations thrill me, the Village Halloween parade is just around the corner, and I love to cook apple pie, yams, kale, and all root veggies, especially parsnips. Here are some fall photos I took, including the dramatic transformation from the morning to afternoon photos of October 18 up in the Catskills where I spend some weekends.

Morning, OCT 18

Afternoon, OCT 18

My creepy frog lamp

Creepy frog lamp side view

Manhattan store display

On another note, 

I finally found a moment to write a review of Christine Rain's Of Blood and Sorrow. Her fabulous novel fits right into the ghoulish October spirit, so if you've not yet loaded this baby onto your eReader by all means, go for it now! At Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Smashie

My review:

I’m enjoying paranormal novels more and more. Christine Rain’s Of Blood and Sorrow put me through breakneck twists turns that made the ride quite worth it. With her creative concepts and gallows humor I can tell she has wicked fun as she writes. Oh, and it’s sexy, too.

Erin, the leading lady and a demoness, gains energy from sucking up the sorrow of others—a totally weird but great concept. Rains explores Erin’s character and motivation in depth. Erin is ashamed of how her on mother fed so completely on one of her “victims” she killed them. This is partly why Erin takes sanctuary in the Putzkammer Mortuary. There, she can “safely” feed on the natural sorrow of the grieving, while sparing random outsiders a fatal feeding fate. Erin hates her spots, which engorge as she feeds. They remind her of her mother’s appetite and of her own, which at any moment could rage out of control. There are so many fascinating analogies with these elements: the consequences of any type of appetite gone amok, the dread of potential inherited tendencies, the effects of shame on one’s life and even love. Constrained by the people around Erin and by the demands of her job, she hopes her dark past will never come to light.

But when Nicolas Reese lands in the mortuary and is decidedly undead, Erin’s failsafe shrouds are ripped away. For one, she is falling for the dashing vampire. And then there’s the fact that vamps and demons don’t trust each other. Nicolas’s creator, Hessa a terrifyingly powerful and evil being, is stalking him. He needs Erin’s help but when the Putzkammers, who took her in and gave her a home, start to die off in scary ways, Erin starts to doubt her own allegiances.

I recommend Of Blood and Sorrow to readers who like inventive paranormal with dark humor and spicy romance. And I look forward to the next in this series.

Have a fabulous October. And stay tuned for the Untethered Realms launch of Mayhem in the Air, our Enchanted Drink post on OCT 30 and my regular Village Halloween Parade photo cornucopia! Oh, and the cover reveal for my newest YA novel, Heart in a Box, which launches from Inkspell Teen in early December!