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Charmed Connection Halloween Event

October 27, 2018 by marianne h donley in category Charmed Writer by Tari Lynn Jewett tagged as charmer connection, charmer writers, flash Fiction, Halloween

Halloween Event | Charmed Writers | A Slice of Orange

The Charmed Connection Halloween Event

Starts Saturday October 27 and continues through October 31

Features

Halloween Flash Fiction Stories
Recipes
Games
And yes THERE WILL BE PRIZES!
It’s free!

Takes place in The Charmed Connection on Facebook

Hope to see you there.

Invite your friends to join us too.

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Hallow’s Eve Trick or Treat

October 13, 2018 by Bethlehem Writers Group in category From a Cabin in the Woods by Members of Bethlehem Writers Group tagged as Costumes, Halloween, Muses, stories, writing

From A Cabin in the Woods | Diane Sismour | A Slice of Orange

This month on From a Cabin in the Woods we are featuring Diane Sismour’s “Hallow’s Eve Trick or Treat.”

Diane Sismour has written poetry and fiction for over 35 years in multiple genres. She lives with her husband in eastern Pennsylvania at the foothills of the Blue Mountains. Diane is a member of Romance Writers of America, Bethlehem Writer’s Group LLC, Horror Writers Association, and Liberty States Fiction Writers. She enjoys interviewing other authors and leading writer’s workshops.

Her website is www.dianesismour.com, and her blog is www.dianesismour.blogspot.com.

You can find her on Facebook and Twitter at: http://facebook.com/dianesismour, http://facebook.com/networkforthearts, and https://twitter.com/dianesismour.

Hallow’s Eve Trick or Treat

Before the goblins and ghosts come knocking at the door, I go through costumes of Halloween parties past with hopes one will inspire a new use to don during Trick or Treat. There were some outrageous getups over the years.

Each brings a memory or two, but one particular outfit stirs a smile. Guests were required to stay in disguise throughout the entire party. The person who remained a mystery won best costume. Usually we had an idea who was whom except once. That year someone arrived, and nodded to people as he entered our house. Nobody knew who the concealed man was until he removed his mask at the end. A party crasher fooled everyone!

I remove the box from the stack, and place it upon the bed. The odd sensation of déjà vu strikes. A staggering certainty hit that I’ve been here before doing exactly this, just not in this lifetime! Then another thought occurs . . . wouldn’t it be fun to write a story about a parallel dimension. One facet in today’s time and another from the past, and possibly a third in the future, running simultaneously with the character’s thoughts colliding with more frequency.

A good shake removes most of the wrinkles from the cape and I arrange the red satin around my shoulders. The matching gloves slide on up to the elbows, the felt flames flickering in glitter. I nestle the horns upon my head and fasten the belt attaching the forked tail, and WHAM! Another déjà vu moment. The story idea is taking shape with each occurrence. One last item—place the black iron circlet around the horns and ta da— Queen of the She-devils. Now to find a minion or two to wrangle some candy so I can go write this story.

However your muse likes to trick, remember to give her a treat. Happy Halloween!

~ Diane Sismour

Now available on Amazon

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5 Tips for a Bewitching Halloween by Jina Bacarr

October 11, 2018 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as books, Dating, Halloween, naughty, Paris, speed datng, vampire, witch

Read about my speed date with a vampire at Charmed Connection on FB coming this Halloween

Got your Halloween costume? Not yet?

Whether you’re going out with a gorgeous man or with your girlfriends, it’s a time to shine. Once you have your costume, here are 5 Halloween tips for the big night:

1 – Pick a costume that reveals enough of you, but not too much. As a famous stripper once said, “It’s not what you take off, it’s how you do it.” It’s all about the tease.

2 – If you enjoy a cocktail or two, any alcohol at all, this is a no brainer. Don’t drive. That’s what Uber is for.

3 – Eyelash glue – pack an extra tube. There’s nothing more humiliating than your date finding your soggy false eyelashes in his brew or stuck on his forehead after that big kiss. Bring a tiny bag with your makeup essentials that you can wear unnoticed on your costume or around your wrist.

4 – Carry a small amount of cash—in your bra, strapped to your thigh—along with a credit card even if you have a date (in case he turns out to be a ghoul).

5 — Shoes. Wear the stilettos, but somewhere have a pair of comfy but cute flats stashed. In your car, his car, a Halloween-decorated purse. Your feet will thank you at the witching hour.

I love Halloween and I’ve had my share of crazy dates. So when the Charmed Writers headed up by the fabulous Tari-Lynn Porter-Jewett decided to have a Facebook Halloween Event over at
The Charmed Connection Halloween Event 2018
https://www.facebook.com/events/2356229577739205/

Hosted by Tari Lynn Porter-Jewett

I signed up to write Flash Fiction. My story is called: My Speed Date with a Vampire.
We’re still finalizing the details, so I’ll update here as we get closer to Halloween!
Till then, Happy Halloween!

Special treat: here’s a video I made with a Halloween twist for my erotic romance Spice novel, “Naughty Paris.”

Amazon: Naughty Paris
by Jina Bacarr
Link: http://a.co/d/hB9zdBG

Music: “Duet Musette”
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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October!

October 10, 2018 by Tari Jewett in category Charmed Writer by Tari Lynn Jewett, Writing tagged as #Charmed Writers, Halloween, October, The Charmed Connection

I’ve always loved October. As a little girl growing up in Ohio, it was the change of seasons with all of the beautiful leaves, the crisp cool weather, and the autumn foods my mother made. Pumpkin bread, chili and stews, apple pies, all made me look forward to October. And then of course, there was Halloween! We didn’t buy our Halloween costumes, we would scrounge around the house go through old clothes and accessories, and create our own costumes. My favorite was the year I was Mary Poppins.

As I got older, of course, I planned treats and costumes for my kids, and my youngest son’s birthday is near the end of the month, so he often chose to have a Halloween themed birthday party. I loved planning those parties and taking our boys trick or treating.

I live in Los Angeles now, so no colored leaves or dramatic change in temperature, and my kids are grown, so no costume planning or trick or treating, but October is still a wonderful month. Somehow, it’s now filled with writer events. The InD’Scribe conference for Indie authors is held in October, the OCC RWA Birthday Bash is in October, and this year, our new reader group The Charmed Connection is having a 5 day Halloween Event on facebook. So it’s a month of learning, sharing, writing, stories and books. What more could a girl want?

If you’d like to join us for any or all of The Charmed Connection Halloween Event hosted by our Charmed Writers, on facebook. Just click on the link below.

The Charmed Connection Halloween Event

We’ll be sharing Halloween Flash Fiction stories, recipes, games and PRIZES! There are nearly 100 authors in Charmed Writers, best selling authors in all genres, award winning authors and debut authors, if you love books, this is truly a ‘charmed’ place to hang out.

What are your favorite things about October? Scary stories? Baking? Costumes and parties? What were your favorite things as a child?

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Gothic Romance– Alive and Well in 2015?

October 13, 2015 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as Connie Vines, Dracula, Gothic Castles, Gothic Romance, Halloween, JaneEyre, Rodeo Romance

Is the Gothic Romantic Novel Dead?

Gothic literature has some element of horror in it, something terrifying, spooky, or horrific. It also often has mysterious elements, sometimes supernatural or dream-like qualities. These stories often take place in a spooky, dark, confined space like an ancient castle or empty manor house, a crypt, or a damp cellar. The themes of guilt and sin repeatedly appear in gothic literature, usually in reference to some crime committed or secrets kept.

Popular gothic authors include Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Brockden Brown, Mary Shelley, Ann Radcliffe, and William Beckford.

Other famous examples of Gothic literature include The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Dracula. Since the Gothic novel has branched off into numerous sub-genres, I am speaking of the Gothic in English literature ( classic texts) that created the building blocks for what we know as Gothic today.

My personal favorite (as well as Dracula) is Jane Eyre, In this example, we discover the Gothic can also refer to stories involving strange and troubling events that, while they have logical, natural explanations, seem to originate from unexpected forces. Charlotte Bronte employs this element of the Gothic in Jane Eyre, published in 1847. While living in Thornfield Hall as a governess, Jane frequently hears strange noises and laughter coming from the third story of the mansion that no one will explain, and odd things keep happening in the dead of night, such as her master Mr. Rochester’s bed catching fire, and the attack on a guest. We later discover the force behind these events is his insane wife.

Characteristics of the Gothic Novel

The term Gothic novel broadly refers to stories that combine elements from horror and romanticism. The Gothic novel often deals with supernatural events, or events occurring in nature that cannot be easily explained or over which man has no control, and it typically follows a plot of suspense and mystery.

Here is a list of some common elements found in Gothic novels:

Gloomy, decaying setting (haunted houses or castles with secret passages, trapdoors, and other mysterious architecture)

Supernatural beings or monsters (ghosts, vampires, zombies, giants)

Curses or prophecies

Damsels in distress

Heroes

Romance

Intense emotions

Today, however, there are also a ‘new’ brand of Gothic Novels. Southern Gothic is a subgenre of the gothic novel, unique to American literature.
Southern Gothic is like its parent genre in that it relies on supernatural, ironic, or unusual events to guide the plot. It is unlike its parent genre in that it uses these tools not solely for the sake of suspense, but also to explore social issues and reveal the cultural character of the American South.

The Wilderness Gothic, Suburban Gothic, Space Gothic, and Fantasy Gothic sub genres are also finding a place under the umbrella of 21st century Gothic stories, novels and novellas .

As a long time member of OCC/RWA, I am published in contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and YA historical sweet romance. However, I am also the president of RWA Gothic Chapter (GothRom) of Romance Writers.

If you’d like to learn more about this romantic genre please visit one or more of these links:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/timelines/zyp72hv A time line and more information about Gothic Literature via BBC.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_fiction

Thank you for stopping by to visit my blog post here At “A Slice of Orange“.

Connie Vines

To learn more about writing a Gothic Romance (the perfect October blog topic), please visit the GothRom Chapter of RWA.